“So deep down inside you’re just a scared little boy trying to get his father’s attention. While you hurt many other families in the process and create a legacy of horror behind you, all so you can throw it in the face of one man that didn’t want you to begin with. He knew how broken you would be and that’s why he left you to fend for yourself.”
“Legacy? I’ll go down in the history books as one of the greatest masterminds of the century. Others will be trying to recreate my method for years to come. I’ll walk into the sunset and disappear without a trace. That will be your greatest fear in the upcoming years is that I’ll do it again and you won’t be able to stop me then either.”
I placed one foot on the stair and willed myself to move up to the next one.
“I’m going to be the one haunting your dreams.” I threatened. “You’re going to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”
I woke up with a start as the wheels on the plane touched down.
“Ryan, his mother has to have pictures of him. We can use those to recreate what he looks like now. Maybe she has something with his DNA on it.” I poked his arm in excitement. My subconscious had been working while I was still asleep.
“You might just be onto something. With information like that we’ll have to keep it under the radar and make sure that no one knows what we’re doing.”
“Right, we have to catch this crazy lady first.”
--------
We were driven straight to the crime scene from the airport by other local FBI agents.
Even though Adam had told me to be prepared, the crime scene almost overwhelmed me, but not for the reasons that he’d expressed concern about.
After six months of the Zodiac Master’s recruits and their different ways to commit a murder, this was the first time that I’d wanted to throw up from the sight inside the crime scene tape.
Blood covered the walls and had soaked through the carpets leaving a metallic smell in the air.
I whistled at the scene in front of us, “She was pissed off.”
“My brother must have really made her mad.” Adam agreed, “None of the other bodies were left like this but were delivered in a package with very little blood left in the individual pieces.” H held his hand over his nose to help block out the smell.
“She’s made a mistake and those are always costly for the killers like her. We’ll find her, but it won’t be anything left behind in this room.” Ryan turned back toward the fresh air and we both gladly followed his lead.
Out in the afternoon sunshine, the harsh reality of the crime scene faded slightly as we all breathed in the clean air.
“You didn’t pick up anything while you were in there did you?” Adam watched me closely for some sort of reaction to the crime scene.
“No, I told you it’s like my sensors are done. Nothing came through but the normal type of things you’d discover at a crime scene. Not only was Mary Ann mad, but she didn’t care if you found her. Galen is her main target. She may have killed others and enjoyed it, but he is going to be the entire enchilada that will draw her out of the shadows.”
“I don’t want to use my brother as bait unless it’s our last resort. He just came back into my life and I’d like to keep him around if at all possible.”
“Let’s go see if we can find out what our agents have for us regarding the other packages and if we have a trail on Mary Ann.” Ryan suggested with great patience.
I looked at the house unable to see the dark cloud hovering over it as I followed them back to the van.
-------
“Each police station that has received one of these packages has searched extensively for the place where each incident might have occurred with no trace.” Agent Chip updated us at the hotel.
“You’ve identified the killer as Mary Ann Walsh. We’ve put on ABP out to the entire state and hopefully we’ll get a hit. While you’re able to do a lot identification and tracking in the bigger cities with cameras at traffic signals, we don’t have that luxury here in this large wilderness state. The bigger cities do have some available, but in a town this size, we’re lucky that there was even a hotel for us to stay in tonight.”
Adam was the agent in charge out of the three of us, so he took point asking the questions. “You’ve been sent her id and the vehicle registered in her name is a large gray truck. If she’s using the same vehicle, then we might have a chance to pick her up without a problem. Odd are she has most likely changed the plates. We should update the apb suggesting that, and along with her description should be the warning that she is very dangerous.”
“Do you think she’s going to strike again in such a small town?” I couldn’t help wondering what her agenda would be if she did that.
“She’s going to have a hard time getting around if she’s still here. Unfortunately, I would suggest we wait until in the morning although that may mean another dead body. Right now, we don’t have a lot to go on and we are hours closer to her location if she shows up again.”
Ryan and I both nodded in agreement.
“We know who, what and how, we’re missing the why and where to this equation.” Agent Chip quipped.
“Ah, a jokester. It makes sense why you’re up here in Wyoming. They had to put you and your humor somewhere they didn’t have to hear it all the time.” I snickered behind my hand.
“I heard that and no they didn’t put me here. I requested it to be closer to my parents who were having some medical issues.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I could feel the heat rush to my face, “I don’t where that came from.”
He waved away my concern. “You’re not the first to make jokes about my humor. I had to find some way to deal with all the jokes about my name, so I took the offensive and made the jokes about my name first.”
“Jokes about your name, no one would ever do that, right?”
“Sure, and kids aren’t evil or mean, right? Hey, are you still Chipping away at that? Or well when the Chips are down make sure you have him by your side.”
I couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.
“Nope, it’s all good. Get it out of your system.”
I was laughing so hard that tears had started streaming down my face.
When I could get my breath, I started to apologize again as everyone else stared.
“Hey, I’ve learned laughter is sometimes the only way to let off stress, but in a healthier way.”
Adam chimed in, “This job is tough enough to see the kinds of things we see on a regular basis and this is a good outlet.”
“If you’re not offended then I’m going to get out of here before something else comes out of my mouth that I have to apologize for. I think seeing that horrible mess today has thrown me off kilter.”
“I completely understand. There’s a good diner just down the street which is the best of our local cuisine.” Chip offered.
“Thank you. We’ll check it out, but make sure to call us if anything comes across the scanners.” Adam ushered us out of the room.
“Leslie, you’re holding it all inside. You have those shields that you’ve put up tightly holding it all inside and while really strong they won’t stand up when something hits that you’re not expecting.”
We walked down the street just as the sun started to set.
“Are you worried that I’m cracking up?” I hurried to reassure him, “I started dating again so there’s no worries there. I’m perfectly well adjusted.”
Ryan gave me a look, “Perfectly adjusted people don’t generally start laughing a short while after trying not to puke at a gruesome crime scene.”
“Have you thought about using one of our shrinks to talk some stuff out? They have clearance so you can talk to them about cases or anything you need to work through.” Adam suggested thoughtfully as he held open the door to the restaurant.
“No, I’m good. A shrink just talks you to death and doesn’t really help.” I shrugged off the thought because tha
t would mean I had a problem which required me to fix it.
“Just keep the idea in mind. It’s always there in case you need help or simply want to talk something through with someone that isn’t us.”
“I’ve got Flora for that, but thanks.”
“It might be a good idea for both of us to talk to someone while we’re dealing with this case.” Ryan agreed.
“That’s just another way for the Zodiac Master to know what we’re thinking by spilling our guts to some person we don’t know. Right now, I want to keep things close to the vest, so things aren’t out there in the universe to bite our butts.” I took a booth near the window so we could watch the local town residents in their natural habitat.
“She’s right.” Ryan backed me up, “We’re all on edge and tired. She’ll feel okay in the morning.”
It was curious that Ryan had agreed with me so quickly. It might mean that we actually needed to talk to someone.
--------
Chapter 10
Mary Ann
I’d seen the FBI arrive because I was next door to my latest victim. When I had finished chopping him up, I realized that I was in serious trouble. My emotions had gotten the best of me and I’d taken it out on a fairly innocent man. Granted, he’d been the first one that I could find with the right birthday in such a small town, but he’d had no idea I was coming for him.
Covered in blood, I’d washed most of it off in the back yard with the hose, but there was nowhere to change that wasn’t going get me caught. I’d heard the story of how the Aries killer had messed up and he’d been taken out personally. The Zodiac Master had warned me that if I didn’t stick to the plan or managed to get caught, I wouldn’t live to tell about it.
Somehow, I really wanted to live long enough to take out the one person who had started me down this journey. I could accept anything that happened if Galen was made to pay for his actions. In fact, I would welcome death if it would help me find some peace, but first I had to stay ahead of the police.
It had been kind of fun to wake up and see the house next door filled with police. I’d been in a fogged state when I’d killed the poor man next door. He had listened to my story about needing to use the phone and let me inside. Big mistake on his part.
I’d rewarded his good deed by taking all of my anger out on him. With that much blood on me the only thing I could do was use the water hose to wash off as much as I could. Some how I’d ended up next door asleep in the neighbor’s house with my truck in their empty garage.
No one had reported an intruder in their home, but it was only a matter of time before some mentioned seeing lights on in a house where no one was supposed to be home.
Darkness would cover my trail out of town, but I was afraid that my time was running out. I needed to find a plan to get Galen back to his home.
Another murder should do the trick and I had one on my list in the next city which was only a few hours away. I’d have to have a better getaway plan because with the FBI this close, they’d be there almost before I finished killing the man.
My truck would get me out of town, but I’d have to find a new ride before completing my next murder. I couldn’t get too far behind because I wasn’t ready to face the consequences yet.
------
Leslie[AM2]
We had barely gotten started on the day when Adam received a call that there was another murder about two hours away from us.
Chip met us outside and we were off again. I didn’t make any jokes about his name, but the temptation was still there. He was a nice guy and we were taking him to some of the worst crime scenes in the world.
The house was pretty non-descript in a middleclass neighborhood. The local police made room for us to go inside probably because they were avoiding being in the house as much as possible.
“I think she’s switched to the axe for keeps now.” Ryan stepped carefully to avoid getting blood on his shoes.
“She’s not mad now, she’s enjoying it.” Adam agreed.
“You Feds know who did this?” One of the crime scene techs asked after overhearing the comments.
“We think we have an id on her, but I’ve never personally met her.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I wouldn’t want this one coming over to visit me because you might find yourself in pieces after she left.” He joked with the other tech.
“I’d say we have to agree with you on that. We want to get her off the street and into jail as soon as possible.” I added.
“Good luck with that. At least she doesn’t have a pistol to shoot you with.”
“No, she just throws axes for a living. Not dangerous at all when faced with serious jail time.” Ryan hid a grin behind the hand holding his nose.
Again the amount of blood and body parts suggested that she hadn’t take the body out of the house.
“Did we find her truck anywhere?” Adam asked of the head officer, “Can I have a list of stolen cars in the last twelve hours and where they were stolen from?”
“There have only been three on this part of town. We checked based on what you’d sent out in your memo.”
“By any chance was her truck sitting nearby?” I had a hunch from my cop instincts.
“I’ll have a patrol drive the area and check for us.”
“Don’t bother, we’ll head over there now.” Adam turned to leave, and I didn’t waste time by staying in the house.
Since he’d told me that my psychic gifts might be a problem, I’d been very careful not to touch even the doorknobs, so I didn’t pick up any unwanted energy traces.
“I hate that we’re always a day late and a dollar short when it comes to these murders. Why can’t we use all of these talents and skills to prevent murders instead of following the murderer around?” I whined.
“I’m using all of mine. If you know of a better way to catch a killer, then just let me know.” Adam replied testily.
“Sorry. I can’t stop my mouth from speaking these horrible things lately. The words just keep spewing out with no filter.”
Adam grinned, “Maybe you’re picking up the vibes from one of us and it’s coming out of your mouth from our brains.”
“That’s all I need is another crazy thing happening to my brain.”
“Here’s the spot where the truck was reported stolen early this morning.” Chip stopped the vehicle and we all piled out.
It only took all of us looking through the large parking lot to find it.
“I’ve got it.” Ryan waved and yelled at us.
Chip brought the car over to us, “I’ll notify the local pd and have them send out a tech to process it for prints.”
“Don’t we have our own people that do that?”
“It’s a small office up here and it’s easier if we use the local resources and just pay the bill for it.” Chip held up his hands in a what can we do gesture.
“Well, we know it’s her truck and we’ve put out a report that if the truck turns up to approach with caution.”
Adam’s phone rang and we all grew quiet.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Don’t do that without back up.”
“Crap!” He hung up the phone quickly checking his text messages.
“Chip put these coordinates in and makes sure that we use all the sirens and lights to get there.” Adam motioned up back into the vehicle.
“Call for back up to meet us there if possible.”
Chip frowned, “I’m the only agent available right now. I’ll let the chief know what’s going on and if he can reroute someone to help us he will.”
“Adam, what’s happening?”
“Galen is going to use his self as bait. He’s trying to call Mary Ann right now to invite her to the cabin. Flora also called him and said not to approach it from the front or she’ll kill him. We have to get there before she harms him.”
“Yes, sir. I’m doing my best.” Chip focused on weaving the vehicle between cars on the highway. “It’s a
little bit of a drive though.”
------
FBI –Dallas Office-- Galen
Agent Watson had gotten me a pass that gave me low level access to most of the databases at the FBI. When I’d walked out with Adam, he made it known that he was certain there was a mole in team who needed to be ferreted out.
I figured it would be a good idea to get caught up on what each case had been about. Plus, it would let me poke around on my own without alerting anyone that we were checking up on them.
Agent Scott was supposed to help in whatever way to find all of the stuff that I needed or get it for me. That was a perk of having been a well-loved agent before jumping into retirement.
It took an hour or so to get me connected to the system and tapped into all of the files. Once I could get started, the files were so fascinating. I hadn’t realized how much I missed working with active cases and working up a profile from facts that other agents completely dismissed.
My brain worked in an unusual way when I read documents. It would highlight certain words or phrases pointing out things that made absolutely no sense. Then once I’d put down all the words, I’d study them letting them float in my brain until it de-coded itself.
Aquarius held the beginning pieces and while Noah Preston stood out, he was just a small part of the overall puzzle.
Pisces brought to the front the deep desire to uncover the Urban Energy group.
Aries had been up close and personal for both of them and engaged the Zodiac Master.
Taurus had turned things around and brought out a group killer. Those weren’t the norm and suggested another piece in the puzzle.
Gemini had personally challenged Leslie, but Ryan had been left out of the equation.
My conclusions were that Ryan had more contact with the Zodiac Master than he’d let on and didn’t want to burden his team mates. There’d been mention of a Kevin, but he’d disappeared out of the files after Taurus was over. If I’d had my own office, I’d have put individual words on the wall.
Their Zodiac Master was willing to go against the norms to keep these detectives engaged by any means necessary. His name went in the middle of my page and finally brought me to the current month, Cancer.
Cancer: Murders of the Zodiac Page 9