“We’ve come to move Annie,” Brad said. “Have you seen anyone hanging around here, or a vehicle parked close by with someone inside?”
“No, nothing like that. If I did, I’d call you or the sergeant right away.”
Brad and Briscoe took the elevator to the third floor and headed down the hall to Annie’s place. Brad knocked.
“Who is it?” Annie asked.
“I know you can see me through the peephole,” Brad said. “Open the door.”
“Can I see some ID? Step back from the door.”
“Annie, quit screwing around.”
“You don’t have to get so pissy.”
A deadbolt unlocked, then another deadbolt unlocked, and finally Annie opened the door.
“You’re a grump today,” Annie said. “I was doing what you taught me to do.”
Brad pushed into the apartment. Briscoe stayed at the door.
Brad looked around. “Get your stuff, you’re coming to my place.”
“Why? You’re scaring me.”
Brad turned to Annie. “Wolfman escaped again.”
Annie’s hand covered her mouth. “No … please no. Tell me you’re joking.”
“I’d never joke about this. Pack up. You might not be back here for a while.”
Annie packed a suitcase of clothes and toiletries, and a gym bag of schoolbooks.
Briscoe grabbed the suitcase and Brad took the gym bag.
“This weighs a ton,” Brad said.
“Summer semester starts tomorrow. Gotta have the textbooks. The professors have already assigned reading.”
“Have you done the reading?” Brad asked.
Annie glared and headed to the elevator.
When the elevator door opened, two uniformed cops stood in the lobby. One cop led them out of the building, the other bringing up the rear.
On the street, two more cops stood on alert.
They threw Annie’s bags into the back of Brad’s Firebird. Annie climbed into the passenger seat.
“These guys will follow you home, just in case,” Briscoe said.
“I appreciate that,” Brad replied. “I’ll get Annie settled in, then go after Wolfe.”
“You know this guy better than anyone,” Briscoe said. “What do you think his next move will be?”
“He’ll pick up where he left off, and we’ll have another body to deal with—soon.”
“Let me know if you need help with Annie. I can hang out at your place while you’re at work.”
“Thanks. We’re okay for now. But you’ll be the first one I call.”
Brad slid into the driver’s seat and they pulled away from the curb.
Annie stared out the window, silent. Brad left her alone.
“Do you think he’ll come after me?”
“I hope not. But this time I’m not taking any chances.”
“What about school?”
“You’ll have your own security detail, just like the president.”
“They’ll follow me everywhere? What about the restroom?”
“There’ll be a lady cop on the detail. She will be with you in the restroom.”
“That’s creepy.”
“I thought you ladies always went to the bathroom in pairs.”
“That a little judgmental, even for you. What about my brother?”
“He’s safe with his foster family.”
“Maybe we should get him, too.”
“The foster family is the best place for him. Heck, I don’t even know where he is.”
Annie turned to Brad. “You know that’s a bunch of shit.”
“Language.”
“I’m not a child. You’ve always been honest with me. Don’t feed me crap now. Where is he?”
Brad hesitated, then said, “You’re right. I know where he is. I also know he’s safe. You have to trust me on that. When this is over, I’ll make sure you see him.”
Annie stared out the window again.
Brad parked in front of his house—one cruiser parked in front of them, and one behind. Brad waited while the cops left their cruisers. Two of them walked around the house. When they came back, one cop nodded.
Brad and Annie got out of the car. Brad grabbed her bags and they headed up the sidewalk. Brad stopped and turned to the cops. “You guys can go now.”
“No can do, sir,” the older cop said. “We’ve got instructions from Sergeant Briscoe. We’ll be out here if you need us.”
As they approached the door, they heard loud barking. When Brad opened the door Lobo rushed out, stopped next to Annie and let her pet him. Then he raced off to check out the cops.
Brad disarmed the security system and took the bags upstairs to Annie’s room. She’d stayed there numerous times over the past two years. This was her second home.
Brad walked through the house, making sure all the windows were closed and locked. He tested the deadbolts on the doors. Then he headed outside. Lobo was sitting beside a cruiser getting the attention from a cop.
“Lobo, come.” Lobo ran to Brad’s side and sat. “I sometimes take him to work. Now he thinks a cruiser means we’re going to chase bad guys.”
“He seems pretty friendly,” the cop said.
“He’s nice and calm now. He recognizes the uniform and your boot polish. But he can go into attack mode fast.”
“I’ll be sure not to piss him off,” the cop said.
Brad and Lobo wandered around the yard. Brad checked the padlock on the tool shed. Lobo sniffed at the ground but didn’t indicate anything suspicious. The motion sensors were intact and the floodlights weren’t broken. Tonight, after dark, he’d check to make sure they were still functioning.
Brad and Annie were sitting in the living room. Lobo jumped up from sleep and raced to the entrance. The door opened and Maggie stepped inside with grocery bags.
“Why is a police cruiser parked in front of our house?”
“Hey, Maggie, welcome home.”
“Don’t, ‘hey Maggie’ me. Now I know for sure you’re up to something.”
Annie stepped out of the living room. “Hi, Maggie.”
Maggie glanced from Brad to Annie then back to Brad.
“Let’s go to the kitchen,” Brad said. “We’ll be back in a few minutes, Annie. Keep Lobo out of trouble.”
They sat at the kitchen table and Brad told Maggie about Wolfe’s escape and the danger to Annie.
Maggie sat quietly for a few moments. “How does this happen?”
“I’ve asked that question a bunch of times myself. We’ve underestimated Wolfe.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve treated him like he was just a big, dumb biker. He’s a lot smarter than we gave him credit for.”
“Crazy like a fox?”
“Yeah, exactly. Not many people escape from jail—few escape twice. You might be lucky the first time—things just fall into place. But the odds are against it happening twice. Yet he’s roaming free. The second escape required detailed planning. We’re dealing with a cunning psychopath.”
“Are we in danger?”
“Wolfe is too smart to come here. Until we get him, there’ll be uniforms outside. The alarm system is the best there is and Lobo is our secret weapon. He’d never let anyone hurt you or Annie.” Brad stood. “I need to go back to work for a couple of hours. Set the alarm when I leave. The cops will be here until I’m home.”
Brad met the cops beside the cruiser.
“Thanks for doing this,” Brad told them. “I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous Wolfe is. He’s very smart, too. If you see or hear anything suspicious, call for backup right away. Don’t take any chances.”
“We’ve got this, Detective,” a young cop said.
“I’m serious,” Brad said. “Don’t be a hero. Everyone goes home to their family tonight.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
When Brad arrived back at his office a detective told him to report to the briefing room.
“About ti
me,” Deputy Chief Archer said.
Brad grabbed a chair and looked around the room—Devlin, Davidson, and Griffin.
“You four are assigned to find Wolfe,” Archer told them. “Ideally, we find and arrest him.”
“That hasn’t worked out well so far.” Brad immediately regretted saying it. Sometimes stuff just slipped out.
Archer glared at Brad. “I said ideally. If he puts up any resistance, well … do what you need to do.”
“Four of us isn’t much of a team,” Brad said.
“You four are the brains of the operation. If you need more people, then tell me. I’ll get them. TSU knows Wolfe is out there and they’re on alert. If anyone gets a sighting or a confirmed location, we surround the scene and let TSU take him down.”
“I’ve got a request,” Brad said.
“What’s that?” Archer asked.
“We need more than four of us. I’d like Sam Steele and Charlie Zerr to join us tomorrow.”
“If I do that, then the TSU is short guys.”
“True, but if we’re going against Wolfe, we need to have a little more muscle on our side. No offense to this group, but Steele and Zerr won’t be afraid to head into the seamier places. They can handle themselves. If TSU is needed, then they join their team.”
Archer nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll have them report here tomorrow.”
“We need a name for our group,” Devlin said. “How about the Silver Bullet Team.”
“Silver bullets are for werewolves, not wolfmen,” Brad said.
“Close enough,” Devlin replied.
“There’s no team name.” Archer stood. “I’ll leave you to figure out how we’re going to find Wolfe.”
Tina leaned forward in her chair. “Where do we start?”
“Last time we got lucky and found Wolfe within eight days,” Brad said. “He won’t make that mistake again. We need to write down every aspect of this case, then work on them one at a time.”
Griffin shrugged. “Sounds like a plan.”
“He doesn’t have many friends here,” Devlin said. “They’re either dead or in jail. But he may still contact the Hells Angels, if he hasn’t already. We need to keep pressure there.”
Brad wrote Friends on a whiteboard followed by HA. Then he wrote Hideouts.
“That could be anywhere,” Devlin argued. “If he’s looking to contact a biker, he will try the biker bars—Beacon, Town & Country, Bowness, maybe even the Shamrock, but that’s too close to the HA.”
Brad added the bars under the hideout heading. “I think we leave Shamrock in, to cover all bases.”
“Sure,” Devlin said. “I’ve been thinking about this. I’m more use on the street, checking the bars and underbelly of our wonderful city. I can go places none of you can. I’ll take the bars and strolls. I’ll get the narcs looking as well.”
Brad nodded.
“I’ve got two murders to follow up on,” Griffin said. “I still have my file from the hooker murder. I’ll talk to Sturgeon and find out what he knows about the murder of the orderly.”
Murders went on the whiteboard with Threats.
“Wolfe threatened everyone in this room,” Brad said. “I think the top three are Jenni Blighe, Annie, and Tina.”
“You should add Maggie there too,” Devlin said. “He was pissed when she was bandaging the dog bites.”
Brad wrote on the board. Protection. “That takes us to the next discussion. Whom do we give protection to and how?”
“We’ve already got a team on Blighe,” Griffin said. “Same guys as last time.”
“Lovely,” Devlin said. “Frickin’ Starsky and Hutch.”
“I’ve got Annie covered,” Brad said. “She’s staying with Maggie and me. I have a team taking her from my house to Mount Royal College. They stay close in the college, then they bring her back to my place. I have a new alarm system and an eighty-pound German shepherd. And Maggie knows how to use a gun. When I’m not home there’ll be a marked unit out front.”
“Davidson, we need protection for you,” Griffin said.
“No way.” Tina straightened. “I can hold my own. I don’t want guys following me around.”
“I thought you’d enjoy the attention,” Devlin quipped. “Maybe a strong TSU member.”
Tina waved her middle finger at Devlin and mouthed, “Screw you.”
“I get why you want your independence,” Griffin said. “But don’t be foolish. If Wolfe catches you by surprise, there’s no way you could stop him.”
“I won’t let him get close. So, let’s move on. Let me tell you what I found out about Wolfe last month. We caught him before I could tell you guys what I’d found.”
“Sure,” Brad said. “As good of a time as any.”
“Wolfe got screwed up as a kid. His father was abusive and a drunk. He got off on violent sex with his wife, then later his daughter. He started with his daughter when she was about twelve. Wolfe told the psychiatrist that he shared a room with his sister and that he watched his father rape his sister. Wolfe said it excited him.”
“Did Wolfe rape her?” Brad asked.
“I don’t know,” Davidson said. “But when she was fifteen, she ran away. There are some arrest reports for solicitation, then she completely disappears—no mention of her anywhere. No missing person report was filed. Wolfe’s father was killed in a bar fight over a waitress and his mother died of an overdose of heroin. Wolfe was seventeen when that happened. He started hanging out with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club in Hamilton. You guys know most of this. He was the enforcer for the president, Felix Keaton. Then three years ago the two of them came west and took over the Gypsy Jokers’ Club. What you didn’t have two years ago were the reports from the Hamilton police. We knew Wolfe was rough on the ladies, but it’s worse than we thought. Hamilton police have at least a dozen missing persons reports. None of them were found. All were young, blonde and vulnerable. A few other women made complaints against Wolfe for rough stuff, but those charges never went anywhere. But the Hamilton police were watching Wolfe close, then he came west.”
“Would have been nice of the Hamilton cops to give us a heads up,” Devlin said.
“They didn’t say shit when we contacted them,” Brad said. “The sister, was she blond?”
Davidson nodded.
“Son of a bitch,” Brad said.
“In January, I went to Quantico to take a course the FBI was teaching. It was taught by two FBI instructors, Howard Teton and Patrick Mullany from the Behavioral Science Unit. Teton had designed a method for analyzing cases where the offender was unknown. He analyzed at every facet of the case: forensics, autopsy, similar death investigation, and psychiatric knowledge. He looked at the crime scene for evidence of mental disorders or other, specific personality traits. He looked at everything he could get his hands on.”
“Is this going somewhere?” Griffin asked.
“When Wolfe escaped the first time, and after the second rape, I contacted Teton and told him what we were working on.”
“I thought his process was for unknown suspects?” Brad asked.
“I’m getting to that. Cool your jets. I figured he’d be interested in what we know about Wolfe, his past and recent events, and I hoped he could give an insight into what Wolfe was thinking, his motivations. I told Teton everything we knew about Wolfe. He was interested and wants to add this case to his database. However, from what I told him, Wolfe doesn’t fit into a single category or serial type.”
“So, you’ve got nada,” Griffin said.
Tina stood, a hand on her hip. “Do you want to know this or not. If not, I’ve got other things to do.”
Brad glared at the others. “We’ll be quiet. Right?”
“Here’s the problem. Wolfe’s attacks are for different reasons every time. His rapes of Annie and Sissy were of convenience. Annie practically walked into his arms the night her mother was killed. Wolfe took advantage of that. Sissy was one of their hookers that Wolfe liked. Aga
in, opportunity. No doubt there are multiple rapes we don’t know about. If they were hookers, there’s no way they’d report that to the police. Who’d listen? Then he gets beaten nearly to death and has a major head injury. For most of the time during his trial he was quiet. We all thought it was because of the head injury. Teton thinks the opposite is true. That Wolfe used that time to scheme and plan. We already knew he liked blondes, so he turned his attention to Blighe. It’s possible he was fantasizing and planning something horrible for her. But he was sent to prison for life. All he had in jail were his fantasies. He needed to get out, so he planned his escape.”
“If he spent all this time planning a fantasy, why didn’t he go after Blighe as soon as he got out?” Griffin asked.
“As much as he wanted Blighe, he didn’t go after her right away because it had to fit the fantasy. But his urge was strong. Gail Wilson was a target of opportunity. So was Billy-Lou Hanlon. The bottom line is, he has Blighe as the target, but he won’t pass up any opportunity with a young blonde.”
“Shit,” Brad said. “Until he gets to Blighe, he’s gonna rape any target of convenience.”
“Not any target,” Tina said. “Young blondes.”
“How the hell do we stop that. It’s not like we can go on TV and say, if you are a young blonde, don’t go out of your house or you’ll get raped.”
“But I can go on TV and warn everyone. And plead for any sighting of Wolfe.”
“Maybe a reward would help,” Devlin said.
Tina shook her head. “That would overload our phones from everyone who needs cash. We’d get hundreds or thousands of calls and waste most of our time chasing bad leads.”
“So,” Brad said, “we hope that honest law-abiding citizens see Wolfe and call us. The chances of good citizens being in the same world Wolfe is hiding in is slim.”
“True,” Tina conceded. “But if he’s after Blighe, he won’t be hiding all the time. If he’s in the southeast, and Blighe is in the northwest, he has to cross the city twice each time he stalks Blighe. That’s a lot of time for him to get stopped for traffic violations. He needs gas, cigarettes, food. We got lucky catching him last time. Maybe luck will be on our side again.”
Wolfman is Back Page 15