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Back The Lying House Save as PDF
Chapters (103)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. 67
  74. 68
  75. 69
  76. 70
  77. 71
  78. 72
  79. 73
  80. 74
  81. 75
  82. 76
  83. 77
  84. 78
  85. 79
  86. 80
  87. 81
  88. 82
  89. 83
  90. 84
  91. 85
  92. 86
  93. 87
  94. 88
  95. 89
  96. 90
  97. 91
  98. 92
  99. 93
  100. 94
  101. Epilogue
  102. Acknowledgments and a Personal Note
  103. Excerpt

“Good. Now, we need to go over a few things. First, is there anything you think I should know?”

For a long, tense moment, Jeff considered her question. “I did steal her work.”

“You did?”

“She was on her way out of the company. I was desperate to make my star shine and figured there was no harm… Well…that’s what set everything in motion.”

“I see.”

“But that is all I did. I swear, that is all.”

Martinez took some time to absorb his admission.

“Will that hurt my case?”

“What you did was unethical. Even a little shitty. But it’s not a crime.”

Martinez returned to her notes and the material. For nearly an hour, they discussed dates, places, timelines and facts that could and could not be proved. They went over Jeff’s background, his solid career and the fact he had no criminal record. When they’d finished, Martinez got up and knocked on the door. A different officer entered, and Jeff thanked her before he was taken away.

Left alone, Martinez gathered her work, hesitating. Once again, she reviewed the footage of Jeff’s angered, rough treatment of Vida Warren at the café, then Vida’s text.

I know what you are, and I know what you did in Cleveland.

Was that in reference to Jeff stealing her work, or something else?

Then she looked quickly at the photos, the smiling faces of the other women and the grisly crime-scene photos of their murders.

Martinez cursed under her breath. She looked at the empty plastic chair where, seconds ago, Jeff Taylor had sat conversing with her intelligently, calmly. He was a smart, successful, professional man with a baby on the way, looking as normal as you would expect any normal man to look.

Martinez was not certain of his innocence or his guilt.

However, there was one thing she was absolutely sure of. One thing she’d learned in all her years as a criminal defense attorney.

Everyone, guilty or innocent, has a dark side.

86

All right, here we go.

Melinda Daxon, a fingerprint specialist with the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, was alerted by her colleagues with Miami-Dade by a chime on her computer.

Opening the file, she sat straighter at her desk in the Bureau’s Criminal Justice Information Services, housed in a sprawling three-story modular complex in Clarksburg, West Virginia, about two hundred and fifty miles west of Washington, DC.

Daxon’s workstation was near a window, and the sun was setting. She’d been waiting to receive Florida’s latest set of processed latents in a case involving unsolved homicides and attacks in eight states.

Like the FBI agents and the state and local analysts who had worked on the case over the years, Daxon’s objective was to compare the Florida prints with the one partial print recovered in Kentucky and known to belong to The Collector, the elusive suspect in all the killings.