Con Game Read online

  Delta leaned back a little so she could see Megan’s face. “Really?”

  “Delta, when I see you in action, when I see the passion you have for your job and for the people on your beat, I want to be a part of that passion. I need to be a part of that. When I’m not, it feels like your job is a mistress and that I’m waiting for you to return from her.”

  After kissing Megan softly at first and then letting her lips linger, Delta sighed. “You’re an incredible woman, my love. Sometimes, I don’t realize how punishing this job is on you—on us. And then, when I do, it slaps me across the face, and I get scared I’m going to lose you.” Looking deep into eyes that could swallow her whole, Delta suddenly felt very little. “I’m not, am I?”

  Megan smiled. “God, I hope not. I’d hate to think I’m putting in all this time just to be single again. Delta Stevens, you just don’t get it, do you? I love you. I love being a part of your life. And right now, if your life centers around keeping the one person you love most safe from harm, then so be it.”

  “Wait a minute. Love most? I don’t think--”

  Megan put her fingers gently over Delta’s mouth. “Shh. There’s one thing I’ve known about you right from the very start, my love, and that’s that you can live without food, you can live without sleep, but you can’t live without Connie.”

  “That’s cra—”

  “Hush. It is not. You wouldn’t know what to do without her, and vice versa. It’s okay. I’ve never been jealous of the love you two share, and I never will.”

  Hugging Megan tightly, Delta inhaled her perfume. “I love you more than anything. You know that, don’t you?”

  “You better. Because I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you, my rough and tough little copper.” Megan kissed Delta warmly on the lips.

  “Mmm. Yes, you are. And I’d like nothing more than to show you just how much you mean to me, but we need to get back to work.”

  Hopping off Delta’s lap, Megan scooped up some of the pieces of butcher paper. “I’ve been a busy bee. Want to look?”

  Delta took one of the pieces from her and studied it for a moment. “Whew. There’s a lot of stuff here.”

  “That’s the problem. There’s so much damn information, I don’t even know where to begin.” After taping the piece of butcher paper to the mantel, Megan stepped back and studied it. The beveled mirror above the fireplace reflected her lithe figure, and she smiled into the mirror at Delta. “Today, Gina and I decided we should tape all of these to the walls, so the information is all here in front of us. Here.” Bending over, Megan picked up the second sheet and handed it to Delta. “Hang that one up across from here.”

  Delta took the sheet and shook her head at all the facts and figures scribbled across it. “You’ve been very thorough.”

  “Connie’s a slave driver. She wants everything recorded, so we just did what she said.”

  Delta nodded. “I just wish we had a head start. I’m getting so fucking tired of being half a step behind. Just once, I’d like to see where we’re going before we get there.”

  Megan squatted down and picked up the next pieces to be hung. She taped the butcher paper to the wall across from the fireplace. Watching the woman she loved move with such grace and beauty, Delta paced over to her and took her in her arms.

  “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?” Delta asked, swinging Megan around. As she did, Delta’s eyes caught their reflection in the mirror. But it was something entirely different that jumped out of the clear plate glass and into the living room.

  “Megan, look!”

  “What, honey? What is it?”

  “Don’t you see? Look harder.” Moving Megan just to the left, Delta ran over to the fireplace, gesticulating at the reflection of the butcher paper.

  The game is called `Death on S.U.P. Mylo,’ right? In the mirror, `SUPMYLO’ is `OLYMPUS’ spelled backwards.”

  Megan’s eyes grew wide. “I’ll be damned, you’re right! This might be the key we’ve been looking for.”

  A sudden rush of adrenaline pumped through Delta’s veins, lifting her beyond her exhaustion, beyond her despair, and even beyond the fear. Finally, after three deaths, they had the key to the game; they finally had the clue they’d been looking for.

  Megan glanced down the hall. “We should wake her, don’t you think?”

  “And tell her what? That we have the real title of the game?”

  Megan shook her head. “Oh, we have much more than that, my love. What we have is the glue that binds this whole game together.”

  “And that is?”

  “Olympus, Delta. As in Mount Olympus. You know, where the immortal gods of ancient Greece lived. Elson’s main reference is the ancient Greeks.”

  Delta thought back to the dagger and the unicorn and the title of the game. “You’re right. We’ve got it,” she said, trying to contain her excitement.

  Megan smiled. “Damn straight, we do.”

  “And now, that son-of-a-bitch better watch his step, because it’s only a matter of time before we’re breathing hot and heavy on his heels.”

  Megan nodded, and then turned to all the charts she’d made. “Yeah, but how much time?”

  Delta frowned and ran her hand through her hair. “I only wish we knew.”

  Chapter 32

  “So, when Delta discovered the anagram of Supmylo and Olympus, we put some of the other facts together and realized right away that Elson is working from a mythological premise.”

  Connie nodded vigorously, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee.

  “Go on.”

  As if on stage, Megan gracefully swept across the room to the first piece of paper with the now-known title scrawled over the original.

  “While Del worked to get Dori across the swamp, I went through every level’s worth of notes and circled everything that had any semblance to Greece or Greek mythology. I’m sure I’ve missed some, but I’m pulling books on Greek mythology from the campus library this afternoon.”

  Connie studied the largest piece of paper and saw only a few key words circled. “Without a key like this, we would have been chasing our own tails for a long time.”

  Delta and Megan nodded.

  “Take level one, for example.” Megan floated over to the table for a matching yellow pen before returning to the paper. “We know that Elson used a dagger of Greek origin to kill Friedman. Just like Homicide, we focused on the nature of the weapons he used instead of looking at the whole picture.”

  Gina stood up for a better look. “So, he intentionally used bizarre means to kill in order to throw us off?”

  Connie joined them at the paper. “Elson had everyone scratching their heads over his choice of weapons. But the weapons are both clues and distractions at the same time.”

  Megan nodded. “Right.”

  Connie stared down at the paper. “Christ, he’s good.”

  Megan tapped the butcher paper with her pen. “What we also haven’t paid attention to are the collective names of the people he’s attacked or the places he’s shown up.” Flipping the cap of the yellow marker onto the floor, Megan recircled a few names.

  “The name of the drugstore—”

  “Troy’s,” Connie murmured, her eyes lighting up. “The ancient city of Greece.”

  “Where,” Megan continued, “if we’re slightly up on our Greek mythology, we would know that was where Helen of Troy was from.”

  “The name of the little girl.” Delta’s voice was so soft, it was barely audible. “Leonard shared that piece with me this morning.”

  Connie shook her head as she loomed over the paper. “Elson must have sought this little girl out some time ago to be able to have her there when he needed her.”

  Delta nodded, trying to suppress her awe at the incredible planning his sick scheme took. “He did seem to be speaking with her as if they knew each other. I mean, she didn’t appear frightened.”

  “And wouldn’t you, as an eight-
year-old girl, have been a little afraid of a creepy-looking little man wearing black gloves?”

  All three women nodded.

  “He’s done his homework on this, Del,” Connie said, shaking her head. “God knows how long he’s been in River Valley making all of this come together.”

  “Yeah, but he also left us a crib sheet.” Delta turned back to Megan, who waited patiently to go on.

  “The hunting shop where he stole the ax is called Omega, which is Greek for last.”

  Connie stared harder at the paper. “He knew when the carnival would be in town, the names of the victims and shops, and has every last detail worked out.”

  Delta laid her arm across Connie’s shoulder. “He’s put a great deal of time and energy to prove he’s smarter than you.”

  Connie nodded and pointed to the paper. “Go on, Megan. My knowledge of Greek mythology is rather weak.”

  Delta’s eyebrows shot up as if asking a question independently of her mouth.

  “Elson and I were in the same English class when we were freshmen,” Connie explained. “I bombed completely on the Greek portion of the class, a memory he has obviously held onto.” Connie stared at her hands. “He outscored me on every major exam. I remember the rest of the class hating him because he was so mean about it.” Looking back up, Connie wiped a tear away. “Go on, amiga. Let’s hear the rest.”

  Megan inhaled slowly. “The chauffeur’s murder stumped us for a moment because we were focusing on the primary and not the secondary. We highlighted the victim of the violence and not the person who discovered it. Only when Delta pulled up her copy of the report did it all make sense.”

  “Who did discover the body?” Connie asked.

  Megan held up a hand. “Not so fast. The chauffeur’s name was Ted Daniels; there’s nothing mythological about that name in any way. But I searched through your reference collection anyway.”

  “And you found?”

  “Nothing.”

  Megan turned to Delta and gave her the floor.

  “You see, Con, the chauffeur worked for a Mrs. Elaine Griffin. A gryphon, spelled g-r-y-p-h-o-n, is a mythological creature with the body of a lion, eagle’s wings, and a beak.”

  Connie shook her head. “That’s reaching, Del, don’t you think?” Delta shook her head. “I thought so, too. But Megan pulled out a dictionary of Classical, Biblical and Literary Allusions, and it says that gryphons were fond of gold and were known to hoard it in their dens. Mrs. Griffin is loaded.”

  Connie nodded and looked at the paper where Megan had jotted down notes on Mrs. Griffin. “Incredible. What else?”

  Megan shook her head. “That’s it so far. We’ve centered on the big ticket items for now, and I don’t know how Delta feels, but my mind is like oatmeal. I think we could all use a break.”

  “A mythological premise?” Connie said to herself. “I should have known he’d choose an area he knew I was weak in.” Then to the group, “You might have just saved my life. Thank you so much.”

  Taking the marker from Megan, Connie made a larger circle around the title. “Now that we know the name of the game we’re playing, we have his point of reference. We’re going to need everything we can find on Greek mythology, extensive historical and present-day maps of Greece, and an easy reference history book. We’ll also need a map of Delta and Jan’s beat with the names of all the shops and stores.”

  Delta raised her hand as if she were in class. “I’ve got that last bit covered. Jan has all that information in a little black book. We’ll insert that info onto the map I’ve drawn and highlight anything remotely Greek.”

  A slow smile spread across Connie’s face. “Great. Things are finally going our way. We needed a break and you two just handed us one.” Delta walked over and hugged Connie. Renewed hope flowed through Delta as Megan and Gina joined them. They finally had the information needed to move ahead of him. Now, all it took was scrupulous attention to details in the game and they had him.

  “So, what now, Chief?” Delta asked, touching foreheads with Connie.

  “Now, our work begins in earnest.” Connie looked over at Eddie and sighed. “Let’s get through the next level and see just what kind of clues we can pick up now that we know the premise of the game.”

  “And then?” Delta asked, slowly pulling away so she could see Connie’s eyes more clearly.

  Connie’s eyes narrowed and the room stilled. They all seemed to know what she was about to say even before she said it.

  “Then, we finish it.”

  Chapter 33

  Megan’s job in the game was the third level—the carnival. For hours, she combed through books and maps of ancient places and names, trying to locate the slightest clue that might send them that half a step forward. More than once, she called Professor Rosenbaum at UCLA , for his expertise on Greek and Roman mythology. He proved to be an invaluable resource and offered to come over and assist should they need his help.

  Jan had come over to lend her help by giving them her black book, and Delta pored through the little binder noting every store, restaurant, merchant, and car dealership whose name had anything to do with Greece. And with every minute that slipped through the hourglass, Delta felt the pressure mounting. Every second of every minute brought Elson closer to another kill, closer to the spilling of more blood. At three in the afternoon, all they had done was uncover Greek names and places. Then, they backtracked on the last three crimes to fit the names into the Greek formula. The work was tedious and tiresome, and the few steps forward they did take seemed minuscule.

  Glancing over at Connie, who was busy maneuvering the joystick, Delta wondered just how much longer Connie could hold up. Already, the lines on her face seemed deeper, and the luster and brilliance of her eyes were clouded in a fearful haze. Connie was driven for answers, fighting for her life and those Elson had already targeted in the preceding days or weeks it had taken him to plan his scheme. Suddenly, Delta shuddered. How many weeks, even months, had he been in River Valley devising his strategy? How mad must he really be to hunt those whose names fit into his twisted game? The profundity of his hatred ran so deep, it threatened to pull them all into it; Delta hated him enough to know that she would kill him if they ever met.

  Looking about the room, Delta saw three exhausted women functioning on willpower and grim determination alone. None of them could guess how many levels there were or just how many people Elson would kill on his way to revenge. When would the next level be the last level before his victim, his target, became Connie?

  Stretching out her long frame, Delta leaned over and kissed Megan on the head. “How’re you doing?”

  Leaning against Delta’s legs, Megan stretched also. “You know, I’ve been sitting here piecing this third level together, but there’s something that just keeps poking at me.”

  “And that is?”

  Slapping the green marker in her palm, Megan pointed to the butcher paper. “He’s had everything planned down to the final detail so far, right? He knew the ride they would go on, he knew the merry-go-round had a unicorn, and he even had a little girl named Helen as a victim.”

  Connie pushed the pause button and turned to listen. “Go on.”

  “Well, it’s so pat. He’s been so precise. Don’t you think he cut that last murder a little close?”

  Delta looked at the paper. “I don’t get your point.”

  “Honey, he killed her on the last day of the carnival. He almost missed it.” Megan waited a moment before continuing. “The whole computer game angle would have been ruined if he’d have missed killing Helen. Don’t you think it’s a little risky to wait until the last night of the carnival to kill her?”

  Connie and Delta exchanged glances. For a moment, no one said anything, but all eyes were locked on the long piece of butcher paper on the floor.

  “Too risky, for a man with his intellect. Luck and coincidence have no place in this game for him. He had to have planned to go on the final night of the carnival.
There’s so little margin for error in the game and he’d never cut it that close.”

  Delta considered Megan’s words. She was right. There had to be a reason why he waited until the closing night. Grabbing the cellular phone, Delta dialed information. “Can I have the number to Troy’s pharmacy, please?” Delta quickly jotted the number down before turning to explain. “The last day of any carnival is like the closing night of a play. It’s a big deal and easy to plan for. Meg is right. He had to have known it was the last night. I want to see if Troy’s was having a special or if there’s any significance to that night at Troy’s.”

  Connie was off her seat in a second and joined Delta at the phone. “Damn. How could I have forgotten the element of time?”

  “We’ve been working on so many other angles, it’s no wonder that one slipped by.”

  “We can’t afford any ‘slips,’ Storm.”

  Delta grinned. “I know.” Waiting for someone to answer at Troy’s, Delta drummed her fingers impatiently. “God, it’s taking them forever.” When the phone finally picked up, Delta heard: “The number you dialed is no longer in service . . .”

  Staring at the phone, Delta handed it to Connie, who listened to the repeated message.

  “What in the hell?”

  In one long step, Delta reached for the black binder and flipped through it.

  “What are you looking for?” Gina asked.

  “I’m not sure yet.” Dialing the second number, Delta pushed the top of her mechanical pencil and pressed the sharp tip to the paper, as she listened on the phone. “Uh-huh. That’s great. I have a question for you, if you don’t mind. Did Troy’s go out of business? They did. Do you remember exactly when that was? Uh-huh.” Delta waited a moment and then wrote the date down. “Thank you so much. Oh no, there’s no trouble. I just needed a prescription refilled, that’s all.” Turning to Connie, Delta handed her the date. “Look at the date.”

  Connie took the paper and stared at it. “It’s the night of the first murder.”