Derek sat in his car with James Payne.They were across the street from the security company where Howard Mills worked.They had a copy of his schedule from his supervisor and assurances that Mills would not be notified that he was under investigation.Derek had taken the man at his word and hoped not to be proven wrong.
"I talked to the supervisor again this morning," Derek told James as they both drank their morning coffees."The job last month was a three-night job installing new locks on the office doors.It’s a large building, but the work wasn’t hard.I think that’s the key.It wasn’t only across the city, but the job was spread over multiple nights, and the supervisor did admit it could be done in two nights, but they gave three, so whoever did it, which turned out to be Mills, didn't have to rush and make mistakes.And it gave some contingency time."
"And the job he switched from?"James asked.
"A small job," Derek said."It was only over the course of a few hours, and it wouldn’t have provided a solid alibi."
James nodded, then took a larger drink of his coffee, swallowing loudly."So, we know he switched out jobs for the previous two murders, and even though we don't have proof of it, we can assume he did the same with the others.Schedule a longer job each time over multiple nights, and rush to do the job once he’s killed someone."
"Of course, it means we can't prove anything unless we can put him at the scene of each crime," Derek reminded."We know he switched jobs, and that can give him a good alibi, but at the moment, that’s all they are: good alibis.Solid, in fact.We can't take this to anyone, or we prove he’s innocent."
"Which he could be," James said.
"Yeah, he could be," Derek agreed.
They both took swigs of their coffee.
"If he kills every five years, or seven years in more recent times, then he must go dormant in between," James pointed out."We might not get anything from him, even if he is the killer.He’s survived this long without capture."
"He’s never had anyone looking his way before," Derek pointed out."The killer is smart, likely confident, too.We hope we can use that to our advantage.As long as he believes he’s in the clear, we have a chance."
James nodded and looked up at the rear-view mirror, which showed the security and locksmith offices behind.Derek looked in his side mirror as Howard Mills exited the central office and headed to his designated van, the one with the gray lock symbol on the side.
Mills was in his early fifties, with short, graying hair, and wore a weathered security company uniform.
Derek watched as Mills started his van and drove from the lot.He didn't follow immediately; he waited until Mills was out of view before he started the car.They had a schedule of where Mills was going, so they didn’t need to keep him in view the entire time, especially when driving to jobs.Although they did want to remain in his vicinity in case he made any stops.
Derek pulled out of their parking spot and spun the wheel to make a U-turn to the other side of the street, starting their slow pursuit.
"A family man," Derek said."Mills has a wife of twenty-seven years, two grown-up children, a house in the suburbs, and a pretty regular life.Some would call it boring.Does that make it less likely that he’s the killer?He has a daughter who is twenty-three now.The woman he killed most recently was around that age."
"I’ve seen some things in my time," James said."I’m sure you have, too."
"I have," Derek confirmed."Sometimes, there’s no telling what someone can do or will do."
They drove in silence as they tailed Mills from a distance to his first job for the day at a small dress store.Derek parked a little way down the street from Mills’s van, and they both watched Mills take his bag from the back of the van and then go into the store.The uniform he wore gave him some anonymity and those around him confidence.Here was a man who was here to help people.No one suspected that he could be a killer.
No one except for Derek and James.
James took out his lunch bag and opened it, handing Derek one of the sandwiches he’d made that morning.
Derek took it with a smile.There was something comforting about the sandwiches and the time and effort the retired cop put into them.They were better than any fast-food Derek might usually get when on a stakeout.The sandwich for that day was simply ham, butter, and English mustard.
They sat there in silence, eating their sandwiches and finishing their morning coffee as Mills completed his job in the dress shop, ending a little over an hour and one additional trip out to his van and back.
Once again, they followed at a distance, knowing where his second job would be, but not wanting to be too far from him in case he made an unexpected stop.
"This could take some time," James noted."How long do we follow him for before we move on to the next person?"
"I don't know," Derek admitted."That’s the hard part.What if we move on too soon?Perhaps we follow him for a couple of days, and then we move on, but we circle back if we don't find anything else.You’re right that he might come dormant for years now that he’s killed again.We know nothing about his cycle."
At the next stop, they watched Mills grab his bag from the back of his vehicle and enter the residential property.James reached into his bag again and pulled out some chocolate chip cookies baked that morning.They had no coffee this time, not wanting to make a stop while following Mills.
"Emma had a pair of yellow boots when she was nine," James said out of nowhere.
Derek’s mouth fell open a little as a question came to his lips, but he forced it back.James talked a lot about finding Emma’s killer now that he was on the case with Derek, and he often talked about Alison when she was a child, but he didn't talk a lot about Emma from before she was killed.Derek remained quiet, hoping James would talk some more.
"I don't remember where she got them," James continued a few seconds later."Cath must have bought them for her.They were bright yellow like sunflowers, and Emma loved them from the moment she got them.Oh, they were the most wonderful boots in the world, according to Emma.I didn’t know about that."
