Second Chance

Chapter 34

I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING during the night. The killer had called 911.

I got right on it in the morning. Lila Mckendree ran Dispatch. She had been on the board when the Davidson call came in.

Lila was plump, rosy cheeked, and quick to smile, but no one was more professional, and she could coolly juggle serious situations like an air-traffic controller.

She set up the tape of the actual 911 call in the squad room. The entire detail huddled around. Cappy and Jacobi had come in before heading back out to Vallejo.

“It's on a three-loop reel,” Lila explained. She pressed the playback key.

In a few seconds, we were going to hear the killer's voice for the first time.

“San Francisco Police, nine one one hotline,” a dispatcher's voice said.

There wasn't another sound in the squad room.

An agitated male voice shot back, “I need to call in a disturbance... Some guy's doing an O.J. on his wife.”

“Okay... ” the operator replied. “I'll need to start with your location. Where is this disturbance taking place?”

There was an interfering background noise like a TV or traffic, making it difficult to hear. “Three oh three Seventh. Fourth floor. You better send someone out. It's starting to sound real bad.”

“You said the address was three oh three Seventh?”

“That's right,” the killer said.

“And who am I speaking with?” the operator asked.

“My name's Billy. Billy Reffon. I live down the hall. You better hurry.”

We all looked around, surprised. The killer gave a name?

Jesus.

“Listen, sir,” the dispatcher asked, “are you able to hear what's going on as I'm talking to you?” “What I can hear,” he said, “is some spook getting the living shit beat out of her.”

The dispatcher hesitated. “Yes, sir. Can you determine if there's been any physical injury so far?”

“I'm no doctor, lady I'm just trying to do the right thing. Just send someone!”

“Okay Mr. Reffon, I'm calling a patrol car now. What I want you to do is exit the building and wait for the officers. They're on the way.”

“You better move quick,” the killer said. “Sounds like someone's about to get hurt.”

After the transmission ended, there was the follow-up recording of the outgoing dispatch call.

“The call came from a mobile phone,” Lila said, shrugging her broad shoulders. “No doubt cloned. Here, it's starting up again on a three-cycle loop.” In a moment the tape came on a second time. This time, I listened closely for what the voice could tell me.

I need to call in a disturbance... It was a worried voice, panicked but cool.

“The guy's a good fucking actor,” Jacobi huffed.

My name's Billy Billy...... I clenched the edges of my wooden chair as I listened to the dispatcher's well-intended instructions. “Exit the building and wait for the officers. They're on the way.”

All the while, he was sitting behind a rifle scope, waiting for his prey to show up.

You better move quick, he said. Someone's about to get hurt.

We listened to the recording one more time.

This time, I heard the mocking indifference in his voice.

Not even the slightest tone of compunction for what he was about to do. In the last warning, I even detected a hint of a cold chuckle: Quick... Someone's about to get hurt.

“That's all I have,” Lila Mckendree said. “The killer's voice.”