“The plaid cap,” he said. “He talked about his father wearing one just like it. If that was one of Dale’s little jokes, how’d he find out about Tony Senior’s sartorial habits?”

“Tony gabs, Dale’s a good listener. If Tony knows he’s partially responsible for Dale butchering his mother, that would explain the emotion we saw.”

“Barfing. But he doesn’t turn Dale in because he’s scared of being nabbed as an accessory.”

“What interests me is that Dale acted with no worry about Tony giving him up. He understands Tony’s psyche.”

“Or he’s biding his time.”

“Tony’s in jeopardy? I guess it’s possible. Either way, if surveillance doesn’t produce something soon, I’d think about confronting him directly.”

He made his way through the second cruller. “You really think this is evil altruism, Dale doesn’t get paid for his hits?”

“If we’re right about the Ojo Negro killings, he murdered his sister and Vicky Tranh and got rich. But if money was his sole reason for eliminating Leonora, all he had to do was sit in the woods and pick her off with a rifle. Instead, he dressed up in costume, showed himself, stole a car, engaged in incredible savagery. To me that says there was psychosexual payoff. And that fits with what Leonora told Mavis Wembley about Dale: secretly cruel as a child.”

“Tortures animals, volunteers at a shelter. He’s all about irony, isn’t he?”

“Irony and theater,” I said. “Think what it took to pull off Kat Shonsky’s murder: stealing a conspicuous car, stalking his prey, then abducting her, possibly in drag. Then returning the car to where it’s sure to be found and leaving token blood on the seat. Leaving the scarf where it would be seen immediately if Kat’s grave was unearthed.”

“That grave would’ve definitely been unearthed,” he said. “The permits for the sisters’ swimming pool had just come through.”

“Be interesting if Dale was aware of that.”

His eyebrows arched. “Someone the sisters know… wonder if they’re back from their cruise.”

He motioned the waitress over, handed her some bills.

“That’s way too much, Lieutenant.”

“Caught me in a weak moment, Marissa.”

“Honestly, Lieu—”

He placed a big hand over hers. “Take your kid to the movies.”

“You’re so sweet.” She tiptoed to buss his cheek, just about skipped away.

I said, “Random acts of kindness.”

“Me and Dale.”

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER
26

He brushed memos into the trash unread, searched Kat Shonsky’s murder book for the names of the sisters who shared the burial lot.

“Susan Appel and Barbara Bruno… let’s go alphabetically.” Punching numbers so fast he hit the wrong button and had to try again.