"Oh, my goodness, that’s terrible," Mills said."This was someone in the area?"
Alison looked over at her father and saw how hard it was for him to stay calm.Mills had given them nothing so far to suggest that he was the killer, but her father still looked like he wanted something today.
"Not the immediate area, no," Derek said."This was a few weeks ago in the park on 50th Ave.Do you know it?"
"I do," Mills said."That’s not near here, I’m afraid.I don't know if I can be of any help."
"We’ve been to the residences in the area, and no one around there saw anything," Derek continued."Katrina Sands was murdered in that park late at night on the 14th of last month.Someone might have mentioned a van in the area with a specific logo on it, and that logo matches the company that you work for."
Derek was straying a little from the truth, but if they were sitting with the man who had killed five women over twenty-two years, then they had to do all they could to get him.
"The 14th, you said?"Mills asked.
"That's correct," Derek replied.
"And this was late at night?"Mills asked.
"Also correct, yes."
"All right, let me check," Mills said.He took his phone from his pocket, slowly swinging and tapping at the screen."The 14th, yes.I see.I’m sorry, I don't believe I can help you.I was working that night, but it can't have been my van."Mills turned his phone to show a spreadsheet as if that explained everything."I was all the way across the other side of the city on a job.I wish I could be of more help.I firmly believe in saying something if you see something."
Alison could see that her father was struggling to sit there without saying anything.James shifted from side to side on his chair, and his lips were pressed tight.He was saved from saying something by Mills’s wife, who must have been listening to them from the next room.
"What’s all this about a murder?"she asked as she entered the kitchen."You didn't mention anything about seeing a murderer."
"Marcy, please," Mills said."I’m trying to talk to Special Agent Sullivan and his team.There was a murder last month, and they thought I might have seen something, but I didn’t."
"He’s always working so much," Marcy complained."Did you offer our guest some coffee?"
"I did, Marcy," Mills said."Please, just go back to your show.I’m doing my best to answer their questions, but I don't need the interruptions."
Marcy held up her hands as she exited the kitchen, muttering to herself."Always far too many people killing each other in this city."
"I’m sorry about that," Mills said once she’d left."So, no, I didn’t see anything that night, unless…" Mills rubbed the side of his head."No, my route to and from the job wouldn’t have taken me anywhere near that park."
"Did you leave the job at all that night?"James asked, finally speaking.His shoulders slumped a little as he said the words as if they had been clogging him up from within.
"No, I wouldn’t have," Mill said."I mean, there would be nowhere for me to go—most places would be closed at that time of night anyway.I always take food with me when I’m working overnight, and I had a thermos of coffee."Mills remained with his hands on the table, completely still, and he looked around at the thereof them with a pleasant smile."I really hope you catch whoever killed that woman.I remember reading about her in the newspaper."
"I hope we catch the guy, too," James said, unable to bite his tongue as Alison had.
She was too busy watching Mills, hoping for the slightest crack in his demeanor.
"We’re looking into the possibility that this wasn’t a one-off," Derek said, moving the conversation forward."So, any information you can give us would be extremely useful."
"What do you mean by it not being a one-off?"Mills asked.
"I believe that whoever killed Katrina Sands has killed before."
"My goodness," Mills said with concern, yet within that was almost a hint of excitement."A serial killer?"
There was nothing to prove that was the case, but Alison was sure that Mills was enjoying himself.
"We believe that she was the fifth victim, going all the way back to Emma Payne, twenty-two years ago," Derek said.
"Oh," was all that Mills managed this time.
Derek caught a whiff of something, and he tugged at the thread."Yes, we believe there’s a serial killer walking the streets right now, and he kills young, female joggers, then waits five years before killing the next one.Only it was seven years between the last two murders.That’s curious, right?We’re looking for anyone who might know anything or might have seen something suspicious."
