Apocalypse Journeys (Book 2): Finding AJ

by Melrose, Russ

  In the second to last section of shelving, a naked woman lay on her side with her head resting in the crook of her arm as if she were taking a nap. The body was positioned three feet in from the edge, close enough for Jules to reach in and touch her. The plastic ties he'd used to bind her had been cut and were still attached to the four corner legs. Her back was to Jules and Jules couldn't see the woman's face. All Jules could tell from the body's position was that the victim was slender and had wavy brown hair.

  Jules stood silently, feeling awkward as if she were an intruder who had walked in on a private moment not meant to be shared. She'd never discovered a body before. She coughed into her hand to shake her inertia. She felt a crying urge to see the woman's face. An uneasy feeling swept through her.

  Moving the body wasn't an option, not till the forensics team had finished their work. And still not a peep out of the Calligrapher. He'd wanted her to discover the body. But why?

  The light shifted again onto the stilled figure, revealing white buttocks in contrast to the woman's tanned legs.

  At the end of the aisle, Jules discovered the source of the light. A high-beamed flashlight had been hung by a rope from one of the lower ceiling beams. A wheel pulley positioned under the beam allowed the rope and flashlight to swing back and forth like a pendulum.

  As always, he'd choreographed the scene with intricate care and precision. Jules wondered why she was here. He was still on the other end of the line, silently waiting.

  She walked around to the next aisle. The woman's face was hidden in shadows and obscured by several fallen locks of hair. It appeared as if the locks had fallen across her face while she slept, but Jules knew that wasn't the case.

  She climbed onto the shelf to get a closer look. She ducked her head and walked toward the body, phone in hand. She crouched and lifted the strands of hair from the woman's face. The shaft of light swung back toward them and threw just enough light to illuminate the woman's face. Jules drew in a sharp breath and audibly gasped.

  "Yes," the voice on the phone said excitedly. "You see, Jules. You see." And then he hung up.

  Jules couldn't take her eyes off the woman's face. The soft blue eyes of Carol Beckerman stared back at her.

  Chapter 33

  Aftermath

  Amanda Chandler eyes were bleary, the veneer of toughness gone. "A terrible tragedy," she said. "Two agents and Noah's daughter." She swallowed and took a moment to compose herself. "I can't begin to imagine what Noah is going through. We'll give him all the time he needs. Agent Vandevelde, were you able to finish your report from last night?" she asked.

  "Yes. I finished before the meeting," Jules told her.

  Jules and Agent Stohl were in Amanda Chandler's office, sitting across the desk from her. Jules had to make a conscious effort to hold her posture. She was exhausted. It was seven o'clock before one of the agents had given her a ride back to the Colemans'. Once there, she showered and changed clothes. By the time she arrived at the office, she'd downed two sixteen-ounce cups of coffee. It helped, but more than anything, Jules was emotionally drained.

  Stohl took out a monogrammed handkerchief and polished his gold-framed glasses with his usual deft precision. "You did the right thing last night, Agent Vandevelde, calling me instead of Agent Beckerman." Jules had the feeling Stohl was complimenting her. "It was important to keep Agent Beckerman away from the scene," he told her.

  Agent Chandler broke in. "As terrible as all this is, we have to move ahead. This will not stand," she said resolutely. "We can't afford to hesitate. Agent Stohl is now in charge of the task force. I want the two of you to work together.

  "Agent Vandevelde, we have to assume you're still a target. You will continue to stay at Agent Coleman's residence. Three agents will be assigned to protect you inside the home at all times, and there will be two teams in cars outside. The teams will maintain constant contact, day and night. What happened last night will not be repeated."

  Agent Stohl cleared his throat and stole a glance at Jules. "We should probably talk about Agent Beckerman," he said, his voice soft and reverent. "I know you had a good working relationship with Agent Beckerman."

  "Yes," Amanda Chandler chimed in. "I'm afraid, at this time, Agent Vandevelde, it would be inappropriate for you to have any contact with Agent Beckerman. Noah may be terribly distraught, but he'll also want to go after the unsub harder than ever. I have no doubt Noah will try to contact you and try to mine you for as much information as he can. He might even try to enlist you in helping him. Do not answer his calls. As I'm sure you're aware, Agent Beckerman now has a conflict of interest. I will be calling him after the meeting to give him my condolences and advise him not to contact you or anyone else involved in the investigation. Of course, he'll ignore my advice, but that's just Noah. That's why it's important to not respond to his calls and texts. You have to save Noah from himself. And I want you to understand, Agent Vandevelde, this is an order, not a request."

  "I understand," Jules told her.

  Stohl turned to Jules, setting his glasses back on his nose. "Is there anything you were able to glean from last night's events that might help us in the investigation?"

  "Yes. A few things," Jules told them. She morphed into her agent persona but struggled to find her voice. She was still upset about Carol Beckerman's death. She coughed and cleared her throat, trying to gain control. "Pardon me. First off, I don't believe I'm a target. I believe the unsub saw me as someone he could share his … his, um, his kill scene with." Jules felt her face redden. "When I discovered it was Carol Beckerman, I gasped and he heard me. He said, 'Yes. You see, Jules. You see.' He sounded quite excited. Then he hung up."

  "Interesting," Stohl said. "'You see.' What did the inflection of his voice tell you. Was it a question or a statement?"

  "A statement. At one point, I asked him why he chose me. He told me I wasn't there to ask questions. He told me I was there to observe. Keep in mind, he stayed on the phone until he heard me gasp. He wanted to experience my reaction to what he'd done. That's why he stayed on the phone. His calling the police to tell them where to find the bodies is no longer enough for him. At this point, he not only wants to show us what he's done, he wants to experience our reaction to what he's done. You could say he wants a more personal relationship with us."

  "Yes. I see," Stohl said. "And it would appear you've established a personal relationship with him. This could help us."

  Jules had noticed a change in Stohl's attitude toward her. The arrogant, dismissive Stohl had been replaced by an all-business professional version. Jules wondered if it was because he was the first person she'd called from the scene. At the time, she knew she couldn't call Beckerman, and since Stohl was second in command, she called him. It was protocol. Nothing more. She wondered if Stohl took it as a sign of respect.

  Amanda Chandler leaned forward. "Neither you nor Agent Coleman heard gunshots last night. Is that right?" she asked.

  "No, we didn't, though we were both sleeping at the time. I can't speak for Agent Coleman, but I'm a light sleeper. I believe I would have awakened if there'd been a gunshot nearby."

  "Then it's possible he used a silencer. We'll know for sure later today. What I don't understand is how did he get the drop on Sims and Graham. He shot them at close range. He practically had to be leaning in the window when he shot them. And neither Sims nor Graham drew their weapons. How is that possible?"

  "I believe there are three likely possibilities," Stohl suggested academically. "It was dark. Someone could have snuck up on them, surprised them. I've been wondering if our unsub could have military training. That's something we should look into. Another possibility is, for whatever reason, the agents didn't see the unsub as a threat when he approached the car. We also have to consider the possibility they fell asleep."

  Chandler looked to Jules. "Agent Vandevelde. Have you considered the possibility the unsub has military training?"

  "No. I haven't. Up until last night, nothing the un
sub has done would point in that direction. However, if you'll recall, Agent Beckerman asked about a possible law enforcement connection. Considering last night's events, it's possible the unsub could have a military or law enforcement background."

  "We need to start looking into that possibility," Chandler said.

  "And how did he know you were staying at the Colemans'?" Stohl asked. "And why would he target Agent Beckerman's daughter?"

  "His motivation could have been revenge," Jules told them. "But we should also consider the possibility that this was a calculated move to get Agent Beckerman removed from the case.

  "There's more," Jules added. "He referenced Agent Beckerman's Fourth of July party last night when he first called. How did he know about the party? He also knew the names of several agents assigned to the case. He knew about Agent Stohl and myself from the presser. But he also knew about Coleman, and he knew Agent Beckerman was the Special Agent in charge of the task force. Where did he get all this information from? Is it possible he's hacked into an agent's email account? Does he have access to FBI servers or databases?"

  "That could be a possibility," Chandler said. "Agent Stohl, let's get Agent Dickerson on it. Have him check the email accounts of all the agents involved in the investigation."

  "I'll get right on it," Stohl told her.

  "Maybe we should take a closer look at George Albrecht," Jules suggested. "He may not fit the profile, and he has an alibi, but there are still a number of coincidences that need to be explained. He worked in all three cities where the killings took place. He talked to one of the victims right before she was abducted. And there's the sexual assault charge when he was in college … even if it was dismissed. He might not be the Calligrapher, but there might be a connection there."

  Agent Chandler sighed. "Noah didn't find out anything when he went to Gideon last week. It's still a dead end. For now, let's focus elsewhere, but we'll keep Albrecht in mind. If anything comes up, we'll take another look at him."

  Stohl turned to look at Jules. "If we're going to look at anyone, we should take a closer look at Andrew Glickman. Glickman worked as a handyman in Tempe and Vegas, two of the cities where the killings occurred. And he happens to have a sexual assault conviction. Glickman's a suspect in several other sexual assaults, and he likes using knives. I know you and Noah interviewed him, but we've never properly vetted him as a suspect. I think it's time we did."

  Jules bit her tongue. She was convinced Glickman wasn't the Calligrapher, but she didn't want to ruffle Stohl's feathers. She would wait. When the time came, she'd be diplomatic and ease into it. She'd present the facts and let Stohl draw his own conclusions.

  "There's something else," Jules said. "The Accord he left for me had dealer plates from Blanchard Used Cars. So, where was his car parked when he was stealing the Accord? It had to be somewhere between where he stole the Honda and left if parked on Green Valley Parkway for me to pick up. Maybe someone in the vicinity saw him or his car. He would have had to walk back to his car after he dropped the Accord off. Maybe someone saw him. We should at least check it out."

  "All right. Let's get started," Amanda Chandler said. Her eyes had narrowed into a singular focus. "Henry, find out when that car was stolen. We need to canvas the area and see if anyone saw anything. You'll brief the task force as soon as we have a preliminary autopsy report for Sims and Graham. If the unsub used a silencer, that needs to be added into the equation. And I want there to be an emphasis on looking into the backgrounds of suspects for any possible connection to the military or law enforcement.

  "Vandevelde, I want you to give Agent Stohl whatever assistance he requires. And listen to me closely. I don't want you going anywhere by yourself. Understood?"

  "Yes," Jules told her.

  *****

  Jules thumbed through Andrew Glickman's file. Stohl had asked her to take a comprehensive look and report back to him. She knew all the reasons Glickman didn't fit the profile, but Jules did her best to remain impartial.

  She was analyzing Glickman's file when she received the text. If it had been a call, she wouldn't have answered. Perhaps he'd intuited that. In the text, Beckerman was apologetic. He told her he knew he shouldn't be communicating with her but wanted to keep her informed. Beckerman said he would be traveling to DC the following day, July fourth, to meet with someone who owed him a favor.

  The text message didn't require a reply and for that Jules was thankful. While she felt an allegiance to Beckerman, she wouldn't talk to him or respond to his texts. She appreciated that Beckerman had brought her in to work on the Calligrapher case. He'd believed in her and trusted her, and Jules felt terrible about Beckerman's daughter, but she wasn't going to jeopardize her career for him.

  Jules continued to pore through Glickman's file. She could understand why Stohl viewed Glickman as a suspect. There was no question he was an organized sexual predator, and he enjoyed using a knife. But Glickman's crimes never escalated beyond sexual assault. With serial killers, there was often an escalation in the violence associated with their crimes.

  There was a distinctive pattern to Glickman's sexual assaults, a pattern he never deviated from. And while he was careful, meticulous even, his crimes lacked the sophistication and elaborate choreography present in the Calligrapher killings. Also, Glickman's rural language skills didn't match up with the language skill of the voice Jules had heard on the phone. After she'd reviewed Glickman's file in detail, she would bring up the discrepancies and let Stohl make the call himself.

  Chapter 34

  Confessions

  Something was up with Addy. She was fidgety and hyper. Even though Jules had been walking fine without the cane for days now, Addy had insisted on bringing Jules her dinner.

  After dinner, when Addy had come back from cleaning up the utensils, she settled on her sleeping bag and smiled exaggeratedly at Jules. She played with the bottom hem of her blouse, rolling it up before unfurling it.

  "What's up?" Jules asked her.

  "Nothing," Addy said. Then, "You never really talk about yourself."

  "I'm not really all that interesting, Addy" Jules told her. "What did you want to know?"

  "Well, like, did you have a boyfriend before all this?"

  Jules did her best not to make the face she felt like making. "Sort of. I guess."

  "What does that mean?" Addy asked.

  "There was a man back in Virginia," Jules told her. "I guess you could say we'd get together when we could. His name was Brandon. Not sure I'd actually call him a boyfriend. We both had careers. We'd see each other when we could. It was … convenient."

  Jules felt awkward talking about relationships, but she wanted to be there for Addy even if it meant talking about things she preferred to keep private.

  "What happened to him?"

  "I'm not sure," Jules said slowly, feeling embarrassed. When everything fell apart, Jules had never given him a second thought. She didn't even bother to call to see if he was all right. He hadn't called her either. "We weren't that close," she told Addy.

  Addy seemed confused. "That's too bad," she said.

  "I'm sure he's fine," Jules told her.

  "Were you close with your parents?" Addy asked.

  Jules took a breath. "I never knew my real father, but I was close with my stepfather," she said. "We were very close. He was the one who essentially raised me. He died when I was fourteen."

  "That's terrible. Sorry. That must have been awful for you."

  Jules drifted into a self-nurturing haze.

  "What was your mother like?"

  Jules didn't want to talk about her mother, but she did. "As far as being a parent, my mother was … like a ghost." The word often came to mind when Jules thought about her mother though she'd never shared it with anyone. "It was like she was there without being there. I don't know how else to describe it. Parenting wasn't my mother's strong suit. She was better at being a wife. She remarried less than a year after my step-father died. My mother never
knew how to be a mother. She didn't seem all that interested. Wasn't her fault. She simply wasn't capable. I don't think she ever wanted to be a mother. It was more like something that just happened to her, like catching a cold."

  "Do you know if your mother's all right?"

  "Yes. I called her a few days after things started. She was fine. They live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. They had plenty of food and water."

  Addy bit her lip and her eyes teared up, and she wouldn't look at Jules.

  "What is it, Addy?"

  "Sharon told me I should be honest with you."

  Addy tipped her head to one side and stared miserably into her lap. "I lied to you," she said.

  Jules paused before saying anything. "It's all right, Addy. You can tell me whatever it is."

  Addy's body was shaking noticeably from the crying. She still wouldn't look at Jules. "I lied," she repeated. "My parents aren't dead. I didn't want to go back home, so I lied."

  Jules was surprised but not upset. She'd buried the events of that day in the recesses of her mind, and that's where she preferred to keep them. None of it mattered to her now. "I'm sure you had good reason," she told Addy.

  Addy wiped a tear from her cheek with a trembling hand. "They were mean," she complained. "My father got drunk all the time. He'd hit me and my mother, and my mom would never do anything about it."

  "I'm sorry they were mean to you, Addy."

  "It's okay," she said wistfully. "I still hope they're okay."

  "I hope so too."

  Addy seemed to settle down and Jules thought it was over. "That's why I went to him," she said. The muscles in her face tightened. "… to get away from them. I didn't know who he was. I met him online not long before everything happened. He lied about who he was. I thought it was going to be better." She started crying again. "He seemed so nice online. I didn't know who he was."