Bought 10 clocks. For 10 victims?

Paid cash.

Wanted moon face on clock, wanted loud tick.

Evidence:

Source of clocks was Hallerstein's Timepieces, Flatiron District.

No prints on cash paid for clocks, no serial number hits. No trace on money.

Called from pay phones.

CRIME SCENE THREE

Location:

481 Spring Street.

Victim:

Joanne Harper.

No apparent motive.

Didn't know second victim, Adams.

Perp:

Watchmaker.

Assistant.

Probably man spotted earlier by victim, at her shop.

White, heavyset, in sunglasses, cream-colored parka and cap. Was driving the SUV.

M.O.:

Picked locks to get inside.

Intended method of attack unknown. Possibly planning to use florist's wire.

Evidence:

Fish protein came from Joanne's (orchid fertilizer).

Thallium sulfate nearby.

Florist's wire, cut in precise lengths. (To use as murder weapon?)

Clock.

Same as others. No nitrates.

No trace.

No note or poem.

No footprints, fingerprints, weapons or anything else left behind.

Black flakes-roofing tar.

Checking ASTER thermal images of New York for possible sources.

Results inconclusive.

Other:

Perp was checking out victim earlier than attack. Targeting her for a purpose. What?

Have police scanner. Changing frequency.

Vehicle.

Tan.

No tag number.

Putting out Emergency Vehicle Locator.

423 owners of tan Explorers in area. Cross-reference against criminal warrants. Two found. One owner too old; other is in jail on drug charges.

Owned by man in jail.

WATCHMAKER'S EXPLORER

Location:

Found in garage, Hudson River and Houston Street.

Evidence:

Explorer owned by man in jail. Had been confiscated, and stolen from lot, awaiting auction.

Parked in open. Not near exit.

Crumbs from corn chips, potato chips, pretzels, chocolate candy. Bits of peanut butter crackers. Stains from soda, regular, not diet.

Box of Remington.32-caliber auto pistol ammo, seven rounds missing. Gun is possible Autauga Mk II.

Book-Extreme Interrogation Techniques. Blueprint for his murder methods? No helpful information from publisher.

Strand of gray-and-black hair, probably woman's.

No prints at all, throughout entire vehicle.

Beige cotton fibers from gloves.

Sand matching that used in alleyway.

Smooth-soled size-13 shoe print.

CRIME SCENE FOUR

Location:

Barrow Street, Greenwich Village.

Victim:

Lucy Richter.

Perp:

Watchmaker.

Assistant.

M.O.:

Planned means of death unknown.

Entry/exit routes not determined.

Evidence:

Clock.

Same as others.

Left in bathroom.

No explosives.

Wood alcohol stain, no other trace.

No note or poem.

No recent roof tarring.

No fingerprints or shoe prints.

No distinctive trace.

Wool fibers from shearling jacket or coat.

INTERVIEW WITH VINCENT REYNOLDS

AND SEARCH OF CHURCH

Location:

10th Avenue and 24th Street.

Perp:

Watchmaker:

Name is Gerald Duncan.

Businessman from "the Midwest," specifics unknown.

Wife died in NY; he's murdering for revenge.

Armed with pistol and box cutter.

His phone can't be traced.

Collects old clocks and watches.

Searching watchmakers and horologic organizations.

No immediate hits.

No info from Interpol or criminal information databases.

Assistant:

Vincent Reynolds.

Temp employee.

Lives in New Jersey.

History of sexual assaults.

Evidence:

Five additional clocks, identical to others. One missing.

In Vincent's room:

Junk food, sodas.

Condoms.

Duct tape.

Rags (gags?).

In Duncan's room:

Horological magazines.

Tools.

Clothes.

Programs from Tampa and Boston art museums.

Additional duct tape.

Old broom with dirt, sand and salt.

Three Bic pens.

Coins.

Receipt from parking garage, downtown.

Receipt from drugstore on Upper West Side.

Book of matches from restaurant on Upper East Side.

Shoes with bright green paint.

Empty gallon jug of alcohol.

Pet hair roller.

Beige gloves.

No fingerprints.

Fire extinguisher residue.

Empty box that contained fire extinguisher.

Extinguisher to be alcohol incendiary device?

Other:

Murdered a student near the church, was a witness.

Local precinct is checking.

Vehicle is a stolen, dark blue Buick.

Murdered driver.

Searching-carjackings, homicides, missing persons.

Emergency Vehicle Locator ordered; no hits yet.

Sarah Stanton walked quickly over the frozen sidewalk back to the Midtown office building where she worked, clutching her Starbucks latte and a chocolate chip cookie-a guilty pleasure, but a reward for what would be a long day at the office.

Not that she needed a tasty incentive to get back to her workstation; she loved her job. Sarah was an estimator for a large flooring and interior design company. The mother of an eight-year-old, she'd gone back to work a few years earlier than planned, thanks to a tough divorce. She'd started as a receptionist and moved her way up quickly to become the head estimator for the company.

The work was demanding, a lot of numbers-but the company was good and she liked the people she worked with (well, most of them). And she had flexibility with her hours, since she was in the field a lot, meeting with clients. This was important because she had to get her son dressed and ready for school, then escort him all the way to Ninety-fifth Street by 9 A.M. and then head back to Midtown for her job, the timetable subject always to the whims of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Today she would work more than ten hours; tomorrow, she was taking off entirely to go Christmas shopping with her boy.

Sarah swiped her entry card and pushed through the back door of the building, then performed her afternoon workout routine-walking up the stairs to her office rather than use the elevator. The company took up all of the third floor but her workstation was in a smaller office, which occupied only a portion of the second floor. This office was quiet, housing only four employees, but Sarah preferred that. The bosses rarely came down here and she could get her work done without interruption.

She climbed to the landing and paused. She reached for the door handle, thinking as she nearly always did: Why did these doors open without any kind of lock from the stairwell side? It'd be pretty easy for somebody-

She jumped, hearing a faint tap of metal. Spinning around, Sarah saw no one.

And…was that the sound of breathing?

Was somebody hurt?

Should she go see? Or call security?

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

Only silence.

Probably nothing, she thought. And stepped into the corridor that led to the back door of her office. Sarah unlocked the door and walked down the long corridor of the company.

Shedding her coat and setting the coffee and cookie on her desk, she sat down at her workstation, glancing at her computer.