Con Game Read online

  Delta nodded. “I’m afraid so. This Elson creep is one fast worker. He was able to murder four men living all across the United States in less than two weeks. One lived in New York, one in Lubbock, Texas, one in Boston, and Doug lives, lived, whatever, in Tallahassee.”

  “And now he’s after my lover.”

  Delta stood and walked around the table to Gina. During their years of friendship, Delta had never seen a more devoted, more supportive partner than Gina. She never seemed to get upset about the long hours Connie put in and she was always there to lend a hand, personally or professionally, when they needed it.

  “He’s not going to get her. I promise you, Gina. I’ll die before I let some whacked-out psycho even come close to Connie. He may be calling the shots for now, but he’s playing on my turf. That, my friend, is to our distinct advantage.” Taking Gina’s hands in hers, Delta spoke softly. “He’s messing with the wrong women, and I’ll blow his brains out if I have to. No harm will come to Connie, if I have anything to say about it— and I do.”

  Gina swallowed back the tears and nodded. “You forget. I’ve seen you and Con in action. Whoever this Elson is, he’s grabbed a tiger by the tail.”

  “Two tigers.” Delta smiled.

  Gina forced a grin. “She’s your best friend and my lover. If you can’t keep her from harm, no one can. But I have a bad feeling about giving that disk to Leonard. If we give up that disk, we might be giving Connie’s life up as well. I’d rather we try than have someone else try and fail. I couldn’t live with myself knowing we gave up the only chance we had to catch him.”

  “We need help on this, Gina. You’ve heard Connie say so yourself.”

  “I know. But Leonard? I’ve heard both your opinions on the man. Isn’t there any way around him? Can’t we bypass the system just this once?”

  Delta inhaled slowly and shook her head. “Not this time. I’m not going to do anything to put Connie’s life and the lives of others in danger. The least we can do is see if Leonard will be of any help. And we can’t find that out until we at least talk to him.”

  “Fine. Talk to him all you want, but please don’t give up that disk.” Suddenly, the back door swung open, and Connie walked in, her cheeks tear-stained and eyes reddened with crying.

  Gina rose and put her arms around Connie. “Baby, are you okay? You look exhausted.”

  Connie shrugged and pulled out of the hug. “I don’t have much choice but to be okay. We have a lot of work ahead of us. I think we have to ask for help. We can’t afford to go out on a limb by ourselves with so many lives involved. The amount of time it might take to move the game forward before we stop him is enormous. It may take more than what the four of us can accomplish alone.”

  Delta rose. “You sure you want to give up the disk?”

  “I’m not sure of anything anymore. It’s like living a nightmare, and I don’t know how to wake up. I can’t believe anyone could be so vindictive, so vengeful. And for what? Stupid college pranks?” Connie sat down heavily on the couch and held her head in her hands. “They were good men, and now they’re gone. Gone because they teased someone who never let go of his anger, who never forgave them their childishness.”

  Gina motioned to Delta with her chin to take over.

  Delta knelt in front of Connie. “You can’t blame yourself, Con. He’s twisted and he’s killing again; people who don’t even know him; people who did nothing to him.”

  Connie looked up, her face haggard from the stress and sadness. “That’s why we have to get help. It would be different, Delta, if he took me on one-on-one. But to go out and kill people who never did him any harm . . . We can’t afford any mistakes. We have to see what Leonard can tell us.”

  Delta reached out and took one of Connie’s hands, finding it clammy and cold. “Then we’ll play it your way. It’s your call, Con.” Delta cast a quick glance over at Gina, who frowned but said nothing. “If that’s how you want to do it, then the case is closed. We’ll take the disk to Leonard and see if he’s willing to work with us.”

  Connie looked at her with red-rimmed eyes and nodded. “Thank you. I think I need to lie down and take a nap. The news about the boys was . . .” Connie stopped and shook her head sadly before standing. “I still can’t believe it.”

  Watching Connie move slowly down the hall, Delta hurt for her and no medication, no miracle drug existed that easily healed that kind of deep pain. Only time.

  And unfortunately for them, time was the one luxury they did not have.

  “You’re joking, right?” Leonard picked his teeth with the cap from a ballpoint pen and rose from behind his shabby wooden desk. “You’re standin’ there telling me that if we figure out some dumb game the killer sent you, we’ll be able to catch him?”

  Connie nodded.

  Delta didn’t. The heat of the office seemed aimed directly at them, as a tiny bead of sweat rolled down Delta’s spine. She knew this wouldn’t go over well with a man who founded his reputation on the concrete. There was a running joke in the department that Leonard would I.D. his own mother on the street if he ever stopped her. Scrupulous in his efforts to find tangible, plausible, and irrefutable evidence no matter what kind of case he was on, if Leonard couldn’t touch it or bring it to court, he tossed it out.

  Not that this was a bad trait. It just wasn’t conducive to an open mind. And Delta needed him to open his mind. The disk, the story, the whole case rested on what Leonard called a game. It was simply too abstract for a man with concrete underwear to grasp.

  Leonard looked intently at Connie, his beady eyes staring hard at her. “So, you think he wants to get caught? Is that it? Psychologically speaking, the bastard is doing this so we can catch him, right?” Sarcasm dripped off Leonard’s tongue.

  Connie shook her head. “You weren’t listening.”

  “Well, I’m listening now.”

  “I wouldn’t categorize him with all of your other nutcase profiles. The man is brilliant. He’s also vindictive and psychotic. This has nothing to do with his desires to get caught. It has to do with revenge and the lengths he’ll go to in order to ensure that retribution.”

  Leonard nodded and pulled half a cigar out of his pocket and stuck it between his teeth. “Somethin’ about proving he’s smarter than you, isn’t that what you said?”

  Delta twitched. Leonard was mocking them now.

  Connie sucked her breath in through her teeth and continued. “That’s part of it, yes. Detective, this man is not a run-of-the-mill murderer. You will never catch him if you box him with the others. He’s bright. He’s scrupulous to details, and he doesn’t care who he kills.”

  Leonard took the cigar from his mouth and studied it. “Excuse me if I have a hard time swallowing the fact that this kook is carving people up because of some college pranks done to him over twenty years ago.”

  “Stranger cases have happened,” Connie pressed. “Don’t turn away because it’s not found in the textbooks. Look at Ted Bundy! He was brilliantly insane. This is one time, Leonard, when you have to stray from the books and try something different.”

  Leonard chuckled. “Different? Yeah, I’d say that was a good word. And you want me to put some men on this . . . bizarre game?”

  Delta felt her muscles tighten. For a second, she saw herself grabbing him by the throat and shaking him.

  “Not just that, Sergeant. We need to know what you know. We need to work together on this. If you could at least take a look at the game and see some of the parallels, maybe you’d see that we have to work together to stop him.”

  “Together.” Leonard’s voice was void of emotion.

  “Yes, together. If we knew the evidence you’ve collected, it might help us in areas of the game where we’re stumped. And if you knew where we were going and what we were doing in the game, we might be able to lead you right to him.”

  Delta nodded. “Think of it this way, Leonard. We may have what you need to bring in a suspect.”

  Leonard r
an his hand across his stubbly chin. “I know that the D.A. is getting uptight for clues, Stevie, she’s not going to buy this. We’ve got nothing here but supposition, and it’s strange supposition at that. Sorry, ladies, but as desperate as our D.A. is for a suspect, even she would wonder if you two have been sniffing bottles of white out.”

  Connie leaned over the desk, her neck veins bulging. “It’s the best lead you’ve got, or are going to get. You and your men could use a clue right about now because I know for a fact that you’ve got nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada.”

  Leonard stiffened. “You don’t know that. We’re on top of it.”

  “Oh yes, I do. I know you’ve come up empty-handed. I’ve gotten my hands on just a few of your reports and right now, you’re chasing your own ass.”

  “Those reports are under lock and key, Rivera.” Leonard glanced over to Delta and frowned. “Oh, yes. I forgot. Departmental rules and regulations don’t seem to apply to you two.”

  Delta took a step forward. She’d had enough. “Listen, you son-of-a—”

  Connie grabbed Delta’s arm and squeezed tightly. “Look, Detective, people out there are being killed every third night. So far, they’ve been whacked with some kind of weapon stolen from the previous crime. There are certain patterns he’s established if you’ll only detour from your manual and take a look at them. What you need is something to help you on your way, and I’m offering it to you.”

  Delta gritted her teeth and stared darts through him. “Admit it, Leonard. You’ve got nothing.”

  Connie joined in. “And you know it. The D.A. wants a suspect and all you’ve got is a bunch of paperwork. Right now, Detective, you’re just farting in the wind.”

  Leonard leaned back in his chair and studied them. “You think so?”

  Connie nodded.

  Leonard clasped his hands behind his head and said smugly, “I shouldn’t tell you this, but we have some very solid leads on the shooting.”

  Delta pushed past Connie and towered over the desk. “And I’ve told you that murder is unrelated. Are you so pigheaded you can’t see that?”

  Leonard smiled. “And I’ve told you, Stevie, that you’ve shown me absolutely no proof of that. Look, ladies, I’d love to sit here and trade `what ifs’ with you, but I have work to do. I’m not an unreasonable man, Delta. You know that. You have a theory and I’ve heard it. Why don’t you leave the disk, and I’ll take a look at it.”

  Delta did not budge from her looming stance over the desk. She wanted to reach across and pull his intestines out through his mouth. When she heard Connie rustling around in her purse for the disk, Delta whipped around and stared questioningly at her.

  Connie looked into Delta’s face, but said nothing. Pulling the disk from her purse, Connie sighed. “It’s copy protected.”

  “So?”

  “So there’s an internal mechanism that will destroy the files if you try to copy it. I imagine the device is Elson’s own design. He’s taken precautions to make sure it can’t be duplicated. That would defeat the purpose of the game.”

  “Which is him against you.”

  Connie shrugged. “That’s an over-simplification, but close enough, so be careful.” Placing the disk on the desk, Connie averted her eyes from Delta’s penetrating gaze. “Lose it, and we’re screwed.”

  Delta felt her energy drain away. Had Connie lost her senses? Tossing that disk on the table was like tossing her life away. Every muscle in Delta’s body cried out for her to take the disk and run, but she had to trust that Connie knew what she was doing.

  Leonard looked at Delta as if he knew she was biting her tongue. “I’ll see that it gets some attention from Krispel. You know him, don’t you, Rivera?”

  Connie nodded. “He’s usually swamped with work, but he’s a good guy. Maybe he’ll come up with something.”

  Rising, Leonard stuck his hand out and shook Connie’s. “I know I sound like a tightass sometimes, Rivera, but it’s my job to question every detail. You can rest assured that I’ll do my best to see if there is really anything to it.” Leonard turned to Delta and grinned. “Contrary to your opinion, Stevie, I do follow up on every lead, no matter how bizarre. If this is a righteous lead, it’ll get the consideration it deserves.”

  Delta grabbed his hand and pulled him to within inches of her face. “The only consideration I’m concerned with is Connie’s life. If anything happens to her because your department drags its feet, I’ll be coming after you personally.”

  Leonard’s grin widened. “I believe that you would. Trust me, Stevie. I’ll do what I can, within reason.”

  “Well, reason this . . . ,” Delta continued, but Connie took her by the arm and pulled her away from the desk.

  “Thank you, Sergeant,” Connie said, pushing Delta through the door. “I’ll expect to hear from you soon.”

  When the door closed behind them, and they were partially down the hallway, Delta turned on Connie.

  “Are you crazy or something? Did you hit your head? How in hell could you just give away the only strand between you and Elson? Now we have nothing! Damn it, Con, I’ve never questioned your decision-making before, but did you honestly believe he was going to do anything with that disk?”

  “No.”

  Delta stopped walking. “No? No? Then what in the hell are you thinking?” Delta waved her hand in front of Connie’s face. ”Hello, hello, is anyone home?"

  Connie smiled. “Yes.”

  “Then why did you give it to him?” Delta’s voice rose, and several secretaries peeked out from behind their computers.

  Connie looked hard at Delta for a moment, before a slow, tiny grin played around the corner of her lips. “I didn’t.”

  Delta frowned. “You didn’t.”

  “Nope.”

  “But I saw—”

  “You saw me toss a game disk on his desk.”

  “A disk?”

  Connie nodded. “It wasn’t our disk. God, Del, did you really think I would put my life on the line by giving our resident gumshoe the only real lead we have?”

  “Well . . . ”

  “Oh, come on, Storm. You know me better than that. I needed to feel him out first. But you were right. Leonard is only willing to help if it’s a give-and-take situation. I gave him the disk, and I’ll take his data whether he wants me to or not. He’s a good detective, Del, but he’s of no use to us until he accepts what we’re offering him.”

  Delta let a huge sigh release from her lungs. “You had me going, that’s for sure. Man, for a minute there, I thought you’d lost your mind.”

  Connie’s smile deepened and her eyes softened. “That’s certainly possible, you know. The way I see it, we did what we’re supposed to do: we informed him of additional information. But now that’s done, I’ll make a few calls to friends of mine and see if we can’t get a little more help on the computer end of things.”

  “Well, we’ve faced worse odds.” Connie nodded.

  “Indeed, we have.”

  “But we still need what Leonard has.”

  Connie grinned. “Yes, we do. And since we couldn’t get it going through proper channels, well . . . let’s just say that it’s time to warm Eddie and to call in a few markers. Believe me, there are more than a handful of investigators who owe me a favor or two.”

  “Thank god for favors.” Opening the door for Connie, Delta asked, “There’s one more thing I’m curious about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Farting in the wind?”

  Against the early morning sky, both women threw their heads back and laughed.

  The butcher paper was taped to the den walls, and different colored felt pens lay strewn across the table. Delta unfolded a map of her beat and continued enlarging it on her drawing. Gina had just walked in and poured a stack of library books on the floor, while Connie taught Megan how to play the game and move Dori from place to place.

  Tension hung ominously in the room like smoke from a burnt roast. “No clue goes
unnoticed, and nothing in the game is ever trivial,” Connie pointed out as Dori turned a rock over to reveal a key to the next level. “You must check everything out, no matter how stupid it may seem. That may mean talking to trees, eating rocks, or setting houses on fire. You have to think like Elson . . . this is a fantasy. Anything goes.”

  Megan nodded. “Got it.” Suddenly, Megan reached over and paused the game. “Do you really think he expects you to work on this day and night?”

  Connie shook her head. “No. So far, his pattern has been to strike every third night. I think he means to give me some respite. He wants to beat me at my best. The win wouldn’t taste as good to him if he didn’t give me my best shot.”

  Gina moved over to Connie and hugged her from behind. “He sounds so insane.”

  Connie nodded. “‘There is no genius without a mixture of madness.’ Seneca, I think. You know, Jack the Ripper, who was never caught, had an incredible intellect.”

  “Frightening,” Megan murmured, looking over at Delta for reassurance.

  “And unpredictable,” Delta said, rising from the floor and entering the kitchen.

  “Exactly.”

  “So, now what?”

  Connie turned in Gina’s arms and hugged her. “We start at the beginning once more and combine our notes on everything we have so far. Delta will keep mapping out each level and see how it corresponds to her beat. Meg will write down every name, every street, every beast, everything that appears in writing. Then, you, my love, will hit the books and research everything you find. If you come up with a Jones Street, you comb through every source we have until we find whether or not it has any significance.”

  Delta and Megan nodded and glanced over at the growing pile of books on the floor. They had every almanac, every desk reference, every major dictionary they could lay their hands on. There was a complete set of encyclopedias, books on mythology, genealogy, history, biblical literature, and the like. Megan and Gina had been at the library all morning checking out the necessary material, stretching the limits of their allotted check-out allowances. The job of research appeared an impossible task.