Killing Ways Read online

  Grace Lucchesi woke up only when Ren parked the Jeep outside the hotel.

  Very fancy.

  ‘Daddy?’ said Grace.

  ‘I’m here, sweetheart,’ said Joe, turning around to her. ‘We’re in Denver. We’re at the hotel.’

  ‘Where’s—’

  Camille pulled off her headphones and handed Grace the gray bear. Her face lit up.

  ‘Grace, say hi to Ren,’ said Joe. ‘She’ll be working with Daddy.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, Grace,’ said Ren.

  Grace reached forward and shook her hand. ‘You too, ma’am.’

  Ren looked at Joe. ‘Adorable.’

  ‘How old are you?’ said Ren.

  ‘Six!’ said Grace, holding up her five fingers, eventually adding the thumb on her other hand. ‘I’m nearly seven!’

  ‘Good for you,’ said Ren.

  What else can I say to that? I’m not great with child small talk. ‘I like your dress.’

  ‘Daddy got it for me,’ said Grace.

  Bless his heart.

  He looked uncomfortable with the release of this small personal detail.

  ‘I don’t have a mommy,’ said Grace.

  I knowww. But I hoped we wouldn’t go there so soon! Rescue me, someone!

  Joe’s head snapped around, but his voice was gentle. ‘You do have a mommy, sure you do—’

  ‘She’s in heaven!’ said Grace, cheerily. ‘It’s a really beautiful place.’

  ‘It is, you’re right,’ said Ren. She turned to Joe. He looked stricken.

  ‘Why don’t you guys hold on here,’ said Ren. ‘Your daddy and I will get the bags from the back.’

  ‘Thanks for the ride,’ said Joe when they were at the back of the Jeep. ‘I know it’s late. I appreciate it.’ He took the bags and put them on the sidewalk.

  ‘I’ll swing by in the morning,’ said Ren, ‘pick you up at eight thirty – is that OK?’

  ‘There’s no need,’ said Joe. ‘I can—’

  ‘It’s not a problem.’

  He nodded toward Grace, who was happily chatting with Camille. ‘She’s never said that about her mother before.’

  ‘It’s probably one of those things, someone said something in school or …’ What the hell do I know?

  Joe let out a breath. ‘She hasn’t a mommy because Duke Rawlins injured her mommy so badly, her body couldn’t cope with giving birth.’

  Jesus Christ. I had no idea that was the reason.

  ‘Duke Rawlins once said it to me himself: “I’m the gift that keeps on giving.”’

  Joe was staring at Ren, but his thoughts were clearly drifting.

  Oh, no. You’re not here for regular justice. You’re here to kill a man with your bare hands.

  Ren drove away, watching them all shrink in her rear-view mirror. There was something so tragic about them.

  She dialed Gary’s number. He picked up.

  ‘It’s me,’ said Ren. ‘What have you not told me about Duke Rawlins?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Gary.

  ‘Is he watching me?’ said Ren. ‘Do you know something? Joe Lucchesi asked me had Duke Rawlins approached me and—’

  ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ said Gary. ‘This is not about you.’

  ‘Really?’ said Ren.

  ‘Believe it or not, no,’ said Gary. ‘I’ll explain tomorrow. It’s late—’

  ‘Who is it about, then?’

  Patient sigh. ‘Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow. What’s Lucchesi like?’

  Hmmm. ‘He’s all right.’

  ‘Renspeak for you don’t like him.’

  ‘So far,’ said Ren. ‘He had a weird reaction to me, like I unsettled him. Maybe he doesn’t like women or can’t take them seriously as case agents.’

  ‘I doubt that,’ said Gary. ‘Don’t make rash judgments.’

  ‘I don’t, but … we’re not exactly …’ Stop talking or Gary will take you off this. ‘It’s late, we’re tired, he’s been traveling, there’s a serial killer out there, he knows how bad that is, so do we.’

  ‘Get some rest,’ said Gary. ‘And thanks for picking him up.’

  As Ren drove toward home, her phone beeped with a text.

  Denver bars are empty without you.

  Mauser! My drinking buddy from Breckenridge!

  Another text came in.

  Or have you erased us from your mind? There’s a Little Dick here waiting for you.

  Little Dick! My other drinking buddy from Breck!

  Work tomorrow. Important day. Visiting detective.

  Ren drove home, and parked the Jeep. She ran into the apartment, changed into pale gray evening trousers, a silver vest top, a chunky cuff, dark gray metallic heels, and a short gray jacket. She came down, ran onto the street, and hopped into the cab she had called on her way. It was one thirty a.m. But she was home by six.

  37

  The next morning, Ren pulled up in a cab outside Joe Lucchesi’s hotel at eight thirty. He got in, smelling of cologne and coffee.

  Sexy.

  Hungover and horny.

  ‘The Jeep wouldn’t start …’ said Ren, gesturing around the cab.

  Joe looked at her. She looked at him. Something passed between them.

  The knowledge that I may just have stepped out of or drunk the contents of a bar?

  Joe nodded.

  Tense.

  ‘I’ve been up all night doing a lot of thinking about … this,’ he said. He had noticed the cab driver’s attention on them.

  We both know that thinking about ‘this’ is not what I’ve been up all night doing.

  ‘This is serious,’ said Joe, without looking at her. ‘We need to be at the top of our game.’

  Shot. Across. Bow.

  He opened the window.

  I am serious, asshole. Seriousness and drinking are not mutually exclusive. Any serious drinker will tell you that.

  They got out at Safe Streets. Joe had paid the cab driver before Ren got the chance.

  Oh, blessed solid ground. Ugh. My stomach.

  Ren gave Joe the talk on the historical significance of the building as they walked up. He was interested. He told her about the old lighthouse he had lived in with his family in Ireland.

  Where your wife was left for dead. Are you over any of this? Are you safe on this case? Are you too personally emotionally invested? Are any of us safe with you around? Before I picked you up last night, I read every article there is to read on you and your family, from here to Ireland and back again. Will you be an overbearing nightmare to work with?

  They walked into the bullpen. There were three rows of boxes stacked five-high beside Ren’s desk.

  ‘What the fuck is this, people?’ she said. ‘Hoarders: Denver.’ My head! Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Throb. Throb. Throb.

  ‘They’re from me,’ said Joe. ‘I FedExed them ahead. The Duke Rawlins files.’

  Suitably embarrassed. ‘Oh.’ She walked over. ‘Thank you.’ Overbearing nightmare it is.

  She introduced Joe to the half-squad that was there.

  Gary walked into the bullpen, shook Joe’s hand. ‘Good to meet you,’ he said. ‘Thanks for coming.’

  ‘Not a problem,’ said Joe. ‘Sorry about all the files.’

  ‘The more we have, the better,’ said Gary. ‘Ren, can you please divide this up later?’

  But I want to read it all myself! I’m not sure anyone else has my eagle eye! ‘No problem.’

  ‘Joe, if you’d like to come into my office,’ said Gary.

  ‘Sure,’ said Joe.

  Gary turned to Ren. ‘Ren, maybe you could take the lunch order later—’

  Food? Noooo! Nooooo!

  ‘Then we’ll come together at two p.m.,’ said Gary. ‘The other agencies will be here by then.’

  Crowded room? Heat? The breathing of others? Their existence? Noooo! I need pineapple juice.

  Robbie and Everett carried all the boxes from beside Ren’s desk into the conference room, lining
them up against the back wall. Ren directed them from flat on her back on one of the tables. She turned her cheek to the cold surface. Her arm was stretched out, limp.

  ‘Is that door closed?’ she said. ‘Don’t let him see me like this.’

  ‘Him Joe Lucchesi?’ said Everett. ‘Don’t worry – we like to shut the door on your shame.’

  Robbie laughed.

  Progress.

  ‘What was I thinking?’ said Ren. ‘Anyone?’

  ‘You should probably sit up,’ said Robbie. ‘You’ll fall asleep. You’ll feel worse.’

  ‘Says the man who has had one hangover in his entire life,’ said Ren.

  ‘Which you caused,’ said Robbie. ‘I’m an expert in hangovers because of observing yours.’

  ‘Depressing,’ said Ren. ‘I will be silent for a short while.’ I need to sleep. I can’t bear the thought I won’t be able to.

  ‘Do you want pineapple juice?’ said Everett.

  ‘It’s become my red flag to Gary,’ said Ren. ‘You know something, I’m going to lay down on the bench in the ladies’ room, just in case. Bang on the door if I’m not back by one fifty.’

  ‘Just so we’re clear: a.m. or p.m.?’ said Everett.

  The briefing began at ten after two. Joe Lucchesi stood at the top of the conference room, solid, confident, but with eyes that showed he hadn’t slept much. Ren had taken the position as far from him and Gary as she could. She was clutching a bottle of water.

  ‘Duke Rawlins …’ said Joe, ‘is a brutal rapist, a serial killer, an animal. He is a psychopath in its truest form.’

  38

  ‘In 1988, at seventeen years old, Rawlins carried out his first rape/murder with his accomplice, his childhood friend, Donald Riggs,’ said Joe. ‘Riggs was weaker, less intelligent, pliable, and impressionable. Together, they went on to rape and murder nine women – that we know of – all along I-35 in Texas, up until the late 1990s. No one realized that they were dealing with more than one killer; it was called the Crosscut Killer investigation, singular. Rawlins and Riggs stopped raping and murdering only because Rawlins was jailed for a different crime – stabbing a guy in a parking lot.

  ‘In 2004, Donald Riggs, working alone, branched off from their traditional targets and crimes, and kidnapped an eight-year-old girl for ransom in New York City. I was on that case. I shot Donald Riggs dead, and from that moment on Duke Rawlins had me in his sights. When he got out of prison, he tracked me and my family down, followed us to Ireland.

  ‘He raped and murdered a woman the day he arrived, a complete stranger – a crime of opportunity. He might have done the same with some of your victims. He can switch from organized to impulsive just like that. He went on to find himself a new accomplice, a young woman this time – a heavy girl, vulnerable, insecure and, like Donald Riggs, inferior to him intellectually. He used her to lure me into a trap: he stabbed her, I came across her on the roadside, drove her to get help, but it was a ruse. Rawlins ambushed us before I got her to the hospital. He took her away and killed her, but he didn’t rape her. Nor did he rape the second woman who was there that night. He did, however, go on to violently assault her.’

  The second woman being your wife.

  ‘And he is now raping only with a foreign object,’ said Ren. ‘Whether that is a physical or psychological issue …’

  ‘Rawlins may be working alone now,’ said Joe, ‘or he may have another accomplice.’

  ‘Other than Kurt Vine?’ said Glenn Buddy.

  Joe nodded. ‘It’s possible. And that person could be either male or female. Obviously, using a female accomplice would make it a whole lot easier to lure a female target. That’s if Rawlins’ approach is to engage with his victims first, rather than just bundling them into the back of a vehicle.’

  A brief silence descended.

  ‘Duke Rawlins is,’ said Joe, ‘without doubt, the most dangerous and disturbed man I have ever met.’ He paused. ‘Do not engage with him.’

  Why are you looking at me? You sexist … I knew it.

  ‘You’re going to believe that you can handle Duke Rawlins,’ said Joe. ‘He’s just one man, right?’

  Still looking at me.

  ‘But he’s more than that,’ said Joe. ‘If you’re unfortunate enough to be sucked in by him, he will manipulate you in ways you won’t predict, no matter how smart you are.’

  Joe started to pace.

  Finally, looking away.

  He stopped dead, facing them all. ‘It is important to note that Duke Rawlins will follow through on his threats. Almost immediately. He will barely give you time to act. If he gives you a choice, it’s not really a choice: its purpose is to torture you in whatever way he wants to. Beneath the surface evil of Duke Rawlins, there’s a well that’s always ready to pump up a fresh supply. It goes straight to hell.’

  Jesus Christ. ‘I can’t wait to get close to him.’

  Joe Lucchesi looked at Ren.

  I said that out loud.

  Gary cut in, a look of scarcely buried fury on his face. ‘You don’t want to meet him. Trust me.’

  Everyone turned to Gary now. ‘I worked on the original Crosscut Killer investigation.’

  What the what now?

  Ren looked between Joe and Gary. ‘Hold on,’ she said, without thinking. ‘Joe – so, you came to Denver not just for this, but because your son lives here. And that’s why your daughter traveled with you …’

  Joe looked like she had betrayed a confidentiality. Gary looked a little surprised by the revelation.

  ‘Yes – we were coming to visit my son,’ said Joe.

  Stiffly.

  ‘Then I got Gary’s call …’

  ‘Duke Rawlins targeted you and your family before,’ said Ren. ‘You don’t think he’d do that again? Also considering that now, in this one city, he’s got you, who shot his best friend, and Gary, who worked his original case? Both law enforcement officers under one roof?’ Boom!

  ‘You think all this is about us?’ said Joe. ‘About me and Gary?’

  Ooh, scornful tone. Nice. ‘He followed you before,’ said Ren. Hello?

  ‘Then why didn’t he just come to New York after me again?’ said Joe.

  ‘Because you were probably hyper-vigilant there,’ said Ren. ‘When was the last time you heard from Duke Rawlins?’

  ‘Seven years ago,’ said Joe.

  ‘Do you think there might be anything significant in that passing of years?’ said Ren.

  ‘This is not about my family,’ said Joe.

  Beyond dismissive.

  ‘And he’s never come after mine,’ said Gary.

  ‘I wouldn’t have brought my daughter here if I thought we were targets,’ said Joe. ‘There has to be another reason Duke Rawlins is in Denver.’

  Ren turned to Gary with a pleading look in her eye. Is this guy for real? Gary returned her look with a warning glare.

  After the briefing, Gary called Ren to his office.

  Ren sat down.

  This already does not look good.

  ‘Ren, I’m going to have to take you off as case agent on this.’

  I may not have heard that correctly.

  Gary gave her his steadying look. ‘I don’t believe it’s safe, under these new circumstances, for any woman to be on this case – and specifically not for you. I’m concerned you’re going to take risks.’

  ‘Can I just point out that Rawlins has never touched a female law enforcement officer …’ said Ren.

  ‘A female law enforcement officer has never been on the case,’ said Gary. ‘Ren, you’re an attrac—’

  ‘I’m not his type,’ said Ren. ‘And you know it. He likes scrawny blondes. And anyway, I have moves.’ She raised her hands, straight, karate-style.

  Gary looked at her patiently. ‘Law enforcement officers, by their nature, are people he clearly has a problem with. So, male or female, that makes you his type.’

  ‘Thereby negating your point: anyone who leads this is under threat.�
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  ‘I’m trying to protect you,’ said Gary. ‘You look … excited by this.’

  I fucking AM! ‘It’s not excitement – it’s focus. I believe …’ that I will succeed where those who have gone before me have failed.

  Gary leaned forward. ‘You believe …’ He paused. ‘Ren. Don’t believe you are invincible. Please.’

  Not this again. ‘I’m focused. That’s it. That’s a positive. Don’t take me off this.’

  Gary sat back. ‘If you take one risk, go off alone, try and lure this guy somewhere …’

  Foiled again! ‘I won’t take risks.’

  Gary studied her face. Something in his expression changed. ‘Don’t die on me, Ren.’

  ‘Not a chance.’ I’m invincible.

  Gary leaned in, his face set. ‘Ren, let me tell you about Duke Rawlins and law enforcement. When I was in Stinger’s Creek working on the Crosscut Killer investigation, I was with a rookie, a nice kid, fresh out of the academy. We went to Bill Rawlins’ house – Duke Rawlins’ uncle. He had died in jail not long into a prison term for killing a woman called Rachel Wade. At this point, I had no clue that Duke Rawlins was the killer. He wasn’t on our radar – on anyone’s radar. I didn’t know he existed. I was going to Bill Rawlins’ house because I was thinking that Rachel Wade may have been connected to the other missing women – I just didn’t know how. Bill Rawlins had kept Harris hawks – and it turned out that Duke had been back, intermittently, on Bill’s land, raising the hawks, breeding them with the help of some low-life junkies who got to sleep in the house in return.’

  You look as unsettled as I’ve ever seen you.

  ‘So I’m walking through the woods,’ said Gary. ‘I’m alone. It’s early morning, not long after sunrise. I stood on a steel-jawed trap.’ He raised his pant leg and showed Ren a small white scar about four inches above his ankle.

  ‘Holy fuck.’

  ‘So that snaps shut, but I don’t make a sound. But when the trap closes, it cuts the rope attached to a net above that’s filled with freshly killed animals, small ones: rabbits and rats and weasels.’

  ‘What the fuck?’

  ‘Down it comes, I’m laying there in the stink of all this crap around me, rats and weasels and shit sliced open. And then I hear flapping wings. Someone had released a dozen hawks and down they came. I just lay back and closed my eyes,’ said Gary. ‘I could hear laughter, this almost hysterical laughter coming from somewhere in the trees. Eventually, I passed out from the pain – those birds weren’t just poking about the rodents. When I woke, up, my leg was freed. I managed to limp through the most obvious clearing back toward where I thought the car was. I went the wrong way. I’m guessing whoever released me turned me around so I was facing the opposite way. So I was going the wrong way for quite some time. I came across a hunter, regular guy, he smiled, he didn’t have two horns coming out the top of his head.’