time.”
“She died, huh?” Reed said, rubbing his chin. “Bad break for the prosecution. Has she testified yet?”
“I don’t know,” Ann said. “Listen, get someone from the lab to go over to the jail and take impressions of that bite Delvecchio has and see if we can verify it’s from a dog. But don’t do it before you tell me. I’ve got to go back and complete the interview. Once he realizes I set him up, he won’t talk and might even attack me.” Ann looked toward the front of her house and saw David opening the front door. He’d probably been watching from the window and wanted to know what was going on.
“What happened to the dog?” she asked Reed.
“How the hell do I know? The animal control people probably picked up the carcass and burned it.”
Ann was irritated, but kept it in check. She waited until David had walked to the curb where they were standing. “Hi, sweetie,” she said, pulling him into her arms. “Hey, why don’t you let Tommy and me have a few more minutes alone here and then I’ll come inside?”
“Why can’t I listen?” he protested, his eyes darting from Ann’s face to the detective’s. “What are you talking about, anyway?”
“Go,” Ann said, waving him away. “We’re talking business. You know I don’t like you listening to this stuff.”
A sly smile appeared on his chubby face. “I’ll go watch the news then. I think some guy cut a kid’s head off, and they’re showing it on TV right now.”
Ann’s mouth fell open in shock just as David broke out giggling. “I’m just teasing, Mom.”
“Thank God,” she said with relief, thinking all they needed was another gruesome killer running loose. “Go on inside, guy. Start working on your homework.”
As he reluctantly shuffled back to the house, the next-door neighbor drove past in a battered Ford and waved out the window. It was a nice neighborhood, Ann thought, although not an affluent one. The houses were older and small. Her house was beige stucco and had a large picture window in front. A huge sycamore in the front yard provided shade in the heat of summer. The grass was high, however, for Ann generally mowed it herself and hadn’t been able to do so since the shooting. She made David rake leaves, but she was still too protective to let him handle the lawn mower. Reed spotted the tall grass about the time Ann did and looked embarrassed that he hadn’t asked to help her out with the yard work.
“I’m cut your grass this weekend,” he said. “I’m sorry I haven’t already—”
Ann cut him off, unconcerned about her grass, her mind back to the Delvecchio case. She’d provided a possible link to the homicides, and Reed was telling her they’d destroyed the evidence. “You need the teeth from the dog to make a valid match, Tommy,” she said, frustrated. “Maybe it’s in a freezer at the lab. It was evidence, right?”
“These killings occurred over a year ago, Ann,” he said defensively. “It’s doubtful if we can substantiate this even if you’re right, and thinking the dog is still being held as evidence is way out of line. I have no idea what happened to the dog. I just told you.”
“Well, you have to find out,” Ann demanded, kicking a snail off the sidewalk.
“Don’t start up with Delvecchio. Christ, Ann, he’s dangerous…a monster.”
“He’s in jail, Tommy. He’s not going anywhere. Believe me, when I get through with him, he’ll get the full boat on the rapes. Then if we put the homicides together, no more Randy Delvecchio. By the time he sees the light of day, he won’t be able to walk out the front door of the joint, let alone rape and torture old ladies. They’ll have to push his ass out in a wheelchair.”
Reed exploded, yelling at her, “Let it go. Do you hear me? Let it go, Ann.”
“No,” she said, stubborn, pouty. “Find the dog.”
“I’ve said it before—you’re going to get yourself hurt,” Reed said. “Correct that statement, okay?
“She died, huh?” Reed said, rubbing his chin. “Bad break for the prosecution. Has she testified yet?”
“I don’t know,” Ann said. “Listen, get someone from the lab to go over to the jail and take impressions of that bite Delvecchio has and see if we can verify it’s from a dog. But don’t do it before you tell me. I’ve got to go back and complete the interview. Once he realizes I set him up, he won’t talk and might even attack me.” Ann looked toward the front of her house and saw David opening the front door. He’d probably been watching from the window and wanted to know what was going on.
“What happened to the dog?” she asked Reed.
“How the hell do I know? The animal control people probably picked up the carcass and burned it.”
Ann was irritated, but kept it in check. She waited until David had walked to the curb where they were standing. “Hi, sweetie,” she said, pulling him into her arms. “Hey, why don’t you let Tommy and me have a few more minutes alone here and then I’ll come inside?”
“Why can’t I listen?” he protested, his eyes darting from Ann’s face to the detective’s. “What are you talking about, anyway?”
“Go,” Ann said, waving him away. “We’re talking business. You know I don’t like you listening to this stuff.”
A sly smile appeared on his chubby face. “I’ll go watch the news then. I think some guy cut a kid’s head off, and they’re showing it on TV right now.”
Ann’s mouth fell open in shock just as David broke out giggling. “I’m just teasing, Mom.”
“Thank God,” she said with relief, thinking all they needed was another gruesome killer running loose. “Go on inside, guy. Start working on your homework.”
As he reluctantly shuffled back to the house, the next-door neighbor drove past in a battered Ford and waved out the window. It was a nice neighborhood, Ann thought, although not an affluent one. The houses were older and small. Her house was beige stucco and had a large picture window in front. A huge sycamore in the front yard provided shade in the heat of summer. The grass was high, however, for Ann generally mowed it herself and hadn’t been able to do so since the shooting. She made David rake leaves, but she was still too protective to let him handle the lawn mower. Reed spotted the tall grass about the time Ann did and looked embarrassed that he hadn’t asked to help her out with the yard work.
“I’m cut your grass this weekend,” he said. “I’m sorry I haven’t already—”
Ann cut him off, unconcerned about her grass, her mind back to the Delvecchio case. She’d provided a possible link to the homicides, and Reed was telling her they’d destroyed the evidence. “You need the teeth from the dog to make a valid match, Tommy,” she said, frustrated. “Maybe it’s in a freezer at the lab. It was evidence, right?”
“These killings occurred over a year ago, Ann,” he said defensively. “It’s doubtful if we can substantiate this even if you’re right, and thinking the dog is still being held as evidence is way out of line. I have no idea what happened to the dog. I just told you.”
“Well, you have to find out,” Ann demanded, kicking a snail off the sidewalk.
“Don’t start up with Delvecchio. Christ, Ann, he’s dangerous…a monster.”
“He’s in jail, Tommy. He’s not going anywhere. Believe me, when I get through with him, he’ll get the full boat on the rapes. Then if we put the homicides together, no more Randy Delvecchio. By the time he sees the light of day, he won’t be able to walk out the front door of the joint, let alone rape and torture old ladies. They’ll have to push his ass out in a wheelchair.”
Reed exploded, yelling at her, “Let it go. Do you hear me? Let it go, Ann.”
“No,” she said, stubborn, pouty. “Find the dog.”
“I’ve said it before—you’re going to get yourself hurt,” Reed said. “Correct that statement, okay?
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