The Night Stalker

Eighty-One

James Smith was sitting alone inside interrogation room number two on the second floor of Parker Center. His hands were cuffed together, and he had them resting on the metal table in front of him. His fingers were picking at each other, anxiously. His eyes were fixed on the far wall, as if watching some invisible movie being played on a screen only he could see.

Hunter, Garcia and Captain Blake were regarding Smith from the other side of the two-way mirror in the adjacent observation room. Hunter paid particular attention to his eyes and facial movements.

‘He’s not our guy,’ Hunter said in a steady voice. He kept his arms folded over his chest.

‘What?’ Captain Blake blurted out with annoyance. ‘This is the first concrete lead we’ve managed to follow through since we found the first victim. Since Jonathan died in that autopsy room seven days ago for no reason. You haven’t even spoken to him yet.’

‘I don’t have to. He’s not our killer.’

‘And you know that how?’ Her hands moved to her hips. ‘Or you gonna tell me that together with your lip-reading ability you’re also psychic?’

‘Do you know where he was arrested, Captain?’

She glanced at Garcia, who gave a tiny shrug.

‘I haven’t looked at the arrest report yet. Why?’

‘Lakewood,’ Hunter said. ‘He was arrested in Lakewood.’

‘OK, and. .?’

‘Around the corner from Laura Mitchell’s apartment.’

‘Your point is. .?’

‘He was arrested because I told Operations to send two teams of plain clothes officers to stake out her place.’

The captain frowned. ‘When did you do that?’

‘After I talked to him on the phone.’

‘You knew he’d go back to her place?’

‘I suspected he’d observe it.’

‘Observe it? Why?’

‘Because his mind refuses to believe something has happened to Laura Mitchell. He needed to check it out for himself.’

The captain’s stare returned to Garcia for a moment before moving back to Hunter. ‘You better start making sense, Robert. And right now is a good time.’

Hunter finally turned and faced Captain Blake. ‘When we spoke on the phone, he thought I was a detective with the fraud squad.’

‘Fraud squad? Why?’

‘Because that’s his crime, Captain — impersonating. We all know James Smith isn’t his real name. Nevertheless, he’s managed to obtain a driver’s license, an ID card, a library card, maybe even a passport, all under a false identity. That can get him one to five years inside. But as he said on the phone to me, that’s not enough to trigger a major investigation. That’s why he couldn’t understand why his photo had hit the papers. Why we were after him. When he found out I was with the Homicide Division, he hesitated for a moment, then there was a distinct change in his voice.’

‘Like what?’

‘Trepidation. . fear, but not for himself, or of being caught.’

The captain looked lost.

‘The reason why he hesitated was because at first he couldn’t figure out why Homicide would be after him. But as we all know, he’s far from stupid. He quickly realized that it must’ve been something linked to his obsession.’

‘Laura Mitchell,’ Garcia said, comprehending.

Hunter nodded. ‘We know that they exchanged phone numbers at the exhibition. We checked Laura’s cell phone records. Just a couple of days before the presumed timeframe of her disappearance, she received a call from a payphone in Bellflower.’

‘That’s the next neighborhood along from Norwalk,’ the captain said. ‘Smith’s apartment is in Norwalk, right?’

Hunter and Garcia nodded.

‘Only one call?’

‘That’s right. My guess is that they talked that day, maybe arranged to talk on the phone again later that week or even meet up somewhere. She didn’t turn up or he got no reply on his next call. He kept on trying, still no answer. He got worried, maybe a little annoyed. When I mentioned Homicide on the phone to Smith, it took him just a few seconds to make the connection.’

‘So he started staking out Laura Mitchell’s place to try to spot her, get some sort of confirmation,’ Garcia said.

‘That’s what I figured he’d do,’ Hunter agreed.

‘Well, for someone who isn’t stupid, that’s a pretty dumb thing to do, don’t you think?’ the captain shot out. ‘You’re gonna tell me that he didn’t at least suspect her place would’ve been watched?’

‘You saw the pictures of his collage room, right? He’s been obsessed with Laura Mitchell for years. The kind of obsession that overrides rational thought, Captain — pure, undying love. Of course he knew it was dangerous. Of course he knew he could be caught. But he couldn’t help it. He needed to find out. He needed to make sure she was OK.’

‘Like an addiction?’

‘Stronger than an addiction, Captain. It’s a compulsion.’ Hunter turned towards the officer in the room. ‘Has he requested a lawyer yet?’

‘Not yet. He said he wanted to talk to you.’

All eyes moved to Hunter.

His gaze returned to James Smith for a moment longer. ‘OK, let’s do it.’