Page 124 of Goodbye Girl
“I assume we’re at high tide,” said Andie.
“Nope. Low tide,” said the marine patrol officer.
“But the victim is almost completely submerged. The killer’s pattern has been to position the body so that it’s submerged at high tide and exposed, at least partially, at low tide.”
“The Great Lakes are considered nontidal. The difference between low tide and high tide is about five centimeters.”
“Apparently, the killer didn’t know that,” said Andie, thinking aloud.
“Which means he’s probably not from around here,” said the officer.
“Not a local copycat,” said Andie. “This is the real deal.”
Chicago marked a break from the previous two locations, both historic sites of gibbeting for pirates of old. The killer seemed to be sending a message, which was exactly what Andie told the task force leader in her morning update by telephone.
“What’s his message?” he asked.
“It can happen anywhere,” said Andie. “There is no safe place for music pirates.”
Her words foreshadowed the morning headline. News commentators struggled to find precedent for the widespread fears causing public disengagement with piracy websites. “Not sinceThe Interview,when North Korea threatened terrorist attacks against movie theaters showing the 2014 comedy about a plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un, have we seen fear drive consumer choices in the entertainment industry.”
Andie checked into a downtown hotel with time to shower and catch a couple hours of sleep before heading back to the crime scene. She was just entering her room when a call from the U.S. embassy in London lit up her phone. It was the legal attaché, Madeline Coffey.
“I emailed you the notes of my interview of Kelly Oswald. Did you get them?”
“Yes. I read them with interest.”
“I should have a sketch in an hour,” said Coffey.
“How soon can we release it? With a killer who waits thirty-six hours to tell us where to find the body, I’m not just afraid we’ll have another victim. I’m afraid we already do, and just don’t know it yet.”
“I understand. But there’s a snag,” said Coffey.
Andie took a seat on the edge of the mattress. “What kind of snag?”
“I need approval from Washington before we can release the sketch.”
“The task force leader is the unit chief for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. What other approval do you need?”
“DOJ. Office of enforcement operations.”
Andie’s response caught in her throat. “Are you saying our suspect is in the Witness Security Program?”
“We believe he is. Metro Police collected fingerprints from his last apartment in Bethnal Green. Nothing turned up in the INTERPOL database. We got a hit in ours, but the system blocked us. Obviously, only Washington can confirm.”
Andie went to the window. She could see the harbor from her hotel room. “Not good,” she said, putting it mildly. “Not good at all.”
Chapter 49
Jack entered the criminal courthouse in time for the 9:00 a.m. hearing in Judge Cookson’s chambers. His client was at his side. Die-hard Imani fans had been waiting since 5:00 a.m., hoping to snag a coveted courtroom seat, which made Jack glad it wasn’t his job to tell them that Monday’s proceedings were closed to the public.
“Good morning, all,” said Judge Cookson.
Given his seniority, Cookson’s chambers were more spacious than most, but things were still a bit cramped. The judge was seated behind his formidable antique mahogany desk. A long, rectangular table projected out from the front of the desk, battle-scarred by staples and binder clips dragged across its once polished surface at countless previous hearings. Defense counsel and their clients were seated at the table to the judge’s right; the prosecutor was across from them and to the judge’s left. At the end of the table, facing the judge, was the DOJ lawyer.
“Counsel, has the FBI identified a witness to testify pursuant to my order?” the judge asked.
The DOJ lawyer replied, “Yes, Your Honor. I have been in contact with the unit chief for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, who is head of the joint task force known as Operation Gibbet. He confirmed that the questioned document unit in the FBI laboratory division is currently undertaking a comparative analysis of the ‘goodbye girl’ signature in the Tyler McCormick case to the ‘goodbye girl’ signature displayed in more recent cases.”