The whole room groaned and then began a unison, albeit ragged, chorus of the tagline from the sleazy lawyer’s local TV commercials. “Been done wrong? Call Ronnie Strong!”
“Nice work, Roach,” Heat said. “Absolutely, get over and see that attorney. Judging from his commercials, I’d bring some hand sanitizer.” And as she gathered up her files, she added, “And if either of you comes back here wearing a neck brace, you’re dead to me.”
Detective Heat had a gift waiting for her when she got over to her desk. An encrypted e-mail from the FBI agent at NCAVC in Quantico. It was from the data analyst she had befriended the night before, and when she clicked the e-mail open, the top half of her screen filled with a color photograph of the Texan. The police sketch Nikki had provided was underneath and it was nearly an exact match. She stared at both and then had to remind herself to breathe. Nikki wasn’t sure if her reaction was due to the memory of his assault or the excitement of zeroing in on him. Either one was enough to kick her heart rate up a notch.
A brief note from the NCAVC analyst said, “I’d like to take credit for the quick ID, but this is what happens when cops give good data. Your counterparts around the country could take a lesson, Detective Heat. You can thank me by bringing this one down.” Nikki scrolled to read the sheet the agent had put together for her.
His name was Rance Eugene Wolf. “Male, cauc, forty-one. 6′-1″, 160. Born/raised in Amarillo, TX, by his father after the disappearance of his mother when subject was in middle school. Local police investigated the mother’s sudden miss-pers on a drive to Plainview to visit relatives with the son/subj., who was found alone in a motel room off Hwy 27. Husband was cleared and case went cold as unsolved/runaway. Interesting to note the son/subj. was questioned five times over two years, including by a psychologist. No comments, no disposition.
“Subject’s father continued to live/work in Amarillo as a veterinarian. Subject-Rance worked in practice, trained in, and was accredited for surgical assists.” Nikki pictured the array of sharp instruments on Rook’s counter. She raised her head to look at the whiteboard and the autopsy photos of Cassidy Towne’s perforated ear canal. She turned back to read on.
“No connections made at time, but new data search based on Det. Heat info/subj. MO with pick-tools and duct tape shows hits on unsolved animal mutilations in Amarillo vicinity corresponding to subj.’s residence there.
“Subj. enlisted US Army, completing two tours Ft. Lewis/Tacoma, WA, as military police. MP records provided first hit on the fingerprint provided by NYPD-Det. Insp. Heat. Data delayed on link to mutilations (human & animal) in vicinity during service hitch due to duplicate suspect MOs in area—will update.” Nikki could imagine what a sadist with a badge could do and expected some hits.
“Following hon. discharge, subj. took security job at Native Am. casino near Olympia, WA, for one year, leading to sim. detail at casino in Reno, NV (6 months), then moved to Las Vegas (4 yrs) working high-end VIP security for major casino [all casino names and employer info listed at end of this memo]. Subj. then recruited as contractor/agent for Hard Line Security of Henderson, NV (see Licensing Commission ID photo, above). Subj. rapidly promoted on basis of personal protection skills and comity with celebrity and VIP clients. OF NOTE: Subj. detained in knife assault upon threat suspect to visiting client Italian communications tycoon. Incident resulted in subj.’s arrest. Charges dropped due to lack of witnesses willing to testify. Alleged weapon was knuckle knife, described in LV police report (attached) but never recovered.