“He’s successfully disposing of the bodies of these women, so I would expect him to own or have access to a vehicle which would make it possible—a van, an SUV with darkened windows, even a truck with a closed bed.

“He’s organized. These murders—if indeed they are murders and he doesn’t have the women stashed away somewhere as prisoners—are well planned. He’s highly intelligent, most likely employed in a respected profession.”

Lisa frowned. “What about what we’ve heard from witnesses—that some of the women were rude to men who approached them?”

Orth brightened. “That’s the interesting part! All your victims are very attractive women. Vulnerable to their abusers, yes, but bright women, employed at above average jobs. Your killer convinced them to keep their liaisons with him a secret—probably by playing the safety card—and they went along with it. They would have feared repercussions by their abusers if it became known they were seeing him. It follows he’s a charming, good looking man, and also manipulative.”

Jeff said, “I thought all these guys were loners.”

“He very well could be. He feels in control with these women, so he’s free to be outgoing with them. His social skills may be limited in any other setting.

“To get back to your question, Lisa, here is what I find intriguing. If his trigger were these women’s derogatory comments to men who are unattractive to them, it would seem to follow, he himself is unattractive. Since we know that to be highly unlikely, it reveals he either was unsightly at one time and carries a grudge, or has some kind of hidden handicap. Maybe he’s bald and wears a wig. Possibly he has a sexual dysfunction or an abnormally small penis. It could be any number of things really, and when the police find him, it’ll become apparent.”

Lisa sighed. “If the police find him.”

Orth looked at her sympathetically, a half-smile on his narrow face. “I understand you’re discouraged. But the police will have to do their work, and without any bodies it will be difficult to find him. There’s a good chance he owns property where he disposes of his victims. I’m afraid it’s possible he could relocate as soon as he becomes aware the police are finally on to him.” His last words were not what any of them had wanted to hear.

After Mason Orth left, TJ had to admit he’d been impressive. What she’d been most taken by was that he hadn’t tried to wow them with any impossible little details. His profile fit with the amount of evidence they were able to provide. Most importantly, he backed up what they’d been trying to tell the police.

Orth’s report would be their final coup.

55             

Richard had tried to call TJ since the botched weekend, but she’d chosen to be unavailable. He had someone new; she knew the signs. But she needed to see him. It was after nine when she called him. When he answered she asked him to meet her at Vinnie’s.

She got there before Richard and sat in a booth on the back wall. When he sat down across from her, she realized the usual sexual tension between them was absent. He wore a new sweater with jeans and a leather jacket, the red of the sweater emphasizing his gray-sprinkled hair. Funny, but he looked different to her now—older, tired. If he was seeing another woman, she wasn’t perking him up any.

“Been a while,” TJ opened.

“Sorry about our weekend.”

She smirked. “No, you’re not, but I didn’t ask you here to bitch about it. There’s somethin’ I need to talk to you about.”

“About time.”

“Remember that Lisa Rayburn who came to see you about the missing women stats?”

Richard fumbled his drink. “Huh?”

Interesting. This isn’t what he’d expected. Must have thought she was going to talk about their relationship and he was the one seeing someone else. He’d be back eventually, expecting things to go on as always. But this wasn’t the time to tell him it wouldn’t ever be the same.

“Lisa and me have been collecting evidence for you.”

Now she had his attention. She knew him well enough to spot his anger even though his expression hadn’t changed. The little vein traveling from the middle of his left eyebrow to his temple grew as his blood pressure rose, and it looked about to burst.

“Patty Barkley told me about Lisa goin’ to see you, “she began. As she talked, Richard listened without interrupting, but the vein in his forehead throbbed throughout her speech, his eyes ablaze with anger when she concluded by telling him they’d hired a profiler.

“You did all this behind my back? I expected more of you, TJ. Of us.”

“What us? The us that was goin’ away for a weekend? You think I haven’t figured out you met some chick you’re spending time with?”

Richard shifted in his seat. “Okay. We’ll leave us out of this conversation. You know how I feel about you sticking your nose into police business.”

She noticed he hadn’t risen to the bait when she mentioned another woman. “What police business? You and that dickwad Wilson just blew it off.”

Through gritted teeth, he said, “I told you before—there was nothing concrete to investigate.”

Gotcha! “My point exactly. We’re gonna give you something concrete. Tomorrow at Eric Schindler’s place—10:00 a.m.”

Smiling smugly, she sat back and sipped her drink.

Richard threw back his scotch and stormed out.

56             

The next morning the group, along with Orth, Maggie, and David, gathered in Eric’s living room. They were joined by the two cops from Waukesha and others from Brookfield, Pewaukee and New Berlin; all areas with victims on the whiteboards.

Eric had sent Teresa out with Tina for the morning, but she’d refused to leave until she’d prepared two huge urns of coffee and put out juice, bagels, and Kringle from a nearby bakery. Shannon had come out to take over for Teresa during the meeting. A fire roared in the hearth, welcoming everyone coming in from the frigid weather.

TJ wondered if Richard would arrive as promised. When she’d seen him the night before, she hadn’t meant it to be personal—though, of course, it had been. Maybe he’d send someone else. She doubted it, though; he’d be too curious to stay away.

When the doorbell rang Eric went to answer the door. TJ heard Richard’s voice as it opened and felt a sense of satisfaction because he’d shown up. For her, it gave more credence to their work than anything else that had taken place since they started. Her gratification died quickly when he walked in accompanied by that arrogant prick James Wilson. It was her turn to be pissed.

Swallowing her anger, TJ introduced them to the group. She’d deal with Richard later.

“Just so it’s clear to all of you,” Richard announced, “we are here as a courtesy only. Our presence doesn’t mean we condone police work being done by civilians, or that we’re committed to move forward with an investigation based on evidence presented to us here. It’s our understanding two departments from Waukesha County are going to begin an investigation based on today’s information. If it turns out there is any solid evidence which would impel us to move forward, we’ll work with the other departments.”

The room went quiet after his speech. TJ seethed. Not that she’d expected anything more from MPD, but combined with Wilson’s unwelcome presence, it really burned.

Maggie stepped forward and introduced herself and her partner. “Detective Conlin, the reason we’ve committed to this is because four of the missing women, two of whom are Jamie Denison and Kayla Schindler, lived in Waukesha County. Quite a few are from Milwaukee. It makes sense to join forces if there is a pattern here that crosses county lines.”