FORTY-THREE
“What’s your favorite murder site, Floyd?”
Ritter looks up at the tourist waiting for an answer. She’s an older woman with short, snow-white hair and years in her face, and she’s wearing a blue denim skirt and sneakers.
“You must have one you like the best,” she persists.
Ritter smiles. They always ask the same questions. Why? Do they think he’s an expert on murder? Then again, perhaps he is. Who would know more about the crime scenes than the man who visits them repeatedly, day after day, as if they were shrines. Wasn’t that where he got the idea for the book?
“Well,” Ritter says, after pretending to give it some thought, “I like this spot right here.” He nods at Coit Tower looming in the dark.
“Why’s that?”
“Because it’s the site of the Zebra Killings,” Ritter replies.
