Silent Killer Page 0,140
scene and Dionne Fuqua’s description of the person she had seen leaving the Phillipses’ yard moments after she heard her husband’s first agonized screams. There hadn’t been any point in bringing in a sketch artist, because the deacon’s wife had not seen the woman’s face.
Medium height, medium build, which covered 80 percent of the women in Dunmore.
“All I saw was a woman hurrying away. I never saw her face, and it was too dark to see her hair color. She was wearing pants, and she was carrying something square, about the size of an overnight bag, in her hand.”
The first officers on the scene had taken Mrs. Fuqua’s statement, and Mike had chosen not to requestion the lady whose husband had died less than an hour ago. Perry Fuqua was the sixth victim, a man who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one had any doubts that Dewan Phillips had been the intended victim, and only the fact that Deacon Fuqua answered the door at the Phillipses’ home had saved the reverend’s life.
“I don’t think Missy Hovater is our killer,” Karla Ross said, breaking the silence that had lingered in Mike’s office after he left.
Her boss, Special Agent Wayne Morgan, who was busy preparing a fresh pot of coffee, paused for a half second and asked, “What makes you say that? You must have a specific reason.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy Vaughn from the Huntsville PD added. “We’re pretty sure the locket found on the Phillipses’ sidewalk belongs to her. It has her name engraved on it, and the picture inside the locket could be her mother. You’ve got to admit that there’s a strong physical resemblance.”
“Sure, the locket probably belongs to her, but I think it was planted at the scene to make us suspect her,” Karla said. “The killer has been very careful not to leave behind any evidence the first five times. Why would she be so careless this time?”
“Good point,” Derek Lawrence said as he entered the room without knocking or alerting the others beforehand.
All eyes focused on the former FBI profiler.
“Glad you decided to join us,” Jack said, the tone of his voice gruffer than he’d intended.
“I’ll let your surly attitude pass this time, considering you’ve been up all night,” Derek told Jack. “Our killer wouldn’t be careless enough to leave behind evidence, not at this stage of the game. If she left something, she did it on purpose.”
“Let me get this straight,” Special Agent Morgan said. “You believe the killer left the locket to cast suspicion on Melissa Hovater.”
Derek nodded.
“How did she get hold of Missy’s necklace?” Detective Vaughn asked.
“And why single out Missy?” Morgan asked and then shook his head before anyone could respond. “Yeah, sure. I get it. Missy was a suspect in her father’s murder, so why not point the finger at her and lead us in the wrong direction.”
“It’s going to be rough on the girl having to be questioned for a murder we’re all pretty sure she didn’t commit,” Karla said.
“That’s why Mike has gone to see the Harpers,” Jack reminded them. “He wanted to talk to them and explain the situation. The last thing any of us want is to traumatize Missy Hovater more than she’s already been traumatized.”
“I’ll be as gentle as possible when I question her,” Morgan assured them. “But I have to question her. If she can ID the necklace, she should be able to tell us where she kept it and who had access to it.”
“If she took the locket with her to the Harpers’, then I’d say that narrows down the possible suspects,” Derek said.
“To the people living in the Harper house.” Detective Vaughn lifted the coffee pot off the warmer and brought it over to the desk where Karla sat. “More?” he asked. When she nodded, he filled her mug to the brim.
“That’s right,” Jack said. “The people living in the Harper house or anyone who has visited them recently and had free access to the house.”
“At least we now know that our killer is definitely female,” Derek said. “That rules out about half the population. And just in the Harper household alone, we have four females—Mrs. Harper, her mother and her two daughters.”
“Any other new, brilliant insight into the case?” Jack asked.
Derek eyed him with curiosity and hitched his thumb toward the door. “Got a minute for a private chat?”
Jack huffed. When he glanced around the room, each person avoided making direct eye contact with him. Okay, so