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“Have you found the clothes she was wearing?” Faith asked Hilary.
The detective shook his head. “Not hers and not Cassidy Holt’s either. The killer took it with him.”
“A trophy?” Michael asked.
“Maybe,” Faith replied. “If sex really was a motivator, then probably. But it could have just been removing evidence. Did we find any fingerprints on the body?”
“You’ll have to ask the medical examiner,” Hilary replied. “He hasn’t released a report yet. I’m going to guess no, because that’s something he’d call to tell us in a homicide case so we wouldn’t have to wait for the paperwork.”
“Can we talk to him?”
"Sure. He gets to work in an hour or so. I'll take you there when we're done here."
“You said the front door was ajar,” Michael said. “Wouldn’t the security cameras have picked up our killer if he left that way?”
“You’d think so, but they only picked up the door opening slightly. No one left the room.”
“Samantha trying to escape?”
“Without screaming? I doubt it. I think the perp was going to leave through the front door then remembered the cameras and left the way he came.”
“Did you find any fingerprints or footprints on the fire escape?” Faith asked.
“No prints, but some scuff marks that CSI tells me came from rubber-soled boots or shoes.”
“Aren’t all soles rubber?”
“No. Most of them are plastic foam these days. Some are synthetic fiber. You don’t usually find real rubber unless it’s a waterproof shoe or a nonslip work boot.”
Faith nodded and looked at the outline on the floor. “So Cassidy Holt was posed hugging her knees with her head tucked while Samantha Reynard was posed with her arms and legs spread in an X.”
“Yes.”
“Black powder on Cassidy Holt and white powder on Samantha Reynard,” Faith continued. “In both cases, the killer was familiar with the security situation and managed to reach his victims, commit the murders, stage the bodies and flee the scenes without being caught.”
“He did his research,” Michael deduced.
“Yes. And he took his time. Brower might think that anyone could fool the security cameras at the Botanical Garden, but thesame isn’t true here. I don’t think our killer winged it. I think he thoroughly cased both locations before he acted.”
Hilary anticipated Faith’s next request. “I’ll have my detectives look back at the camera footage and see if we can identify anyone who hung around both places a little too much lately.”
“Do that,” Faith agreed.
Michael crossed his arms pensively. “I don’t know if he planned things that well. I get casing someone’s apartment and committing a home invasion murder, but the Botanic Garden is a high-traffic public place. I don’t buy him planning to kill Cassidy Holt there.”
“He could have known her plans and taken that opportunity,” Faith offered.
“Yes, but then he’s not casing the place carefully. I suppose he could have just gotten lucky and avoided all the cameras the way Brower suggested, but why? Why risk committing the crime in a place with security officers, cleaning crew and maintenance staff?”
“Well, hedidkill her there.”
“Yes, but think about it. If he wanted to truly be aware of the Botanic Gardens’ security situation, he would have had to visit several times. Cassidy only made her plans that day. Why would he plan to kill her there when he had no way of knowing if she’d be there when he was ready to strike?”
Faith chewed on her lip. “Maybe he was aware of her plans before she called the garden. It would make sense that our killer knows both victims. We should start looking into that. Hilary?”
“Yes?”
“Have your officers look through Cassidy Holt’s clients and associates. See if any of them knew Samantha Reynard. Maybe one of her students.”
