What Have You Done(66)

“My only question is, Why would he suggest an NCIC search if he knew there was a chance we’d find his other victims?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to get caught.”

“Then why is he running now?”

“I don’t know. Who else knows about this? These other vics?”

“Obviously I gotta bring it to Phillips and Heckle and Keenan. I just wanted you to know first. I thought that was the right thing to do. You didn’t ask for this, so I figured I’d give you a heads-up that this was about to go down.”

Sean dropped his hands away from his face and put on the best smile he could. “I appreciate the heads-up. Go tell Phillips. I’ll be in, in a minute. I really don’t want to see his face when you tell him.”

“Understood.”

Jane walked back inside, leaving Sean alone in the parking lot. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed. Across the lot, a rat scurried from under a car with a half-eaten burrito in its mouth. It was gone in a matter of seconds, slipping through the opening of the sewer drain and disappearing into the darkness.

“It’s me,” Sean said as he walked farther from the door. “Update. They found out about the other girls.”





49

The Lakewood police station was empty but for a lone officer working the front desk. Liam walked in and quickly checked his surroundings, trying not to act suspicious in the process. He marked each entrance and exit. There weren’t many. He took note of how the front desk stretched to each end of the wall. The only way into the belly of the station was through a black metal door around the corner from where the officer now sat. He’d have time to run if he needed it.

There was no way to know if the BOLO back in Philadelphian reached as far as Lakewood, so Liam positioned himself halfway between the front desk and the door leading to the parking lot in case he was recognized. He’d found a change of clothes in a Goodwill bin behind a grocery store in Camden, so any description of what he was wearing would be different now. A taxi had taken him straight across the state to Lakewood without stopping. The cash he had was running low, and he knew his credit cards had probably been shut down, which would’ve been normal procedure. He was on his own, determined to find the truth.

There was a local radio station streaming through two speakers in the ceiling. Beyond that, the crackle of the police dispatch radio echoed in the foyer. The officer behind the desk looked up from a paper he was reading. “Can I help you?”

Liam cleared his throat, trying to project as much confidence as he could. This was risky but really the only way. “Hi. I’m Liam Dwyer. Forensics with the Philadelphia PD. We’re working a homicide and tracked a past police report filed from this department. I need a copy.”

The officer stared at Liam. “You got ID?”

“Sure.”

The officer took the ID, looked at it for a moment, and then shrugged. “No one called about any old records,” he said.

“Really? They were supposed to call this morning so it would be waiting when I got here.”

“Don’t know what to tell you. No one called.”

Liam took Gerri’s hospital report from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to the officer. It was wet from the river, but legible. “Can you get it for me now then? I’ll wait. The girl’s name and social are on this hospital report. Your records will match the date on the form. Same incident.”

Whatever the officer was reading was clearly more important or entertaining than pulling an old file. He glanced at the hospital report and then pushed it away. “I can’t get it for you now. I’m the only one here, and someone has to work the desk. Come back tomorrow around noon, and we’ll have it for you.”

“Sorry, but I need it now. We’re closing in on a suspect, and I need to be back in Philly with this report tonight. The victim is the woman named on this hospital record. You think you could do me a solid?”

“I’m working solo here. Can’t leave the desk. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“Where do you keep the files?”

“In boxes downstairs. We’re getting a new computer system next month, and we hired some kid to scan all the files so they’re electronic. Everything’s downstairs waiting for the software to be delivered. I wish I could help, but you gotta come back tomorrow. If you want, you can sign the release form now, and we’ll fax you the report, but it’s going to be tomorrow either way.”

The more time he spent at the station was more time he allowed those who pursued him to send word. He had to get in and out as quickly as possible. “I can go through them,” he suggested. “I need this report, or my boss’ll have my ass. Let me find it. I’ll make a copy, and I’m outta here. Don’t even need to sign a release, so no one needs to know you did me a favor. The faster I get down there, the faster I’m gone.”

The officer thought about the proposition. He flipped through his paper, then finally looked up. “Your boss a prick?” he asked with a smirk.

Liam smiled in return. “Aren’t they all?”

A buzzer sounded, unlocking the door from the foyer to the inside of the station. “First door on your left at the bottom of the stairs. Hurry up.”

Liam rushed through the door, down the small corridor, and through a second door that led him downstairs. It was dark in the basement, and his fingers fumbled for a light switch.