Page 42 of Go Now
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The doors to the low black van shut with a sudden bang, an abrupt way of signalling another life ended.Seconds later, it drove away down the street, and Marcus followed it with his eyes until it disappeared around the corner.It was a ritual of his own making, his way of marking the death of another human being, and of promising to get justice for them.
It was a wide and leafy suburban street, both sides full of big, free-standing houses from the 1950s, now split into two or three apartments.Some had their staircases on the outside; others, like David Sterling's, were indoors.Whatever the layout, the entire population of the street was currently outside, watching, discussing the recent events with what could only be described as a kind of excitement.Marcus didn't blame them for that.It was human, to be curious; human, to be fascinated by death; human, to seek the company of other humans in the face of danger or disaster.Kate joined him on the kerbside; she'd just finished interviewing Roy LaForge, the victim's upstairs neighbor, who looked pale and badly shaken.
'The killer's getting bolder,' she said.'This is a busy street, and he struck in the middle of the day.He rang the upstairs bell to gain access.He must have worked out that he could get into the victim's dark room via the communal hallway, and not via Sterling's apartment, so either he'd visited before on some pretext, or he had some way of knowing the layout.'
‘If there’s been any structural alterations to the interior, the plans would be lodged with local building control.’
Kate scribbled down a note.'Thanks, I'll get onto that.'She looked up.'So get this.Someone rang the upstairs bell.Down comes the occupant, Roy LaForge.Guy at the door's got a big tray of cloths and brushes, hands him a card.Says he's a deaf mute.Selling cleaning supplies, door-to-door.'
‘Still doing that?We used to get them down our street when I was a kid.’
'LaForge has got no money on him.So he says – wait there.Runs upstairs and gets his wallet.Comes back and there's no one there.I believe that was the killer.He's come inside while Mr Upstairs is searching for his wallet, and made his way downstairs, where he can access the darkroom in the basement.He just has to wait for LaForge to come back down, see that no one's there, and go back into his apartment.'
Marcus frowned.'It's a risky strategy, though.What if the Upstairs Guy said no thanks?What if he had money in his pocket already?'
'I think he knew enough about LaForge to know what was likely.The gentleman said he'd bought from door-to-door sellers in the past, and that he and the deceased practically live on DoorDash.In addition to which, there are marks on the back gate, consistent with someone attempting to climb it, but not fresh, weathered.So I think the killer will have scoped the place out, possibly more than once, possibly using a sales or courier role as cover.Actually, that's another task; get driver names and mugshots for every takeout business in the area.'She scribbled another note on her pad as she spoke.‘Incidentally, Sterling was aware of the prior attempted break-in via the gate.He’d left a note with his neighbor suggesting they speak about it.
'Similar to Brandon Ashworth and Elena Vasquez,' Marcus noted.'All of them planning to upscale their security soon, but not soon enough.'
‘All of them aware that someone was watching them.’
‘So do we have a description of the killer now?’
'Not a great one.Average height; hair, didn't see; eyes, couldn't say.Overweight.Bad skin, like acne scars.Wearing a Padres ball cap and sunglasses.5X yellow t-shirt.The witness is going to come into the field office and look at some mug-shots.'
‘The Padres are San Diego.That’s – ’
‘Where Ray Blackstone was last heard from.I know.’
It might mean something.It might not.They went inside the building, descending the short staircase to the basement.
'There's a Yale lock on the door, but according to LaForge, Sterling only locked it if and when he was out of the house.He was legally required to have an extractor fan because of the chemicals, but he didn't, he just kept the door unlocked in case he needed to make a swift exit.The others were okay with it, and they always knocked on the darkroom door if they needed to speak with him urgently.They did well out of the deal, anyway.'
‘How come?’
'Because officially, this whole basement is communal.Sterling paid LaForge and the other occupant a yearly stipend for the exclusive use of it.You know, one of those arrangements that are fine when everyone gets along, but can turn into World War Three very swiftly.There's no indication of that happening here, incidentally.They all got on well.LaForge is going to break the news to the top-floor occupant, because they're good friends.She's currently teaching in Jakarta.'
‘How did he discover the body?’
‘As I mentioned, Sterling had left him a note about security, which he hadn’t replied to.LaForge is supposed to be going out of state for a few weeks from tomorrow, so he thought he’d better get on with it.He knocked on the apartment door and got no reply, so he then went down to the basement.Sterling hangs a sign on the door when he’s using the darkroom.That sign was up, but the door was slightly ajar, which sounded a wrong note for LaForge, so he went in.’
‘Poor guy.He won’t forget that in a hurry.’
They went into the darkroom.Seeing it so brightly lit felt wrong, like it wasn't real; a darkroom in a play.The chalk outline of Sterling's body added an extra touch of absurdity.The tech was dusting the workbench for prints, working fast and completely focussed.They found themselves speaking in whispers.
The sculpture was slightly larger than the previous two, but otherwise the same; another scream set in clay.Kate knelt on the floor to get a closer look.
‘It’s got that same creepy quality as the others.Like it’s not going to let go of you.’
‘You know what I was thinking?’Marcus said, kneeling down to join her on the floor.‘Each crime scene has two, very distinct elements.You’ve got a killing straight out of the Stone Age; I mean, you don’t get more basic than bashing someone’s brains out with a rock, do you?And then there’s the creative skill that goes into the sculptures.They’re almost in conflict with each other.’
‘A conflict, or a partnership?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Chen said it before.That maybe one person makes them, and someone else does the killing.’
