Page 19 of Ruthless Riches
“Sorry for lying. I just—”
He cut Alexis off with a wave of a hand. “No need to apologize. I understand. You wanted to keep your theory a secret,” he said. “I completely agree with you, by the way. I think this killer is using Satan’s Penthouse as a hideout too.”
“Have you mentioned it to the police?”
“Yes. I had to. They need to find that place as soon as possible.” His eyes skated over Alexis and me in turn. “Someone needs to, anyway. These murders are only going to get worse and worse.”
My chest tightened. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, as far as I know, the regular Avalon tunnels run right above the Satan’s Penthouse tunnels,” he replied. “It would probably be quite easy for a person on the second level to go up to the regular tunnels and then duck back down again, if they knew their way around well enough.”
My brows furrowed. “I’m not following.”
Robert gestured toward the window. “When it gets cold like this, homeless people start sleeping in the Avalon tunnels because it’s nice and warm inside.” He cocked his head. “Three of the Butcher’s victims were homeless, weren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“They’re already easy pickings because they’re more vulnerable than people with homes to sleep in. Sleeping in those tunnels puts them at even more risk, because of their proximity to the private tunnels.”
“Oh.”
“So you see what I mean now. For a killer like the Butcher, cold weather is the best time to hunt down potential victims. And I’m sure you know what that means.” Robert leaned forward with a grim expression on his face. “Right now, it’s killing season.”
