The Darkness of Evil (Karen Vail #7)(92)

“Did the killer deploy the anesthetic on a soaked rag?”

“How’d you know?”

Prati took a drink of his coffee. “The inhaled concentration would be very high, so a couple of breaths would stun the victim for several minutes. Very effective.”

“We found a soaked rag at one of the crime scenes.”

“Did you also find a glass container?”

“Not that I remember. Why?”

“Part of what made ether so effective, aside from it being fat soluble, is that it’s a solvent. It’d dissolve most plastic containers—or anything else that’s not inert, so he’d have to keep it in amber-colored glass. Most likely scenario is he soaked the rag somewhere else ahead of time—because ether has a distinct chemical smell—then put it in the vial, which had a silicone seal. He’d then bring it with him to the crime scene and remove the rag at the last minute and hold it over the victim’s nose and mouth.”

“So the question is, How does that connect to the arsons?”

“Ah, well,” Prati said with a grin, “that’s for you guys to figure out.”

“No kidding.” Vail blew on her coffee, which was still throwing off steam. “The earlier fires were set while Marcks—my offender in the serial murders—was doing time in North Carolina and West Virginia.”

“Any chance he had a partner in crime?”

“Yeah, there’s a chance. Thomas Underwood, the profiler who worked up the original assessment years ago before he retired, he thought there could’ve been an accomplice.” And I think I may know who to look at first. “I’ve got some homework to do.” She took a long drink but did not even taste the coffee. “Still, why take the risk?”

Prati lifted the cup to his lips. “How do you mean?”

“Well, let’s say he did have a partner. Marcks gets caught, he goes away. If his partner keeps killing with the same MO, we’d know there’s a problem—we’d know that we got the wrong guy or he had an accomplice. So the partner keeps killing and he modifies his MO so we don’t connect the dots, or—”

“Or he sets crime concealment fires so you can’t see what he’s done to the body, which is his calling card.”

“Right. Because what he does to the body is much more difficult for him to modify—it’s a big reason why he’s doing it. But why take the risk of using the same chemical to set the fires that he uses to anesthetize his victims?”

Prati set his cup down and removed the lid. “Because as I said back at your house, killers don’t know we can put these things together.”

“I get that, for sure. But Marcks is a smart guy. Smarter than most offenders we’ve encountered. From what I can tell, he’s law enforcement wise.”

Prati again stirred his coffee. “But you’re not talking about Marcks, you’re talking about his accomplice.”

Right. Vail rose from her chair. “I’ve gotta go. I need to look into this other guy, the potential partner.”

Prati stood up. “So I was helpful?”

“Richard, if this theory proves out, you may’ve just saved our asses.”





49


Vail texted Art Rooney that she had some pertinent information on his case, then stowed her phone and popped open her car door.

She looked around the Mason District parking lot and flashed on her run-in with Marcks. Not a run-in. An ambush.

She surveyed the area as she headed to the Marshals’ RV, determined not to be caught unaware again.

Vail walked into the command post to a crowded room—which was not saying much considering its compact size. Everyone was present.

“I’ve got some stuff to discuss,” Vail said as she maneuvered her way to a seat.

“We’ve all got a number of things to address.” Hurdle set his coffee mug down and rested his foot on a nearby ledge. “As I was saying, we’ve now got a second jerkoff in the wind. And since we were having so much success with the first one, I’m pleased as punch to have to add another to our plate.” He nodded at Morrison. “Jim, you’ve got something on the Buick?”

“We found it in a ditch by the side of the road not far from Great Falls Park. Covered by brush, well camouflaged.”

“So he’s probably got new wheels,” Walters said. “Let’s make sure local agencies notify us of all stolen vehicles.”

“Already being done,” Hurdle said, “but I’ll make sure they’re on top of it.

“You don’t think he’d go back to that same used car lot,” Vail said.

“He’d be an idiot to do that,” Ramos said. “And we know he’s a smart sonofabitch.”

Unless he figures we’d think he’s crazy to go back there. “We should put an undercover there.”

“I think it’s a waste of time, but easy enough to do,” Hurdle said. “Rambo, set it up. Ben—what’d you dig up on Scott MacFarlane?”

“Long sheet, but nothing that landed him in prison for more than two or three years at a time. A couple drug felonies for possession and an ADW that was pled down,” he said, using law enforcement parlance for assault with a deadly weapon. “Did ten months at county. Oh, and an attempted rape that was thrown out.”