Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Remind me again what we’re doing here?” Riley asked as they stopped the car in front of the Dix Center. It was located on the first floor of a triple decker. A rainbow flag hung from the front porch railing, and there was another in the window.
Gary couldn’t tell him the real reason—he was following a hunch, and he hoped to God he was wrong. Why am I filled with this sense of foreboding? “I’m hoping we’ll learn something.”
Riley was the first up the steps to the door. He scowled. “The clinic closed fifteen minutes ago.”
Gary gazed at the cars parked out front and another in the alley between the property and the house next door. “Ring the bell anyway. There might still be someone here.”
He hoped.
After Riley had pushed the bell insistently, the door opened, and a young woman glared at them. “Can’t you read the sign? We’re closed.” They held their badges up for inspection, and she stared at them. “You’d better come in.” She stood aside to let them enter, and Gary glanced at her name tag.
“Thank you, Emma. Can you tell me who’s in charge of the center?
” He took in their surroundings. The front room of the house was the reception area, with chairs along three walls.
To the right was a door labeled Treatment Room #1, and farther along was another.
A restroom sat between them. The walls were covered with posters of all kinds providing information on different types of STDs and treatment, safe sex practices, and safer drug usage.
There were clear plastic bins standing around, and on closer inspection Gary saw they were filled with condoms, lube, female condoms, and dental dams. Behind the reception desk were more posters featuring different vaccines for hepatitis and diagrams of genital regions.
Emma retook her seat behind the desk. “There’s only Dr. Priest and a PA still here. I’ll get her.”
“Can I help you?” A tall, dark-haired woman in a white coat emerged from the treatment room. “I’m Dr. Priest.”
Gary flashed his badge again. “Detective Gary Mitchell, Homicide. We need to see a list of men who use this center for testing. Specifically linked to use of PrEP.”
She arched her eyebrows. “You should know I can’t share that information without a warrant.” She stilled. “Is this about the call I had from a detective earlier? Regarding the seven men who’ve been murdered?”
Emma gasped, and all heads turned in her direction. “Oh God. I should’ve known something was wrong when that guy came in here. He said he was here to book a test, but I recognized him right away.” She shivered. “He was probably checking the place out for vibes or something.”
And there was that sense of foreboding again, only heavier. “What guy?”
Emma frowned. “That psychic who’s helping you. The one in the papers.”
“Dan Porter was here?” So where is he now? And why isn’t he answering his phone?
“Yes. About forty-five minutes ago.” Emma peered at her monitor. “He made two appointments for Friday afternoon, one for himself and another guy.” She blinked. “Wow. Talk about a coincidence.” She raised her head to give Gary an inquiring glance. “Didn’t you say your name was Mitchell?”
Oh God.
“Yeah, he told me he was here to make an appointment,” he said quickly, before she could say anything else.
Beside him, Riley coughed, and Gary caught his blink before he turned his face away.
Guess the cat is out of the bag. Riley was no slouch in the brains department. Then Riley stiffened. “Is this everyone who works here?”
Gary peered past Riley’s shoulder to a whiteboard on the wall next to the treatment room. It had photos stuck on it—head shots—and what looked like names written under each one.
“Yes,” Dr. Priest told him. “The receptionists, doctors, PAs, nurses….”
Riley turned slowly. “Boss? You’d better see this.”
Gary moved in closer to look at the photo Riley indicated. It showed a thin-faced man with dark brown hair, a mustache and beard, and intense blue-gray eyes. What made Gary’s heart beat faster was the name beneath it.
Christopher Ludlow.
Gary turned to Dr. Priest, his mouth dry. “Has Mr. Ludlow already left the premises?” Beside him, Riley snuck his hand under his jacket, heading for his holster.
“He left a little early today, about four twenty-five. Said he wasn’t feeling well.”
Emma frowned. “I didn’t see him leave.”
“I think he went out the back way.”
Damn.
Riley got out his notepad. “How long has he worked here?”
“I’d have to check.” Dr. Priest disappeared behind the reception desk.
Riley glanced at Gary. “Try Dan’s number again,” he said in a low, urgent voice.
Gary’s stomach clenched when he got voicemail again.
“Chris is a great guy. Everyone likes him,” Emma said with a smile.
Riley ignored her. “If the doc is right, Ludlow left right before Dan did. What if he left because he saw Dan? That’s why he went out the back, to avoid running into him.”
Gary had another theory, one that came with icy fingers that ghosted his nape. “What if he went out the back way because he didn’t want anyone to see him and Dan in the same place?”
Riley paled. “Jesus.”
“2014.”
Gary was lost for a moment. “Excuse me?”
“2014,” the doctor repeated. “That’s when Chris joined us.”
“Do you have an address for him?” He crossed mental fingers. Don’t tell me we need a warrant before you’ll give out that information.
Dr. Priest cleared her throat, but Emma got in first. “He lives just down the street. Number seventeen. He has a place on the third floor.” Her eyes sparkled. “We all joke about it when he gets in late.”
Gary grabbed Ludlow’s photo. “I’m taking this, okay?”
Dr. Priest opened her mouth to speak and then swallowed. “Oh my God. O-okay.”
Gary and Riley hurried out of the clinic and up the street to number seventeen. He bounded up the front porch steps and found the buzzer for Ludlow.
Be here. Be here. And be alone.
The door opened, and he tensed, only to find an elderly lady peering at him. “Who did you want?”
“Mr. Ludlow, third floor.”
“He’s not home yet. I always hear when he comes home. You could wait for him, though. He won’t be long. He already went by here.”
“You saw him?” Riley asked.
She nodded. “He walked up the street, talking with some man. I was sitting in my window at the time.” She smiled. “I love that. People-watching is far more interesting than whatever I can find on TV. And when my daughter goes to work, I have to do something to pass the time.”
Gary held up the photo. “This is him, isn’t it?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
Riley got his phone out and held it up. “Do you recognize this guy?” One glance told Gary it was the photo of Dan.
She squinted at it. “Yeah, that was the man with him. He looked kinda familiar. Chris won’t be long, I’m telling you.
He was probably going to the store. He does that sometimes after work.
There’s a convenience store around the corner.
He brings me a donut sometimes too.” She leaned forward, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
“But I don’t let my daughter find out about that. ”
Riley looked into the street. “Does he have a car?”
“Yes.”
“Which one is his?”
She frowned. “That’s the weird thing. I saw him drive off in it, and then not long after, he walked back. Then they both headed for the Ave.”
Gary didn’t think it weird. He thought it was chilling.
“Do you know the make of the car?” Riley seemed to be thinking more clearly than Gary was, thankfully.
Her wrinkled brow furrowed even more. “I’m not very good with cars, I’m afraid.” Then her face brightened. “It’s black. Does that help?”
Gary thanked her, and they walked briskly to their car. Riley drove up the street, both of them scanning ahead for any sign of either of Ludlow or Dan. When they reached Dorchester Ave, Riley pointed to the right. “The old lady mentioned donuts. There’s a Dunkin’ sign. Let’s check in there.”
It was worth a shot.
They turned into the parking lot in front of the small mall. Dunkin’ Donuts was off to the right, with tables and chairs out front. Inside, most of the tables were occupied, but there was no sign of them.
Riley flashed his badge, then held up the photos. “Have either of these men been in here? Within the last hour.”
The girl behind the counter peered at the photos. “I haven’t seen him,” she said, pointing to Dan’s photo. “The bearded guy… maybe he bought coffee? I couldn’t swear to it.”
Gary asked to speak to the manager, and the girl scurried toward a door at the rear. When the manager appeared, Gary didn’t waste time with explanations. He showed his badge. “Do you have security cameras?”
“Yes. There’s one in here, and another that shows the parking lot.”
“We need to see your footage for the past hour.”
The manager frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t share security footage just like that, even if you are the police. There are procedures for that kind of thing.”
“And I would be following those procedures,” Gary remonstrated, “but this happens to be urgent. A man’s life might be at stake.”
He hoped to God he was wrong about that.
The manager widened his eyes. “Oh, I see. Well, maybe this once.” He took them to a small back room where two monitors sat on a shelf above a PC.
“We had them installed a while back. The place got broken into twice. I mean, what are they going to steal from here?” He tapped the keyboard, and the footage ran backward, a counter at the bottom of the screen showing the time.
“Stop.” Riley pointed to one of the screens. “There he is.” Ludlow picked up two cups, walked away from the counter, and halted at the table by the window, his back to the camera.
“Is that the man you’re after?”
Riley ignored the manager, his gaze locked onto the screen. “What’s he doing?” he murmured.
The manager rolled his eyes. “Adding sugar, sweetener, or creamer to the coffee, I imagine.”
Riley’s gaze met Gary’s. “Or something completely different.” He addressed the manager. “Let’s look at the parking lot camera.” The manager scrolled back, and Gary’s breathing hitched.
“Wait. There.” The screen froze on an image of Dan and Ludlow walking across the lot. They reached the street, then crossed it when the lights changed.
They thanked the manager and hurried out of the shop. On the other side of the street was a children’s playground, but no sign of Dan or Ludlow.
Gary was starting to get a very, very bad feeling.
Little kids played on the jungle gym and slides, watched by adults, and beyond the park, a T-ball game was in play.
Gary pointed to a guy who was obviously a coach.
“Let’s see if he saw anything.” He walked quickly to him.
“Excuse me?” Another flash of his badge.
“Sorry to interrupt your game, but did you or any of the players see these two men here a little while ago?” Riley held up both photos.
The coach peered at them. “Yeah. They were sitting over there in the children’s playground, talking.”
“Did you see where they went?” Riley asked.
The coach pointed toward the parking lot across the street. “They headed in that direction. But I think there was something wrong with this guy.” He indicated Dan’s photo. “I was about to go over to them and ask if I could do anything, but the tall dude helped him to a car. He looked awful.”
Gary’s heartbeat stuttered. “Did you happen to notice the make of the car?”
“I think it was a black Honda Civic, but I can’t be sure.”
Riley thanked him, and they dashed around the fence to the street. “So he’s taken Dan somewhere in a car, and definitely not back to his apartment.”
“But where?”
Riley unlocked the car. “Let’s go back to the clinic.”
The tires squealed as Riley turned out of the parking lot and drove down Dorchester Avenue toward Dix Street. By the time they reached the clinic, Dr. Priest and Emma were standing on the front porch as the doctor locked up.
Gary got out of the car and ran over to them. “Does Mr. Ludlow have another address?”
“I don’t think so,” Dr. Priest replied.
“He didn’t always live on Dix Street,” Emma piped up. She glanced at the doctor. “This was before you came here. When he first joined us, he was living someplace else, but he wanted to be closer to the clinic.” She frowned. “I don’t know where he lived, though.”
Gary thanked them, and they got into the car.
Riley’s face was grim. “Ludlow’s our killer, isn’t he?”
“It’s too much of a coincidence for him not to be. Everything fits.”
“I don’t like this. He’s been so careful. Why would he take chances like this?”
Gary had been pondering the same thing. “Maybe he panicked. Think about it. Remember that note he left at the last crime scene? He thinks he’s invisible. Then he gets a voicemail from me, and then Dan walks into his clinic.”
Riley nodded. “So right now, he’s not thinking straight at all.” He shivered. “Doesn’t that make him more dangerous?”
The question mirrored Gary’s conclusion, and cold surged through him.
He got his phone out and scrolled. “Lewis? Start checking public records, the County Clerk’s office, local assessors…
. See if you can find a property registered to Christopher Ludlow.
Then search records to find the license plate of a black Honda Civic belonging to him. ”
“Okay.”
“And Lewis? I need it, like, yesterday.”
“On it.” Lewis disconnected.
Gary pointed to the street ahead. “First stop is the hotel, just to make sure we’re not panicking over nothing. Dan could be sitting in his room as we speak.”
Except if that was the case, Dan would have his phone charging, and he would’ve answered Gary’s calls.
Please be safe. Please be safe.
He’d lost Brad, Cory…. He couldn’t lose Dan.