“We’ll soon see,” Ollie said. “If you go with Savich’s reasoning, then the guy is going to kill right here next.” He pointed to the next point.
“That’s pretty neat,” she said. “But no ideas on how the Ghost gets into the nursing homes and out again without anyone noticing?”
“Not yet. But the surveillance on the next one Savich pinpointed is going to be intense. You know what? The media took up your word. All the papers and TV are screaming about the Ghost murdering their grandmothers.”
“Surely not. How would they know about our saying that?”
Ollie looked down at his black wing tips. “Well, I kind of said it to a TV woman who was really pretty and wanted something so badly.” Ollie looked up at her and grinned. “I thought Savich was going to deck me.”
“Better you than me. He’s already thrown me all over that gym of his. I’m still sore, but I don’t dare say anything because he’ll accuse me of whining.”
“Ain’t that the truth? He’s got you into karate?”
She nodded.
“He told me I was one of the best basketball players in the Bureau. He said I should keep myself in shape playing games with all my nieces and nephews. He said kids kept you honest and in shape out of fear of humiliation.”
“Ha. He just said that because he realized he couldn’t throw you around, the sexist jerk.”
“Nah, he cleaned my clock but good when I asked him about karate. He really flatten you, Sherlock?”
“More times than I can count.”
“What’s this about a sexist jerk?”
Both she and Ollie turned to see Savich standing behind them, his laptop in one hand, a modem in the other.
“I don’t know about any sexist jerk, do you, Ollie?”
“Me? I never even heard the word except from Maria, and she didn’t even know what it meant.”
Savich grunted at them. “What do you think of the Star of David angle, Sherlock?”
“It’s so weird as to have a grain of truth in it. But you know, the murders started in Virginia, not Florida. That could put a monkey wrench in the works.”
“Agreed. We’ll see soon enough. The local cops are covering the next probable nursing home.”
She frowned at him. “I do prefer comparing all the physical evidence, but truth be told there isn’t all that much. Actually, this Star of David thing, well, I have this feeling that you’re right. But I also have the feeling that it won’t matter. He’ll probably kill at the nursing home you picked out but no one will see him.”
“She’s said what I’m feeling,” Ollie said. “It’s driving me nuts. I’ve asked the computer to compare and contrast all sorts of evidence, but we’re coming up with nothing, just nothing.”
“We’ll get him, Ollie.”
“I sure hope so,” Lacey said. She turned to Ollie. “Did your future mother-in-law convince Maria that you’re a workaholic since you were gone for the whole weekend?”
“No, I blamed it on the chief. I told her that Agent Savich would kick me into the street if I didn’t go with him. Then I’d be blackballed and permanently on unemployment. She backed off.”
Savich just laughed and walked back to his office. Lacey saw Hannah Paisley rise quickly and follow him. To her surprise, Ollie was watching Hannah, a frown on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really. I just wish Hannah would be a little more cool about Savich.”
Lacey didn’t say a word; she didn’t want to know anything personal about anybody. It was safer that way. But Ollie didn’t notice, just said thoughtfully, “I heard Savich and Hannah dated before she came to the Unit. Then when she joined the Unit, word was that Savich called it off. I heard him say that no one in the Unit should dip his Bureau quill into Bureau ink.”
“Now that was sexist, Ollie. You think Hannah’s still interested, then?”
“Oh yeah, just look at her. She can’t keep her eyes off him. Why don’t you talk to her, Sherlock? Maybe she’d listen to you. Savich isn’t interested, or if he is, he still wouldn’t go near a woman agent in his unit.”