CHAPTER SIX
Alison closed her motel room door and checked it to make sure it was locked before going down to meet Special Agent Martinez at her car.
"You were right," Claire said. "It looks like this is the same guy."
"I hoped I was wrong."
Alison and Claire both got into the car.
"Same M.O.?" Alison asked as Claire started the car and pulled out of the motel parking lot.
"Yeah. Dr. Kevin Hartley, another forensic psychologist. I remember the case at the time; it was quite controversial. Gavin Marlin has been released from prison on Hartley’s orders and killed hours later.
There was an investigation into the decision, and it was ultimately decided that no fault lay with Hartley or anyone else involved in the decision.
Everything was done correctly. No one could have predicted what would happen next. "
"Okay, so we have two dead psychologists. That is our connection. Whoever killed both of them did so as revenge. That means we look at the victims of the murders after the criminals were released. We’ve been looking into the two inmates and one guard at the prison. Are we any further on with that?"
"The guard has family and friends in town, and it’s taking some time to get through everyone.
" Claire hit the lever to indicate a turn and took a right as they drove toward the suburbs of Missoula.
"If this is a revenge killing, people might shut up shop. That’s if the recent deaths are connected to the prison guard.
Is that how it would happen? The killer targets the killer of the person they were closest to first and then moves on to killing other people? "
"It might work like that," Alison admitted.
"They might have had enough, been grieving their family member, and something could have triggered more hurt. They go after the person they deem responsible for the death, and once the act is done, it could give them a taste for more. They might see how easy it was to do it and be riding the thrill of getting away with it. If that’s the case, they keep going.
The more they get away with it, the more they are inclined to try again. "
Claire overtook the vehicle in front. "So, we look at the first murder first and supplement it with the second?"
"That’s the best way to start," Alison admitted. "If there’s a personal connection, it’ll be to Rachel Kent before they moved onto someone else.
Either that, or we’re looking for someone not connected to either victim and who wants revenge in a more general sense.
Someone who is avenging society. We have to hope it’s the first option or we’re looking at just about anyone in the city. "
Claire gripped the wheel a little tighter and looked straight ahead as she asked, "Will there be more?"
"He will want to kill again," Alison confirmed. "He’s angry; this is personal to him. He doesn’t care about the people he’s killing, only the message he’s sending.
Maybe it started as pure revenge, but now, it’s a message.
He wants us to listen to what he has to say, and he knows that by killing them in the way he has, the press will have a field day.
The message is not only for us, but for society.
He’s a vigilante who sees this as his mission.
He’s cold, calm, and collected. He spends time on the murders, not rushing to get out once the deed is done.
These look like crimes of passion, but they’re not.
I don't think he gets pleasure from killing them, no matter the gore.
He is communicating what he feels, trying to right a wrong, no matter how misguided that mission is. "
Claire sighed. "We didn't get anything else back from the Kent autopsy. The cause of death was the laceration to the neck, and she would have bled out. The blood would have sprayed, and a lot of blood would have splattered onto her killer, but he didn't track any of that blood out of the office."
"He’s careful," Lucy said. "All of this is planned ahead of time. He knew where to find her alone, and how to leave without leaving a trace of himself."
"We’re still looking at the footprints in the parking lot and any tire tracks. There was fresh snow that night, and it might give us something."
"We can hope," Alison said. "Still, if all we have are footprints, that only narrows things down."
She knew that footprints didn't help in a lot of investigations, but she had followed one in her sister’s case, and there was a chance that one would. She couldn’t dismiss footprints from this investigation if any were found. She needed the hope.
"How about the threatening letter?" Alison asked. "Any luck with that?"
"Nothing yet." Claire slowed the car. "There’s a guy who’s being released next year, Spencer Whittaker, whose previous parole was denied based on a recommendation from Dr. Kent, but we haven’t been able to talk to him yet. Maybe he had someone on the outside kill her?"
"The second murder makes me think that’s not the case," Alison said.
"If he had an acquaintance murder Dr. Kent for him, it is more likely to be a one-and-done.
I don't think this is revenge for criminals being imprisoned for longer.
This is revenge for innocent people being killed by prisoners who were let out too soon. "
Claire stopped the car. "You’re a forensic psychologist. What are your thoughts on early release? Shouldn’t we just keep criminals locked up for the full sentence?"
"It’s one possibility," Alison answered. "And for a lot of criminals, that’s what happens. Yet, there are a number of reasons for letting someone out early. Our prisons are overcrowded as it is, and the taxpayer pays for that. It’s better for someone to be out of prison and paying taxes instead of in prison and draining taxes.
If they are rehabilitated, it’s better for everyone if they become contributing members of society.
The truth is that for many criminals, it just doesn’t make sense to keep them imprisoned.
I’ve overseen a number of early releases, and most of the time, it works as intended. "
"And the other times?" Claire asked.
"There’s always a chance people will reoffend, but it’s rare for them to hurt people in the process.
It’s easy to look at someone who reoffends and blame it on the early release or the justice system not doing its job, but the truth is that people are unpredictable.
Those released from prison can and will commit crimes, but so will members of the public.
A lot of the time, we compare the crime rates of released criminals to an unattainable target.
We believe it should be zero percent, but that is not in line with our averages.
We hope to turn them back into contributing members of society on their release, but contributing members of society commit a lot of crimes.
I’ve blamed myself for making the wrong decision, but when you boil it down, it’s not the wrong decision.
I like to think the same is true with our two victims."
"But someone believes they made the wrong decision," Claire commended.
"Yeah."
"And they’ll look for more people they think made the wrong decision and kill them," Claire said.
"Yeah." Alison sighed. "Come on, let’s go see if there’s anything in there that might help us figure this whole mess out."
They exited Claire’s car and headed for the house. A police car sat outside, and an officer was stationed on the door.
"The body’s still in there this time," Claire told Alison.
Special Agent Martinez showed her badge as they approached the house, and the officer stood aside to let the special agent and criminal psychologist in. They walked through to the living room, finding one forensic tech crouched by the body and the other dusting an evidence marker.
"I’m Officer Bills." The officer was tall and a little shaken. "His ex-wife found him this morning. She has a key to his place, and apparently drops off their dog with him at the start of the week. They have shared custody of it. She came in and found him like that."
The officer gestured toward the man slumped against the wall.
"The evidence markers?" Alison asked.
"The killer left them. We don't really know if we should place evidence markers next to the evidence markers."
"I remember this crime scene," Claire said. "Ronald Watkins was released from prison on Dr. Hartley’s recommendation, and he strangled someone in their home three hours later. It took them two days to catch up with Watkins, and he’s in his second year of a life sentence."
"And this is a creation of the crime scene?" Alison asked.
"Yeah, as far as I can remember it. I can get access to the photos and check, but it looks like how I remember it.
Watkins went to a random house, knocked on the door, gained entry, and strangled the woman inside.
They found her body a day later, Watkins a day after that.
It was an open and shut case. He left a lot of evidence at the crime scene. "
"This killer?" Alison asked loudly.
The tech dusting the evidence marker looked around. "Nothing so far. The only things he left at the scene were the evidence markers and the photos on the wall."
Alison and Claire had been so focused on the dead body that they had only just noticed the six crime scene photos nailed to the wall above the victim."
"I guess I don't need to look them up," Claire said.
"Look how they’re spaced," Alison said. "It’s precise. The killer we’re looking for is precise.
He would have brought his tools with him.
He would have consulted the photos and then left them for us to show how perfectly he modeled the scene.
What about the evidence markers? Can they be bought by the public? "
"They were printed," the tech said. "You can see the imperfections that you get from a 3D printer."
"He was strangled to death?" Claire asked the other tech.
"He was. Deep bruising around the throat, redness in the eyes, and multiple other signs that confirm strangulation. No other wounds that I can see. It doesn’t look like Dr. Hartley put up much of a fight, if any. It would have been relatively quick."
"Then he placed him against the wall just like the victim in the photo," Alison said. "Who has access to these crime scene photos?"
"Most people in law enforcement will be able to access them. There was nothing made public at the time, but I know of multiple other cases where crime scene photos were leaked to the press—for a price, of course. They might be online. The family could have requested them after the case was closed."
"So, a lot of people?"
"In an ideal world, it would be restricted to the handful of people who were involved with the case, but in reality, hundreds or thousands of people could theoretically get their hands on them. Watkins could have gotten copies from his lawyer and passed them on if he wanted. It doesn’t narrow down our list of suspects. "
"Hey, we have a problem outside." The officer from the door had come inside. "I have a guy outside who wants access. He has a badge, but… I don't know. He looks a little volatile."
"I’ll deal with him," Alison said.
She had a pretty good idea who was waiting out there for her. She’d asked Dale Kent not to get in the way. When it was his sister’s case, she understood it. This murder was not his to meddle in, and she needed to make sure that he didn't let his anger mess it up for them.
If he made the case about his revenge for his sister, he would only get in the way of what she did best, and that could mean losing their killer.
Alison knew how to catch killers; she only had to figure out how to deal with a cop who had the best intentions but was hampering her.
A cop on one side, a killer on the other, and Alison was stuck in the middle.