The Mak Collection

by Tara Moss

  She gathered up her bag and notepad. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

  “I may be.”

  “Perhaps we could catch up then?”

  It was better than saying that she didn’t want to catch up at all, but he still felt a little like he was being brushed off.

  “Well, I’ll talk to you after the lecture, anyway.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  Andy scanned the entrance and spotted Dr Harris chatting with the red-haired organiser.

  “He’s right over there.” Andy pointed to him. “Why don’t you come over and I’ll introduce you?” He didn’t want to let her go.

  “Okay, but then I am leaving you two to have your lunch. I don’t want to get in your way.”

  Andy wanted to tell her that she could never possibly be in his way, but then she was gone, already striding towards the entrance, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she walked away.

  She slowed her pace for a moment so he could catch up, and they walked up to Dr Harris and his new friend together.

  “Hey, Mak,” the organiser said when they approached.

  “Hi, Liz. How are you?” They exchanged friendly smiles, and Mak turned her attention to Dr Harris.

  “Bob Harris,” he said, and extended his hand.

  “Makedde Vanderwall. Nice to meet you.” She gave him what looked to Andy like a pretty firm handshake. He noticed that the Profiler held her eyes for a moment while their hands were clasped. Bob sometimes did this when he first met someone, and Andy knew from experience that it felt like having an X-ray. Mak accepted this brief but intense scrutiny without flinching.

  The other young woman turned to Andy and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Liz Sharron.” With her pale skin, and a head full of naturally red Shirley Temple curls, Andy imagined her classmates calling Liz “Carrot Top” or something similar at school. She had a good-natured smile, and a lot going on behind her eyes.

  Makedde introduced him to Liz as “Detective Flynn”.

  Not very personal, he thought.

  “Andy has been training down at Quantico with me for the past couple of weeks,” Dr Harris told her.

  “Liz is an assistant to Dr Hare in his Psychopathy Lab,” Makedde explained.

  “What exactly is a Psychopathy Lab?” Andy had to ask.

  Liz laughed. “Well, we don’t really have a conventional laboratory as you might imagine it, as with physics or chemistry labs. As a group we conduct research on psychopathy, some at the university here and some at various forensic laboratories and local correctional institutions. We use a lot of different techniques to measure for neuro-biological differences—SPECT scans, EEGs, MRIs…”

  “Sounds like a lab to me,” Andy said.

  “No brains in jars or anything, though,” Liz said. “Well, only a couple anyway.”

  “Dr Hare’s past assistants? Or is that just a rumour?” Makedde said, grinning.

  Liz smiled.

  “It’s actually quite an interesting area of study,” Dr Harris said.

  “Yes, you should make sure to stick around for some of the lectures in the next couple of days,” Liz added. “Some of our researchers are presenting really fascinating stuff.”

  Andy was about to remark that he’d stick around, when he noticed an odd look on Makedde’s face. She was staring past them to the stairwell. A security guard had come down the stairs and was walking towards them.

  “I should let you get to your lunch,” she said a little too quickly.

  “It was nice meeting you, Makedde,” Dr Harris said.

  Bob was vaguely aware of Andy’s former association with Makedde, and Andy guessed that he was watching the scene unfold with interest. Unless you knew Bob well, it was impossible to imagine the keen analytical mind that churned away behind his calm and casual exterior. He never missed a thing—not a gesture, inference, or expression went unnoticed. A man like him never shut that talent off. That’s what made him so good.

  Mak turned her attention back to their group. “It was a great pleasure meeting you, Dr Harris.”

  “Call me Bob.”

  “Thank you.” Mak faced Andy and then Liz, and said, “See ya later.”

  Her gaze flickered back to Andy before she walked away, and there was a strange, uneasy look in her eye that didn’t sit well with him.

  “See you later,” Andy said as she wandered off. He tried to pull his eyes away, tried not to stare as Makedde greeted the tall security guard. He was a young, good-looking man, and Andy didn’t like that one little bit. She didn’t quite kiss him hello, but they certainly seemed friendly. Andy tried hard to contain the sharp surge of jealousy that flooded through his body. His jaw felt tight.

  She’s got a boyfriend. Of course she’s got a boyfriend. Girls like that always have a boyfriend.

  He corrected himself. He knew Makedde was different. She was a bit of a loner at times, not always attached, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t fallen for a tall, good-looking security guard at her own university—a guy who wasn’t continents away, and wasn’t wrapped up in some terrible time in her life that she would be eager to forget.

  Cool it, Andy. She’s none of your business any more.

  He regretted that fact.

  CHAPTER 19

  “Looks like they may have a nasty one here.”

  Andy glanced up from his cold coffee. “Sorry, what?”

  The cafeteria was still busy, but Andy had never felt more alone. He noticed that Dr Harris had almost finished his chocolate brownie and can of Diet Pepsi, and he was now looking across the table at him intently. Andy wondered how long he had been staring off into space. He hoped he hadn’t missed anything important.

  “Get your mind back on track, Andy.”

  “It’s that obvious, is it?”

  Bob looked at him incredulously. He didn’t have to say anything.

  “Sorry,” Andy mumbled.

  “I can see why you are interested in her. She’s a very beautiful girl, and bright too, from what I can tell. But I think you might be barking up the wrong tree.”

  Andy said nothing.

  “How was your meeting? How did she respond to you?” he asked, but Andy knew Bob well enough to know that the questions were not ones he was asking for his own benefit, but ones that he wanted Andy to ask of himself—a classic psychologist’s strategy.

  “I think she was surprised to see me, to say the least,” Andy admitted.

  “You didn’t tell her you were coming?”

  “I never quite got around to it.”

  His comment hung in the air for a while, without response. He wondered if it would be possible to feel any more stupid.

  “Did it seem that she was interested in seeing you again?” Bob asked. When Andy didn’t respond, he said, “I think you ought to move on, Andy. She has.”

  That stung. It was obviously true, but it stung.

  Andy got up from his seat. “I’m gonna grab another coffee. Do you want anything?”

  Bob shook his head.

  Andy ordered a coffee he didn’t really need, and when he came back and sat down he said, “So, what were you saying before about something being nasty? Are you talking about the case the RCMP wanted you to look at?”

  Bob was far too busy to take on any new cases, but he had studied the files all morning instead of sleeping in, just as Andy suspected he would. Bob could not deny his charitable nature.

  “It’s a mess,” Bob said. He looked off into the distance, his eyes unfocused. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” He said the words softly, so he wouldn’t be overheard. “We’ve got three victims so far, but what about that increase in campus disappearances? What if we’ve stumbled upon a series of campus murders?”

  Andy leaned forward.

  “I think the RCMP suspect it as well,” Bob went on. “Both identified victims turn out to have been students here, and the third…if we can identify her I’d say she will have been a student as well. Let’s look at what we’v
e got. We have three bodies dumped in the same area, all in varying states of decomposition, and the two identified victims were killed only weeks apart. The unidentified skeleton is also of a young adult female and she could go back quite a bit longer, which is ominous when we consider how long this particular killer may have been doing this.

  “The two recent victims, and possibly the other as well, all appear to have been shot in the back with a high-powered rifle. Not strangled or stabbed, like a rape that spiralled out of control, but shot. And in the back. Cowardly, isn’t it? Sergeant Grant Wilson—likable guy if I may say, and pretty smart too—mentioned that it was like an execution of sorts. And he’s partially right. If it was a single shot to the back of the head I would have said yes, execution-style definitely, but it brings hunting to mind, if you ask me. I think we’re looking for a local. A hunting buff, or someone into weapons. Perhaps a student or former student, or a professor at UBC. I mean why were the two identified victims UBC students? They didn’t appear to have known each other. There is no other correlation apart from their age and the fact that they were students at this university. Is this a coincidence? Is someone making this campus a hunting ground?”

  At this thought, Andy felt a chill. Was the killer at UBC that very day?

  Dr Harris took another mouthful of brownie and went on. “I’m going to suggest that they note the plates on every vehicle found in the Nahatlatch area, and check ID’s on the people living, visiting and spending time out there. They need to cross-reference those names with UBC students past and present, and yes, UBC staff as well, including the professors. Hunting licences too. They should cross-reference those names with people associated with the campus for any reason. Especially anyone who has had a licence revoked for some reason.”

  Detective Flynn had a hard time concentrating on Bob’s lecture after lunch. He couldn’t stop looking in Makedde’s direction. Thankfully she hadn’t noticed. But after a while even that fact added to his misery. Why wasn’t she looking his way? He started to feel creepy about staring at her so often, and more than that, he started to feel creepy about travelling across the world to this conference with an ulterior motive.

  Dr Harris was giving a great presentation. He was a skilled communicator, both in interviews and in the public speaking arena and he also had a very professional-looking Powerpoint presentation to back up his speech. Andy noticed that most of the people in the room were taking notes. Andy wasn’t, but that was only because he had taken many notes on the topic before.

  “The crime scenes of psychopathic offenders are more likely to show that the crime was well-organised and contained some high risk or thrill element,” Bob was saying. “For this kind of individual, it is not enough to simply creep into the old woman’s house and steal the money from her purse while she is sleeping, he has to go to the trouble to beat her senseless as well…”

  Andy thought about the Nahatlatch case the RCMP had asked for help on. Now that Bob had shared some of his concerns with Andy over lunch, he felt somehow involved in the investigation. Bob realised this and had urged Andy to keep the whole thing as quiet as possible. If word got to the press there would be chaos.

  But Andy was uncomfortable. He wanted to tell Makedde about it. She deserved to know. For the first time in his career, he hoped the papers would pick up the story, so the burden of his confidentiality would be lifted. Makedde didn’t need to know exact details, but she should know that something was up, and that she had reason to exercise more caution than usual. It was a safety issue. He had to find a way to tip her off and still keep his promise to Dr Harris.

  “Psychopathic offenders show a complete disregard for their victims,” Bob was telling the crowd. “There is always an element of control in the crimes they commit…”

  Andy saw that nearly everyone in the room was on the edge of their seat. Bob was an FBI agent, and that title in itself was fashionable these days, thanks to popular entertainment like Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, or the X-Files.

  “They may employ staging if there is a close personal relationship between them and the victim…”

  Andy knew all too well that the lives of FBI Profilers were not glamorous. In fact, neither were the lives of anyone who sought to deal with the aftermath of the world’s most violent and disturbed people.

  Andy grew up in the peaceful town of Parkes, in New South Wales, where the local cops were heroes. There was Sergeant Morris, for instance, who hung out at the milk bar and got all the attention of the pretty waitress there. He always had a couple of kind words for young Andy, and Andy hero-worshipped him.

  But the reality of policing never quite lived up to his childhood expectations and he quickly discovered that not everyone loved cops. Many hated them, in fact. The public seemed to think of nothing but parking tickets and breathalyser tests. And now they thought of scandal, too. Corrupt cops were the only ones who made the press these days.

  Even the woman he married had ended up hating him for being a cop. Andy was a cop, but he was hardly a hero.

  He wondered if he could ever forgive himself for his shortcomings.

  CHAPTER 20

  “Come on, ya big wuss-bag. Five more.”

  Sergeant Grant Wilson looked up from his strained position below a two hundred and twenty-five pound loaded barbell and squinted in the direction of the voice.

  Asshole.

  They were deep into their regular weight session at their local gym, and Corporal Michael Rose was counting off Grant’s progress “…eight…nine…good work…”

  “I could bench two fifty and practically double your reps,” boasted Mike’s brother.

  “Jesus, Evan, would you just shut up?” Mike snapped. They didn’t usually have company, and it wasn’t working out so well.

  When Grant finished his set, Mike helped him place the bar in its cradle. His brow was dripping, and his grey shirt was stained with dark patches of perspiration. He stood up and glared at Mike’s brother.

  Evan was a tall guy and he was pretty buff. He pumped a lot of weights and Grant suspected he did steroids too. He had a few too many tattoos and a lot too much ego for Grant’s liking. He certainly hadn’t invited him to this weight session. As a matter of fact, he doubted anyone had invited Evan along.

  Damn, I wish I was taller. A glare is always better with height advantage.

  “Go for it. The bench is all yours,” Grant said with a sweep of his hand, and stepped aside.

  “I already did my sets this morning.”

  Grant laughed. There was a time when he would have just flattened someone like that, but he had learned restraint. Besides, this was his best friend’s brother, after all.

  “I was just buggin’ ya, Grant. Don’t take it personal,” Evan went on. “You lift pretty well.”

  For an old guy, Grant could almost hear him say.

  “What are you doing coming to the gym in the morning? Aren’t you doing the stocktake at K-Mart any more? They cut your hours?”

  Evan frowned. He seemed to deflate a notch. “That used to finish before the store opened. But no, I’m working at the Fox now.”

  “Oh, the Blue Fox.”

  Mike didn’t join in the conversation. You could tell that he wished the subject would change.

  “What do you do there? You waiting tables, or taking to the stage?” Grant asked. The Blue Fox was a girlie strip bar.

  “Bartending. You should drop by sometime, you’d like the atmosphere,” Evan said.

  Mike had moved on to the leg press and Grant joined him. He helped him place a few fifty-pound plates on the bar. Sure enough, before long Evan came over to join them. He wouldn’t take the hint. “So, is it true that you handed your big case over to the FBI?”

  What?

  This time Mike cut in. “Like I told you, Evan, we are asking for some consultation with an FBI Profiler. It doesn’t mean the FBI has jurisdiction or anything.”

  “It doesn’t?”

  “No.”

 
Mike started his set, and Grant watched him, ignoring the uninvited third party.

  “I saw him today,” Evan said.

  Both of them turned. “Saw who?”

  “Your FBI agent.”

  Grant took pause, and Mike looked equally astounded.

  “He did a lecture at UBC. There have been ads up around campus for ages. It’s part of a big conference on psychopaths.” He rolled his eyes and made bogeyman gestures at the word.

  “Yeah,” Grant said. “I wish we could have gone to that, but some of us had to work. A few of our colleagues went. Did you learn anything?”

  “Yup.”

  “Anything you care to share?”

  “Nope.”

  Grant was about to explode. “I gotta go home. Amanda is waiting for me.”

  “Oh, yeah. How is she, anyway? What a bummer…”

  “Thanks. We’ll be fine.” He threw his towel on the weight machine and walked away. It was all he could do to keep his temper.

  The last thing he wanted was to hear an ignorant prick like Evan Rose shovel some bullshit sympathy his way about Amanda. What would he know about taking care of someone you love? What would he know about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?

  Grant had just finished dialling the combination for the padlock on his locker when Mike came in, apologising.

  “I’m really sorry about that, Grant. I don’t know what’s got into him.”

  “Forget about it. I need to get home.”

  “He’s not usually that bad.”

  “What did you do inviting him, anyway? And telling him about the case?”

  “I…”

  “Just keep him out of my face.”

  “I’m sorry…”

  Grant pulled his things out of his locker and shoved them in his gym bag. He didn’t bother to shower or change. “Don’t be sorry, Mike,” he said. “I’m not the one who has to be nice to him just because he’s family.”

  Mike looked hurt at the comment.

  “Forget about it. I’m under too much stress.” Grant waved over his shoulder when he left, not bothering to say goodbye to Evan as he walked out.