Eye of the Witch by Dana Donovan Page B

concerned, we still have a serial killer out there somewhere.”
    “ But we don’t, and we know it.”
    “ Yes, but they don’t know it.”
    I felt his hand on my back. “I see. So, that’s it.”
    “ What’s it?”
    “ It’s a legacy issue. The Surgeon Stalker was your biggest case ever, and on paper you couldn’t solve it.”
    “ No, Carlos. That’s not it at all.”
    “ Well, what then? Why the hell are you so irritable? Why can’t you eat or sleep. Why can’t you give Lilith that stupid witch’s ladder?”
    I turned sharply at him.
    “ Yes,” he said. “I know you still have it. But you heard Dominic. It’s just a string of beads now. It’s useless except that it reminds you of the Surgeon Stalker. If not for that, then maybe you could get some sleep. Unless you want to remember the Stalker, is that it? Is that why you still have it? You need it?”
    “ No! I don’t need it, and it doesn’t remind me of the Stalker.”
    “ Then whom? Leona? Are you holding on to it because it reminds you of her? Are you clinging to the memory of a sweet young woman who, if not for you, would have suffered a fate worse than death?”
    “ No!”
    “ Is it Lilith? Are you….”
    I turned my eyes away in guilty denial.
    “ You are! You’re holding onto that ladder because it’s the only thing tying you to Lilith Adams. But why, Tony? Why can’t you let go?”
    “ I don’t know, Carlos, damn it! Don’t you see, I just don’t….” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look. Whatever my issues, I’ll work through them. In the meantime, we have to decide if there’s a case here or not.”
    “ Fine,” he said. I watched him mentally wrap up my troubles and stash them aside. If only I could do the same, I thought. He waved Spinelli over, and together we formed a loose huddle. Carlos said, “So, what do we do?”
    “ For now,” I said, “let’s assume we have a case. We’re totally lacking in evidence, but we have suspects, motives, victims and opportunities. What we need to do is build a scenario and then try to fill in the blanks. Any ideas—anyone?”
    “ I’ve been working on one,” Spinelli offered.
    “ Let’s hear it.”
    “ All right. It goes like this. Ricardo Rivera decided to kill Bridget Dean because she got the promotion he felt he deserved. So he recruited someone that he knew could get the job done.”
    “ Piakowski,” said Carlos.
    “ Right, Gregory Piakowski, his old high school pal, whom, it just so happens, owes Rivera big for getting him off on charges of capital murder. You with me so far?”
    “ Yes, I think Carlos and I have entertained that much already. How do you figure Anna Davalos’ death in all of this?”
    “ Jealousy: the oldest motive in the book. The way I see it, either Rivera told Courtney about his plans for Bridget Dean, or Courtney overheard him and Piakowski planning the murder.”
    “ I’d believe the latter,” Carlos remarked. “Ricardo Rivera is too smart to let anyone in on a secret like that, even a lover, and especially a flake like Courtney. Look how much trouble she had keeping information to herself when questioned by you and Tony.”
    “ I’m good with that,” Spinelli said. “The important thing is that I believe she found out. Once armed with that knowledge, she blackmailed Rivera into killing her rival, Anna Davalos. That way she could have Rivera all to herself.”
    “ Excuse me,” I said, “but why wouldn’t Rivera just kill Courtney, instead? You get rid of her; you get rid of a loose cannon and silence a potential tattletale.”
    “ Are you kidding? Have you seen Courtney Lusk? Killing her would be like destroying a Michelangelo. The girl’s a work of art.”
    “ More like a piece of work,” I replied. “I’m sorry, but I don’t give Courtney that much credit. She lacks the initiative. I’d sooner believe that Anna Davalos found out Rivera murdered Dean, and then she tried to blackmail him into leaving