Deadly Lies (34 page)

A slow crawl through the victims’ hard drives revealed that both men had shared some connections: three women, all of whom had
similar profiles. All were attractive, athletic, married women in their early thirties. Obviously these women had not used their real names on the profiles and instead used clever pseudonyms. With the help of a few of his diagnostic tools, Alex found that two of the women had been naïve enough to use their online handle in more than one social-networking site. Following the cyber trail, he was able to forge links to their actual identities. The third woman proved more of a challenge.

Browsing to the Hook Up site, he saw Lilith’s smiling image staring up at him. Was the woman behind Lilith’s pretty face a murderer? Maybe. Maybe not. It was hard to say without knowing more about her. But in his experience, it was typically the people who had something to hide that took such elaborate measures to cover their tracks. In this case, he wondered what dark little secrets Lilith might be hiding.

Downloading a copy of the picture to his desktop, he launched a beta version of a face-recognition utility he was working on. He would do a search through a number of other common social-networking sites to see if he could find a match. If she hadn’t used her email handle elsewhere, maybe he could find her face.

Pushing back from his computer screen, Alex grabbed his coat. It was well past six o’clock, and his stomach reminded him that he had somewhere else to be.

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

“C
an I get you a beer?” Emma asked Alex as he relaxed back into an overstuffed leather chair in the living room. Mike placed a protective hand on Emma’s shoulder.

“You sit. I’ll get it,” he said, not waiting for Alex’s answer. “He looks like he could use one.” His brother’s smile was lopsided as he left the room. Mike was right. All the way over to their house, Alex was thinking about the name Lilith. There was something familiar about it, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“You’d think I was handicapped and not just pregnant.” Emma sighed with a touch of exasperation, sinking obediently into the cushions of the couch. Her hand strayed to her gently rounding belly. She was just beginning to show, and from the glow of her skin, Alex guessed that she was feeling fine, having just passed into her second trimester.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” Alex’s smile was affectionate. “Mike is not known for his chivalrous behavior. I suggest you milk it for what it’s worth.”

Entering the room with his long, rolling stride, Mike handed the bottle to Alex and took a seat next to Emma, his arm thrown along the back of the couch. Absently Alex started to pick at the Fat Tire label, tearing little strips of it away from the chilled bottle. Glancing up, he caught Emma’s eyes on him, and he stopped fidgeting and took a sip.

“What are you working on these days?” Mike’s tone sounded casual, but the calculated look that Alex saw in his eyes told another story.

“You know, exciting stuff like making tool updates and giving online safety course lectures at community events. Lewis has me chained to my desk for a while, until my arm ... “His voice trailed off, and with a twitch of his head he indicated his arm, still cradled in its sling.

“Does it hurt?” Emma asked, the skin around her lively blue eyes crinkling as she grimaced.

“I’m fine.”

“At least you got the bastard. I’ll bet Tom Watson is sleeping better now, knowing the guy who killed his daughter is behind bars.” He cast a glance toward Emma. “I don’t know what I’d do if something like that happened to our kid.”

Emma patted Mike’s knee absently, her eyes still appraising Alex. Part of being a reporter was having good instincts, and Alex had no doubt that right now, Emma was sensing his preoccupation.

“So, how is baby watch?” Alex asked, making an effort to push Luka’s case aside for a few hours. He would go back to the office after dinner to see what else he could dig up on Lilith. Right now he would focus on Emma.

“Good. The baby started to kick.” Her smile was incandescent, joy shinning in her eyes.

“That must be exciting.”

“What about you and Jill? Any talk of babies yet?”

If Mike saw him flinch, he gave no indication. Just the mention of Jill’s name was reminder enough of the argument they’d had about this very topic only a few months ago. She had made her feelings abundantly clear, while seeing Abby with her daughter had only sharpened his desire for kids of his own.

“Some talk. With Jill’s new promotion, she’s in San Jose now more than ever, so the timing isn’t right.”

“Might not want to wait too long, I hear potency tends to drop as you age.” Mike’s jibe was accompanied with a sly smile, and Alex chuckled.

“Well, if you’re any indication, it seems like I have a few good years left in me.”

“That’s enough out of you.” Emma’s elbow dug into her husband’s ribs. “I’m sure Alex is going to hear enough of that from your mother.”

“Hopefully, having one grandchild will be enough to satisfy her familial instincts in the short term.” Alex paused, sipping from his bottle. “With any luck, the kid will take after his mom and not have your ugly mug.”

Mike’s chuckle died away. After a beat of silence, Alex glanced up.

“Hey, Emma, mind if I run something by you? Strictly off the record, of course.”

“Shoot.”

“Does the name Lilith mean anything to you?”

“Lilith Fair? Sure, it’s the name of an all-girl rock-and-roll tour. Sarah McLachlan was the headliner.”

“Huh,” Alex remarked, staring at his beer bottle. Maybe that’s why he knew the name. Maybe the tour had made a stop in Seattle. Maybe Lilith was a music fan whose real name was Sarah.

“There is another famous Lilith, though.”

“Feminists unite,” Mike said, raising his bottle in jest. The remark earned him another jab in the ribs from Emma. After shooting him a disapproving look, she continued.

“There are those who speculate that Lilith was Adam’s first wife, before Eve. Modern feminists view her as an icon for her bold struggle for independence from her mate. In most mythological references, she represents chaos and seduction.”

Emma’s words sent a jolt of recognition through Alex, one that made the very hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He fought to control the expression on his face while his mind transported him back to the University of Washington, and the network-security class he had taken with Jill. The domain name she had used for her network was Lilith. Over coffee, she’d explained that Lilith was a biblical and mythological figure, greatly misunderstood.

It had to be a coincidence.

Emma glanced at the clock on the mantel and stood to her feet.

“The chicken should be ready.”

“I’ll help,” Mike said, also rising.

“No. You stay and keep Alex company. I’m perfectly capable of handling dinner.”

Emma rolled her eyes at Alex, who reclined back into the plush leather chair as she trailed out of the living room and down the hall to the kitchen.

“So what’s bugging you?”

The directness of the question shouldn’t have surprised Alex. For the second time that night, he stifled a flinch as he gripped the beer bottle.

“What makes you think there’s something bothering me?”

“You’ve got that tense look on your face. It’s the same one you used to get right before a math test.”

Alex cracked a smile.

“Yeah, well, we won’t talk about you and English Literature.”

“Just because I thought that
Jane Eyre
was a steaming pile of shit does not mean that English Lit stressed me out.”

“Right. Whatever.” After a theatric roll of Alex’s eyes, Mike laughed, a sound that was close to a chortle. As the laughter died, his face grew serious again.

“Is it Jill?”

Alex was careful to keep his expression neutral as he let the question hang in the air. As much as he loved his brother, Mike was the last person he would talk to about Jill. The first thing he planned to do when he returned to the office would be to check the dates of the San Francisco murders against Jill’s travel schedule. With any luck, that would rule out all possible involvement between her and this case. What kind of freaky coincidence was the Lilith connection anyway? It seemed far-fetched. So why was it still bothering him?

“Jill’s fine.”

“She’s spending a lot of time on the road lately.”

“Yeah, well, that’s part of her job.” Alex tried not to sound defensive, and failed. Mike did little to disguise his attitude toward Jill, and Alex tried to avoid any situation that would endanger it from dipping lower.

“Are you sure that’s it?”

On the surface, Mike’s question sounded innocuous, but Alex knew there was nothing casual about the insinuation. Frankly, he was surprised that Mike had the balls to lay it out there. Blunt. Feeling anger prickle at the back of his neck, he met Mike’s stare head-on.

“Of course I’m sure.” The note of finality in Alex’s voice left little doubt that this conversation was over. Mike looked away, focusing his gaze out the living-room window where the dark night closed in.

“Sorry. Hope I didn’t overstep.”

“Forget it,” Alex said, finishing his beer and setting the empty bottle on the table. Just then Emma appeared, announcing that dinner was served. As if sensing the tension in the room, she looked from Mike’s face to Alex’s and then back again. His reassuring smile did not quite reach his eyes.

“Great. I’m starving.” The lie was well intentioned. While the smell of chicken and rosemary was appetizing, Alex had lost his appetite. All he wanted to do was get back to the office, where he could do some more digging into Lilith’s identity.

Traversing the quiet hallways, Alex heaved a small sigh of relief as he noted that the light was not on in Captain Lewis’s office. Explaining his after-hours presence to Lewis was something he’d rather avoid.

Pushing through the double doors, he saw several team members still working at their computers, eyes fixed to their screens. Kris Thompson had her purse slung over her shoulder, cell phone cradled to her ear, when she caught sight of him. For an instant, she looked
like a kid with her hand caught in the candy jar. Then she dipped her head, acknowledging him with a quick nod, and angled the phone away from her mouth.

“I left a fax on your desk.”

“Thanks.” As he passed by, she avoided his gaze.

Was she hiding something? The evasive maneuver suggested deception. Or maybe she was still pissed at him, Alex thought. Wherever she was going, she had taken pains to look her best. Jackson had mentioned a boyfriend, and maybe he was right. Maybe she was the type of girl who didn’t mix business with pleasure.

With a quick wave he ducked into his office.

The thick fax on his desk was from Luka and included more details on the two crimes. Thumbing through the reports, he tallied up the similarities. Both men were married, successful, in their late thirties, and from out of town. Both had been killed by gunshot wounds, same caliber of weapon fired at close range. Both crime scenes were left clean. Both men were missing their wedding rings. Apparently this killer was taking trophies.

He checked the dates of the murders against Jill’s travel schedule and felt a sinking sensation spiral at the pit of his stomach. Jill’s business trips spanned the dates when the murders took place.

The database search on Lilith’s photo was still progressing and would likely continue well into the night. In the meantime, he tried to learn more about Lilith in a way that would not raise any flags on his system. An hour later he was no further ahead. Lilith had carefully covered her tracks, and without opening an official investigation, he couldn’t do much more to drill in on her real identity. And he couldn’t do that until he was reasonably sure that Jill was in no way involved.

How could it be Jill, though? What possible motivation could she have for luring and murdering complete strangers? None of it made any sense. He knew he had no choice but to keep digging.

There were two things he needed to do, and quickly. Alex needed to find out Lilith’s identity, and he needed to rule out any possibility
of Jill’s involvement in the San Francisco deaths. But how could he do that? Alex pushed back in his chair, angling his eyes toward the ceiling as he searched for possibilities.

It wouldn’t be hard to design a piece of spyware to place on Jill’s computer, the type of thing that would report on what websites she was visiting, who she sent emails to, her instant messaging activity. The difficult part would be getting it installed on her machine.

Maybe he could design it as a script and embed it in an apparently benign attachment. If he did it right, she could open the attachment without ever realizing that it had triggered the script. He’d also need to implement it in such a way that it would not load when she was inside the ZyraNet domain. Their firewall might set off an alert. It would be tricky, but doable.

Alex tented his long fingers beneath his chin. The thought of bugging Jill’s machine did not sit well with him. It was worse than snooping in her purse, and he felt squeamish at the very thought of invading her privacy. Still, what choice did he have? How else could he truly rule her out as a possible suspect?