“I’m every bit as clever as I think I am,” she said mockingly. “I fooled you, didn’t I? The day we met you reeled off all those things about me. Except the one thing that really mattered. I just want to know how you managed to figure out I was the one who broke in here to rid myself of that fool Hagstrom.” She added, “Now, Kendra. I’m getting impatient.”
And Kendra could tell that impatience was growing by the tightening of the muscles of Gina’s upper arms, the slight hoarseness of her voice. Play for time. Hope that Griffin would get here before that time ran out. “Have it your own way. There were a few things I noticed after I got in here. We’ve known that we were dealing with a right-handed killer with a preference for an underhanded stab. I saw the same thing on Hagstrom’s body. But between the door and this room, there were signs that the break-in was the work of an ambidextrous person. And you’re ambidextrous, Gina.”
“What? You knew that?” Gina asked, annoyed. “And you’re saying I made a mistake? What signs?”
“When we reached the kitchen door, dew hadn’t quite dried from your footprints on the concrete patio. The right shoe print was squarely in front of the door knob, pointed straight ahead. The knob had fresh scratches on the lock, a sign that you used your right hand to try and jigger it with a lockpick gun. But when that didn’t work, you used a small pry bar. But you pushed the handle down toward the door frame, as a left-handed person might, tearing up the door itself with the bar’s serrated edge.”
“Kind of a stretch, isn’t it?” Gina asked defensively. “I didn’t really make a mistake. And I always go back and clean up after myself before I leave.”
“It’s a probability game. And you didn’t get a chance to go back and cover your tracks this time, did you? And the more I saw, the more the odds came down on the side of the conclusions I’d drawn. Including what I saw on Hagstrom’s face.”
“His face?”
“He obviously struggled with you before you stabbed him. There’s bruising on both sides of his face and neck, but his right side took the brunt of your punches. You led with your left. I’m not sure if it means anything, but it’s interesting you favored your left hand for uses of brute force—prying the door, pummeling his face—and you favored your right for more intricate tasks like picking the lock and working him over with this knife. All of it pointed to the attacker being ambidextrous. But like you, I’m curious. As I said, the distribution of tasks is interesting.”
“You’ll never know, will you?” Gina said defiantly.
“I might not. Just as I didn’t realize that we were dealing with a killer who was ambidextrous. It’s nothing I picked up from any of the hundreds of crime scene photos we examined, but I definitely got it here. And when I got it, I knew it had to be you. It’s very rare. Less than one percent of humans are truly ambidextrous. But, as I said, I already had an idea that you were, Gina.”
“Why? How? I’m damn careful, I don’t make a big deal of it.”
“Because you know how rare it is, and the last thing you want is to stand out.”
“How?” she repeated between set teeth. “I need to know. For next time.”
She was already planning a new spiral of deaths, Kendra realized, chilled. The moment she and Lynch were dead, she’d be off to continue the carnage.
“How?” Gina’s voice was suddenly low, gravelly, rough. “Do you think I won’t slice your throat, bitch? You might live a few more minutes if you do what I want.”
Where the hell are you, Griffin?
Keep stalling. Give her what she wants.
“You didn’t need to make a big deal of it,” Kendra said. “I didn’t think that much about it. It was just interesting. But I noticed you write with your right hand, but shoot with your left.”
“You’ve never seen me hold a gun.”
“No, but your shoulder holster is on your right side, indicating that you draw with your left hand. You wear your belts upside down, like many lefties do, but your shoe laces are tied with the first loop formed on the left, like most righties would do it. Callouses on your hands show that you use them both about equally, but for different tasks.”
Kendra became aware of a bead of perspiration running from her forehead onto her cheek. She wanted to wipe it away. For some absurd reason, it bothered her that Gina might think it was a tear.
“Go on,” Gina said. “I’m enjoying this.”
Kendra was beginning to see why that was true. Though it was probably a mixed pleasure for Gina. She hadn’t liked the idea that she wasn’t as perfect as she’d thought. But the more status Kendra gained in Gina’s eyes, the more pleasure she’d get from that final kill. She continued quickly, “I’d already started to suspect that Zachary worked for law enforcement, specifically our investigation. I actually have someone watching the dream team right now. That should amuse you. But there were inconsistencies and I kept feeling something was wrong. But here tonight, it all snapped into place.”
“Don’t feel bad.” Gina’s smile was scornful. “You know how many people have spent years and years on these cases … I was really rooting for you.”
“I doubt that.”
“Oh, but I was.” She adjusted her grip on the knife. “You’ve restored my faith, Kendra.”
Lynch stepped toward her, and she responded by raising her arm.
He stopped short. “There’s no way out of this, Gina.”
“Sure there is. This has been a finale years in the making. Zachary has planned everything.”
“You mean you planned everything,” Kendra said.
Gina stiffened. “No, you mustn’t think I did it. He doesn’t like it.” She added quickly, “Don’t be stupid. I couldn’t do it.” For the first time, Kendra sensed anxiety from Gina. What was happening to her? She was beginning to perspire and her breathing became irregular. “You have to respect him,” she said, her voice quivering. “He punishes people who don’t respect him. He deserves the respect.”
“Zachary?” Lynch’s eyes narrowed on her face. “Zachary deserves the respect?”
What was going on here? Kendra thought in bewilderment. She was speaking as if Zachary was another person but all the signs were indicating otherwise. It was the first sign of weakness she had exhibited and Lynch had seen it, too.
“Yes,” Gina said. Her hands shook and the blade vibrated against Kendra’s throat. Weird. The moment she had started speaking about Zachary, she had appeared to become weaker. “All the respect. I just do what he wants. I’m nothing compared to him.”
But if Gina was displaying any weakness, then maybe they could use that weakness, Kendra thought desperately.
“Where is he now?” Kendra asked. “Where is Zachary?”
“He sees you. He sees what you’re trying to do. You’re only making him angry.”
“Where is he?” Kendra repeated.
“He sees and hears everything we’re saying. He’s here. He’s always here.”
Kendra locked eyes with Lynch in total shock. Who could have known? Those few sentences had opened wide the door, and she had made the connection. He gave an imperceptible nod. He thought he understood and she was almost completely sure she did.
She spoke in soft, comforting tones, almost as if she was talking to one of her clients. “Of course I respect Zachary. He’s the master. He’s fooled everyone.”