‘So this is the killer’s motive.’ Captain Blake phrased it as a conclusion, not a question. ‘He’s going after parents who used to abuse their kids, and he’s paying them back in kind and with dividends. We’re chasing another goddamn vigilante here.’
‘Maybe,’ Hunter said, his eyes moving to the phone on his desk, as if he were waiting for another call.
‘Maybe?’ the captain asked, her surprised gaze pinging to Garcia. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
‘Right now, Captain,’ Garcia replied. ‘We have a small problem with that vigilante theory.’
‘Which is?’
Garcia indicated the first half of the board. ‘Shaun Daniels. According to the info we have on him, he was never married… never had a kid. No steady girlfriend either. If this killer is going after parents who were violent toward their kids, he doesn’t fit the victim profile… not at the moment.’
‘At the moment?’ Captain Blake looked truly confused.
‘The info sheet we have on Shaun Daniels,’ Hunter took over, ‘is a very basic one. Research gathered it almost three weeks ago after we met with Dr. Hove about the inconsistencies found during his post-mortem.’ He indicated on the sheet. ‘Officially, he was never married—’
‘But he might’ve lived with someone,’ Captain Blake quickly caught up.
‘That’s what we’re hoping for,’ Hunter confirmed. ‘After we found those photos in Terry Wilford’s apartment earlier today, even before speaking to his son, Carlos and I discussed that same exact “vigilante” theory, Captain. We had no real idea of how long it would take us to get in touch with Joe, but neither of us wanted to wait.’ He checked his watch. ‘So on our way back to the PAB, about two hours ago, I called Shannon at Research with new instructions. They’re already trying to find all they can on Shaun Daniels’s love life. Maybe he wasn’t always a loner. Maybe he did have a partner at some point… someone who had a kid.’
Captain Blake’s attention moved back to the board, particularly to the list of pre-death injuries that Shaun Daniels’s post-mortem examination had revealed.
Missing toenails on his left foot.
Broken fingers.
Fractured ribs.
Fractured eye orbit.
Hypothermia.
‘If we’re right about this,’ she said. ‘If this killer really is mimicking the violence that parents inflicted on their kids, judging by the list of injuries that we have here, then we’re talking about severely violent parents. If that’s the case, keeping that sort of violence completely under the radar is almost impossible. Someone must know something.’
‘If someone does,’ Garcia offered, ‘Research will find them.’
Thirty-Five
Once Captain Blake had left their office, Garcia leaned against the edge of his desk and faced Hunter.
‘So what will the plan of action be here?’ he asked, folding his arms in front of his chest. ‘I mean, where do you want to start with all this?’
Hunter walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup. ‘Coffee?’
Garcia nodded.
Hunter poured a second cup and handed it to his partner.
‘If we’re right on this,’ he began, ‘then our main priority is to figure out who could have that knowledge… and how did they get it.’
‘Knowledge about the physical violence, you mean?’
‘Yes. You heard what Joe said on the phone. He never told anyone about it. He never wrote it down, never kept a hidden journal, nothing… and as far as he knows, neither did his mother. Maybe his sixth-grade teacher suspected it, but even if she had told anyone about her suspicions, and whoever she told wanted to act on it—’
‘Why do it now?’ Garcia picked up the thread. ‘About ten years later.’
‘Not only that,’ Hunter added. ‘But if Joe’s teacher did tell anyone, chances are that whoever she told is from Phoenix,where they lived at the time, not LA. Considering that both of our victims were taken, tortured and murdered in LA, I don’t think this killer is crossing state lines, Carlos. Whoever he is, he’s based here.’
‘Yeah, I agree.’
