Jonathan Kellerman – Monster

“Oh,” she said. “Murdered…. My God, that’s terrible…. Argent. No, I’ve only been here six years, she must have been before my time-how terrible, let me check.” I heard paper shuffling. “Yes, here she is, on the alumni roster. And she was

Professor Racano’s student?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, I’m sorry to tell you Professor Racano’s deceased as well. Died right after I came on. Cancer. Nice man. Very supportive of his students.”

Racano’s tolerance of Claire’s solo launch suggested an easygoing nature.

“Is there anyone who might have known Dr. Argent, Ms…. ?”

“Mrs. Bausch. Hmm, I’m afraid there aren’t too many people in the building right now. There’s a big symposium going on over at the main auditorium, one of our professors just won a prize. I can ask around and get back to you.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I gave her Milo’s name. Just as I put the phone down, it rang. Milo was nowhere in sight so I took the call. “Detective Sturgis’s desk.”

A familiar voice said, “I’d like to leave a message for Detective Sturgis.”

“Heidi? It’s Dr. Delaware.”

“Oh… hi-listen, I’m sorry I couldn’t get anything out of Peake today.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“It didn’t help my credibility with Swig, either. After you were gone he called me into his office and made me go over the whole thing again: what Peake said, when he said it, was I sure I heard right.”

“Sorry for the hassle.”

“It would’ve sure been nice to be able to prove it…. Anyway, I just wanted to call to let Detective Sturgis know I’ve decided to leave Starkweather in a couple of weeks, but if there’s anything else he needs, he can call me.”

“Thanks, Heidi. I’ll tell him.”

“So,” she said, “you actually work there? Right at the police station?”

“No. I just happen to be here today.”

“Sounds interesting. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying with Peake, maybe something will come up.”

“Don’t put yourself in any jeopardy.”

“What, from Ardis? You saw his condition. Not exactly dangerous. Not that I let my guard down-do you think Claire did?”

“Don’t know,” I said.

“I keep thinking about her. What happened to her. It seems so strange that anything could touch her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She seemed like one of those people-caught up in their own worlds. Like she was happy being alone. Didn’t need anyone else.”

15.

I CALLED HOME before leaving the station. Robin was out, and all that awaited me was paperwork-final reports on custody cases that had already been decided. I told my own voice on the message machine that I’d be back by five.

Talking to myself.

Put a cell phone in a psychotic’s hand and he could fake normalcy.

The encounter with Ardis Peake had stayed with me.

Monster.

Hard to connect that mute, emaciated husk with someone capable of destroying an entire family.

What better endorsement for Mr. Swig’s highly structured system?

What turns a human being into that?

I’d given Milo the short-version lecture and he’d been gracious enough not to

complain. But I had no real answers; no one did.

I wondered what questions had led Claire to Starkweather. And Peake. She’d gravitated to him shortly after taking the job. Why, of all the madmen, had he been the one whose pathology had drawn her in?

The other thing that troubled me was Peake’s assault on the eyes of the little

Ardullo girl. Had I been too hasty minimizing his gibbering at Heidi?

Or perhaps it was simple: Claire had learned about the eyes and discussed it with him. Had it elicited something in him- guilt, excitement, a horrible nostalgia?

Bad eyes in a box. Was the box a coffin? Peake’s imagery of the dead child. Reliving the crime and feeding off the memory, the way lust killers did?

It all hinged on learning more about Claire, and so far her ghost had avoided capture.

No entanglements, no known associates. Not much impact on her world.

Ardis Peake, on the other hand, had been a star in his day.

I drove to Westwood and used the computers at the U’s research library to look up the Ardullo massacre. The murders had been covered nationally for one week. The periodicals index offered half a page of citations, and I went looking for microfiche.

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