CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Dr. Lawson lived in Mineola, a small community a half-hour’s drive southeast of Council Bluffs. His property, like Dr. Clement’s, consisted of a house with an attached animal habitat. His house was somewhat smaller than Dr. Clement’s, but the habitat was larger, closer in size to James Hawkins’ place. Like Hawkins’ property, the habitat was actually several enclosures, each housing a different type of animal. The largest enclosure contained a family of mountain lions. The lions crowded against the fence and watched the police cruiser as it passed by.
“I never realized how many people own big animals out here,” Detective Cuthbert remarked.
“That’s probably something people don’t notice unless those animals escape,” Michael replied.
“Or until someone starts murdering people,” Faith added.
“Well, let’s see if we can’t get them to stop murdering people,” Cuthbert said.
The four of them left the vehicle and approached the house. Almost immediately, Turk’s ears pricked up. He held his head high and sniffed the air, eyes wide and alert.
Faith and Michael shared a look. Faith almost wanted Michael to say something to challenge Turk’s reaction, but that little bout of anger faded quickly. Unless Turk was greatly mistaken, they were about to apprehend their killer.
Cuthbert, at least, seemed to take Turk’s reaction seriously. He drew his weapon and positioned himself in front of the door, ready to act immediately if Lawson presented any kind of threat.
Faith knocked on the door. Michael drew his own weapon and stood on Faith’s other side. Turk crouched, his body coiled like a spring.
The door opened. A short, balding man with a sharp goatee and half-moon glasses frowned at the arrivals and asked, “What’s going on?”
Before any of the humans could respond, Turk shot through the door like a bullet, barking madly. He nearly bowled over the balding man, who cried out and threw his hands against the door to steady himself.
“Turk!” Faith called. “Heel!”
Turk obeyed the command but growled at Faith in frustration. He turned back toward the interior of the house and barked urgently.
“What is the meaning of this?” the balding man asked.
“Dr. Victor Lawson?” Faith asked.
“Yes, and you do not have permission to be on my property.”
“I’m Special Agent Faith Bold,” Faith replied, watching Turk. The K9 was turning in a circle in a spacious living room, snorting, sniffing and barking, impatient for permission to look further. “The dog is my K9 unit, Turk. This is my partner, Special Agent Michael Prince and Detective Jim Cuthbert of the Council Bluffs Police Department. We need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“The murders of Marcus Reeves, Alison Chen, Dr. Elena Vasquez and Dr. Sarah Clement.”
At the last name, Dr. Lawson’s jaw went slack. “Sarah’s dead?”
“Sure is,” Faith said. “Her face was torn to pieces.”
Dr. Lawson exhaled sharply, deflating like a balloon as he did. “Oh God. Did the birds get her?”
“It was made to look that way,” Faith replied. “Turns out, it was actually fishhooks.”
“Fishhooks?”
“You a big catfish guy, Victor?” Michael asked.
Faith followed his eyes to see a picture of Dr. Lawson on the wall. In the picture, the doctor was in fishing gear, holding up a large river catfish in his left hand and a pole in his right.
Dr. Lawson blinked. “Wait. Are you telling me that you believe I am the killer?”
“Can we come in?” Faith asked.
Before Dr. Lawson could reply, Turk barked loudly. His teeth were bared, and his ears were flat to his head.
“Easy boy,” Faith called.
Turk dipped his head in frustration and turned back to Faith, barking earnestly.
“This is ridiculous,” Dr. Lawson said. “You can talk to me at your station rather than invade my house.”
“I’m afraid we’re past that point,” Faith said. “Turk is a trained K9 who has picked up the same scent at each crime scene. His reaction constitutes probable cause, and as of right now, he will search your property. Go ahead, Turk!”
Turk shot off, moving from place to place throughout the living room. Every so often, Dr. Lawson would start to protest again and earn a growl from the K9.
“He won’t hurt you unless you try to hurt one of us,” Faith assured him.
Dr. Lawson was bright red with anger, but when he spoke, his voice was controlled. “I will be confirming with my lawyer that you have probable cause to be here.”
“That’s fine,” Michael said, stepping inside and holstering his weapon. Faith and Detective Cuthbert followed suit.
“Would you like to answer our questions, Dr. Lawson?” Faith asked.
“For the moment, yes, but I reserve the right to stop speaking at any time.”
“Of course,” Cuthbert said, offering the scientist a sharklike grin. “Your rights are very important to us.”
Turk trotted to the back door leading to the animal sanctuary, but when Dr. Lawson tried to stand in front of him, Turk bared his teeth and barked. Dr. Lawson backed away and stared at Turk in terror.
“Easy boy,” Faith called. “He’s not going to hurt anyone.”
Turk narrowed his eyes but left the man alone and returned to the back door.
“Please don’t let him into the animal enclosures,” Dr. Lawson pleaded. “These animals are all suffering from severe emotional trauma. The sight of an aggressive dog could set their treatment back years.”
“Sorry about that, doctor,” Faith said. “But this is a murder investigation.”
"I'll take you back there," Dr. Lawson offered. "But please, not your dog. Please, I've been working with some of these animals for months. They've made a lot of progress, but that can all be reversed if they're frightened badly."
“Four dead people, Doctor,” Michael said. “Turk gets to go wherever he wants.”
Dr. Lawson put his hands on top of his head and stared at the back door in anguish. Faith wasn’t sure if this was due to genuine concern for the animals or if he was afraid of what Turk would find. But like Michael said, they had four dead people to think of. She walked to the back door and opened it.
Dr. Lawson sighed with relief when Turk trotted quietly through the door. Maybe he knew that his presence could be a stressor to the animals, or maybe he had an easier time focusing on what he was looking for by staying calm, but his barking stopped, and his ears returned to their ordinary position pointing straight up.
“God…” Dr. Lawson whispered. “Oh God.”
“Can you confirm your whereabouts earlier today, doctor?”
“Earlier today? I was here, working with my cougars.”
“Can anyone confirm that?”
Dr. Lawson's frown deepened. "My assistant, Jason, can confirm that I adjusted my typical schedule today."
“And where is he?”
“Still at the University, I believe. We typically work in my office at the University of Nebraska during the mornings and the residence in the afternoons. I left early today to get a head start on the rehabilitation plan we have for these mountain lions.”
“So you weren’t at Dr. Clement’s house in the early afternoon?”
“No. I came straight here.”
“But no one can confirm that.”
“I told you, my assistant can.”
“Did he come here with you?”
“Well… no.”
“And you’ve already admitted that your behavior was unusual.”
Dr. Lawson’s frown deepened.
“What about last night? Did you pay Dr. Elena Vasquez a visit?”
“I haven’t spoken to Elena in eight years,” Dr. Lawson replied. “If I were going to kill my ex-girlfriend, why would I do it now, years after I’ve moved on? And why would I kill her to begin with?”
“I imagine that it’s frustrating to see your reputation repeatedly damaged due to no fault of your own,” Faith said. “First you hire a disturbed animal abuser as an intern, then you accept a job training animals for a zoo owner renowned for mistreating his animals, then your girlfriend gets caught drinking on the job and to top it all off, your protégé goes off the deep end and starts running a horror movie psych ward for birds. You’ve tried to walk the straight and narrow, but you’ve picked bad friends.”
“I’m not sure where you’re getting your information,” Dr. Lawson replied, “but my reputation is fine.”
They were near the mountain lion enclosure now. The cats were now standing in front of them, staring at Turk with interest. Faith noted that they were just as silent as the wolves at Hawkins’ place.
“Can anyone confirm your whereabouts last night?”
Dr. Lawson sighed in frustration. “No. I live alone, and Jason leaves work at seven o’clock every night. If the other murders occurred at night, then I won’t have an alibi for them. But I also don’t have a motive. What could I possibly gain from killing these people?”
“Revenge.”
“Again,” Lawson said through thin lips, “my reputation is fine. There were minor hiccups after Elena’s exposure and Sarah’s… decline… but the academic world understands that I can’t be blamed for their behavior. I am not at risk of losing anything. If you paid attention, you would notice that I am helping many different animals at the moment, and I have a teaching position at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. I am not so petty that I would kill people over the inconvenience their existence means for me.”
“The inconvenience their existence means for me,” Michael repeated. “That was beautiful. Poetic.”
Dr. Lawson rolled his eyes. “Nor am I so stupid that I would risk the utter destruction of my own life over such pettiness. Do you hunt your own exes to kill them? Do you plot the murder of your own irritating colleagues?”
“Me? No. But I’ve arrested quite a few people who have. A lot of them give me the same excuse you just did.”
“It’s not an excuse, it’s a reason.”
"Potato, potato."
Turk returned to the doctor and sniffed him. He bared his teeth and growled softly.
Faith looked at Turk, then at the doctor. “The problem is that my dog is matching your scent to the crime scene. You have no alibi, and whatever you might be telling me now, you do have motive. You’re connected to all of these victims, and you’ve had opportunity.”
“You can’t possibly believe you have enough to arrest me.”
“I have enough to detain you,” Faith countered, “and I’m going to do that.”
Dr. Lawson reddened, but his voice returned to calm again. “Are you taking me in for questioning?”
"We are," Cuthbert replied. "I called a cruiser when I saw the K9 react the way he did. They'll be here in a few minutes. If you play nice, then that'll be a nice, cordial conversation."
“I’m afraid there will be no conversation without my lawyer present,” Dr. Lawson said. “I won’t resist detainment, but I will not talk until my lawyer is in the interrogation room with me.”
He spun on his heel and returned to his house, head held high. The others followed him, Turk just ahead and to the side so he could take the doctor down if he tried to flee.
He didn’t try to flee, but he did call someone on his cell phone. “Jason, please call Britney and tell her to meet me at the headquarters of the Council Bluffs Police Department. Inform her that I’m being detained on suspicion of multiple murders and that law enforcement is justifying this action due to the reaction of their dog. Then I’ll need you to come to the house and monitor the animals while I’m away.”
“Their highly trained, licensed and certified K9,” Faith corrected.
He hung up and gave Faith a cold look, but when Turk growled at him, he paled and looked away. True to his word, Dr. Lawson offered no resistance as Detective Cuthbert handcuffed him and led him outside.
The police cruiser pulled up next to Cuthbert's, and the detective led him toward it. Turk stopped on the porch and looked back into the house. He sniffed and growled, cocking his head and staring hard into the residence.
“Come on, Turk,” Faith said. “We got him.”
Turk hesitated another moment, then followed her to their own cruiser. Two minutes later, they were on their way back to Council Bluffs. Turk turned around and watched the house retreat as they pulled away.
She ruffled Turk’s fur. “Good job, boy.”