No one protested or said anything. They just stared at him blankly.
“History repeats itself. Years later, in New York City, a man meets a woman. He’s a politician, she’s a Broadway dancer. When she becomes pregnant, she hides the fact from him because she doesn’t want to put a rising political star in a compromising position. The man was Richard Highsmith, and the woman was Wendy Appleby.
“We know that Wendy was not killed accidentally. She was targeted. But I believe she and Richard were targeted for some reason having to do with the distant past. Exactly what or why, I don’t know yet.
“Now, here’s what we do know, or what we feel we’re safe to assume. The killer is not just familiar with Sleepy Hollow history, he’s immersed in it. He—or an accomplice?—studied it, or at least specific aspects of it. He grew up going on field trips to every historic building and venue here. I say he because we suspect it’s a man. Dr. Mortenson says the strength needed to strangle a person to death is considerable, and the bruises on the victim’s necks suggest powerful hands.
“We could, of course, be looking for a very strong woman. I’m referring to the person who physically carried out the killings. But I believe that someone in Richard Highsmith’s life was the orchestrator.”
“What about Sondra Burke?” an officer asked. “What do you think is the reason for her death?”
“Three possibilities. She was killed to make it look like the killings were random. Or there’s a connection between her and Highsmith and Appleby. Or...I recently learned that she was checking into a story about Continental currency—worth a fortune in today’s collectibles market. Except that she hadn’t found it.
“Maybe someone thought she was close. Whatever the reason, and we’ll be examining every possibility, her killer carried out her murder, dragging her dead body around the Haunted Mausoleum as if she were nothing but a prop. We need to research any connection. But during your workday, be on the alert for those who know the area and seem fixated on the history, especially pertaining to the graveyards. Watch for the kind of vehicle Gina described. And we’ll continue to keep an eye on the Highsmith retinue.”
There were a few questions and he did his best to answer them. No, he didn’t believe any of the mausoleum employees were involved. Yes, they’d be canvassing local hardware stores to find out whether anyone on staff recalled selling the tools the killer had left behind. And, yes, an officer had been detailed to go through DMV records.
When the meeting broke up, Aidan called Jane. “I’d like to pull phone records. I don’t want a wiretap on anyone, just records from the past couple of months.”
“Who do you want?” she asked.
“Highsmith’s party.”
“I’ll get them. What am I looking for specifically?”
“Conversations among the five in Richard’s retinue—Taylor Branch, Jillian Durfey and the security trio.”
“Consider it done.”
He put a call through to Logan; the group was still at the mausoleum, so he left the station and drove out to join them.
He wondered idly if it made him a bad person—or just a bad agent—to want the day to end so he could be alone with Mo.
15
Van Camp and Logan Raintree watched as Ron described the various setups and themes at the Haunted Mausoleum. Following that, Grace, Phil and Mo went through the different actions, showing them where everyone was and when. Mo was standing by “her” mausoleum—where a woman, a friend had been beheaded—when it occurred to her to walk around the massive iron fence that surrounded the property.
“The police have already done that,” Van Camp told her.
“I figured as much,” she said. “But we worked out how the killer murdered Sondra and carried her past probably hundreds of people. Then he went into to the tomb to behead her. After that, he must have come out the same way...with both body parts. He had to wait until Joshua Kirbin was gone for the night to get the body into the coffin and then he had to leave. That means he just walked out of here—carrying a human head.”
Van Camp nodded, his mouth tight.
“So, he left with a head, which had to be wrapped in something, and he walked right out among everyone else?” Mo asked incredulously.
“So it appears.”
“Someone must’ve seen him leave. One of us, I mean.”
Van Camp looked like a weary bulldog when he said, “All right. We’ll make calls again to try and find someone who did see something. I guess it’s a different question now. Did you see any coworkers in costume leaving with a bundle?”
Rollo suddenly began to bark excitedly, and Mo saw that Aidan had arrived.