2 in the Hat： A Novel of Suspense - By Raffi Yessayan Page 0,16
it was light out.”
“Why’d he think that?”
“They showed signs of lividity in the buttocks, thighs and feet, as if they’d been sitting. We found the two of them standing.”
“So you think the guy had them sitting down after he killed them?”
“That’s what Belsky thinks. He said that after the heart stops pumping, gravity causes the blood to pool up in different parts of the body, depending on the positioning of the corpse. Initially the discoloration caused by the pooling blood can be shifted, but after six to eight hours the discoloration is fixed.”
“I understand what lividity is, Angel,” Mooney grunted.
“I’m just telling you what the ME said. The bottom line is that they had been someplace else, sitting up, possibly dressed in their formal wear, before they were dumped in Franklin Park.”
“It’s something to think about. He may have had them sitting upright in his car, strapped in with seatbelts, while he drove around trying to decide where to dump them.”
“I’m still not convinced as to how this all went down,” Alves said. “Let’s say he shoots Josh immediately. Why doesn’t anyone see or hear it? And Courtney would have screamed. There were people everywhere. How could there be no witnesses?”
“They were drunk,” Mooney said. “Maybe he tricked them into going someplace more secluded. He could have lured them into his vehicle. I could see them as good Samaritans,” Mooney said. “If the guy pretends he’s hurt, they walk right into his trap. Vintage Ted Bundy. He was a good looking guy, All American Boy. He’d wear a fake cast and pretend he needed help. Once the victim let her guard down, he’d attack.”
“What do you think he’s driving to pull off a stunt like that?” Alves said. “I’m picturing a van with tinted-out windows or a rusted-out old pickup with a cap. Every time I see something like that cruising around, I think ‘serial killer.’”
“It might not matter what he’s driving. Remember, he’s carrying a gun, the great equalizer,” Mooney said. “Guns tend to encourage people to cooperate.”
“Maybe the kids saw the gun, thought they were being robbed and figured they’d be released unharmed if they cooperated?”
“Even with a gun, it would be tough to control two people while driving. Either one of the kids could have freaked out on him and he’d have to kill them in the vehicle or risk getting caught.”
“What if there was more than one killer?” Alves said. “One guy to drive and one guy to control the victims until they got them to the primary scene.”
“This is the work of one man.”
“Okay. What if he’s not driving a van. What if he’s in an unmarked police car or something that looks like one? If he pretended to be a cop, he could have scooped them up without much trouble.”
“What if he is a cop?” Mooney asked.
“Either way, he could have told them they were under arrest for drunk and disorderly, or that he was taking them into protective custody until they sobered up. He could have placed them in cuffs and taken them wherever he wanted. Killed them at his leisure.”
“I’d like to get back out there before the next home game and talk with some of the tailgaters, see if they saw any suspicious vehicles cruising around or if they saw someone that looked like a cop riding around in an unmarked car. Problem is BC’s on the road the next two weeks.”
“What are the chances we’ll run into anyone that was there last weekend?”
“Pretty good,” Mooney said. “The same people stake out the same spots for every home game. This guy grabbed these kids. If we get lucky, one of the tailgaters saw something.”
“Three weeks is a long time to wait to talk to a bunch of drunks about something they saw a month earlier.”
“Read me that list of witnesses. I’m going over to BC right now.”
CHAPTER 14
Mooney was tired. He crumpled into the seat of his newly assigned Ford Five Hundred. He didn’t appreciate the downgrade from the Crown Vic that supervisors used to drive.
After leaving headquarters, he’d driven to Chestnut Hill. He used Alves’s list of witnesses who had seen Courtney and Josh before they disappeared Saturday night. According to their friends, the couple had been tailgating along with the rest of the BC community. The game was a major event at the school, the first home game, one of only two nationally televised night games.
Their friends said that Courtney and Josh had had a few drinks. Neither of