"Yeah, she's getting more violent. She tried drugging her first victim, only it didn't work. Both women put up a good struggle before they died."
"What was the entry/exit point?"
"Came through an open back door and left through the bathroom window as the cops were breaking in the front door."
"What was the first victim's name?"
Michaels glanced down for a second. "Margaret Jones."
The killer certainly wasn't selecting her victims by alphabetical order, yet there had to be some sort of system. These weren't random picks off the list — the killer knew precisely what she was doing.
"Other than the violence, was there anything different in the murderer's actions?"
Michaels scratched his chin. "Well, she had no time for a ciggy, that's for sure. But she didn't with the doc, either." He hesitated, and frowned. "She injured herself this time. Right hand. And pretty badly, if the constant flow of blood is any indication."
"When you do an analysis on the blood, could you patch me through the results?"
"Sure thing."
"Thanks, Michaels." She hung up, then redialed SIU and got put through to Izzy.
"This is becoming a habit, sweetie. Don't you ever sleep?"
She rubbed gritty-feeling eyes. "Not lately, I don't. Iz, did you finish the search on Dr. Francis?"
"I surely did. She was born in New South Wales in 1987, the third child of a Meg and John Francis."
Which made her sixty years old. Only slightly more than she'd guessed. "No relation to Emma Pierce then?"
"No, honey child. Afraid not."
Damn. Every clue they'd had pointed to Emma's elusive sister. If Dr. Francis wasn't the sister, how was she connected to the case? She was connected, of that Sam was sure. "Were you able to acquire the surveillance tapes from her building?"
"Yes."
"Any visits from anyone connected to this case?"
Iz twirled the boa for several seconds. "Max Burton and Harry Maxwell were regulars until the time of Harry Maxwell's death."
She raised her eyebrows. Max had moved from his lair? It had to be love. "What hospital is Max holed up in?"
"City central."
"His condition listed?"
The boa twirled again. "Critical but stable."
"Great. Iz, can you do a search of the case file and grab the list of children placed into Greenwood's care?"
"List grabbed, sweetie."
"Patch it through to my viaphone, will you?"
"Consider it patched."
The viaphone beeped, indicating it was receiving information. "Thanks Izzy."
"Have a nice night, sweetness."