2 In The Hat Part 14

Not tonight. Sleep's van was parked one block ahead. Right where the boy's luck would run out.

Sleep flipped the cigarette into the sidewalk and crossed the street. He made it to the corner well ahead of the couple. Crossing back over to their side of the street, he watched as they made their way along the sidewalk. When they were a few car lengths from the van, he walked toward them. He reached them as they pa.s.sed the van. He b.u.mped into the boy. Pretending to get knocked off balance, Sleep took a pratfall onto the concrete.

Even in their drunken state, they had their manners. The boy stuck out a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Hey, I know you," the girl said, giggling. She had a stiff smile etched on her face. She was very drunk. "You're the guy that-"

"Oh, yeah," the boy said. "I remember. Are you okay, mister?" He brushed off the back of Sleep's jacket.

"You kids are out late," Sleep said. "Don't you have cla.s.ses tomorrow?"

The girl giggled.

"Watching the game," the boy said. He pulled her close to him again, more to hold her up than anything. He was tugging at her, trying to get her to move away.

Sleep looked at her eyes and smiled, then turned to the boy. "Where do you live?" As if he didn't know.

"Just up Comm Ave.," the boy said.

"Why don't I give you a lift? Make sure you get there in one piece. This is my van right here."

The young Romeo took an a.s.sessing look at the girl. She could barely stand, her eyes were half closed. He knew what the boy was thinking. Get her back to her apartment before she threw up or pa.s.sed out. The sooner, the better.

"Sure," he said, "we'll take a ride."

He helped the boy arrange her in the pa.s.senger's seat, strapping on her seat belt. Then he led the boy around the work van, explaining that he didn't like to use the rear and side doors. He didn't mention that they had been covered with insulation. He'd taken the bulb out of the overhead light too. He directed the boy to climb over the driver's seat and sit on an empty five-gallon paint bucket between the two seats.

The boy adjusted himself on his makeshift chair. Sleep put in his ear plugs. The girl was slumped over in her seat. Sleep closed the door, hit the automatic lock b.u.t.ton, and turned toward the boy. He pulled the gun from his holster, and in one motion, put it to the boy's chest and pulled the trigger. Sleep was ready for the recoil this time. The boy flew back onto the large canvas set up in back. The canvas covered a plastic tarp. An effective way to minimize the mess.

The shot woke the girl from her stupor. She looked around, stunned by the blast of the gunshot. She looked at the gun in his hand and turned to look at the boy's body sprawled in the back of the van. It was a few seconds before she could put all the pieces together. When it all fit, she screamed. No one could hear her. The soundproofing m.u.f.fled the shot, so it would certainly stifle her cries of fear.

He casually removed the earplugs. He wanted to enjoy her death with all of his senses.

She reached for the door handle, fumbled around, clawing for it, but it wasn't there. It had been removed a long time ago.

He felt her stiffen when he undid her seat belt, slid it gently off her shoulder, and wrapped his fingers around her throat. He had her from behind, which was a good thing. It made it more difficult for her to scratch at his face. She struggled to get away from him, but he held a firm grip. He didn't want her to hurt herself in the struggle. The last thing he wanted was to damage her perfect face.

He pulled her close, away from the door, away from any hard surfaces, protecting her. He dragged her into the back of the van, her arms and legs flailing.

Then he squeezed.

CHAPTER 51.

Connie made his way toward Peter's Hill and stopped at the yellow crime scene tape. He stood on Bussey Street at the base of the hill near a dozen police cars. The message had come across the alpha pager twenty minutes earlier. Two bodies, one male and one female, discovered by a runner in the Arnold Arboretum. This was an upscale neighborhood. All the old houses were being bought up and renovated by a new generation. More gentrified by the day. crime scene tape. He stood on Bussey Street at the base of the hill near a dozen police cars. The message had come across the alpha pager twenty minutes earlier. Two bodies, one male and one female, discovered by a runner in the Arnold Arboretum. This was an upscale neighborhood. All the old houses were being bought up and renovated by a new generation. More gentrified by the day.

He had been on his way to meet Greene and Ahearn at the station, but when he got the page, his plans for the evening changed. He didn't have much going with them anyway. Not since Shawn Tinsley's death. With a shooter like Tinsley out of the picture, things would quiet down in District 2.

Connie kept an eye out for Alves. He'd already called the DA's office and spoken with the chief of homicide. He wanted them to know that there was no need to page the Homicide Response ADA. Connie would handle things at the scene and give updates.

Connie skirted the perimeter of the crime scene, taking in as much as he could, which was very little. He was familiar with the area. When he was a teenager, Peter's Hill was a popular place for parties. The gentle rise of tree-covered ground provided a spectacular view of downtown Boston at night. And it offered plenty of hideaways if a couple wanted to slip away for some privacy. From where he stood, the police seemed focused on one of those spots, well off the paved path that looped around the hill.

He saw Alves and a familiar figure lumbering from a thicket. Wayne Mooney. He was carrying a stack of small, numbered orange cones that he was using to mark evidence. Working slowly around the scene, Alves gestured to the criminalists and directed the photographer.

Connie could provide valuable information about Peter's Hill. He could point out the different entrances to the park and the best place to conceal a vehicle if someone was trying to drop something off unnoticed. The killer had done that with two bodies. If the investigators looked in the right spots, they might find tire treads or shoe imprints in the dirt paths near one of the entrances.

Angel Alves acknowledged Connie with a nod. That was all he needed. Alves was balking a little at letting him into this case, but Mooney had liked his ideas on the fortunes. One of the two would let him know when he could have access to the crime scene. Then he could dig deeper into what this killer was about. When things started to fit together, he could point Alves and Mooney in the right direction.

CHAPTER 52.

Sleep waited in the line of cars on Walter Street in Roslindale. He thought he could see the glare of unnatural light coming from Peter's Hill. The police roadblock closed off Bussey Street, and when he got that far, probably Mendum Street too. All the direct public accesses to the Arboretum were blocked. The commotion indicated that the police had found his perfect couple. thought he could see the glare of unnatural light coming from Peter's Hill. The police roadblock closed off Bussey Street, and when he got that far, probably Mendum Street too. All the direct public accesses to the Arboretum were blocked. The commotion indicated that the police had found his perfect couple.

It made him sad. The lovers would get to repose only a short time more.

With these two, he could see that he was getting better at his art. The girl was beautiful and didn't need much makeup, even after meeting Brother Death. The dress Sleep had chosen for her slipped on, a perfect fit. The boy was the boy. Just like at weddings and proms, you could put a call into central casting and get a handsome groom or a date in a white shirt and black tux. But the boy was a necessary part of the tableau. Sleep was getting better with hair too. Momma had left a generous supply of beauty products. All in all, a very successful venture.

There was a time, long ago, when he didn't understand his purpose. Before he'd discovered all those books about mythology in the library. Before he'd met his brother Death. A time when he lived for his Little Things. Dressing them, buying new outfits for them at yard sales. Browsing through stores, pretending he was selecting a gift for an imaginary sister.

It was exactly at that time that his father caught on.

Then his Little Things started demanding even more.

He could remember every detail of that day. The two of them, Sleep and his father, were alone at the bakery. They'd been working since one in the morning. It was three when his father, the black hairs of his arms dusted in flour, his round face greasy from frying oil, said, "When are you gonna get a girlfriend? Act like other kids your age? When I get home, I'm gonna go up to that attic and get those dolls. I'm gonna bring 'em here and hang them in the window with a sign that says 'These are my half-a-f.a.g son's toys.' Week after that, we'll hang Cinderella's p.i.s.sy wet bedsheet in the window."

Something like a dozen plane engines roaring filled Sleep's head. His old man was relentless. He watched girls on the street and nudged Sleep to watch too. If a love scene came on the TV screen, he jacked up the volume. Once they had been waiting for Momma in Filene's and his old man had shoved him into a rack of bras.

Sleep could see himself reaching for the rolling pin. He could see himself waiting for his old man to show the back of his head. He could see himself raise the pin, feel the heft of the wood. Before he could stop himself, he remembered trying to say something like "oh no," he could see himself hammering until his father was quiet at last.

When the police came, he told them he had come in late that morning and found his father on the floor, the register open and empty.

He didn't tell the police about his father nattering at him, humiliating him, pushing him. And he didn't tell them about the queen of the G.o.ds and the dwelling of Sleep and his Brother Death. He bet none of the cops had ever read The Tales of Troy The Tales of Troy.

Sleep was startled by the loud noise. The driver in the car behind him was leaning on his horn. Traffic was moving. Sleep adjusted his sungla.s.ses and pulled his Bruins cap down tighter on his head. He drove toward the patrolman directing traffic. He waved to the officer as he pa.s.sed close to Peter's Hill, taking one last look.

CHAPTER 53.

Connie followed Alves up Peter's Hill. He'd stood in the cold, watching Mooney setting up cones while a photographer snapped pictures, for close to two hours before getting inside the yellow tape.

"Aren't you in the middle of a trial?" Alves asked.

Alves was treating him like a punk DA, making him wait, greeting him with a sarcastic question first thing. "Trial's over," Connie said. "A simple gun case, remember? Jury came back in ten minutes with a guilty. Angel, I'm out here because this case is important to me."

Alves didn't say anything as he led Connie around a thicket of bushes, toward the glow of the klieg lights. The hill was lit up like a night game at Fenway. Connie stopped when he saw the girl. She was lovely, even in death. She reminded him of Andi, his ex-girlfriend, but without the long red hair. The victim was a brunette, like the others. "Have they been moved?" Connie asked.

"Not yet. We've marked off everything that might have evidentiary value. Sarge had the ID unit take about a thousand pictures. Mooney wanted me to give you a walk-though before the ME takes the bodies. Eunice Curran and her crew are standing by to collect everything else."

"Their poses are different from the last time," Connie said. "These two are having a picnic."

"Yeah. A post-prom snack. He has them set up to make you think, next thing, the dress comes off."

"You're wrong," Connie said. "Look at the scene. It's more like a romantic dinner. She's wearing a dress that will never come off. The killer doesn't want it to. He wants them in this position, at this moment in time, happy, before the relationship is consummated. Before everything goes to s.h.i.t. He wants them to live happily ever after, like in fairy tales."

Alves's face betrayed a range of emotions, pain among them. Connie had heard the rumors that Marcy Alves wasn't sleeping in the big bed anymore. "You got all that from looking at this setup?" Alves seemed impressed, then doubtful. "Creative, but it doesn't fit. Remember, he's re-creating prom night."

"Who gave him the name Prom Night Killer? The media? The police? He's never called himself that." Connie closed his eyes and imagined himself at the first crime scene. "The first victims were coming from their prom, but our killer didn't know that. Male was in a tux. Female was in a fancy white dress. To him they could have looked like newlyweds going for a stroll in the park. Picture those miniature plastic figures, those wedding cake toppers. He's dressing the victims up as though they've just been married. That's why all the women are wearing white instead of the carnival of colors you'd normally see in prom dresses."

Connie opened his eyes again to find that Alves was staring at him. He had to know that Connie could be right. Connie did not avoid his stare. "What have you been holding back from me, Angel?"

"What are you talking about?" Alves asked.

"There's something else. Something related to Chinese culture. I saw the look you gave Mooney the other day at his place. You let him answer for you."

"I can't tell you, Connie. Mooney will flip. He's kept this thing under wraps for ten years. Hardly anybody knows about it. It's one of the reasons we're convinced he's not a copycat."

"I haven't held anything back from you, Angel. I can't help you if I don't know all the facts."

Alves seemed to think over his options for a couple seconds. "If I show you, it goes nowhere. You can't tell Mooney. If you come up with anything based on what I show you, you come to me. Then I'll relay it to Mooney as my idea. Got it?"

"I'm not looking for credit."

Alves walked over to the girl and lifted the hair off the back of her neck.

Under the bright lights, stamped with black ink, Connie saw the familiar Yin-Yang symbol. The Tai-ji. It was upside down. The killer didn't know anything about Chinese culture. But he wanted the police to think think he did. he did.

Alves lowered her hair and stepped away from her. "Mooney's coming."

CHAPTER 54.

Money stood aside as the photographer took pictures of the tire tread in the mud on the corner of South and Bussey. tread in the mud on the corner of South and Bussey.

"I think we can get a decent mold," Eunice Curran said.

"Good. I'll see you back on the hill." He turned and followed the asphalt path, partly hidden in shadow, toward the opening ahead. The area looked so different at night. He remembered coming here on one of his first dates with Leslie. A warm spring day. It was Lilac Day, and Leslie thought it would be nice to go for a walk and have some bread and cheese outdoors near the little brook that ran through the woods.

Like his two unidentified victims on the hill.

That was a long time ago. Before he'd seen so much death. He and Leslie had stopped at the lilacs as they made their way through the maze of paths that wound through the trees. Peter's Hill and the rest of the Arboretum were maintained by Harvard University, she'd explained to him. The best kept park in the city, she'd said. The most beautiful jewel in the...

Mooney stopped. He was alone, not quite at the path at the base of the hill where most of the other units were gathering. One by one, and in order, he ticked off the murder sites. The Fens. The Riverway. Olmsted Park. Franklin Park. And now Peter's Hill, the Arnold Arboretum. It made perfect sense.

He picked up his pace. At the base of the hill, he stepped off the path and cut across the gra.s.s toward the scene the killer had left for them. He spotted Alves walking Connie through it.

When Mooney caught up with them, Alves said, "Connie doesn't think the murders have anything to do with prom night. Thinks he dressed them up as newlyweds for their picnic in the park."

"Interesting. 'Cause I don't think this has anything to do with a picnic in the park." Mooney waved his hand at the victims. "It's more like a picnic on the Emerald Necklace."

"I don't get it," Alves said.

"He's not familiar with Boston's history," he said to Connie. "This minute, we're standing on Peter's Hill, which is a part of the Arnold Arboretum. Which is-"

"One of the jewels in Olmsted's Emerald Necklace," Connie interrupted.

Mooney nodded, then turned to Alves. "You've never heard of Frederick Law Olmsted, have you?"

Connie began, "Olmsted designed half of Central Park in New York City. Then he did the system of parks in Boston that runs from the Common to Franklin Park. Each one is a 'jewel' in what he called the Emerald Necklace. What kind of Bostonian are you?"

"I'm from Jamaica Plain," Alves said.

"Most of the Necklace is in J.P.," Mooney continued. "The Arborway, the Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Franklin Park-"

"Got it. I'll study up on my history of the Boston Parks tomorrow. How does this tie in?" Alves asked Mooney.

"The Boston Common and the Public Garden are the first two jewels in the necklace. Then you have the Commonwealth Mall, the gra.s.sy area that runs down the middle of Comm Ave. That leads right into the Back Bay Fens where Kelly Adams and Eric Flowers were found. Then you have the Riverway, which leads into Olmsted Park and the Jamaica Pond."

"So the killer's taking us on a tour of the Emerald Necklace," Connie said. "But why?"

"Don't know yet. Maybe Adams's necklace gave him the idea to take us on a tour of his Emerald Necklace. Maybe he works for the Parks Department, a laborer, a supervisor." Mooney paused. "Or a park ranger. Someone with a badge who might be able to gain your trust."

Mooney studied the two men in front of him on the dark hill. One of them was a student of Boston's history, the other was not. The killer was someone with knowledge beyond knowing that kids from Dorchester hated kids from Southie, and that kids from Southie hated kids from Charlestown. The killer was someone who understood Boston. Here, all along, they'd been thinking that the killer was giving them clues-the Tai-ji stamps and the fortunes. That was c.r.a.p. The real clues were much more subtle. The killer was challenging them on a level he didn't usually find in criminals.

CHAPTER 55.