Chapter 8

Officer McGill listened to the lead detective complaining on his phone.

“This guy has killed at least two people in two months, and we have nothing to work with. I’m telling you; we haven’t missed anything. The profile is all over the place. We don’t know anything except that this guy likes to use a small knife with a chip in the blade near the tip.”

Eric shuffled his paperwork and strained his ears a bit more.

“No, Captain, I understand there is a murderer out there, but I can’t catch him without having something to work with; yelling at me to close this case isn’t going to make a lead appear. The victims are unconnected as best we can tell.”

Officer Lee elbowed his friend in time for Eric to lower his head. The detective scurried past without noticing the eavesdropper.

“If you’re going to listen in to his calls about the case, at least be subtle. You know it’s a write-up if he catches you anywhere near this one.” Lee warned.

“Thanks, but I’m already involved. Or don’t you remember? My park, I found the body, called in the murder...etcetera.”

“I know Eric, but you know how the brass wants this one. It’s already impossible to solve, why add trouble to this mess? Hell, me and Jenkins had to rifle through all those reports and statements and there’s nothing to go on.” Lee advised.

“The fact that the case has gone cold is the problem, Lee. I found that girl. I want the bastard who did this found and locked up. You know that nice girl Jenny stopped coming to the park a week after the murder?”

Officer Lee raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, she did? I didn’t know you had a running partner. Or was it more like a date?” He teased.

“Jenny is just another jogger. I used to pass her every morning before this mess. The next day she was out there, but she had a can of pepper spray in hand the whole time. I don’t blame her for not going back to the park. She got all weepy when I...” Officer McGill paused.

Officer Lee leaned forward, ignoring his report on the shoplifter he’d arrested before lunch.

“When you did what, Eric?” He asked.

McGill flinched and looked away.

“I might have made her realize she probably ran past the Jones girl while she was dying.”

“You what? Why would you do that?”

Eric motioned for Officer Lee to keep his voice down.

“It was unintentional. I was asking her if anything had been unusual, a standard question. If she’d seen anyone new or not seen any of the regulars.”

Lee sank back into his chair.

“And it dawned on her the timing, and she freaked.” Lee finished the thought.

“Pretty much. You should’ve seen that poor woman. Her eyes got all watery and she was shivering. I walked her to her vehicle feeling like such a dick.” Eric replied.

“You had to ask though, McGill. It’s what we do.”

The desk sergeant walked by and both men returned to their paperwork before their shift ended. Combined that day, they had: written eight traffic tickets, arrested three drug dealers, scared the crap out of a ten-year-old shoplifter before delivering him to his parents (thankfully the shop owner hadn’t pressed charges), and utterly failed to solve two murders committed by the same person. Eric McGill began to wonder if early retirement might be worth looking into.