A Necessary Evil

CHAPTER 70

Omaha Police Department

Omaha, Nebraska

Tommy Pakula couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the hell do you mean we've got more than one killer?"

"I was working on a serial killer case back in D.C. before I came out here. All the victims have been decapitated," O'Dell started to explain.

"But they've been all women so far, haven't they?" Pakula remembered seeing bits and pieces on TV.

"Yes, as far as we know."

"And in the D.C. area. Not Boston."

"Look," O'Dell said, "I'm not sure about this, but I don't think a killer who hides a victim in the Florida wetlands would turn around a week later and decapitate another, displaying that victim's head on a church altar."

"Isn't it possible he's starting to lose it?" Carmichael asked, taking several steps back as if to get out from between Pakula and O'Dell.

"Anything's possible," O'Dell said, but she didn't sound as if she meant it. "I'm just saying there's usually a pattern with this type of killer even when he starts to accelerate."

"But yesterday you told me never to underestimate who's capable of murder." Pakula was losing his patience. Today they seemed even farther away from finding a suspect. Now O'Dell was telling him she couldn't even come up with a profile.

"And yesterday you told me you weren't convinced one killer could pull off all these murders. That was when we had three instead of five," she reminded him.

"You're right," Pakula said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, I'll play along. Let's say there're two killers. Makes sense that one might be taking the Midwest and another takes the East and Southeast. But how are they working together?"

Pakula shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall as O'Dell started to pace again. He sensed a nervous energy to her today that was a bit unsettling. Was it that she had no answers or could it be her anticipation in making this deal with Keller? Either way, he hoped that by hunkering down and not moving around he might be able to calm her down. Carmichael wasn't any help. She was pacing along the length of the room on the other side.

"They might have something set up over the Internet," O'Dell offered.

"Next you're gonna tell me it's a couple of teenagers playing Dungeons and Dragons over the Internet."

"You're kidding, right?" Carmichael said, stopping in her tracks and looking from Pakula to O'Dell.

"Agent O'Dell has a theory that the killer… or killers could be teenagers who have been abused by priests. Correct me if I'm not getting this quite right," he said to O'Dell, unable to contain the sarcasm and to his own surprise a little bit of anger. "That they could be taking things into their own hands, spurred on by one of those Internet crusader games that are popular right now."

When Carmichael didn't laugh or roll her eyes Pakula knew he was in trouble. He was the odd man out. He knew it before she even opened her mouth.

"Could be why this Boston one doesn't follow any pattern," Carmichael suggested, adding her own spin. "Teenagers are unpredictable anyway. I imagine that's true when you're dealing with teenage killers, right? A kid might not be able to keep it all together."

There was a knock at the conference-room door and a uniformed officer poked his head in. "Kasab's ready for you. Said to tell you they're at the Embassy Suites. Your special guest refused to come down to the police station."

"Thanks, Bernie," Pakula told him. When he glanced at O'Dell he had to do a double take. All the color had drained from her face and she was staring at him.

"You have Keller at the same hotel I'm staying at?" O'Dell was incredulous.

"Not my idea. Chief Ramsey and Assistant Director Cunningham set this up. I was told to treat him as a guest of the Omaha Police Department."

"And how do you treat a guest of the Omaha Police Department?" O'Dell wanted to know.

"Not sure," Pakula said, scratching his jaw. "We've never had one before. But I would think the first rule is to make him nice and comfy so he tells us lots of stuff. And since it sounds like your Father Michael Keller doesn't trust us, we should start by accommodating his request to meet on neutral territory. Suppose he's afraid we might consider arresting him?"

"I'd like to do more than arrest him," O'Dell muttered, surprising both Pakula and Carmichael.

"We should get going." Pakula grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair but threw it over his arm. It had already been eighty degrees this morning when he came in. He hated to see what it was by now. "We certainly don't want to keep our special guest waiting. I hope to hell he has something we can use."

"I just can't believe Cunningham put him in my hotel."

"Probably the chief's doing," Pakula told her. "They give the police department a pretty decent discount."

The look O'Dell shot him said exactly what she thought of their discount.