He’d been apprehensive that Jessie’s plan wouldn’t play out as she hoped, but as she explained the situation over the phone, it sounded like her instincts, as usual, were right.
“Mostly,” she said.“Webb might dispute that conclusion slightly, considering that he’s still recovering from the taser hit.He did mention that he’s had his fill of serial killer cases for now and was happy to leave them to me.But other than that, yeah, it worked.”
“Who was this woman?”Ryan asked, rounding the corner onto their street.
“Based on what I could glean, she was some former college student from Santa Barbara that he used for his entertainment until she got too clingy for his taste.There’s clearly a lot more to her background that we’re going to have to unearth.Getting dumped by an older man doesn’t usually send someone on a killing spree.”
“But you said you got a confession?”he confirmed as he pulled into the driveway.
“I recorded everything,” Jessie said.“At one point, she basically admitted to slitting the victims’ throats.Between that and all the follow-up evidence we’ll collect, this feels pretty open and shut.Unfortunately, I don’t know that the same will be true for Mannix.”
“What do you mean?”he asked as he got out of the car.He realized he’d forgotten to close the garage door with the remote that was inside the car and would have to use the button on the wall in the laundry room adjacent to the garage.
“Just that convicting him for what he’s done will likely be trickier than I led Holly to believe,” she explained.“He didn’t actually marry these women, so the fraud case may be complicated.I convinced her that him going down was a foregone conclusion, but I’m not so sure.He can be pretty charming.I could see him snowing a jury.And even if he gets convicted, his infamy might work in his favor.I bet a lot of women are going to fall for him.It wouldn’t shock me if he finds a real bride while he’s in prison and ends up with tons of conjugal visits.”
“That’s dark,” Ryan said as he leaned down to submit to the retinal scan.
“But realistic,” she countered.“I hope it doesn’t go down like that because I promised Holly that he’d face justice.”
“She’s a killer, Jessie,” Ryan reminded her.“Don’t sweat it too much.”
“I know, but I like to keep my word.”
“That’s one of the things I love about you,” he said, pressing his thumb against the panel so it could ID his fingerprint.“So, what’s next?”
“Both Holly and Mannix are being processed at Central Station now.Karen Bray said she’d honcho it while I finish up here at the hospital.The doctors said they think they’ll give Webb the all clear to leave in the next half hour.Then I’ll head home for the night.”
“I’ll meet you here,” Ryan said, inputting the six-digit code on the entry panel.
“You’re home already?”she asked, surprised.
“Yeah, my case wrapped up this afternoon,” he told her, using the old-fashioned key to unlock the door, the final step in their cumbersome but necessary security process.“How do you think I was able to take the time to play my part in your little ruse and release Mannix to go home?”
“I appreciate your help,” Jessie said.“You deserve an Oscar nomination for your performance.”
“Actually, what I need is a nap.I’m wiped out,” he said, the exhaustion really hitting him as he said it.
“Well, don’t sleep too long,” she said.“Considering that the hospital is only ten minutes from home, I hope to see you soon.”
“Me too,” he said, opening the door, and reaching up to press the button to close the garage.
“And Detective Hernandez?”she said.
Her playful tone made him pause before pushing the button.
“Yes?”
“Maybe when I get home and you wake up from your nap, we can have our own conjugal visit.”
“I’d love that,” he said with a chuckle, as he pressed the garage door button.“Hurry back!”
“See you soon,” she said, barely audible over the sound of the slowly closing garage door.
He hung up and was just stepping through the laundry room door when he felt a sharp sting on the left side of his neck.He started to reach up to find out what it was but noticed that his arm wouldn’t lift.Then all at once, his whole body started to collapse.But even before he hit the floor of the laundry room, everything went dark.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Ash Pierce knew it was now or never.
