“Fitz, did you guys ever try to find any additional rape victims?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jillian and her mom raised an interesting point. Rape is a largely unreported crime. Sure, we have three known victims of the College Hill Rapist. But that doesn't mean they were his only victims.”

Fitz was silent for a moment. “Well, we ran the details of the case through VICAP to see if we'd get any hits. No crimes matching these descriptions came up in any other states. Of course, that's not exactly foolproof. Another victim might not have filed a police report. Or maybe she did, and the police department still hasn't gotten around to entering it into the database, etc., etc. D'Amato waited six months before going to the grand jury, just in case we could find any other women willing to come forward and add their charges to the package. That's one of the reasons he didn't mind Jillian and her group going on TV all the time. He figured if anything would influence another victim to come forward, it would be seeing Jillian, Carol and Meg standing tall.”

“But no one came forward?”

“Not that we ever heard of.”

“But that doesn't rule out the possibility…”

“Griffin, there is no way of ruling out that possibility. You could interview every woman in this state, point-blank ask her if she was ever raped, and still not rule out the possibility because one of them might lie. We're cops. We can't focus on the impossible. We have to focus on the probable.”

“I can account for everyone's money,” Griffin said abruptly.

Fitz was clearly stunned. “No shit.”

“Yeah. I even asked Vinnie Pesaturo if he arranged for a hit. He said no. And call me crazy, but I actually believe him.”

“In other words, you just ran out of suspects.”

“I ran out of suspects for this theory,” Griffin said.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning maybe it wasn't a vengeance case. Maybe it was about something else. You tell me, Fitz. Why else would someone want Eddie Como dead?”

Griffin had no sooner set down his cell phone from that call than it rang again.

“Sergeant Griffin,” he said.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Lieutenant Morelli! My favorite LT. Have I told you how lovely you look today?”

“You wouldn't know how lovely I look today. You haven't bothered to see me today. Funny, but my memory of the primary case officer's job is to keep the higher-ups informed. To actually be at headquarters overseeing information, generating theories and keeping the ball rolling. What is your memory of the primary case officer's job, Sergeant?”

“Good news,” Griffin said hastily. “We're making lots of progress.”

“Oh really? Because I've been listening to the news, Sergeant, and it seems to me that this case is going to hell in a handbasket.”

“It's the fifty-million-dollar lawsuit, isn't it?”

“That's one problem.”

“And the fact that the public is now convinced there is a serial rapist on the loose, and they're all about to be raped and/or murdered in their sleep?”

“That would be another problem.”

“The mayor is getting calls, and the colonel is getting calls and the media is having an absolute field day at our expense?”

“Very good, Sergeant. For someone who's never around, at least you're keeping up-to-date. Detective Waters taking pity on you?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Griffin acknowledged.

“Well, that speaks highly of Detective Waters. Whom, I understand, you have running around Cranston looking for associates of Eddie Como. That sounds an awful lot like you're poaching on Providence's rape case. Are you poaching on Providence's rape case?”

“I'm being thorough,” Griffin said carefully.

“Sergeant, don't make me kill you.”

Griffin smiled. He'd always liked Lieutenant Morelli. He took a deep breath. “Here's the problem. We started out with a basic theory. Eddie Como is an alleged rapist, ergo the most likely suspects in his murder are the rape victims.”

“I remember that conversation.”

“Pursuant to that angle, the financial crimes detectives did a full workup on the three women and their families. That yielded two good leads: Jillian Hayes and Dan Rosen have both made substantial cash withdrawals with no identifiable recipient.”

“They could've hired the gunman.”

“They could've. Unfortunately they didn't. Jillian Hayes donated her money to a Cranston parish, as confirmed by the parish priest. And Dan Rosen blew his money at Foxwoods, as corroborated by Vincent Pesaturo. It appears Mr. Rosen has a gambling problem.”

“Which means you now have a problem.”

“Yeah. At least as it stands now, none of the known victims and their families make good suspects, not even Vinnie Pesaturo.”

“Where are you going with this, Sergeant?”

Griffin laughed. It was the hollow, stressed-out laugh of a detective watching his case go down the tubes. “Well, we have two angles left. First, we hold with the vengeance theory, and pursue the possibility that there were other victims of the College Hill Rapist. Ones that have never come forward to the police.”

The lieutenant was silent for a moment. “That's an interesting theory.”

“Isn't it? Jillian Hayes and her mother came up with it. Remember, rape is a drastically underreported crime. I checked with Fitz, and they did some initial legwork. Ran the rape profile through VICAP, etc. No hits, but that doesn't mean much. If there are other victims, they may never have gone to the police at all.”

“Did they try the rape hotline or a rape-crisis organization?”

“Uh, no…”

“Well, maybe you'd like to send out some detectives, Sergeant. A rape-crisis organization won't give you names, but they can tell you if they received calls from someone who suffered a similar attack. Then at least you'll know if you're on the right track.”

“Ummm, good point.”

“That's why my name starts with the initials LT. Now what's your second theory?”

“It involves the Sylvia Blaire case. Fitz is hoping it's a copycat, praying really, that it's a copycat, but there are some problems with that theory.”

“The douche.”

Griffin scowled. “For a neglected lieutenant, you're keeping well informed.”

Morelli said, “I'll have you know, I do look very good today. Plus, it just so happens that Lieutenant Kennedy from Providence has the hots for my sister. Which is, by the way, the only thing that is keeping Detective Fitzpatrick from wringing your neck. Well, that and the fact that Detective Fitzpatrick has his own problems at the moment.”

“I appreciate that,” Griffin said seriously. “Well, okay. So Fitz and I had an interesting discussion on the Sylvia Blaire case this morning. One possibility is that Eddie Como led two lives, one as the loving fiancé, and the other as a sexual deviant. And maybe Sexual Deviant Eddie had some friends to whom he liked to brag.”

“Drinking buddies?”

“Maybe.”

“Who knew all the details of what he did, including the douche?”

“That's the thought.”

“Another interesting thought,” Morelli concurred. “But why just a drinking buddy? Why not an actual accomplice? We've seen rape duos before.”

Griffin shrugged. “Only one semen type was ever recovered from the vics. Plus, Carol and Jillian only reported seeing one man.”

Morelli was silent for a moment. “What if the second person was more of a passive partner? Maybe a lookout?”

Griffin pursed his lips. “Oh,” he said. “Ooooooh.”

“I'm good, aren't I, Sergeant?” she said knowingly.

“You're good,” he agreed. “The times! That would explain the times. See, it would appear that the first vic, Meg Pesaturo, was a quick in and out. Like the rapist was afraid of being discovered. But he spent a lot of time with Carol, who was always considered a last-minute substitute. Why wasn't he worried about someone coming home? And it would appear that the rapist had been in Trisha Hayes's apartment for a while, too. He'd already completed the rape before Jillian arrived, but he hadn't left yet. And even though in theory Jillian walked in on him, he was aware she was coming. He hid and jumped her from behind. Now, part of his lingering at the Rosen and Hayes crime scenes probably had to do with his escalating appetite for violence. He needed more and more to get the same thrill. But maybe he also had a lookout, or gained one as he went along. Someone whose job was to give him the security to stay as long as he liked. Except in Trisha Hayes's case, when someone did unexpectedly appear, it was a basement apartment with only one point of entry/exit. So he couldn't bolt without being spotted. His better move was to ambush her instead, which he then prepared to do.”