“In what-ways is he atypical?” I asked.
“His pattern would indicate that he’s completely unpredictable. He doesn’t really fit any profile, Kay. This guy’s off the charts. If something strikes his fancy, he just does it. He’s consummately narcissistic and vain his hair, for example. He highlights it himself. We found the bleach, rinses, and so on in his apartment. Some of his inconsistencies are, well, weird.”
“Such as?”
“He was driving this beat up old van that was once owned by a housepainter. Doesn’t appear Gault ever washed it or bothered to clean it out, not even after. he murdered Eddie Heath inside the thing. We’ve got some pretty promising trace, by the way, and blood that’s consistent with Eddie’s type. That’s disorganized. Yet Gault also apparently eradicated bite marks and had his fingerprints changed. That’s as organized as hell”
“Benton, what is his history? “A manslaughter conviction. Two and a half yes ago he got angry with a man in, a bar and kicked him in the head. This was in Abingdon, Virginia. Gault, by the way, has a black belt in karate.”
“Any new developments on locating him?” I watched Lucy set up the chessboard.
“None. But for all of us involved in the cases, I’ll say what I’ve said before. This guy’s absolutely without fear. He’s very much guided by impulse and is, therefore, troublesome to second-guess.”
“I understand.”
“Just make sure you exercise the appropriate precautions” at an times.”
There were no appropriate precautions against someone like this, I thought.
“All of us need to be alert.”
“I understand,” I said again.
“Donahue had no idea what he unleashed. Or better put Norring didn’t. Though I don’t believe our good governor handpicked this dirtbag. He just wanted his damn briefcase and probably gave Donahue the necessary funds and told him to take care of it. We’re not going to get any hard time for Norring. He’s been too careful and too many people aren’t around to talk.”
He paused, adding, “Of course, there’s your attorney and me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been clear – in a subtle way, of course – that it would be a damn shame if something got leaked about the briefcase stolen from Robyn Naismith’s house. Grueman had a little tete-a-tete with him, too, and reports that Norring looked-a little queasy when it was mentioned that it must have been a harrowing experience when he drove himself to the ER the night before Robyn’s death.”
By checking old newspaper clips and talking to-contacts in various ERs around the city, I had discovered that the night before Robyn’s murder, Norring had been treated at Henrico Doctor’s emergency room after administering epinephrine to himself by injection in his left thigh. Apparently, he had suffered a severe allergic reaction to Chinese food, cartons for which I recalled from police reports had been found in Robyn Naismith’s trash. My theory was that shrimp or some other shellfish had inadvertently gotten mixed in with spring rolls: or something else he and Robyn had eaten for dinner. He had begun to go into anaphylactic shock, had used one of his EpiPens – perhaps one he’d kept at Robyn’s house – and then had driven himself to the hospital. In his great distress, he had left without his briefcase.
“I just want Norring as far away from me as possible,” I said.
“Well, it seems he’s been suffering health problems of late and has decided it would be wise to resign and look for something less stressful in the private sector. Perhaps on the West Coast. I’m quite certain he won’t bother you. Ben Stevens won’t bother you. For one thing, he – like Norring – is too busy looking over his shoulder for Gault. Let’s see. Last I heard, Stevens was in Detroit. Did you know?”
“Did you threaten him, too?”
“Kay, I never threaten anyone.”
“Benton, you’re one of the most threatening people I’ve ever met.”
“Does that mean you won’t work with me?”
Lucy was drumming her fingers on top of the table and leaning her cheek against her fist.
“Work with you?” I asked.
“That’s really why I’m calling, and I know you’ll need to think about it. But we’d like you to come on board as a consultant to the Behavioral Science Unit. We’re just talking a couple of days a month – as a rule of course.