The Stranger You Seek - By Amanda Kyle Williams Page 0,101

at me for a moment, a slight flicker in her eyes, playful, nothing aggressive, just reading me. She then went back to the information I’d given her—neatly printed with times and dates, names, addresses, and statements, copies of the victim’s extensive criminal record, hospital records.

I waited while she read. I looked out the window, drank water, looked at the picture on her desk of her with her parents, and studied the artwork on her walls.

“Well, with his background, it shouldn’t be difficult to prove that he was dangerous, that my client feared for his life,” she told me. “Whether or not the judge will allow it is a different matter.” She was quiet for a moment, still reading. “I’ll need witness subpoenas on these people. Will you have any trouble serving them?”

“I don’t think so. Most of them will jump at the chance to testify to his character. Or lack of character. Not a lot of people in the community mourning this man your client murdered. Um, shot.”

“Excellent. I’ll have Diane call you once we’ve filed the paperwork.”

I was sitting outside the Starbucks at 100 Peachtree, the old Equitable building, watching pigeons compete for popcorn in Woodruff Park. Couriers and people with briefcases and telephones and serious expressions rushed by me. From the loading docks just around the corner, I heard shouted instructions and the distinctive sound a big truck makes when it’s braking.

Rauser plopped down in one of the metal chairs in front of me. He was twenty minutes late, wearing a suit and a light blue tie, which he tugged at as he sat down.

“You look nice,” I said. “Got a date?”

“With the press,” he answered. “I’ll be the one standing behind the chief keeping my mouth shut. We’re expecting a major leak in a few minutes.”

I smiled. “Amazing how these leaks happen.”

Rauser nodded. “Worked a deal with Monica Roberts after she ambushed us in the garage. Called her from the Dobbs scene and offered her first dibs, promised I’d confirm the suspect’s name and leak Charlie’s mug shot to her if she’d dump the footage of me and you together.”

“Smart,” I said.

“It’s not as self-serving as it sounds. Maybe someone else will recognize him and we can connect him to more of the victims. This is what we know. The courier firm he works for had both David Brooks and the other dead attorney, Elicia Richardson, on their client list. Their records show Charlie making several deliveries to each office. Courier companies all over serve these big law firms. We also found a self-storage warehouse near his town house where he leases a big unit, big enough for a car. Unit’s empty but the fluid on the concrete tells us there was a vehicle in there recently. He’s lost my guys a couple times now. We think he’s ducking into this maze of little warehouses, leaving his bike and driving out. We have it under surveillance. And the DA finally found a judge that would issue a search warrant.”

“You searched Charlie’s place?”

“Early this morning. Didn’t find a damn thing we can use. Circumstantial is piling up, but we got no knife, no blood, no pictures. This guy’s a murderer. We’ll get him. The special delivery to the Georgian is at the lab. Already matched the blood type, so we know it was Dobbs’s dick. Jesus.” I saw the pain in his face. “What’s left of the package is there too. Still hoping we can pull some DNA off it. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but we will get him.”

I touched his hand. “I know.”

He looked at my drink, ignoring my hand. “What’s that?”

“Chai tea latte, iced.”

“Thought that was some kind of martial art.”

“That’s tai chi,” I said, and smiled.

He took a long drink from my plastic cup without asking, then took a couple more gulps big enough to leave me with nothing but some milky ice. Then he burped and leaned back in the green metal chair, tipping the front legs off the ground.

“What?” he said.

“I don’t even know why I like you sometimes,” I said. “You’re such a guy.”

He grinned at me and made some adjustments to his crotch area with enough flair so I had to notice.

“And mature too,” I added.

“So, what’s up with Dan?” Rauser asked suddenly. “You back together or what?”

“No, we are not back together nor will we ever be back together. He just wanted to get out of his apartment for a few days and figured he could use