FOUR
"No, I didn't have the opportunity to question him about the fifth girl's murder," Collins said. "Like I said, my lieutenant told me to lay off Pettigrew. And other than a gut feeling I had nothing to tie him to the murders. Nothing concrete, anyway. Before I could do anything about it he got picked up on the vehicular homicide charge and was off to prison."
"Well we checked," said Nick. "No tickets issued to Jason Pettigrew that night or any other night. Which begs the question why would he lie about it? He must have known we'd check on it. How did he expect to get away with it?"
"Maybe he thought you wouldn't bother," said Will.
"I checked Hildebrandt," said Stillman. "Seems he spends most of his days at home or in the hospital from repercussions from his injury. Last night he was in the hospital with one of those repercussions. Half a dozen of the hospital personnel vouched that he was there."
"I never considered him a viable suspect," said Collins. "He never really mistreated his girls. And on at least one occasion he wasn't in town when a girl got killed. The second one I think. Mildred Bradford. Since it's obvious the same man is doing this I discounted him as a suspect as soon as I found that out."
"You're sure he was out of town?" Nick asked.
"Absolutely. Believe me I checked his alibi real close. He was definitely out of town on May 30."
"What about the others?" Lilly asked. "Kowalski and Harrison?"
"Well, Kowalski was known to frequent prostitutes. That's why I initially suspected him. He's got a sheet as long as your arm. But I could never find any evidence that he was abusive to any of them. And one of the girls alibied him for the first and third murders. I had no reason to not believe her. Harrison was another story. He enjoyed it rough. Had more than one complaint on him. Initially I thought he looked good for the murders."
"What changed your mind?" Lilly asked.
"The fourth girl, 'Red' Jennings. He was in lockup when she was killed. Coincidentally for beating up another girl. He did some time for that assault but after that he didn't look good for the killings."
"Is it possible there was more than one assailant?" Will asked.
"No evidence of that. All indications are that it was one man."
"The file says there was no sexual assault on the girls when they were murdered."
"Yeah," said Collins. "Initially that puzzled me. The first one we thought was a trick gone bad. Maybe the guy didn't want to pay or the girl didn't want to hold up her end of the transaction. That's what I thought the word 'guilty' on her forehead meant.
"When the second girl turned up I decided it had to be something else. Maybe a hatred of prostitutes. Possibly some overzealous religious nut who felt that the girls were somehow violating some religious doctrine or something. But I couldn't find any connection there, either."
"What made you center in on Pettigrew?" Lilly asked. "Other than his car was seen in the area?"
"He lied about hiring the girls. He claimed he never did but I found at least one who verified that he had. He denied it, of course. Guess he figured if he admitted to it then it would make him look guilty. Plus his was the only car seen in that area on a regular basis. Most men go down there only on occasion. He was seen in the area nearly every night. He's the only one I could place at the scene."
"Well, he did admit to hiring a prostitute once," said Nick. "Said his wife was out of town at the time. Also said it nearly cost him his marriage."
"I knew he was lying about it," said Collins. "Just another nail in his coffin. All I need is one solid piece of evidence and I can get a search warrant for his house and car. I'm sure there's something there that will connect him to all five murders. Six now, counting this latest one. I just don't have anything concrete to take to a judge."
"What about his parole officer?" Nick asked. "Can't he get a warrant to search the guy's place?"
"Not for these crimes," said Stillman. "They were committed before Pettigrew went to prison. It would be a fishing expedition and no judge is going to grant a warrant on those grounds."
"But we have another crime," said Collins. "This latest girl that was killed."
"You'd have to show some connection between her and Pettigrew," said Stillman. "So far all you have is conjecture and supposition."
"Great," said Collins. "We can't get any evidence on Pettigrew because we don't have any evidence on Pettigrew."
"Maybe not," said Lilly, "but maybe there's still a way."
"What are you thinking?" Stillman asked.
"Most parole officers have the authority to make surprise inspections on their charges to make sure they're abiding by the terms of their parole," said Lilly. "We could see if Pettigrew's PO is willing to make an inspection and let us tag along. That will get us into the house. We might be able to find something then."
"Whatever it is would have to be in plain sight," said Stillman. "It wouldn't be like having a search warrant. You wouldn't be able to look everywhere."
"It's something, boss," said Lilly. "It will also give us a chance to talk to Felicia Pettigrew, his wife. Maybe see if she knows anything."
"She's always stood behind Jason," said Collins. "Claims he could never harm a soul. Even after he went to prison she still stuck by him. I tried to convince her that he was the killer but she wouldn't even listen to me. I doubt you'll get much out of her."
"Maybe not," said Lilly. "But it's worth a shot. I'll call Pettigrew's PO and see if he'll help up."
"Detective Rush?" questioned a man wearing a suit with a badge hanging from the breast pocket. "I'm Detective Cooper. I got a call you wanted to see me about something."
"Oh, Detective Cooper, yes," said Lilly. "I'll be right back." She turned back to Cooper. "I wanted to talk to you about a working girl that goes by the name Pepper."
"Nick, why don't you call Pettigrew's PO and see if he'll give us a hand while Lil's busy with Detective Cooper," said Stillman. "Will, why don't you go have a chat with this Christopher Jackson? Pettigrew's friend who owns the bar. See if he's willing to still alibi Pettigrew for the murders in '97."
"I'll go with him," said Collins.
"I thought you were given orders to stay out of it?" Stillman questioned.
"Actually, I was ordered to stay away from Pettigrew," said Collins. "My lieutenant didn't say anything about not following up other leads."
"Well, okay," said Stillman. "Just remember this is our case, not yours any longer. Will takes the lead and you just back him up, is that understood?"
"Completely, John," said Collins. "I just want to get something so I can nail Pettigrew for the murders. I appreciate the help. Can I leave my briefcase here? It's got all my info from the previous investigation in it. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it."
"Just leave it in my office," said Stillman. "It'll be safe enough in there."
"Well, Pettigrew's PO said he's willing to let us tag along while he makes a surprise home inspection," said Nick, hanging up the phone. "He said he'd meet us there at 2:00."
"Fine," said Stillman. "When Rush is done let her know. And let me know what you find out."
"Sure thing, boss," said Nick.
"Come on, Collins," said Will. "Let's go have a chat with Jackson."
"What happened?" Nick asked when Lilly had finished talking with Cooper.
"I was able to convince him to drop the charges against Pepper," she said. "He seemed to be having second thoughts about it anyway. When I told him how she had helped us out he said it was least he could do."
"Great. We're going by Pettigrew's at 2:00. His PO is going to meet us there. Said we can tag along for his unannounced home inspection."
"Let's run by and let Pepper know the good news," said Lilly. "When we finish there we can head out to Pettigrew's. You have the address?"
"Right here," said Nick, holding up his notebook. "Collins gave it to me before he left."
Lilly grabbed her coat and together they headed for the car.