“I left the bureau, but I don’t leave any unsolved cases behind. And neither will you.”
Bowman tapped an impatient finger on the arm of his chair as he summoned the old case details. “The Shark strangled four girls, as I remember. Five custom playing cards left with each victim. The word Loser was written on each card.”
“Correct. All the victims were runaways. They had long dark hair, were Caucasian, and wore a yellow dress. After four victims, he went dark. He didn’t try to hide the bodies. Simply left them sitting up under trees.
“Later, after you were transferred to LA, I developed an informant for another case completely unrelated. The informant worked in one of the casinos as a singer and sometimes a dealer. She and I got to be close, and one night she told me she heard the girls who had been strangled months earlier were prizes in a high-stakes poker game. The winner had the privilege of choosing if the girls lived or died.”
“How’d she know this?”
“She was sleeping with a guy who worked security for several of the gamblers who were the casino’s biggest customers. She saw that I was interested and said she’d find more if I helped her beat a cocaine bust. I agreed. Two days later she was found dead. She’d been badly beaten and then shot point-blank in the head.”
“How do you know her death was related to the Shark? An informant asking questions can make all kinds of people nervous.”
“I didn’t associate her death with the Shark until a couple of days after her funeral when I received an envelope in the mail. It contained pictures of the informant plus images of five young girls. Four matched the victims we’d found strangled by the Shark. The fifth girl didn’t match any homicides, and we never identified her. We suspected she was also a runaway who he killed, but we just never found the body.”
Bowman glanced at the e-mail header. “How does this relate to Riley Tatum? She’s a cop who responded to a murder scene.”
Shield twisted his 1975 class ring on his finger. In answer, he said, “Have a look at the e-mail attachment. It’s the image of the fifth girl.”
Bowman opened the attachment and studied the young girl’s picture. She had long, thick dark hair, and her face was turned partly away. “You might be right that it’s Riley Tatum.”
“I am.”
“And she just happened to respond to a murder scene that is reminiscent of the Shark.”
“You make it sound like a coincidence. And you know this old man doesn’t believe in coincidences.”
“Has the Shark been active in the last twelve years?”
“Not according to any of my sources.”
“And you think he’s back? Here?”
Shield grinned. “He’s got a perfect mix before him: the victim that got away and the man who’s been hunting him—me.”
“What about the player who beat him in the game twelve years ago?”
“I’ve never identified him, but I’d bet money the Shark has kept tabs on him over the years and knows his identity.”
Bowman studied the pictures again. “Who gave you the current case details?”
“I’ve a hit list of ten cold cases I want solved. The Shark is right at the top. I’ve made inroads with law enforcement all over the country. Without boring you by details, my friend has seen the list and notified me.”
Shield had been a master at recruiting informants when he was at the bureau. “Why would this person share?”
“We have a mutual interest in solving cold cases.”
“If Riley Tatum was taken, how much do you think she remembers? As I recall, large traces of Rohypnol were found in the victims.”
“I don’t know. But I find it interesting that she’d made it her mission to work with runaways. Look how motivated she was to catch Jax Carter.”
“She’s good. I had to hustle to catch up to her. She’s smart and would’ve caught Carter without my help.”
“Did you get a good look at her?”
“Sure. In fact, I know Tatum. She and her dog trained at Quantico five years ago.”
Shield studied him. “I didn’t know that.”
“Small world.”
Shield removed four pictures from the breast pocket of his suit and laid them out like they were playing cards. Bowman recognized the faces of the four murdered girls in New Orleans. “These are the Shark’s confirmed victims.”
“Yes.” Shield laid down a fifth picture next to the others. “One thing to see this picture of the fifth victim alone, but another to see it next to the other victims. They all look so much alike.”
Bowman studied the pictures. “Number five’s face is slightly turned.” His gut knotted. “It could be a younger version of Tatum.”
“That’s what I thought when I saw her on television four years ago. She and her canine were featured after they found a crashed helicopter that was carrying key state politicians to a fund-raiser. They were in critical condition when she found them.”
Bowman flicked the edge of the paper with his index finger. “Did you ever talk to her?”
“No. But I did some digging. Tatum’s originally from New Orleans. She moved to Virginia alone weeks after she turned eighteen. Her stepfather, William Charles, has been known to gamble heavily.”
Bowman didn’t speak but waited for Shield to continue. “She ran away from home at seventeen,” Shield said. “She fell off the radar for a solid month, and then she emerges again working in a restaurant in Ashland. She worked odd jobs and went to community college until she turned twenty-one, then joined the state police. She’s sharp and dedicated.”
“Why didn’t you ever ask her about the Shark?”
“That’s your job now. Meet with her. Find out what you can about this murder. Help her find this killer. Keep her safe. She’s in deeper waters than she realizes.”
“You didn’t ask her about the Shark because you didn’t want to spook her.”
“I always suspected the Shark would come back for her. This killer has an obsession with poker and winning. We know that. And evidence suggests she’s the one that got away.”
“You’ve been using her as bait.” Annoyance accentuated the last words.
“Is that a problem?”
“I’m not crazy about the idea.”
“What would you do in my shoes?”
Bowman slowly shook his head. “It’s a logical call.”
“She’s my only link to this killer.”
“And you’re hoping she wasn’t as juiced as the others and there are some memories?”
“I don’t know. But now that there’s a new victim, it’s time to find out,” Shield said.
Bowman dug into his memory. “You never found any of the other gamblers?”
“No. But I did hear of a couple of gamblers that vanished in Las Vegas over a four-month period, months after my informant was murdered. That could have been the Shark cleaning up all loose ends.”
“Those gamblers could also have been men who owed money to the wrong men. It’s a high-risk business, especially when you’re losing.”