“The same man killed all five women?” Julia asked. “Which means, Jim wasn’t the Hangman?”
“Correct,” Andrews said.
Julia stood very still, drawing in a breath and releasing it slowly. She tipped her head back, rubbing the side of her neck. “Shit.”
Novak could see Julia wrestling with her emotions as she kept her head tipped back and balled her fingers into a fist. Julia’s father had been vindicated.
If they’d been alone, he’d have pulled her into his arms and congratulated her on her good work. But they weren’t alone, and he knew she needed to stay in control.
“So why the change in tactics for Rita Gallagher if it’s the same murderer?” Novak asked, deliberately speaking to give Julia a moment to recover. “She was hit on the head and tucked away in a root cellar where no one could easily find her.”
“I can’t tell you that,” Andrews said. “But this is a very meticulous killer. Each time he killed, he planned and executed like a professional.”
“No plan with Rita,” Novak said. “He wasn’t planning on killing her. Something happened. She figured out who he was or discovered something she shouldn’t have.”
Julia cleared her throat as she stared at the picture of the redhead projected on the screen. “What are we missing here? Maybe she was working with the Hangman.”
“Explain,” Novak said.
“She’d dated Popov, and then she starts working in Billy’s and gets access to people in Jim Vargas’s life. He was the cop who brought down Popov. Rita told her brother she had a big job coming up. She seduces Jim. She steals a picture of Jim and me. We know she made friends with the victims. Maybe it was her job to lure those women to the Hangman.”
“What better way to get rid of three women who consorted with an undercover cop,” Novak said. “They become the target of a serial killer.”
“The presence of sandwich particles at the original crime scene suggests the killer broke for a snack,” she said. “He was on the job and took a lunch break.”
“The Lana Ortega killing was as public as the first three,” Novak said. “Monroe knows who the Hangman is. Somehow she found out about him from her days at Ricker, Davis & Michaels. She decided to use the Hangman to kill Lana. Then she found another use for the killer.”
Julia finished his thought. “To come after me.”
Elizabeth Monroe’s Sunday was going to hell fast, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d have a lot more bad days ahead of her. As she stood on the steps of this elegant house, she knew it was time for her to cut her ties with the past and forget she’d ever read about the Hangman in her late boss’s files.
She glanced back at her SUV, wishing she had brought her driver. But no one could ever know what she was doing today. She slid her hand into her coat pocket and wrapped her fingers around the grip of the unregistered .38 snub-nose revolver pulled from a crime scene decades ago.
She knocked on the door. Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, and she straightened, tightening her hand on the strap of her purse. The door opened to a towering man with white hair. He was handsome and well dressed with the build of a onetime collegiate athlete trying to fight time’s effects on his joints. He’d asked her to meet him here.
“We need to talk,” she said. “The cops are getting close.”
“Getting close to you?”
“If they get me, they will get you.”
“The cops don’t scare me.”
“What about the Popov family? I’ve had some interesting conversations with them lately.”
His expression grew harder. “What did you say to them?”
She considered shooting him in the doorway but thought of security cameras or prying eyes from some distant neighbor walking his dog. If not for the files she had on him, she’d be afraid of what he’d do to her. But he knew if anything happened to her, the cops would find out about him. And once the Hangman secret was out, the Popov family would be forced to handle him like they did anyone who failed them.
Monroe stepped inside. He stood silent, staring at her. He could be vicious, but she’d made a career controlling men like him. His usefulness had passed, and she was anxious to get rid of him and close this chapter.
As her hand slid into her coat pocket, a smile flickered across his face. It was a stupid smile. Her fingers tightened around the gun’s grip.
His smile vanished, and his eyes grew hard. She sensed the shift, and as she yanked the gun from her coat, he pulled a knife from his pocket. With the lightning reflexes of a snake, he jabbed the sharp tip through her side and into her lung. She stumbled back and steadied the gun. Pain rocketed up her side as she took aim. He moved easily out of her line of sight as she fired. He knocked the gun out of her hand, and she staggered to the side and against the wall. Breathing was nearly impossible now. She stared at the spot of blood moistening her silk blouse.
“Why?” she stammered.
“I knew from the beginning you were going to try something like this. Takes a snake to recognize a snake.” He picked up the gun and tucked it in his waistband. “I haven’t survived this long without overthinking every scenario.”
“If I don’t make it back, you’ll be exposed,” she said as she pressed a trembling, blood-soaked hand to her midsection.
“I don’t give a shit about that anymore.” He hauled her forward. Her knees buckled, but he held her steady. “I have one more job to do, and then I’m free of all my debts.” He grinned. “Even if you hadn’t tried to kill me today, I’d have killed you anyway.”
“You’ll go to prison.”
He pressed the barrel of the gun to her temple. “I won’t.”
Her gaze met his. Pain and fear stripped her confidence, leaving only desperation. “I have money.”
“I’ve been paid enough already. I only need you.”
She could feel her life draining away. “Why?”
“You’re an important piece of the puzzle now. Not only will my debts be paid, but anyone who knew me as the Hangman will be dead.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“I need bait for the trap, and you’re it.” Blood dripped on the floor and on her leopard-print shoes.
Novak’s gaze settled on Julia. As she reached for the car door handle, he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her toward him. “We’ll figure this out.”
She studied him close.
“I need to talk to Ken,” Julia said. “He’s the last real link to my father and the case.”
“And you’ve called his house twice and left two messages. We’ll catch up with him within the next few hours and get to the bottom of the note.” He kissed her. “I’ll call you soon.”
Novak watched her climb the back staircase and vanish into her apartment before he pulled out of the alley. En route to his office he received a call from Riggs.
“We found Bonnie Jenkins,” he said.
“Where?”
“In a bar on Southside. She’s at the station now. We’re giving her coffee and food to sober her up.”