Serial

4

Renz tried the coffee again, put the cup back down, and shoved it away. “Camel piss.” He looked hard at Quinn across the diner table. “You and your investigative agency want this one?”

“Can you convince the higher-ups to turn it over to us?”

“I am the higher-up,” Renz said. “You might be off the force, along with your retread detectives, but when it comes to serial killers no one can top you. I’ll make it clear to everyone from the mayor on down that nailing this sicko is priority number one and we have to use our best. If we don’t, and there are more murders, there’ll be plenty of blame for all the people who wanted a second-rate investigation. That’s a smelly political albatross to have hanging around your neck in this city.”

So Renz had his own political motives for wanting this killer brought down fast. Well, that was fine, if it put Quinn on the case. “You sure we got a serial killer?”

“You know we do, Quinn. We both know this guy will kill again, and probably soon. The way he… the things that were done to Millie, that kinda asshole is gonna be a repeater.”

“Probably,” Quinn conceded.

“And this case interests you. It needs you like you need it. Like I need you. It’ll be like before. We’re not bypassing the NYPD. The city will employ you and your agency on a work-for-hire basis to aid in the investigation. Of course, you’ll be running it.”

Quinn knew that what Renz needed or wanted, he would get. Renz was the most popular police commissioner the city had ever known. Not to mention that he had something on almost everyone above him in the food chain. In New York, even if it meant going to jail later, a popular police commissioner with that kind of leverage wielded real power.

But Quinn did have some reservations.

“Because of Millie, I’ve got a serious personal interest in this case, Harley. We’ve never done anything like this exactly.”

“Nothing is ever like anything else exactly. Think snowflakes.”

Quinn sat drumming his fingertips on the table. There really was little doubt that Millie’s killer would strike again.

“Don’t give me all that contemplation bullshit,” Renz said. “We both know you’re in. I’ll write up the contract we had before, only for more money. I want this bastard in the worst way, Quinn.”

“I can see that, Harley. But you don’t want him more than I do.”

“So we got a deal?”

Quinn stopped with the fingers. “Yeah.”

“Your coffee’s getting cold.”

“Let it.”