The Darkness of Evil (Karen Vail #7)(60)

“I’m actually appearing for the defense.”

Um … okay. Not sure what to make of that.

“Let me see what I can do when I get back. If I can’t meet with you before, definitely after I get back from testifying.”

“Appreciate it. But can I ask you a couple of questions over the phone?”

“I’ve got two minutes. Max.”

Vail glanced at Ramos, who was still jabbering into his phone. “I’ve got a theory on Marcks—that he was homosexual. If I’m right—and we just got a witness account that, if credible, supports that—it’d give us a better line into finding him. But if I’m wrong, I don’t want to send the task force in the completely opposite direction.”

“I had the same thought. Keep pursuing that theory.”

“You did? There’s nothing in your assessment about it.”

“I got a lot of pushback from the unit and my partner in particular. In the end, he talked me out of it. There are always exceptions to the rules, obviously, but I couldn’t ignore his arguments.”

“But you were the senior profiler in the entire unit at the time. You were—are—well, a legend. Why would you allow yourself to be talked out of something like that?”

“Because there were female victims as well as male. And because there were too many unanswered questions regarding the homosexual angle that couldn’t be supported in court if and when they found the UNSUB and the case went to trial.”

“Good point.” A sharp defense attorney could pick apart a single weakness in the profile—and in doing so, discredit every conclusion Underwood reached, essentially rendering the entire assessment useless. It would not be worth the risk, especially in this case, where the circumstantial evidence ended up being relatively weak and only two of the cases had an actual connection to Marcks.

Vail heard someone in the background through a muffled handset. “Who was the profiler you were working with? The one who changed your mind?”

“He was with you when you came to talk with Singletary on the Dead Eyes case. Frank Del Monaco.”

Vail couldn’t help but drop her jaw. Frank? If I tell him I know that he schooled Thomas Underwood, I’ll never live it down.

“Gotta run.” Underwood again covered the phone with a hand, telling them he would be right there. “I’ll be in touch soon as I can and we can sit down with the case files, give everything a close look, try to poke holes in our theory.”

“I’d love that.” Vail thanked him, then got back into the car.

“That name, I know it,” Ramos said.

“Thomas Underwood? A pioneer in my unit, one of its founding fathers. You probably know him as an author. He’s written seven books on serial offenders. All bestsellers.”

“I think I read one. Anatomy of a Killer?”

“Never read it but it’s supposed to be riveting.”

“I’ve got another one on my shelf, called …” He looked at the ceiling of the car. “UNSUB. Yeah, I think that’s it. Haven’t gotten to it yet. So many good books to read.” He turned to her. “You think you’ll write one when you retire?”

Vail laughed. “Who knows? I’ll worry about that when the time comes. But I’ve got plenty of material. That Dead Eyes case could fill a book all on its own. Then there’s the John Wayne Mayfield case in Napa, which was unlike anything the unit’s ever handled. That, too, would make an awesome book. And one I handled on Alcatraz.” Then there are the cases I can never tell anyone about, let alone write about. She turned the engine over. “Yeah, I think I will write a book or two.”

“So was Underwood helpful?”

“He’s out of town so I’ll need to meet with him when he gets back. But at least he confirmed that we appear to be on the right track.” She pulled back out onto the interstate and continued toward Fairfax.





29


Vail had just arrived at the command post and dropped Ramos off at his car when her Samsung buzzed violently in her pocket.

So much for going home. She drove off toward I-66, headed for a wooded area that surrounded the banks of the Potomac River: Great Falls National Park in northern Fairfax County, where a dead body had been found.

It did not sound like the deceased male was related to their case, but the task force was obligated to look into all area murders that could be associated with their escaped violent felon.

While en route, her phone rattled again. She did not recognize the number.

“Vail.”

“Karen, it’s Jasmine.”

“Hey girl, I was beginning to wonder about you.”

“I’ve been following the news reports,” Jasmine said. “He’s been killing people again.”

“As I expected,” Vail said. “That’s why I want you in protective custody.”

“Karen, please. Let’s not go through this again. You saw what happened to the last cop you posted outside my house—to keep me safe. No thanks. I’m doing just fine. I’m moving every couple of days to a different place. Although I am eating away at my book advance.”

“Look on the positive side. It’ll give you material for book two.” Ouch. That’s not fair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of this.”