CHAPTER SIX
"You’re sure the two are connected?" Alison asked as they drove toward the edge of the city.
"From what I was told on the phone, we have a middle-aged woman dead in her home, suffocated, a bag left at the crime scene, and a security system that was somehow bypassed. No one knows about the first murder yet, so this is not a copycat killing. It’s almost identical to the first."
"All right," Alison sighed. "Do we know the time of death?"
"Not yet," Derek told her. "The cleaner found her this evening. They come around seven to clean the house for a few hours. When they entered, the victim was dead on the living room floor, the bag still over her head."
"Geez," Alison replied. "You said the security system was bypassed. That means the cleaner had an alarm code."
"She must," Derek confirmed. "We already spoke to the security company that monitored Margaret Donovan’s home, and she was the only one with alarm codes, except for the security company, obviously."
"Someone at the alarm company?" Alison thought out loud.
"You think that’s the connection?" Derek asked.
"If the latest victim was killed in the last twenty-four hours, then Franklin Howard couldn’t have done it. That removes him from the equation. If they both had security systems, they would both be connected by that."
"I’ll have Detectives Moore and Roisin check into that while we’re out here," Derek said.
The two detectives had remained behind to interview Franklin a second time while Alison and Derek traveled out to the crime scene.
Alison didn't like it. One murder by suffocation suggested a killer with a personal vendetta. Two murders flipped that. There might still be a personal connection to the victims and a vendetta, but they had now stepped into serial killer territory. Alison had a good track record for catching serial killers, but she’d rather there were none to catch in the city where she lived.
They arrived at the small home on the outskirts of the city, and once again, she was reminded of her own home.
It wasn’t only the security system this time, but the locational proximity to other houses.
Alison’s house was in the hills; this one was in a valley.
Both properties had neighboring residences, but they were spaced far apart.
There was some privacy without being entirely secluded.
Derek parked the vehicle, and when they exited the car, they were met by a uniformed officer. Derek showed his badge.
"Thank you for getting here so quickly. I’m Officer Grant," the officer greeted. "We don't really know how to deal with this sort of thing."
"Has anything been touched?" Derek asked.
"There are a couple of officers inside going through the house, and forensics are here, too. They’re with the body now."
"Who was the victim?" Alison asked.
"A woman by the name Sarah Livingstone," the officer replied. "Thirty-eight years old, lived alone, worked as a victim advocate."
Alison looked at Derek. The fact that she worked as a victim advocate gave an extra connection if she’d ever advocated for Margaret Donovan. Still, there was something else there, a hint of recognition in the name.
"And the security system?" Derek asked. "Did any alarms go off?"
"No, nothing," the officer said. "When the cleaner arrived, the alarm was set just as it always was. We’re checking with the alarm company now to see whether there was a malfunction."
"If we’re dealing with the same killer, and it looks like we are, then they’ll have bypassed this system, too," Alison said.
"Which security company operates this house?" Derek asked.
"Snowdon Security," Officer Grant replied.
"A different company from the first victim," Derek noted. "All right, take us in and let’s see what we’re dealing with."
The officer led them through the front security gate and down the path to the front door. Just like the previous crime scene, there was a doorbell camera installed on the door frame. Alison didn't notice as many security cameras and lights in the yard compared to Margaret's home.
"It’s through here," the officer said, guiding them into the house and down the hallway.
There was no sign of a struggle or forced entry.
The officer pointed into the living room.
They looked in to see the body sprawled out on the floor, much like the first victim. The bag, almost identical to the first, had been bagged and tagged and was set aside. Two forensic officers examined the body as it lay in place.
Alison and Derek didn't have to get close to the body this time. They could see the bluish tint from where they stood, and from one of the forensic techs scraping under the woman’s fingernails, it was obvious the evidence collected would be similar.
"Maybe we get something with this one," Derek said. "All we need is a trace amount of DNA to link the killer to both crime scenes."
When one of the forensic technicians stood up, Alison asked, "Do we know the time of death?"
"Not precisely, but I’d say anywhere in the last twelve to eighteen hours," the tech said.
Alison looked at Derek. "We’ll need to wait for confirmation from the medical examiner, but that means Franklin couldn’t have killed her. He was in custody at the time."
"Maybe the cousin?" Derek wondered. "Margaret put him behind bars, but maybe Sarah was a part of that in some way?"
"Maybe," Alison said. "Unless…"
"What?" Derek asked.
Alison stepped back into the hallway away from the dead body.
"I remember her," Alison told him. "Before she became a victim advocate, I coached her, too, before a trial. I forget who the accused was, but it definitely wasn’t Calvin Reynolds. It was, however, another violent criminal. I’ll have his name somewhere.
She must have become an advocate afterward, maybe wanting to help others go through what she had to go through. "
"And maybe she got the extra security after testifying," Derek said.
"I don't even know if the man she testified against was imprisoned or not."
"So, we have a connection," Derek said. "The killer is going after women who testified against violent criminals. It’s not a personal vendetta, but a… what is this?"
"It’s much worse than just targeting women who testified," Alison said. "I hope I’m wrong, but if someone is upset with the system, which is where this leads me, then they go after the source. These two women testified, and that links them, but the stronger link here is me."
"You?" Derek asked.
"I gave them the best shot of getting a conviction from their testimonies. Someone is targeting the women I coached to testify," Alison said. "They’re killing, and I think it has to do with me. I’m the strongest link between them."
"Why?" Derek asked.
"I don't know yet," Alison admitted. "If someone believes I wronged them, then they’re using these murders to prove their point. There’s a reason in there somewhere. Still, that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that I have coached hundreds of people over the years in their testimony. That means hundreds of potential victims, and I’m positive the killer doesn’t stop now.
More death is coming, a lot more unless we can stop it.