“Chief Hogan, I don’t know what’s going on here, but the Crossword Killer’s just notched up another victim. What’s all this about you arresting someone?”
“What do you mean?” Chief Hogan asked.
“Exactly that, where are you?” the Coroner said with disdain.
“I’m at the hospital. Must’ve had my radio off. Give me the address and I’ll be right there. How long do you figure it is since the victim died?”
“Fresh as a daisy this one. I’d say within the last half-hour, maybe a little longer.”
Hogan took down the address and radioed Hammond.
“God knows what’s happening, but we have another Crossword Killer victim.”
“Impossible, I’m down at Surgery now and they’re just bringing Bill out. Maybe it’s a copycat?”
“The Coroner’s not usually wrong, unless Jamie’s slipped away from the hospital and killed somebody. I’m going down there now, but I need to stand down some of the search team.”
“Okay, I’ll stay here just in case we find Jamie. He’s not used his cell phone away from the hospital. We’re monitoring his phone, and if we get a triangulation I’ll contact you.”
“When I get to the scene, I’ll call.”
Contents
Things go bang in the night
Jamie pulled into the parking area outside Bill’s cabin. It was eerily quiet, clouds in the night sky drifted along, intermittently obscuring the light from the full moon. Thank God, I’m out of sight here. He took the screwdriver from the dashboard and the flashlight from the glove compartment and flicked the trunk switch. Going to the back of the car, he emptied the trunk of rifles, a handgun, a bulletproof vest and ammunition and made his way to the cabin. He put the weaponry down at the front door and slipped the handgun in his belt. Making his way around to the kitchen window, he pushed the screwdriver into a gap in the window opener and it sprang right open. Pulling himself up, he worked his way into the kitchen.
Jamie briefly used the flashlight to make his way to the front door. He turned the Yale lock, quickly retrieving the rifles from the step and closed the door. He sat down on the sofa to gather his thoughts and his eyes quickly assimilated to the darkness. Moving from the sofa, he found the bedroom and opened the bedside drawer. Flicking the flashlight on and off he saw the handcuffs and knife were still there.
Jamie lay down on the bed exhausted, but knew he couldn’t go to sleep, his mind trying to sort out the day’s events logically. Three women dead that I know from the singles’ scene. Bill had contact with the same three and possibly knew them all. Ellie could have been a victim and Bill knew her. The knife and handcuffs are still here, but they found a hunting knife and handcuffs when Bill attacked Ellie, so maybe he had more than one set. Maybe Bill has an accomplice.
Jamie pulled himself off the bed and made his way to the front door, put the catch on the Yale lock and went outside taking his flashlight. He noticed an outbuilding in the parking area and went to investigate. Breaking the padlock, he opened one of the doors and looked inside. He shone the flashlight to find the outline of a car hidden under a tarp. Removing the plastic tarp, Jamie revealed an old Chevrolet. He tried the door and it opened. Jumping inside he checked the glove compartment and pulled down the sun visor. A set of car keys dropped onto his lap. Predictable! He placed them in the ignition and started the engine. There is a God! The gauge indicated a full tank of gasoline. He quickly got to work and swapped the cars, covering the police car with the sheeting.
Returning to the house, he locked the door and went to Bill’s bedroom to sit at his computer desk. Jamie fired up the computer screen, the disc drive whirred and lights flashed as it powered up. He moved swiftly to the window and closed the curtains. Thank God. Internet! He typed in the word “anagram” and pressed Search, then pulled out his notes of the messages.
Typing in the eighteen letters that had eluded him, “I am a maniac, tau, eta, nu,” his finger hesitated at the Enter key. He took a breath, crossed his fingers and pressed it firmly. The answer came back almost instantly with two possibilities that just didn’t make sense. “Anemia naut me acuate.” Alternatively, “Am anemia unit acuate.” Jamie scratched his head and opened the Word software to type in the answers. He searched all references for “anemia” U.S. English. The answer came back. “Lack of vitality, or courage” and “blood deficiency.” Checking “naut,” the answer came back as an abbreviation of, “nautical,” and he couldn’t find “acuate” anywhere. Deflated, he felt either the killer had changed his method of scrambling the clues, or he was missing something.
Undaunted, he typed in the fourth message on his list in the anagram search, “Eye, consult,” and pressed Search. This time, there were twenty-eight combinations. He worked his way down the list, “See uncle yes, See cut only, Son cult eye,” and then he stopped at, “No clues yet?”
Jamie considered his answers so far, looking for a pattern. Number one, “Guess who I am.” Number two, looks like he is trying to tell me who he is. Number three, “Here’s a clue?” That’s when he left his DNA. Number four, “No clue yet?” If there is a pattern then number five at my house should be another attempt to tell me who he is.
He typed in the fifth message from his home, “One shows I worry, rusting Hebrew toy.” This time there were thirty possible answers. He worked down the list, but again none of them made sense. Maybe in the long sentences he’s left out letters in haste.
Jamie returned to the second clue; he had a feeling about it. Fixing the words in his mind, he desperately searched for a pattern. His mind wandered, as he tried to think outside the box. The killer is making it personal to me ever since Grace. That puts Bill firmly in the frame, but who else would have a grudge. I’ve not done anything against Bill, except maybe mock him about his oddball clothes. It would have to be someone who knows me from the singles’ scene, but who? The images of the two comedians flashed through his mind. They were both there the night I met Grace and Sandra. Then there was the incident at the Hawaiian party in the toilet. What about Jake? He was a bit miffed when I asked him to apologize.
His thoughts turned back to the clue, “It’s easy if you use a pencil with some confusion. I am a maniac, tau eta nu?” Why has he separated tau eta nu and with no commas? He typed “tau” into Word search. The answers came back, “Nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet,” and “Known in the English alphabet as the letter ‘t.’” Alternatively, “A protein.” Jamie typed in the word “eta,” pressed Search and the computer locked up. “Damn and blast, useless computer!” cursed Jamie and switched it off to re-boot. The screen closed down leaving the room in darkness, and he heard a loud noise coming from the vicinity of the kitchen. In a panic he turned the power back off. Pulling out the handgun from his belt and picking up the flashlight from the desk, Jamie took a position aiming both at the bedroom door.
All was quiet until he heard the unmistakable sound of the kitchen door open, but strangely no footsteps. In the stillness, the only sound he could hear was his heartbeat. He could just barely make out the door handle and, fixing his gaze, he saw it twitch. Gasping in a big breath to steel his hands, he could hear its movement as the door opened slowly. He waited and heard the floorboard creak as whoever was there made their way into the bedroom. Jamie switched on the flashlight aiming the gun and crouched to make himself a small target in one swift movement.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” ordered Jamie, as he saw the figure before him, wearing a heavy duty, camouflaged jacket and ski mask. The person said nothing, but raised his arms in submission.
“Don’t move. I’m just going to search you. What are you doing here?” Jamie asked as he edged toward the figure and again there was no response. He had to put the flashlight down to frisk the intruder and in a split second, the intruder struck. The figure ducked and struck Jamie’s hand as they rose forcing it upwards. The other hand, in a fist, sunk sharply into Jamie’s side in the softness below his ribs. Then the intruder placed his
leg behind Jamie’s and grabbing his gun arm, flipped him to the floor, forcing his wrist back and the gun flew from his hand.
Jamie lay prostrate on the floor, his arm locked in a hold by the intruder, who sunk a knee into his side.
Strangely, the intruder released his grip after having Jamie at his mercy and bolted for the door. Jamie used his legs in a scissor movement and brought the intruder down, sprang onto his back and gripped him in a chocking headlock with one arm. The beam from the flashlight illuminated him as Jamie released one hand and pulled off the ski mask to reveal the intruder’s identity. Jamie could see the gun within his reach, and, releasing his grip, he dived for it and pointed it at the intruder.
The intruder slowly rose to his full height, gasping for breath and shaking his head from side to side. Long blond hair flowed out to its full extent.
“Christ you’re a woman!” said Jamie pointing the gun and trying to catch his breath from the exertion of his fight. “Who are you with, some sort of police tactical unit? Are there others?”
“Look I’m on my own man. . .please, just let me go. I didn’t think anyone would be here. I wasn’t going to steal nothin’.”
“Turn around, hands on the wall! No fancy moves or I’ll shoot.”
The woman turned around to face the bedroom wall and placed her hands up. Jamie moved forward and kicked her legs apart to frisk her, pulling out a handful of cards and papers from the pocket of her jacket. He stepped back to put some distance between them and switched on the bedroom light as he moved away.
“Stay facing the wall!” ordered Jamie as he spread the cards and papers out on the bed. He picked up her driver’s license. “Stacy Gilmour. Tell me what the hell you’re doing here and keep admiring the wall,” he said. He picked up a folded sheet of paper by the corner and shook it loose to read it.
“Look,” she said, “I was discharged from the army six months ago. I rented an apartment, bought a car and started a job. Then the boss made a pass at me and I had to sort him out. He reported me to the police, and they charged me with GBH. I couldn’t get another job and the landlord kicked me out. They repossessed my car too, and I been livin’ rough in the woods here ever since. Just lookin’ for somethin’ to eat and a hot shower.”
“What did you do in the army?” Jamie asked looking at the letter. It was a court order for repossession of the car.
“Marine Corps.”
“So, is that your shelter I came across in the woods?”
“Yep, that’s it. Whut am I doin’ here? Every now and then, I come to take a shower or to look for jobs on the computer, or to get out of bad weather. Listen, I never steal anything. Just let me go and you won’t see me again. The guy who owns this place hardly ever comes here, apart from those two weirdoes.”
“Weirdoes?”
“Usually on a Thursday night, a young couple made up in black with white faces. For Christ’s sake, he’s gotta chain dog-collar around his neck. She has this leash and leads him into the house. They use the bedroom next door and always have the light on with the curtains open. I tell you, it’s some weird shit, man. Over the bed, they gotta hook screwed into the ceiling. One night I watched as she put handcuffs on him. She hung him up, then she put what looked like panties over his head and kept pricking him with the point of a hunting’ knife. Ain’t never seen nothin’ like it before.”
“Okay, I don’t want to hear any more. I take it that was you that came into the cabin when we were on the beach?” asked Jamie. She must be talking about Bill’s daughter and boyfriend.
“Look, I’m sorry about that. I thought you were down at the lake and the two young people were fishing. It scared the hell out of me when she screamed. I was only looking to see if you’d left any food in the kitchen. I honestly didn’t think there was anyone here. Do you mind if I turn round? My arms are killing me.”
Jamie didn’t have a clue what he was meant to do with her. Let’s see, suspicion of murder, assaulting an FBI agent and now kidnapping. What a mess!
“Follow me and I’ll let you go soon. He rolled over the bed, moved the curtains and looked out the window, but couldn’t see movement. She has to be telling the truth. If she had been part of a SWAT team, they would’ve hailed me on a megaphone by now.
“Where are we going? Please don’t phone the police; they have a warrant for me. I went AWOL on the GBH charge.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll not phone the police. I’m not going to harm you and I’ll let you go soon. Just follow me.”
Jamie led her into the corridor and the next bedroom. He took out the handcuffs, scrimmaged around in the bedside drawer and found the key.
“Right, back to the bedroom. I need to use the computer to check something out, then you can go.” He knew he couldn’t let her go until he was ready to leave. Jamie asked her to sit down near the steel tube bedstead by the top of the bed. “Stacy, I’m sorry about this but I’m going to have to cuff you to the bed. I swear I mean you no harm and as soon as I’m done here, I’ll let you go.”
“Gun or no gun, ain’t no way you’re cuffing me to that bed.”
Jamie knew he wouldn’t pull the trigger and after the skill she had shown, he didn’t fancy tackling her again as he tried to think what to do.
“Okay, but no funny business. You can put your stuff back in your pockets.”
Stacy reached out to gather in her items, and Jamie flicked the cuff closed on her left wrist, and after a brief wrestle, he secured her to the headboard.
“You bastard! You’d better not try any of that kinky stuff!” she screamed tugging at the cuff and clawing at Jamie with her free hand, leaving scratches down his face.
Jamie pulled away and wiped off the blood.
“Stacy, just be quiet. I’ve only cuffed one hand. Kinky stuff is the last thing on my mind,” said Jamie. He turned to the computer and switched it on. Then he went to turn out the light.
“Got problems with your eyes man? Why turn out the light?”
“Be quiet! I have to do this; it’s a matter of life and death,” said Jamie sitting back down.
“You in some kinda trouble? Why where you in here with the lights out, and with a flashlight no less? You weren’t undressed for bed.”
“The only trouble I’m in is if you don’t keep quiet long enough to let me solve this puzzle.”
“Puzzle? I love puzzles. What puzzle is that?”
“It’s a kind of anagram, and I have to work a sentence out.”
“Go on then, try me. What are the letters? Type it on the computer screen so I can see.”
“It’s not as simple as that, just leave me to it,” said Jamie and he entered Word typing in the full message.
“Cain’t see it. Blow it up and put it in caps.”
“Jesus Christ. Look, if I do, will you please be quiet? I need to concentrate.”
The screen lit up with the message: IT’S EASY IF YOU USE A PENCIL WITH SOME CONFUSION, I AM A MANIAC, TAU ETA NU.
“Do I have to use all the letters?”
“Look, the first part tells me it’s an anagram. The letters after the comma are the anagram of the sentence I have to find. Okay?”
“So the sentence before the comma is a question?”
“Yes, if you like.”
“How many letters?”
“Eighteen.”
“It’s definitely a sentence and not a word; you sure about that?”
“No, I’m not sure, but in all probability, it’s a sentence.”
“That’s a pity.”
“What do you mean, ‘That’s a pity’?”
“Mathematician’s got to be in there somewhere.”
Jamie swiveled his chair to her in wonderment. His thought’s immediately shot to Jake. Remembering the evil look Jake gave him on the stairway at the singles` club, he pondered the notion.
“How’s that then?”
“Well, the question is askin’ you to work it out with a pencil. Don’t tell me you ain’t heard the old joke?�
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“Look, I haven’t got time for jokes, this is serious. There’s a murderer running loose.”
“What does a mathematician do when he’s got constipation?”
“Work’s it out with a pencil,” they both said together.
“Of course!” Jamie shouted. “A pencil is synonymous with mathematician. Let’s try it. Wait a minute, there’s no ‘h’ and we’re left with an ‘a’ instead of an ‘e’.”
“There is if you know what ta look fer.”
“Go on then, enlighten me.”
“No, why should I? Set me free first.”
“Prove there’s an ‘h’ in there, and we can be on our separate ways, I promise.”
“Okay, tau is Greek for ‘t’ in the English alphabet. Nu is ‘n’ in the English alphabet and the symbol for Eta is ‘h’.”
Jamie had already searched Tau and knew she was correct. He looked at the mysterious woman then back at the screen. He typed in Nu on the Word thesaurus to check in all reference books and, sure enough, it came back as “n” in the English alphabet.
“We just need you to be right on Eta now,” said Jamie. Pressing Search, he waited. “How come you know Greek?”
“I don’t, but I’m reading a book on the origins of occults, tarot symbols and magic connected to Esoteric Roman named symbols. Some of it involves the Greek alphabet like ‘Nu’ represents the hanged man and ‘Tau’ represents Zodiac and ‘Eta’ represents lovers.”
“Nice try, Stacy, the answer is here, ‘seventh letter of the Greek alphabet Eta, represented as “e” in the English alphabet.’ At least that’s the answer English Encarta gives on Word Search.
“Cain’t be right; type in epsilon.”
Jamie typed in epsilon and waited. The answer arrived leaving him perplexed.
“Fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, represented as an ‘e’ in the English alphabet. Hang on, there can’t be two of them,” said Jamie frustrated.
“Just use the search engine for the Greek versus English alphabets.”
Jamie searched and entered a site and a huge grin appeared on his face.
Survival Instinct Page 25