Chapter Thirty-Five
The cell phone in my pocket went off. Shit! Damn it! Why do I carry these infernal gadgets? Why does anybody in their right mind need to constantly be on call? I glanced at my watch as I took the phone in hand. It was already seven in the morning. What a life. So far, we knew that Andrew Cotton and Dara Grey had gone to the Rum Jungle for drinks and then a magic show at the Mirage. They were seen talking to two people, but it had been dark in the theater. That was what we had so far, but it was still early. I had been at the Bellagio murder scene since a little past four in the morning. The case was really getting under my skin. The murders were brutal, primal. 'Alex Cross,71 spoke into the phone. I turned toward the picture window revealing the lake and the desert in the distance. The view was soothing, an incredible contrast with what had happened in the hotel room. 'It's Jamilla, Alex. Did I wake you?' 'No, not hardly. I wish you had. I'm at a murder scene. I'm in Las Vegas, staring out at the desert. You're up pretty early yourself,' I said. It was good to hear her voice. She sounded sane and normal. She was sane and normal. I was the one in trouble. 'Oh, I sometimes get in to the office before six. That way I can get a day's work done before everybody else arrives here. Alex, I have some information to share on the biting attacks.'
-------------- 98 --------------
VIOLETS ARE BLUE
>From the sound of her voice, I suspected this wasn't going to make things any easier for me. 'Go ahead, Jamilla. I'm listening.' 'Okay,' she said. 'I've been working with a couple of medical examiners from the other places where the bloodsuckers struck. I think we may have hit on something important in San Luis Obispo and then again in San Diego.' I was listening; Jam had my full attention. 'In both of the cities, the medical examiners really got into the case, really tried to help. As you know, we exhumed in San Luis Obispo. Then Guy Millner, the ME in San Diego, did the same. I won't bore you with all the details right now, though I can overnight it to your hotel.' "That would be great. Obviously, no faxes on any of this material.' 'Here's what we've found out. In both these murders, the teeth marks are different to those in San Francisco or LA. The marks were made by human teeth. But the killers were not the same ones. The evidence is pretty conclusive. 'Alex, there are at least four killers out there working. At least four. We've identified four different sets of human teeth so far.' I was trying to make some sense of what I'd just heard. "These are bodies that were exhumed? Human teeth could leave bite marks on bone?' 'Yes. The MEs all agreed on that. The enamel on teeth is the hardest substance in the human body. Also, as you know, the killers might have been wearing enhancers.' 'Fangs?' 'Right. There was gnawing on the bones found in San Luis Obispo and San Diego. That's another reason why there were clear marks.' 'Gnawing?' I winced. 'You're the psychologist, not me. Gnawing entails strong, repetitive, intentional action. It could definitely account for teeth marks. One of the victims was an adolescent, the other was in his fifties. That helped us some, too. According to my sources, the adolescent's bones had less density; so did the older person's due to
-------------- 99 --------------
^
JAA/IES PATTERSON
osteoporosis. Thus the clear marks. But why gnaw on the bones? You tell me.' I was thinking about it. 'How about this. Inside the bone is the marrow. And the marrow is rich in blood vessels.' 'Oh, Alex, yy^/Jamilla said.'That could be it. How perfectly awful.'
100