Seven ways to die

19

“Who is she?” Cody mused aloud, staring at the crime scene photo on the big board. “Why did they meet? Is she the killer?”

“Hard to say, Captain,” Ryan said. “According to this kid, Warren, nobody knows nothin’. The members have numbers. It’s all cash. They wear masks. He isn’t even sure how many members there are but Handley’s was 103.”

“Could be a couple of hundred people involved,” DeMarco added.

“So?”

“That’s a lot of people.”

“Ever heard of Eddie Zigo?” Cody asked.

“Everybody knows Eddie bagged the Son of Sam.”

“The taskforce knew the Son of Sam was using a. 44 caliber Bull revolver. They zeroed the search down to a hundred. 44 Bulls in Brooklyn. They tracked them down one by one. And Zigo made the case with a. 44 Bull in Berkowitz’ car. Get the point?”

There was a pause and then Ryan said, “Yeah, but even if we got a list, Cap, the woman was Handley’s guest. Her name won’t be on it.”

“Handley sure won’t be giving her up,” Annie Rothschild muttered.

Cody stared at her for a moment. He shook his head and sighed.

“So we’re back to square one.” He looked around the room. “Anybody?”

“Our best guess is that Handley met her at the club and gave her two keys,” Ansa offered. “One for the front door, the other to his apartment.”

“Two people were in that apartment, Handley and his killer,” Cody said. “Either she killed him or passed the keys to somebody who did.”

Cody nodded. “Amelie Cluett says Handley was straight. If she’s correct then Androg is the lady in red. Handley wouldn’t have submitted to a guy.”

“Unless…” Si said.

“Unless…?”

“Unless part of the deal was that Handley blindfolded himself when he got undressed. Maybe he and the killer never spoke when he got home. Maybe that was part of the intrigue. Maybe Vampira was a Judas goat.”

“Part of the lure,” Annie finished the thought. “Handley didn’t know for sure who was seducing him. It’s perverse enough to fit.”

“Either way, she’s involved,” Cody said. “We can’t rule her out.”

“Unless she thought it was just part of a play,” Kate replied. “The whole sex club thing is quirky as hell. Maybe she didn’t know what the endgame was.”

“You’re thinking like a prosecutor,” Si said.

“That’s my job.”