Chapter 9 #2
After seeing them off in a cab, Brian took his time walking home.
Posters from the recent Tribeca Film Festival were still affixed to telephone poles and in store windows.
Brian liked that he never knew who he might see in the eclectic neighborhood.
He had once dined next to Robert De Niro in a café and passed Meryl Streep on the sidewalk.
At home he plugged his cell phone into the charger and noticed he had missed a call from his father. He checked his watch and found it was after ten, but he returned the call anyway.
“Hey,” Michael said.
“Sorry it’s so late. Did I wake you?”
“No, I was up. How are you? How’s the vacation?”
“I’m bored out of my mind, and I’ve got four days to go.”
Michael laughed.
“I had dinner with Beth and Joe tonight. That’s where I was when you called.”
“How is she?”
“Six months pregnant and loving life. She said to say hi to you and Mom.”
“That’s nice. Good for her on the baby.”
“So what’s up? You’ve been keeping a low profile lately.”
“I’m up to my eyeballs in a case.”
“We sort of figured that when you blew us off in Florida last week,” Brian joked.
“Believe me, I would’ve much rather have been there.” He gave his son a quick summary of the case.
As he listened, Brian sat down on the sofa. “Jesus, Dad. You really think it’s someone from Granville?”
“It’s looking that way.”
“And the attacks in other towns?”
“We think they were intended to draw the focus away from Granville.”
“So he kidnaps and rapes three girls in other towns just to send the cops on a wild goose chase?”
“It probably wasn’t the sole purpose. He also succeeded in traumatizing three pretty, popular cheerleaders, and a fourth one here in town.” He told Brian his theory about the accident and the five-year pattern.
“You think it’s our guy in the road,” Brian said, incredulous.
“We’re looking for a connection. Matt says the M.O.s don’t match up, and he’s right, but the common thread is all the victims were popular kids. And every one of the girls, including the carjacking victim, was a cheerleader.”
“The feds will bring in a profiler. He’ll tell you you’re looking for a loner who was picked on or ignored by popular kids.”
“If this started with the accident, we might be looking for someone you and Sam went to school with.”
“I still have my yearbook. I can flip through it to see if anyone stands out.”
“That would help. Thanks.” Michael paused before he added, “Listen, there’s one other thing I should tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“Carly found the last two notes—one at the accident site and another at her parents’ house.”
“What? What was she doing at the accident site?”
“She maintains it. Plants flowers, pulls the weeds.”
As Brian ran a hand through his hair, he absorbed that intriguing piece of information and was swamped with helplessness and fear. “He was in her parents’ yard. Mom said she walks everywhere. She’s totally vulnerable.”
“You talked to Mom about Carly?”
“I just asked how she was doing. Don’t make it into something it’s not.”
“That’s interesting, because she asked me about you earlier.”
“She did?”
Michael chuckled. “But I won’t make it into something it’s not. Don’t worry.”
“Dad, she could be in danger. You have to do something.”
“We’re keeping an eye on her. She’s fiercely independent, so she won’t make it easy.”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence that the notes were put in places where she was likely to find them, do you?”
“I’m not sure, son. She doesn’t live at home anymore, but everyone knows her parents are in Europe for a month. So it’s possible our guy assumed she’d be taking care of the house in their absence. I’d be more concerned if the note had been left at her place.”
“You have to promise me you’ll keep her safe, Dad. You can’t let anything happen to her.”
“I’m doing everything I can to keep this whole town safe,” Michael said, sounding weary.
“Tomorrow we’re going public with what we know.
We’ll also be going into the high school to talk to the students about traveling in groups and keeping an eye out for each other.
If I have to, I’ll institute a curfew to keep them in at night.
It won’t be a tough sell. They’ve been freaked out since Tanya Lewis was attacked,” he said, referring to the high school student from Granville who’d been raped in January.
“How is she?”
“Still recovering at home. She’s had surgery twice to repair the damage that animal did.”
“I just can’t believe something like this could be happening in Granville.”
“I know. I told Matt earlier I’m actually relieved to have the feds stepping in. We need the help.”
“Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. I’m here if you need to talk or anything.”
“Thanks.”
“It sure would be something if you could tie this guy to the accident, wouldn’t it?” Brian asked softly.
“You and I have always had our suspicions there was more to it.”
“People said we were grasping at straws,” Brian said. “Take care of Carly, Dad. Please.”
“I will. I’ll keep you posted.”
After they ended the call, Brian sat in the dark for a long time, his head spinning with everything his father had told him.
The idea of Carly being in danger made him sick with fear.
Eventually, he changed into sweats and a T-shirt and went to bed.
But for hours he was awake trying to think through the facts of the case as a prosecutor, not as a concerned son, a grieving brother, or a regretful ex-boyfriend.
If the crime spree had begun with the accident, didn’t it stand to reason that the perp had been targeting someone in the car?
Or someone who wasn’t. Brian sat straight up in bed.
The accident had occurred on the road that led to his house and Carly’s.
Had she been the intended target? Or was it me?
“Okay, man, get it together,” he muttered as he realized he was breathing heavily and his heart was beating hard, like it would if he—or someone he loved—was in imminent danger.
Unable to shake the feeling he was on to something, he got up to get his cell phone.
As he waited for his father to answer, Brian paced back and forth in his small living room.
“Westbury,” Michael said, his voice hoarse with sleep.
“Dad.”
“Brian? What’s wrong? Christ, it’s four in the morning.”
“I’m sorry, but I was thinking . . . What if the person he was hoping to kill in the accident wasn’t in the car?”
“I don’t follow,” Michael said with a big yawn.
“What if he’d been counting on Carly being in that car with the others like she should’ve been?”
Silence.
“Dad?”
“Are you suggesting he’s targeting Carly?”
“He put notes in places she was likely to find them.”
“How do you know it wasn’t you he was after?”
“Because he prefers girls—young girls. Cheerleaders.”
“Carly’s not young anymore. At least not by his standards.”
“Mom said she looks exactly the same.”
“She does,” Michael agreed. “I hear what you’re saying, son. I do. But if he was after Carly, wouldn’t he have acted on it by now?”
“Maybe he is by going after girls that remind him of Carly. He could be building up to the main event.”
“It’s a stretch, Bri.”
“Do you remember the one piece of advice you gave me when I started with the DA’s office? I’m trusting my gut, Dad.”
“I’ll mention it at our meeting tomorrow, and I’ll talk to her to make sure she’s being careful.”
“Thank you,” Brian said, releasing a long deep breath. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“No problem. Now, turn off that prosecutor’s brain and go to sleep, you hear your old man?”
“Yes, sir,” Brian said with a small smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”