CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

Jack Hawkins and his partner Steve Jenkins were waiting in the terminal at LAX, trying to figure out how to spot these two NYPD officers, Goren and Eames. The Central Division detectives were waiting to chauffeur their New York counterparts downtown in time for joint LAPD/FBI briefing this afternoon.

Jack nodded his head at what seemed like at least one likely candidate. A tall guy with a preoccupied look on his face, trying to juggle his carry-on luggage and a notebook. The guy looked up and pointed towards the two LAPD officers. Hawkins and Jenkins approached. The woman with the man seemed to be responsible for keeping her partner from wandering off and getting lost. Jack and Steve looked at each other and wondered how desperate the NYPD had been for recruits when this guy had applied.

Shaking hands and making introductions, Alex said, "Hello Jack, good to meet you Steve. I'm Alex Eames and this is my partner is Bobby Goren."

"Good flight?" Asked Steve.

Bobby glanced at the man, distractedly, and said, "The flight… the flight was fine. But long." He glanced over to Eames who still hadn't calmed down from the flight. She hated flying and shared her hatred all the way across the country.

"Yeah, New York to LA is a long hall. I'm sorry to have to tell you this but the Chiefs have scheduled a briefing in about an hour. We're your drivers for the day. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Waiting for us? Shouldn't they be out looking for this guy? Why wait for us? We're the one who have to get up to speed on this. It's been months and eighteen killings since we've had any connection to the case. We don't have anything to bring to the table." Bobby didn't understand why they would delay looking for someone who had traveled cross-country and killed more than a dozen women.

"Hey, you know as much about the master plan as we do. We were just sent out to pick up and deliver you to the briefing. I guess they thought that by waiting for the wunderkinds from New York, they wouldn't be wasting anyone's time." Alex and Bobby exchanged a look at the undercurrent of resentment that they picked up from Steve's explanation.

"Look fellas, Bobby and I were completely surprised to be brought in on this. And for the record, I would rather be back in New York with my husband, than hanging out with a bunch of cops bashing each other over the head with their nightsticks."

"Alex. Calm down."

"I'm calm, Bobby. I' m not just going to sit here and put up with any crap by the rank and file, because a decision was made by their superiors' to disrupt our lives, and force us to sit in a cramped hollow tube for eight hours."

"She's a little stressed right now. " Bobby offered as explanation. "She doesn't like to fly."

"Shut up Bobby." Eames walked away to get her luggage.

The two LA detectives looked at each other and then after the retreating figure of Eames. Bobby shook his head and followed his partner, as the two LA detectives fell in step with him. They waited in silence for their luggage. Two hours after landing Eames and Goren were driven into the underground parking garage of the Central Division police station.

Once inside LA's equivalent to New York's One Police Plaza the four detectives joined the rest of the officers making up the task force in the eighth floor conference room. The rest of the team had arrived about half an hour earlier. Goren was taking it all in, looking around like a kid in a candy shop. Once again, the two LA detectives shared a look of disbelief at the behavior of the New York cop. Chief Jarvis told them that Goren and Eames were the detectives who connected the first killings to one individual. Goren had come up with the first profile of the 'Cross Country' killer.

The LA cops were finding it hard to believe that the Goren they picked up from the airport didn't seem capable of such detailed work. How this misfit come up with a profile anyone would or could take seriously seemed a mystery to the two detectives.

On the way up to the eighth floor, Jack tried to engage Alex in conversation, asking if she had ever been to Los Angeles before.

"Yes, several times. The last time I was here was just a few months ago with my husband."

"Oh, business or pleasure?"

"Business. He was looking for office space to set up a West Coast office for his consulting business. He's recently closed up a London office, to concentrate on working here in the states."

"What kind of consulting does he do?"

"Computer Networking and I-T mostly, but also some general business practices. It requires a lot of traveling and he's trying to expand the business so that he can hire independent contractors to do the actual traveling and long term in house situations, rather than always being the one running out to catch a plane himself."

"I bet that would make you a happy little wife."

"I'm always the happy little wife; it's the disgruntled police detective others need to worry about." Alex still wasn't ready to forget the LA cops earlier comments. The door of the elevator opened as Bobby solemnly nodded agreement for the benefit of the other two men.

Hawkins led the small group to the end of the hall on the eighth floor where the rest of the task force was waiting for them. There were two more LA detectives, John Sampson and Jane Denham. The four FBI agents were Craig Johnson, Kate Osgood, Janet Garcia and Mike Aguilar. Sampson told the newly arrived group that the Chief of Detectives, Robert Jarvis and FBI agent-in-charge, Sam Caldwell were on their way down from a meeting with the Police Commissioner and representatives from the Mayor's Office.

Jarvis and Caldwell came in and didn't stop for introductions or hellos, "Okay, we've all lot to cover in a small amount of time. I want… we want," Caldwell corrected himself, he motioned to include LAPD Chief Jarvis, "to get all the evidence we have so far into your hands and get your first impressions. Most of you have seen parts of this evidence, some of you haven't. Caldwell turned his attention to Goren and Eames.

"Okay, here we have copies of everything. The complete file from all crime scenes, from the local cops to the FBI field offices. The packet includes statements, both witness and from the scene, photos from the crime scene here in LA, some of the preliminary forensic reports and autopsy report. The newest piece of information is the videotaped interview with the latest victim's boyfriend, Vince DaSilva."

Detectives Samson and Denham exchanged looks with Hawkins and Jenkins who nodded back at them with wry grins. The police department knew many of the names connected with the entertainment industry. It was useful information to have, a good way to avoid any embarrassing situations with some of the more spoiled celebrities officers occasionally meet in the course of their jobs.

"For the benefit of those unfamiliar with DaSilva, he's the acting CEO and President of Marketing and Production for Monogram Pictures. DaSilva took over the reins of CEO from his father about six months ago when the old man suffered a stroke."

At the mention of Monogram Pictures, Alex snuck a sidelong glance over to Bobby who remained motionless except for the slight tightening of his jaw. Alex knew this was all the reaction as he was going to show. She thought that if the opportunity to work at Monogram hadn't surfaced when it did, Sarah and Bobby might still be together.

"Let's start with the videotape of Vince DaSilva. Hopefully by the time it's finished, we'll have the autopsy report back from the lab." Caldwell knew that was a long shot, but threw it out there anyway. Sometimes things happen the way you want them to.

Jarvis walked over to the TV and VCR and put the tape in as Caldwell walked to the back of the room to turn out the lights.

"….I've already told you. Laura called and cancelled our date. She said she wasn't feeling well and thought she might be coming down with the flu. She just wanted to stay home and get some sleep. I told her that was probably a good idea and that I'd call when I got home and see how she was feeling. I wound up staying late at the …"

"How late?" Interrupted a voice that Goren recognized as Jenkins.

"Um… I was there until about 9:30."

"What changed your mind? You had a date. What made you decide to stay and work late? Why not just go home." This time it was Hawkins' voice.

"The fact that I didn't have a date anymore. There's always something that needs to be done at the office. I decided to wrap up a few things that I'd been put off doing."

"What were you working on?" asked Jenkins.

"What does that have to do with…" DaSilva rubbed his hand across his face and let out an exasperated sigh… "Fine. I was working on a new marketing plan for a small film that's not going to do well. If we're going to recoup any of the money we've sunk into it, we have to have a strong opening that first weekend. After that it's dead in the water. I have to meke that strong opening weekend happen."

"Out of curiosity, why release a movie like that anyway?" Hawkins was a real film buff and often wondered how some movies could be unleashed on an unsuspecting public.

"Um…" confused the movie exec starts to explain, "well, most often its done to get an actor or director to work on a project you want them for, in exchange you make a deal to put out there pet project. It's your basic quid pro quo."

"Ok, now what time was it again, when you left your office?"

"For the third time detective, about 9:30." Frustration was starting to set in and Goren realized several things. First, they thought this guy might be a suspect, which would mean that this wasn't the work of the 'Cross Country' killer. Second, this was not the beginning of the tape; this interview had been going on for a while. Third, Hawkins and Jenkins knew how to work the guy.

"Yes, you did, sorry I'm missed that in my notes. So, you left the office at 9:30. Then what did you do?"

"As I walked out, I saw the lights in my brother's office were on and went to see what he was working on. We talked a little about the release party and premiere of a film opening this Friday. Then I went out to my car. I tried calling Laura from my cell to see how she was feeling and to find out if there was anything she wanted me to bring by on my way home. She didn't answer. I assumed she was asleep, but I decided to drive over anyway."

"How long did you stay with your brother?"

"About ten, fifteen minutes. He was about to call it a night too. He said he was meeting some friends for drinks over at the Roosevelt at 10:00."

"Ok, so you left the studio and drove over to Laura Nelson's where you found the body…" At his words, "found the body", Hawkins saw DaSilva flinch. "The 9-1-1 call came in at 10:45. If as you say, you left your office about 9:45, why did it take almost an hour for you to get to Miss Nelson's. It's a half hour drive. Why did it take you so long to get there?"

"I…I stopped at this little Chinese restaurant not far from her apartment for take out, I picked up some soup for Laura and some Kung Pao Chicken for me." Bobby noticed in the written reports that the first officers at the scene had noted in their report that there were the two bags of food from The Panda King restaurant sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

"How did you get into the apartment Mr. DaSilva? Was the door unlocked? Was the door open?"

"It was locked…I used my key. Look I told all this to the officers the other night."

"How long had you been seeing Miss Nelson? Obviously, it was long enough for her to have given you a key."

Looking away for a moment from the detectives in front of him, Goren could see DaSilva trying to compose himself. To some it would look as if he was thinking about how to answer the question. If he had looked left with his eyes, Goren would agree, but DaSilva turned his whole body away from the detectives and took a deep breath, "Just over a year."

"A year. Are you seeing anyone else? Was she seeing anyone else?"

"What? No of course not. We were both committed to the relationship. We'd been talking about getting married." DaSilva's voice broke as he said these last words.

"Was that because of the pregnancy?

"What…what pregnancy? What are you talking about? Laura wasn't …"

"Well, the autopsy report we have confirms that she was pregnant. About nine weeks along."

"Oh God, no… no, that can't be right. That can't… can't be true. She would have told me." DaSilva buried his face in his hands and his sobs could be heard on the tape. After several minutes he raked his hands across his face and up through his hair. "I didn't know… I didn't know. She never told me. Ohmigod, Laura…"

Bobby leaned over and whispered to Eames, "Why do they think this guy did it, and if they think this guy did it, why are we here? They can't believe this guy is the 'Cross Country' killer. What's going on here?"

Perplexed, Alex shook her head, shrugged, and went back to watching the tape. Goren lost all interest in the tape now and started thinking about possible reasons why he and Eames had been hustled here from New York.

The time/date stamp on the tape showed it had been recorded the night of the murder. The LAPD already suspected DaSilva a day before he and Eames had been told by Captain Deakins they had been picked to go to Los Angeles as part of a joint task force on the "Cross Country" killer.

Goren didn't have much time to think about it though. He heard DaSilva say. "Wait… wait a minute. You think that I… I had something to do with what happened to Laura? That… that I killed her?" His voice rose. It had taken him a long time to see where the detectives had been leading him. It had taken the man far too long to see where this was headed to have actually been guilty.

"We haven't said that Mr. DaSilva. We're just covering all bases, all the possibilities. We have to look at everything and everyone." Detective Hawkins explained.

"Well, we're done here. I…I'm invoking my right to an attorney." DaSilva straightened and crossed his arms across his chest. Everyone in the interrogation room on the tape knew it was over, as did everyone in the conference room, who were watching the tape.

Agent Caldwell flipped on the lights. "Okay, that's what we have with Mr. DaSilva. We are holding him for the moment, but his attorney should have him out in the next couple of hours. In your packets, you'll find transcripts of the tape and all the interviews. If everyone could start reviewing them to familiarize yourselves with what we have so far."

"Agent…" Bobby started but stopped when Eames placed a warning hand on his forearm, whispering, "Not now Bobby, let's just see what they have." Packets around the room were being opened and pages began flipping as the others started on their assignment.

"Yes, Detective… you have a question?" Asked Caldwell, with just a hint of a smirk. He'd been warned about the detective. Most of this little conference was for Goren's benefit. Caldwell needed to know whether he had the right man for his team. This was the detective's chance to shine. And his partner was welcome to come along for the ride, if indeed Goren was the man Caldwell thought he was.

For now, Bobby would go along with Eames. And wait to see what was going on. "No…sorry, never mind." Bobby waved his left hand dismissively as he started flipping through the reports in front of him.

Eames watched as Bobby flipped through reports and became more and antsier as he sat there. Eames kept trying to catch his eye, hoping to keep him from asking the question that was burning in him. 'Why were they here?' She had to admit though; she couldn't figure it out either. This killing simply didn't look anything like the work of the 'Cross Country' killer that they'd seen in their investigation. She just couldn't see a connection between any of the cases attributed to those killings and this one. Bobby's frustration and agitation were becoming palpable and was starting to draw looks from the other officers. Punctuating his growing frustration wiith dismissive grunts and sighs, he looked over the reports. "Uh, oh,' thought Eames. 'Here we go.'

Caldwell had been watching Goren the whole time and now spoke up, "Is there a problem Detective Goren?"

"No… no problem Agent Caldwell, just a few questions."

"Sure, detective." Indulgently Caldwell nodded, "And what would they be…?"

"Well… well, in reviewing the evidence so far, it's fairly obvious that this killing wasn't the work of the 'Cross Country' killer. At best, maybe it's the work of a copycat or an even more likely possibility, someone pretending to be a copycat. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, everyone in this room knows this or should. If not they don't belong in this room. So really I guess my first question is, why were my partner and I brought out here to be a part of this case?. LAPD seems to think it's this guy DaSilva, which I also don't see, but.."

"What makes you think it's someone trying to make it appear to be the 'Cross Country' killer, if it really isn't, Detective?" Caldwell started his own interrogation of sorts.

Bobby took a deep breath and let it out. "Well, first off, the crime scene photos look far more like the scenes from Maine or Massachusetts, unorganized, rushed, sloppy, giving the impression of a man in a hurry - which we know is not the case. He learned how to do things by the time he got to Connecticut and New York; things were neat, organized and controlled. It took us over a week to get a hit on the earlier cases from VICAP because they seemed different at first glance."

Bobby paused and looked at Alex, who merely shrugged which he took to mean, 'go ahead.'

"The scene here looks staged. Pictures from the first two killings are on the internet, so it wouldn't take too much effort for someone to be able to find them to make the crime scene look right. Even if they couldn't make it feel right."

"Go on, what else, Detective."

"With this killing, the victim was killed in her apartment. She wasn't abducted and taken somewhere isolated, like all the other vics. She was clothed; she wasn't raped or tortured. The 'Cross Country' killer terrorizes his victims, Laura Nelson wasn't. It appears to have been a straight forward killing staged to look like something it wasn't"

"There is still a chance that this could be a random killing, but I don't think so. I think it was someone she knew. There were no signs of forced entry, she probably let him or her in. As I started to say a minute ago, I don't think it was DaSilva, either. Not only doesn't he seem to have a motive, there are the statements from the security guard at the gate of the studio, the drugstore clerk and the hostess at the Chinese restaurant that confirm DaSilva's timeline and rule him out as the killer."

"But then, you all know this. Which brings me back to my original question, why were my partner and I brought out here? And how did Hawkins and Jenkins know Laura Nelson was pregnant? Earlier you said you hoped we'd have the autopsy results soon."

"Way to go Bobby." Thought Eames. "You got it all out in the open without pissing anyone off." Well, at least no one seemed to be actively hostile yet.

"We'll get into that tomorrow Detective Goren. For tonight, I would like everyone to really familiarize yourself with everything in these files and we'll get into all this in the morning.