9:25 a.m.
7 hours until the gloaming
I found Corsica, Lyrie, and Gabriele in the conference room.
The other task force members were either out following up on leads or hadn’t made it to the office yet. Thompson had called in asking what kind of doughnuts people wanted-he was going to “pick up a few for the crew on the way in.”
I told the three people who were here what Calvin and I had been thinking. “We’ll need to make some calls to airports, check flight manifests, and I want someone to go through the suspect list and tip list looking for people who live in that area near Franklin Heights. Also, let’s find out what we can about Miriam Flandry’s death-if there were any indications of foul play. Oh, and consulting firms in the cities under question, businesses that do business with businesses.”
We split up the assignments and set to work.
The more attached you get to people before they die, the more you’ll ache after they’re gone.
So, really, the Maneater could think of no good reason to put yourself through any of that, to form any sort of emotional attachments with the people around you. After all, since you’ll be leaving them eventually, or they’ll be leaving you, why cause more grief in the world by extending or receiving love in the first place?
Now, this morning, he didn’t find it difficult at all to get the person he’d decided to abduct into his car. She was a petite woman and he was strong for his size.
He carried her into the slaughterhouse and set her in one of the walk-in freezers that was now without power, but quite soundproof and secure. She was still unconscious when he locked the freezer door.
He would come back and visit her later, then take her to the place in the building where he’d taken Celeste last night.
A test? Maybe. You could call it that. But the Maneater wanted to know how serious Joshua really was about all of this.
If he did carry out something memorable at dusk, as he claimed he was going to do, they would meet up tonight and the Maneater would reward him with this woman.
And they would share their first meal together.