what happened with Ellis,” he said quietly.
I knew
it pretty well. Brad Ellis had been Sarah’s partner not too long ago. He’d also
been a budding serial killer, although not one very skilled at covering his
tracks. Sarah had caught on to him early, but not early enough to keep him from
nearly killing both of us.
I was
far from the world’s most social person. I hadn’t talked to Sarah in quite a
while. I hadn’t even known she’d been having problems. Between her and Krystal
I’d managed to completely fail two people recently. I felt like the queen of
the assholes.
Aware
that I was seething and nearly about to explode, I decided to end the
conversation before I said or did something I’d regret. “You guys need anything
else from me?”
“I don’t
think so,” Fulton said. “We might have more questions later if something comes
up, but I think we’re good here.”
“Fine,”
I said. “Dan knows how to reach me.” I turned abruptly and headed for my car.
I
managed to keep it together long enough to drive two blocks and pull over to
the side of the road. Then I pounded on my steering wheel with my fists until I
thought I’d break something.
My ankle
was throbbing now, as well. I’d been on it too much today. But I wasn’t going
to get any rest anytime soon.
When I’d
calmed myself down enough to think straight I knew what my next move had to be.
I took my cell phone and opened up a web browser to Craigslist. Then I started
an advertisement in the “for sale” section. Rotary-dial phone. Circa 1984.
$25. I added a phone number and submitted it. The phone number’s prefix
didn’t actually exist, which meant no strangers would be getting a call about a
rotary-dial phone they didn’t have to sell. The advertisement’s purpose was to
raise a flag. It meant I needed help.
It would
take a while to get an answer back to the ad. I had to wait for the right
person to see it. In the meantime, I decided to go looking for the homeless guy
I’d seen earlier. He was the only witness I knew of that had seen Krystal’s
killer. Maybe I’d be able to get something out of him.
It took
me ten minutes of driving up and down the neighborhood streets, but I
eventually found the man I was looking for sitting on someone’s lawn maybe half
a mile away from where Krystal had been killed. Unfortunately, a patrol car had
found him first, and two uniforms were questioning him. He appeared to be
asking his shopping cart if it had seen anything it wanted him to pass along.
That probably wasn’t going to get anyone very far. I could have crashed the
party, but I was in a mood and I couldn’t imagine what good it might have done.
Besides, he’d just said it was a businesswoman. Do you know how many
businesswomen are in San Diego at any given time? Neither do I, but you can bet
it’s a lot.
I had
another call I wanted to make, but I decided to wait until the fake
advertisement I’d placed had been responded to. It would be best if I calmed
down first, anyway. I drove to the parking lot of a nearby CVS and waited. 45
minutes later my phone rang. The caller ID read Abercrombie . I answered
it on the first ring.
“What do
you need, Nevada?” Abercrombie asked.
Abercrombie
wasn’t his real name. Nor was Fitch the name of his partner. I didn’t know
their real names. They both worked for a somewhat retired hacker I knew named
Scott Landers. That was his real name. Scott’s brother had been an early
victim of the Laughing Man. Scott and his team did favors for me from time to
time. In return, I was expected to catch and kill the Laughing Man, ideally
while Scott watched. So far I hadn’t had any luck holding up my end of the
bargain.
“I have
a phone I need you to look at,” I said.
“I’m a
little busy,” Abercrombie said. “My parents are in town.”
“It’s
important.”
He
didn’t say anything for a moment. “I suppose it must be,” he finally said.
“You’re skipping our usual delightful
I knew
it pretty well. Brad Ellis had been Sarah’s partner not too long ago. He’d also
been a budding serial killer, although not one very skilled at covering his
tracks. Sarah had caught on to him early, but not early enough to keep him from
nearly killing both of us.
I was
far from the world’s most social person. I hadn’t talked to Sarah in quite a
while. I hadn’t even known she’d been having problems. Between her and Krystal
I’d managed to completely fail two people recently. I felt like the queen of
the assholes.
Aware
that I was seething and nearly about to explode, I decided to end the
conversation before I said or did something I’d regret. “You guys need anything
else from me?”
“I don’t
think so,” Fulton said. “We might have more questions later if something comes
up, but I think we’re good here.”
“Fine,”
I said. “Dan knows how to reach me.” I turned abruptly and headed for my car.
I
managed to keep it together long enough to drive two blocks and pull over to
the side of the road. Then I pounded on my steering wheel with my fists until I
thought I’d break something.
My ankle
was throbbing now, as well. I’d been on it too much today. But I wasn’t going
to get any rest anytime soon.
When I’d
calmed myself down enough to think straight I knew what my next move had to be.
I took my cell phone and opened up a web browser to Craigslist. Then I started
an advertisement in the “for sale” section. Rotary-dial phone. Circa 1984.
$25. I added a phone number and submitted it. The phone number’s prefix
didn’t actually exist, which meant no strangers would be getting a call about a
rotary-dial phone they didn’t have to sell. The advertisement’s purpose was to
raise a flag. It meant I needed help.
It would
take a while to get an answer back to the ad. I had to wait for the right
person to see it. In the meantime, I decided to go looking for the homeless guy
I’d seen earlier. He was the only witness I knew of that had seen Krystal’s
killer. Maybe I’d be able to get something out of him.
It took
me ten minutes of driving up and down the neighborhood streets, but I
eventually found the man I was looking for sitting on someone’s lawn maybe half
a mile away from where Krystal had been killed. Unfortunately, a patrol car had
found him first, and two uniforms were questioning him. He appeared to be
asking his shopping cart if it had seen anything it wanted him to pass along.
That probably wasn’t going to get anyone very far. I could have crashed the
party, but I was in a mood and I couldn’t imagine what good it might have done.
Besides, he’d just said it was a businesswoman. Do you know how many
businesswomen are in San Diego at any given time? Neither do I, but you can bet
it’s a lot.
I had
another call I wanted to make, but I decided to wait until the fake
advertisement I’d placed had been responded to. It would be best if I calmed
down first, anyway. I drove to the parking lot of a nearby CVS and waited. 45
minutes later my phone rang. The caller ID read Abercrombie . I answered
it on the first ring.
“What do
you need, Nevada?” Abercrombie asked.
Abercrombie
wasn’t his real name. Nor was Fitch the name of his partner. I didn’t know
their real names. They both worked for a somewhat retired hacker I knew named
Scott Landers. That was his real name. Scott’s brother had been an early
victim of the Laughing Man. Scott and his team did favors for me from time to
time. In return, I was expected to catch and kill the Laughing Man, ideally
while Scott watched. So far I hadn’t had any luck holding up my end of the
bargain.
“I have
a phone I need you to look at,” I said.
“I’m a
little busy,” Abercrombie said. “My parents are in town.”
“It’s
important.”
He
didn’t say anything for a moment. “I suppose it must be,” he finally said.
“You’re skipping our usual delightful
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