by Gary Hancock
The killing of the clone of Agent Crawford completed the twin killing that Ralph had done before his death. He didn't get to complete the set and I didn't know if he had planed to kill the real Agent or another look a like and letting her stew in the anticipation of him going after her. I decided that making her worry was better than just trying to kill her. I can always do that later.
I thought I deserved a little revenge and I picked out the closest friend of the couple whose house I got caught trying to rob. Hey I am who I am. The socialite' friend lived in Chicago and that would be a good place to lay her to rest. I knew that if I had chosen someone with a direct link to me, it would defeat the whole idea of a psycho killer. So I downloaded a picture of the rich victim off of the social page of the Chicago newspaper and put it in the program Ralph had used to pick a twin. In no time it had found an ideal choice in Baltimore. I could two killings in the same town. This would tie right in with the twin of Agent Crawford. It would be seen as proof that Ralph was back. When I killed the rich twin, that would cement the link. Don't worry I will eventually get back to the couple and their damn dog and when I can disguise it enough so no one will suspect it is me, I will put them away. Even the dog.
Two more deceased
The first killing wasn't even noticed by my girlfriend at the FBI, we were concentrating on on her doppelganger's murder and the Baltimore cops had written the secong killing off to a drive by shooting. It was when the Chicago socialite's picture was plastered all over the news two days later, that the resemblance was noted. A sharp reporter had put two and two together and had a story already on the internet before the FBI was even notified. The headlines screamed "Who will protect us from this menace". It went on to recount the original killing of the twins in California and New Orleans and the failure of the FBI to catch the shooter. It named Margaret and I knew that she was going to be in a horrible mood when she got home.
Frustration in victory
The only thing wrong with my plan is that I will have to wait for the next set of victims. Ralph only killed every six months. I can't wait that long to pull a crime. I am going to do regular break ins and not let it look like a T.K. crime. I don't steal just for the money, it is the thrill most of all. Seeing those rich privilege idiots get taken down is what I like the most. I had returned to the lair in North Dakota and believe me it was a treat to lay around the house and watch the news of my escapades. I was going to keep low for a couple of weeks and plan a heist in another state. I don't want to draw any attention to this area of the country.
I am enjoying the fact that I can walk around town without anybody putting the finger on me. I am actually getting a little bold. The other day I walked right pass one of the prison guards that was shopping in town and he was looking at my legs. I stopped and ask him if he had the correct time. He stuttered but did not recognize me. I had talked to him in the prison probably a hundred times. I could have kissed him and he still would not have caught on. There is one thing I will have to do during the next few months, it is to learn how to use some of his weapons. The real killer varied his method and if I don't that damn Agent might see through my plot.
I bought a mannikin and I have been practising with the sword cane and garrott. I used the crossbow on the first killing because it was just like shooting a gun. I know how to shoot pistols and rifles well enough to hit a target. I might not be able to hit one a mile away like Ralphie could, so I will keep the victims of his "ghost" at a much closer distance.
I have been keeping busy with my favorite past time. The scope of the breakins of mine have widen. I picked a store in Las Angelas. I had defeated the alarms, cracked the safe and back out, all in fifteen minutes. I was half way back to the North Dakota hideout before the crime was discovered. I had used a stolen car and the normal ninja looking outfit that burgulars have on the TV shows. No way anyone could identify me as the perp. The news even showed a video of me doing the crime and the reporter called me the "Black Cat". Maybe I will be as famous as Ralph in my own persona.
Five months and ten days later
It is almost time for another killing and we are no closer to solving the mystery of who he is. I have never been associated with something so nerve racking. Margaret got up in the middle of the night and went into the living room and slept on the couch. She has been tossing and turning as she is waiting for the inevitable call from a crime scene. The only times she has been able to rest has been when she is called out on other crimes. If she is able to figure out who did the deed, she sleeps like a baby that night, but it always comes back to T.K. and her inability to catch him
Knowing that at any moment that a call will come in about a serial killer that singles out your girlfriend, is probably the worst feeling you can have. I am not sure if Maggie is as scared as I am, probably not. That girl is the type that meets worry with overwhelming force. Last night she almost broke a rib of mine when she got so physical in bed that I had to call a halt. She stopped immediately and then stormed out of the room saying something to me about not being able to stand the heat, maybe I should get out of the bed. It was only about five minutes she was back and apologizing about the flash of temper. She cuddled up to me and whispered in my ear, "I know I said that the office is not going to effect our life at home and I just did that." What can I say, she is only human and this monster out there is still a threat, not only to her, but to every citizen that she had swore to protect. We just laid next to each other and drifted off to a natural sleep. In the morning, I swear I am going to get this perpetrator and end this torture of my beloved.
I went back over the incident in Chicago. This was a break in and killing inside a house. All of the other T.K. killings we knew about was out in the open and no one saw who did it. The drive by in Baltimore had a witness that was a block away. He claims a guy on a motorcycle drove up to the victim and shot her point blank. If it wasn't for the twin thing, I would not credit this to the serial killer. I got the crime scene pictures and I looked at the door of the Chicago house and noticed residue on the lock. Something had been taped to the door. The type of lock was one of those magnetic ones that was guaranteed not to be able to be picked. Whoever got in was an expert thief. I leaned back in the chair and wondered if our original profile of the Twin Killer was incomplete or was this the work of a copy cat. I wondered if any valuables was missing from the house. I better let Maggie do the asking as I didn't have any official standings and approaching the family of the victim really required the person not to be a nosy reporter or novelist.
Time to choose again
Now came the hard part. I had to pick a complete stranger to target. I was completely puzzled until I read an article about these actual twins. One of them was a successful businessman and owned a string of burger joints. The other was a bum. He had tried to copy his brother, but always picked the wrong business or stock or woman. Two divorces had cleaned him completely out. I could probably scored some valuable loot from the rich one and sacrifice the other to the legend of T.K. They both lived in Sacramento California but on opposite sides of town. Perfect for my little ploy. Jack and Joules Barber, your time on this Earth has come.
A closer look
Agent Crawford got on the phone and called the District Attorney for Chicago and told her we need a search warrant. There was hesitation at first, but after Maggie explained who she was, the D.A. concurred. I looked at My Agent and said, "I guess we are off to Chicago."
Arriving in Chicago, we went immediately to the mansion of the deceased woman. Her family and the family lawyer were waiting for us and we got down to work. After the death of their mother, the kids and the lawyer had compiled a list of all the valuables they knew about. The only problem was that their mother was a know packrat and hoarder. I only hoped that what I thought had happened involved one of those items that they knew about. I turned out to be right. The murderer had for certain stolen three things from the house. He had passed up all the high p
rice ticket items and purloined the second tier. The necklace that their mother never liked but was given by one of the kids was missing. He said that he knew his mother would never have got rid of it because it was the first gift he had been able to give her after he got his Wall Street Job. It was worth over five thousand but she only wore it that once. There was a Tiffany lamp that had been missed the first time around and a first edition of Alice's adventures in Wonderland worth over nine thousand. That was all that could be accounted for, but there could be more. At least twenty grand was missing and serial killers are not in it for the money.
We had us a copy cat that somehow had inside information on our original killer. If we could catch this thief, we would be closer to identifying the real deal T.K. Time to redefine our M.O. and turn our search to breaking and entering crooks. How many had this level of skill with locks?
When we got back to Washington, Maggie gave me a kiss right there in the office and said, "My fianc� has found the clue to the search for T.K." I was just as surprised to find out that I was engaged as the rest of the gang. Like I have said, she just runs my life and there is nothing I can do about it.
The midnight ride of Sally Pride
Jack Barber has a collection of gems I am going to have. Not the big ones he is always showing off, but the small bag of diamonds he carries around with him to do those on the spot deals. He thinks he is so clever using them to buy contraband items for his personal museum. I followed him around for a week and learned his tricks. I will relieve him of that bag and no one will be the wiser. Then I will take on Joules before he even learns of his brother's death.
I looked at the front gate and the fence that surrounds Jack's compound. It looked and was first rate. I had studied the plans for the electronic system and the very sophisticated locks and laser beams that protected this guy from the rest of the world. The staff left at the end of the day and he lived by himself in the big old house. He deserved to be robbed just for the way he held himself above everyone else. Tonight he will find out that he is no more bulletproof than his homeless brother.
It only took me fifteen minutes to get to the front door and another three to open the lock. I was inside and if the information I got from the upstairs maid was correct, he slept in the third room on the second floor. This time I will take out the victim before I go on a looting spree. I eased up the stairs and counted the doors to his room. I felt the doorknob and gently turned it. It was not locked. How smug he was in his own house. I eased open the door and that is when the damn dog hit me in the chest and knocked me on my ass. I got my hand in front of my face and the dog had my arm and was holding it for all he was worth.
The light came on and the geekest guy you ever saw was standing there holding a pistol with two shaky hands. Well he called the police and I was hauled off to the pokey. The look on their faces when they run my fingerprints and pulled up my picture was priceless. They did the prints a second time before they believed I was the same fugitive that was on the flier. They had me for escaping jail and another burglary, but they had no idea that I had been on a homicide trip and I wasn't going to tell them. The fuzz was not going to get Ralph's secret out of me. I am an expert thief, but I am a better liar. I told the D.A. that I wanted to make a deal. I told him that I could confess to five burgularies that I had done sent I escaped. All he had to do is only add five more years to my sentence and drop the escape charge. He thought about it for a week and since I did not kill anyone during the crimes, he could save the state some money by agreeing to the deal. I laid out the non violent thefts and told them I had stashed the goods in a locker in town. Everyone was pleased that I had not gotten rid of any of the loot. No one suspects you for another series of crimes when you confess to as many as I did. My little joke on these guys. The FBI agent may have got away this time, but I will break out again.
No kill is better than one
We searched through the database, but all the suspects that we came up with we either dead or in jail. The wait till the end of the month was nail biting. When the two weeks came and went, we were both happy and puzzled. Then there was another six months and another without any twin killings. This was a repeat of the original T.K. killer's disappearance and it still mystified us.
Well we just didn't sit around while we were waiting for action. I found myself standing on the right side of the aisle at St. Matthews, it started here and it only seemed fitting, I was watching this gorgeous woman walk down between the rows of cops on one side and my family on the other. There was a secret hidden beneath the ruffles and folds of the pale blue wedding dress. A secret that would forever change my life. She had only started two months ago and now right in the middle of waiting for another killing by that monster, a flash of joy had begun that would spread over our life, Sara Grace McCulloch. I had a beautiful wife, a child of our own, and an adventure every day. I can live with that.
Snared but not totally stopped
They finally let me have visitors again. My little sister was the first in the door and we sat at the little table in the middle of the room. I tried to get where the guards could not see my mouth. You never know if someone can read your lips. The dye job on my hair had long been washed out and we no longer looked like twins. I leaned in close to her and said, "Have I got a story for you."