I called Howie and filled him in on what had transpired and detailed Julie's flight arrangements.
"Was she pleased?" he asked.
"More nervous, I'd say. Give me a call when you have some answers," I said and hung up before he could say more.
With time on my hands and not even a dog to talk to, I turned to the computer. While I knew we were helpless to do anything positive in Howie's absence, I never-the-less opened the site where Betsy located cases for our attention. Unfortunately, there were at least four where Howie's abilities could have been utilized. I was ready to close the site from pure frustration when a notice of a recovered body caught my attention, big time.
Veronica Speedwell, age nine, of Lynden, Ontario was identified several days after her body was discovered in a roadside ditch. She had not been reported missing because her mother lay dead in their small rural farm house over a hundred miles away. After the mother's body was finally discovered, Veronica was soon recognized by authorities as her daughter. The remoteness of the rural home caused the lengthy delay in discovering the horrendous crime.
I knew immediately it was our Delabama killer. This time, Daniel Brennan was not available to inform us and it was just my bored web surfing that spotted the notice. I was dialing my wife to tell her when Martha and Quinn came in the office, pushing a baby carriage with Claire smiling beneath her blankets. Martha could tell by the look on my face that something was wrong.
"Who killed your cat?" she asked. After abbreviated greetings, I told them what I'd discovered.
"Damn!" said Quinn. "I wish Howie would get his ass back here and get to work! If we don't get this guy, he'll get us!"
"God, Quinn! Don't say that!" his wife countered.
"It's the truth only no one will come out and say it. He's stalking us and he's going to be successful if Miss Julie spills the beans. We have to put him down before he murders the bunch of us." Baby Claire began to cry. Being alone didn't seem so bad to me after all.
"Look, Quinn," I said. "The time frame on this is all wrong. The murder happened days, maybe weeks ago. Even if Howie were here, chances are we wouldn't learn a thing."
"We would if he'd let me bracket enough times instead of quitting just because he gets tired."
"That's not fair!" Martha practically hollered.
"He's out in California holding hands with some old lady he doesn't even remember while kids are dying and this bastard keeps running around stalking us!"