by Liz Bradford
“Jared, what are you doing?” she asked as soon as she realized that he hadn’t followed her.
“Sorry, just being paranoid. Want to be sure you are safe.” He finished checking the family room and went to the living room at the front of the house.
“I am. I sleep with a gun in my nightstand drawer, no worries.”
“I can’t help but worry.”
“Why this sudden impulse to worry about me? Jared, what’s going on?”
He went over and joined her in the foyer. He really didn’t want to tell her what Caleb said tonight, but he knew he had no choice now. “Becca, remember how I told you that you fit the victim profile?” She nodded. “Well, Caleb picked up on it, too. He said that he’s felt a heavy burden to pray for your safety.”
Her eyes grew wide, and her spine went ridged. He had spooked her. That is not what he wanted to do before he left for the night. She stood about three feet away from him in the entry way and just stared at him. He watched as she evaluated what he said, and he could see the fear creep into her eyes.
“Caleb said this?” she finally asked.
“Yeah. Why?” What wasn’t she saying?
“Oh. Well, he’s just known as quite the prayer warrior at church. No one takes a burden he feels lightly.”
“Oh.” It was his turn to just stare at her. He didn’t know what to say now.
Becca took the few steps necessary to close the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his midsection. He circled his arms around her and held her, resting his chin on her head while praying even more fervently for her.
Eventually he broke the silence. “I love you, Becca, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Understand?”
She pulled away from him and looked up into his face and nodded. He leaned down and kissed her.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Becca’s eyes shot open, and she sat up straight in bed. She had it: a breakthrough. She looked at the clock; the bright red numbers read 3:07. Wow, three hours of sleep would not be enough, but she had to go look at the files. She had to. She had a set locked in her briefcase downstairs. Grabbing her robe and her pistol she went downstairs. After what Jared had said last night, her heart palpitated as she tentatively made her way down the stairs. The curtains were all drawn, and Jared had checked all the windows and doors, but she was still on edge.
CREAK. She jumped, turned, and pointed her gun towards the front door. She listened. Nothing. Then she heard it again. She lowered her weapon. It was only the maple tree out front creaking in the wind.
Once she had the lights all turned on she felt much better. She sat down on the floor of the family room and lifted the flap of the old leather briefcase that had once been her dad’s. She pulled the files out, lay each one out on floor, and thought back over the events from yesterday that made the pieces fall together.
After Jared left to help Caleb, she and Callie walked to the park down the street, just as they did every Thursday evening. They arrived to find a few other families there, some of them the ones they saw every week on their Thursday evening park dates. As was the usual, Callie went off to play, and Becca sat on the bench with Amber. Stuart came over after a while and struck up conversation just as he always did.
“Hi, ladies,” he had said.
Amber had taken over the conversation before Stuart turned it to Becca. “Rebecca, I saw you on the news earlier this week. Still haven’t caught that killer, huh?”
“Stuart, you know I can’t talk about any police cases with you.”
“Sorry, just trying to make small talk.”
Ha. That wasn’t small talk. Sheesh, some people.
They chatted a little more, actual small talk. Until Jared arrived.
“Rebecca, there is some strange man talking to your daughter,” Stuart had said with concern.
Becca looked over and saw Jared and smiled. “Oh, it’s okay, that’s her dad.”
“Her dad? Really? I thought he wasn’t in the picture.”
She waved at Jared. “Well, he wasn’t. Came back into our lives a few weeks ago. Turns out, if I had been a little more patient and waited for him, the last five years would have looked completely different.”
She couldn’t believe she had said so much. She couldn’t believe that she had said anything about Jared at all. But as she thought about it, Stuart had asked about Callie’s dad somewhere along the way. Stuart and his son, Freddy, were regulars at the park on Thursday night, had been for a while. Knowing that she had given away that information to him is what made her realize how that would be the easiest way for the unsub to find out what he knew about the victims’ history. If she, one of the most guarded people around had said that much to a random dad at the park, how much more had these women told the unsub. Amber hadn’t hesitated to say things about her life and her family. The neighbor who had seen Samantha talking to the suspect had said it looked as if she knew him. She runs into a dad from the park as she is walking to work one morning, of course she talks to him, why not? She’s single, getting to know any single dad is high on her dating priority list. She has come to trust him; little did she know that he should have been the last person she trusted.
She searched through the files, looking for a specific piece of information for each of the five victims. There it was, just as she had expected. Each woman had a regular time in which she took her children to the park. Same time, same day, every week. That was it. He was meeting them at the park and getting to know them in the place where they let their guard down most. A place that was supposed to be safe. A place where they were supposed to meet kindred spirits.
Becca spent a little more time digging through the files establishing exactly when and where the perp would have been picking his vics. Before she knew it, it was six in the morning. No time to go back to sleep, and it was still a little early to call everyone and tell them to meet her in the office as soon as possible, so she went up and took a long hot shower. She would take Callie to Amy’s and head straight to the station.
Jared wandered into the police station before eight on Friday morning. So much for having the morning off. He was aggravated Becca wouldn’t clue him in even a little bit as to why she had called them all in on the morning they were supposed to have off.
“Johnson,” the Captain called as Jared walked by his office, so he turned in. “What are you doing here this morning? You look like something the cadaver dog found, apparently you stayed up too late for coming in this early.”
“Yeah… Becca called us all in. Said be here as soon as we could and be dressed in street clothes.” Jared looked down at his jeans and casual button up shirt.
“Sounds like you guys are going to be busy today then.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing you might want to come in and listen to what she has to say. She said to meet in the conference room.”
“All right, let’s go then.” The Captain picked up his coffee mug as he stood.
Jared and Baker were the last ones to walk in the door, and Becca said, “Finally,” when he walked in. One look at her made the memory of last night’s kiss come rushing to the forefront of his brain. He felt the smile take over his face, and there was no stopping it. Apparently, Becca’s mind went to the same place as her cheeks flushed, and a smile briefly graced her thin, pink lips. But then it was time to get down to business.
“So, first off, sorry to call you guys in on the morning we were supposed to have off, but I had a breakthrough this morning.”
“It’d better be good, Palmer,” Jamison heckled.
“It is, I promise. I know where he is meeting and researching his victims.”
They all sat forward in their seats. How could she possibly know? What new information did she have?
“He’s meeting them at the parks they take their kids to.”
“How do you know that?” Jared asked as he absent-mindedly rubbed his hands together.
“Bear with me. Let me explain the mind of a young, single mom, and then s
how you what I found that was staring us in the face this whole time.” She clicked the computer bringing up a PowerPoint presentation.
“A PowerPoint, Palmer? When did you have time for that?” Jamison heckled her again.
She shot him a dirty look and said, “Let’s just say I’m running on very little sleep. Once this came to me there was no hope for sleep. Just be glad I didn’t call you in when I woke up at three, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jamison said with a facetious salute.
Jared couldn’t help but snicker at the exchange between the two of them.
“Single moms, well moms in general, and dads too, take their kids to the park to play, right? But there can be a benefit to the parent as well, getting to know other parents. Parents tend to talk to other parents who are sitting back watching their kids play, especially as the kids get older and just want to play on their own or with the other kids. Callie always just goes off into her own little world of make believe and only sometimes actually wants me to play, too. So, most of the time when we go to the park I just sit on the bench and enjoy watching her play. I’m always making small talk with the other parents.
But yesterday I realized that even I relay more information than I normally would to other parents at the park. There is this dad who also comes to the park every Thursday named Stuart. Another mom and I were chatting with him last night when Jared came and started talking to Callie. Stuart was quick to alert me to Jared’s sudden presence, but when I told him that he was her dad he immediately said, ‘I thought her dad wasn’t in the picture.’ That means I had told him that at some other point along the way. So, imagine with me for a minute, our unsub is going to the park with his kid or some kid, and getting to know the ladies whose faces now are on our board.” She motioned to their pictures. “He nonchalantly asks them about their kids’ dads, slowly getting information out of them about what caused the break in the relationship.
“But here’s where it gets weird and confirms for me that this is what is happening.” She clicked the computer and time frames for each victim’s regular trips to the park came up on the screen. “Check this out. We know he most likely has OCD, or at least tendencies towards it, well this could confirm that suspicion. The first victim, Michelle, took her kids to the park every Friday afternoon. The second vic, Tonya, Saturdays; Victim three, Crystal, Sundays; fourth, Angela, Mondays, and Samantha, every Tuesday after school.”
“That’s crazy!” Miller exclaimed.
“I know. We are dealing with a crazy, sociopath,” Becca said. “But wait, it gets worse.”
“Worse?” the guys said in unison.
“Oh yeah. I can’t believe I didn’t see this part sooner. But I guess—”
“Just spit it out, Palmer,” Jamison said.
“Sorry. Well, look at this.” She pulled up a map on the screen. When she clicked the button, a little star came up on the screen. “This is Saddlebrooke Park.”
“Right, the park where the first victim was found,” said the Captain.
“Yes, but it is also the park that Tonya, the second vic, went to with her son.”
Jared leaned forward in his seat.
“Then Tonya was found at Hickory Park.” Another star appeared on the screen, “—the park vic 3, Crystal, went to with her kids. And it keeps going like that. Each victim was found at the park that the NEXT victim went to regularly with her kids. I had been wondering all this time why he was leaving them so far away from where they lived…”
“He had a purpose behind that,” Jared said as goosebumps covered his arms.
She nodded, a renewed determination in her eyes.
Miller spoke up, “That means we know where his next victim should be on Wednesday.”
“As long as he doesn’t take her before then,” Jamison said.
“True,” Becca said. “So, we need to figure out what single moms go to that park regularly. But it also means we need to go out and see if anyone at these other parks knows the guy that’s been chatting these ladies up. Let’s protect her by finding him first.”
“Palmer, do you think your friend Stuart could be our perp?” Miller asked.
“No,” she replied in disbelief that he had asked. “I’m not sure Stuart’s the serial killer type.”
No one thought Ted Bundy was the serial killer type either. They all left that alone, but part of Jared wondered. Could this man that set the hair on the back of his neck on end be scouting out his next victim in Jared’s girlfriend? The thought sent shivers down his spine. He hoped and prayed that his suspicion was unfounded, because after all, everyone fell on the suspect list in his mind right now.
Next Becca went through her game plan. Their mission was to go to all of these parks and interview parents that were there, to see if any of them knew the victims and who they were talking to. Becca hoped to get a sketch out of each park and confirm an identity of the killer. “I want us to go to every park at various times, but especially the times and days these ladies went. Get descriptions, and if anyone described stands out see if they are willing to come down and talk to the sketch artist.”
“Palmer, we need to also try to prevent him from taking another woman,” Miller said.
“Totally agree, Rick. Why don’t you and Adam focus on Devil’s Creek Park and see if you can find anyone who fits the victim profile? Canvas the neighborhood, too.”
They spent the next couple hours drawing up a game plan to hit the parks at the same times these women used to go, along with other times in hopes that they would meet enough people who had seen the victims talking to the unsub. It was the best lead they had had in a while, and Jared hoped it would produce an even greater lead – the perp’s identity. He was worried about Becca, even wondered if he should mention something to Jamison and Miller, but he was pretty sure Becca would have his head if he did, so he would keep his mouth shut, for now.
The plan was set. Becca and Jared would focus on trying to get a sketch of possible suspects, and Adam and Rick would attempt to find the next target. Once the plan was in place for the next five days, they got to it. They were to attempt to keep as low a profile as possible, even bring their families along when possible to help them blend in just in case he was still scouting the parks and in attempt to not set anyone on edge. They needed the public’s full cooperation.
Michelle MacDonald, the first victim, frequented a park district park near her home every Friday after she got home from work, so Jared and Becca were sure to be there around the same time. Becca had called Amy and asked her to meet them there with the kids so that they could take their time scoping out the area. It would help other parents who may be there to feel comfortable with their presence before they flashed their badges.
They both enjoyed being able to see and play with Callie for a little while before anyone else even came to the park. But before too long a pair of moms with their young children ranging from a baby to a couple of grade schoolers came to play. Jared and Becca gave them a few moments to settle into the park. The moms were clearly friends, and they chatted away as their children began playing. Jared was helping Callie on the monkey bars when one of the moms said hi to her, so Becca took the opportunity to talk to them. Jared told Callie he needed to talk to Becca and went over to join her but let her do all the talking.
“Hi, haven’t seen you around here before. I’m Gracie, and this is Nikita.”
“Hi, I’m Becca. I was wondering if I could ask you ladies a few questions. I’m a detective with the Hazel Hill Police. And this is my partner, Jared.”
The women were a little taken a back but agreed to help. “Sure, what’s this about?” Gracie said.
“We are investigating the death of Michelle MacDonald, a young mom who used to bring her kids to this park on Friday afternoons.”
“We knew Michelle. It’s so horrible what happened, but that was two months ago. You still haven’t caught her killer?” Nikita said with eyes wide with a hint of fear.
“Unfortunate
ly, we haven’t. Were you ladies typically here at the same time Michelle was?”
“We were. All three of us made a point of coming around the same time. We met Michelle here a couple of years ago and have made a habit of coming at the same time for our own sanity,” Gracie said.
“Has there ever been anyone else that frequents this park at this time?”
“Yeah,” Nikita spoke this time. “Greg always brings his kids.”
“And so did Rory, although I haven’t seen him in a while, and Maggie comes sometimes, too,” Gracie added.
“What can you tell me about Greg and Rory? Did either of them spend more time talking to Michelle rather than either of you?”
“Well, Rory was always trying to hit on her it seemed. Started talking to me when he first started coming around, but pretty much ignored me once he discovered I was married. I think he thought the park was a good place to pick up chicks.” Gracie laughed a little. “I know Greg from the PTA; he hardly talks to anyone when he’s here with his kids. I think he just comes to get out of the house while his wife makes dinner.”
Nikita added, “Yeah, and Rory didn’t talk to me at all. I guess he favors vanilla over chocolate.” She snickered as she turned her hands upward and shrugged.
Jared watched Becca as she decided how to proceed with the questioning. It sounded like this Rory character could be their guy. “When did Rory start coming around? You said you haven’t seen him in a while. When would you say was the last time you saw him?” Jared asked.
“I think he started coming around the beginning of the summer perhaps, not really sure. You know, I’m not sure I’ve seen him since Michelle died,” Gracie said and looked at Nikita who nodded with concern. “You don’t think he’s the one that killed Michelle, do you?”
“We aren’t sure, but, based on what you just said, we need to investigate him further,” Becca said. “Do you know Rory’s last name or where he lives?”