The manager nodded. “I didn’t think much of it at first, really. They’re just a bunch of old mannequins that we don’t use anymore. You’ve seen the mannequins in the front of the store?”
Laura nodded. Of course, she had. It was one of the first things she’d noticed when they walked in. In fact, she was seeing them everywhere – in every store window they passed. But the mannequins on display here were a different kind than those used by the killer. They had sculpted faces and hair, a modern style that was somehow less creepy because it was a little more realistic, even though that didn’t make much sense to her.
But the killer had used a different kind of mannequin – faceless and featureless, with no hint of an expression. The heads were essentially a smooth white oval, the minimum effort required to make the mannequin the right shape.
“Well,” the manager continued. “We replaced them all a few years ago, and since then the old ones have just been sitting there in the corner of the storeroom, not doing anything. I thought someone had probably taken them for an art project or something – we have a lot of students who end up doing part-time work here. Then a couple of days ago I went down there and saw that another was gone. That sort of annoyed me, until I heard about the murders on the news and how they were both posed with a mannequin. That flagged a bit of an alarm bell for me and I called the police to report the theft right away.”
Laura almost ground her teeth, managing to loosen her jaw only with the fact that she was facing a member of the public and had to remain professional. Whatever halfwit had been working the desk on the day this was called in had reported it only as a theft, not flagging it as connected to the murders at all. They could have been a day further along in their investigation. They could possibly have saved Xavier Perez’s life with this knowledge.
“And the fourth one?” Nate prompted.
“That disappeared just this morning,” the manager said. He paused, then corrected himself. “When I say this morning – I mean last night, really. I checked the storeroom right before closing up the store last night. When I came in to open up this morning, one of them was gone. It was there before. I know that for a fact.”
“Then the question we have to ask is, who has access to the storeroom after hours?” Laura asked.
The manager nodded somberly and pulled a piece of paper out of his inside jacket pocket. “I’m ahead of you there,” he said. “I’ve already been thinking about who it could possibly be. It has to be someone with a key or who comes in every night. We do have a security guard who can let people in, though I do think he would notice if someone came out with a mannequin, and he told me he hasn’t.”
“Is the name of the security guard on that list?” Laura asked, taking it from his outstretched hand.
“Yes,” the manager said. “And myself, of course. Just for the sake of elimination from your inquiries.”
“Alright,” Laura nodded. “So, where were you last night after you left the store?”
“I went home,” the manager replied. “I live in a shared apartment, and I ate dinner with my roommates before watching a film. Then we all went to bed separately, of course. But I’m sure they would be able to testify that none of them heard the sound of the door opening and closing in the night. Oh, and two nights ago, I was staying at my girlfriend’s house – she will be able to tell you for certain that I was there all night.”
Laura nodded. It wasn’t a bulletproof alibi, but it was good enough. If he was the killer, there was no way he would have been bold enough to actually tip them off to the theft. And even if this was all some kind of strange double-bluff, she could always investigate him and see about those alibis if the rest of the list came up with no results.
“This is a short enough list,” she said, scanning it and then showing it to Nate. Seven names. The manager, a security guard, and five others who occupied various roles within the store. Only seven. It wouldn’t take long to get through them. Laura felt a burst of mad hope.
“No one else can get access to the storeroom at all?” she asked. “Not even your other employees?”
“No, I can verify that,” he said. “Once inside, it might be possible to go out through one of the emergency fire exits without being seen by security – but otherwise, you’d have to walk right past him, and he swears he hasn’t seen anyone with a mannequin.”
“Alright. Thank you,” Laura said, standing up. Nate joined her as she put the list into her pocket. They would probably have to come back here within a short period of time to interview some of the employees, but for now, they could explore the list back at the precinct to avoid raising the alarm. “Don’t tell anyone you’ve spoken with us or that we have this list. Your employee out there who fetched you for us – you’ll need to ask her to keep quiet, too.”
“Of course,” the manager nodded enthusiastically. “Anything I can do to help.”
“Alright,” Laura said, nodding at Nate. “Let’s go.”
For the first time, as she strode out of the staff room and through the store, she actually felt like they were about to get somewhere with this case – even as the fear that he was about to take his fourth victim solidified into something much more real.