The Other Path
Chapter 47
Rick downs the remainder of his whiskey. "Kate, I know you too well to think that you're just going to sit around and wait to hear from the lab or Tech. What now?"
"Lanie said that the killer used a knife meant for dismembering animals. We've got a close enough connection to Duncan Fairborough to get his financials. I can check to see if he purchased one."
"How long will that take?"
"I can put in the request tonight. With any luck, I should get them early tomorrow."
"How about social media?" Rick inquires. "Hunky blonde guys with public profiles don't pass unnoticed. I'd guess we could find more than a few Duncan spottings."
"You're right," Kate acknowledges. "We might be able to track his movements that way."
Rick rubs his hands together and flexes his fingers. "Then let's have a look. Bringing up Twitter, hashtag DunctheHunk. Wow! How is it that the dirtbags attract so many fawning fans? But I think most of these are copies of Instagram postings. Switching over. Oh, here we go. Dunc leaving the Ledger. Dunc going to the Med -cine Mart. Dunc…."
"Wait! Go back to the drugstore. Lanie said Sherrie's killer wore a condom when he raped her. When was he there?"
"The photo was posted hours before Sherrie was killed."
"Even if he paid cash, Med-cine Mart would have a record of the purchase, and Duncan will be on security footage. CSU may be able to get a match on the spermicide from whatever kind of condoms he bought."
"Kate, that would also implicate a fair percentage of men taking precautions."
"Yeah, but it could be another brick in the wall we'll collapse on Duncan Fairborough." Kate checks the time at the bottom of Rick's screen. "Med-cine Marts are usually open 24/7. I can get over there tonight."
"I'm great at drugstores. Alexis even sent me out for, um," Rick reddens, "sanitary supplies. Want some company?"
Kate suppresses a smile. "Sure, and I promise not to send you into that aisle."
Kate regards the small bag in Rick's hand. "What did you buy while I was with the clerk going through receipts?"
"It's a surprise for when we get back to the loft. I saw a review on this in – never mind where I saw it. But it should be good. I don't suppose you could do lights and siren?"
"You know I can't. But I will drive like a cop. We'll make good time."
"We'll make better time when we get home."
Rick's eyes open a few moments before the alarm on Kate's cell phone will sound. He pulls her into the warmth of his body. Instinctively, she snuggles into his side. He knows that once awake, she'll be anxious to get a quick start, hoping the reports and the documents she needs will arrive at the beginning of her shift. She'll barely want to take time for coffee, let alone one of his morning scrambles. But that's all right. It was a great night.
Even without the drugstore's magic anointments, Kate's been more open to love's pleasures since she decided to leave the squad. The politics had been steadily draining her natural enthusiasm, but she's been rebounding. Rick inhales the scent of cherries and sweat from her hair. The Kate about whose talents he had no idea is back with a bang – several bangs. God bless and keep the Homicide Squad away from her.
As the soft but rhythmic music flows into the room, Kate drowsily reaches to press her cell's stop circle. "Coffee!"
Rick grins. "Coming right up. I started the timer between, uh, rounds last night."
"Thank God!"
"We have some chocolate croissant in the fridge if you want it."
"No time."
Rick inwardly smiles as his silent prediction manifests. "I can pack some to go."
Kate divides the pages of Duncan Fairborough's financials between her and Rick. "Look for the knife, but keep your eyes open for anything else that might establish a link between Fairborough and Sherrie."
Rick scans through the entries. "How about dinner at Chez Madeleine? He could have been with Sherrie." Rick pulls out his phone and checks through the DunctheHunk hashtags for the night of the charge. "Here's something. 'What was Dunc doing with a mousey brunette? I think she works at the Ledger, but he deserves more woman than that. Maybe I can get a job there.' Oops, there's a reply. 'I already tried. They're not hiring.'"
Kate sighs, shaking her head. "Pretty sad. But I guess someone could describe Sherrie as a mousy brunette."
"Yeah, well, mean girls are afraid of mice. When I was in sixth grade – never mind."
"But Chelsea said Sherrie wasn't dating anyone."
"Maybe she didn't know," Rick suggests. "If Sherrie was trying to pump Duncan for information on his family, she might have kept it to herself."
"But he might have caught on and decided to take her out permanently."
"Or it was mutual pumpery," Rick suggests. "Sherrie wanted the scoop on the Fairborough family, and Duncan wanted to figure out how much she knew. "If they were going out together, he might have gotten to her keys, made an impression, or taken a picture to make one on a 3D printer like that killer we caught before." Rick quickly skims his pages. "Booyah! He bought a printer a month ago. Look for a restaurant charge on the night of the murder. That should be on your last sheet."
"Yeah, here it is," Kate confirms. "They were at Finelli's. The charge is marked nine-thirty pm. Then there's a cab charge right after it. So, we have Sherrie ready to celebrate the information she found in the Ledger's morgue that afternoon. She decides to top it with a dinner with Duncan. But he twigs that she found something threatening. Maybe she even tells him that her roommate will be out for the night, or perhaps he sees Chelsea leave. Either way, he comes back early the next morning when he assumes Sherrie will be asleep."
"Duncan uses his printed key to get in," Rick picks up. "Chelsea is out of the apartment, but Sherrie isn't asleep. She's at her computer, totally engrossed in working on her book. So, Duncan grabs her out of her chair, kills her, and rapes her. Then, following family custom for triumphs over their kills, he butchers her. And before he leaves, he deletes the text on her document in progress.
"And he still has plenty of time to clean up and go to work in the morning as if nothing happened," Kate finishes. "We have enough to bring him in. The boys can claim they're just tying up loose ends, and Espo can talk jock to Duncan on the way in."
Panicking on seeing the two cops making their way toward him, Duncan takes off as if going for the touchdown of a lifetime. "Sonofabitch," Ryan mutters. "Why do they always run?" The two cops split up, with Esposito sprinting after Duncan and Ryan running back to get the car. An alarm screeches as Duncan shoves open a fire exit with Esposito on his heels. As the runners tear across the building's parking lot, Ryan drives directly into Duncan's path. Esposito tackles the suspect and snaps on cuffs.
"You have no right to arrest me," Duncan protests.
Esposito smirks. "Evading an officer of the law on foot is a misdemeanor. That's enough to take you in. Then you can explain to Detective Beckett why you ran."
