by K. J. Dahlen
“Well, maybe the boat patrol will turn something up,” Ian suggested.
“What boat patrol?”
“Last night before he went home, Rob ordered the police boat out on the river to check for the houseboat Sable told you guys about. They took off first thing this morning. They should be calling in any time now.” The phone in his office began ringing and Sebastian got up to leave when Ian motioned him to stay. Grabbing a pen from the desk, he began writing information down. When he finished, he hung up the phone. “They found the boat. In almost the same spot Sable told you about. The patrol didn’t see anyone aboard but they didn’t get too close to it. They did catch the registration numbers on the side of the boat. It belongs to a man named Paul Moran.”
“I’ll run a trace on Paul Moran and see what I can come up with.” Sebastian nodded.
“You might want to give Jesse the benefit of the doubt. I spoke to his boss this morning and Clayton Wakefield assures me that Jesse is one of his best agents. He also said that if the two of you could work together that you both might solve this case but that if I thought there were going to be problems between you guys, neither one of you would end up on the case. Clay told me that the FBI has jurisdiction because of the multi-state ruling and Jesse doesn’t have to let you tag along.” Ian held up his hand at the look on Sebastian’s face. “I told him that if you didn’t work this case, Jesse was going to have you working against him all the way to its conclusion anyway.”
Sebastian grunted. “That’s for damn sure.”
Ian nodded. “Then you have to play nice with him. Find a way and make it happen or you’ll be pulled off and Jesse will do it alone.”
Sebastian glared at him for a moment. Then he sighed and said, “I think Jesse is hiding something. Maybe he knows something and doesn’t realize it, or maybe he just doesn’t want us to know everything. I don’t know. For some reason, he seems to be two different people.”
“See what turns up on Moran. Rob should be back soon and when he gets here, fill me in.” Ian nodded and closed the door to his office.
Sebastian went to a computer at an unoccupied desk in the squad room. He began another background check on Paul Moran. The report came back almost immediately. Paul was a victim of Identity Theft. He was a boat salesman out of New Orleans.
Sebastian grabbed the phone and called Alec. Alec would be able to bring Paul in for questioning. Sebastian finally felt as if they were making progress on this case, at least he’d hoped they were.
“Hunter,” Alec answered his phone.
“Alec, this is Sebastian. I need you to run down something.”
“Did you guys turn something up?”
“Maybe, I don’t know yet. Listen, I need you to find a boat salesman by the name of Paul Moran. The latest woman who was kidnapped by the killer escaped and led us to a houseboat. The boat belongs to Paul Moran. I need you to find Moran and talk to him. I’m going to run a DMV photo of him. Oh, and can you run down to Myrtle Grove and see a man named Nick Granger? Both names have come up in this case and I need to know more about these men.”
“Anything else?” Alec asked with a quip in his tone.
Sebastian almost smiled at his tone. “Yeah, I know it’s a big list.”
“How’s your witness doing?”
“She’s gone missing and we don’t know if she left by herself or if she was persuaded by someone that looks a great deal like FBI agent Jesse Cooper.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Alec sounded astounded.
“I’ll fill you in later, just get on tracking those two names down for me and call me back. I have another report coming in.” Sebastian hung up the phone as the background check on Sable Willows was coming across the fax machine.
Rob Gillette came through the station house door a few minutes later. He looked grim. He nodded for Jesse and Sebastian to join him in Ian’s office. Opening the door, they found Ian on the phone. He motioned for them to come in and after he hung up the phone, he sat back in his chair. “Well, what did you find out?”
Rob sat down on the corner of the desk. “The forensics team found two different types of DNA on the bed sheets. One was male taken from a pair of sweaty palm prints they found on the sheets, and the other was Sable’s. The blood was hers and the fingerprints on the I.V. tubing was hers as well.”
Ian turned to Sebastian.
Sebastian handed him the background report on Sable. “That only tells us that she doesn’t have a criminal record. I called my partner in New Orleans and he’s running down Paul Moran and Nick Granger. By the way, Paul Moran is a victim of Identify Theft. His name was red flagged three weeks ago.”
Jesse stepped forward. “I ran DMV photos of Nick Granger and Paul Moran. As you can see neither of them look anything like me. I think we need to speak to Jerry Springs again.”
Ian looked at the photos and nodded. “Take this with you.” He handed the photos back to Jesse.
They were interrupted by a deputy, “Excuse me sir, but there is a Callie St. Marie here and she wants to speak to Rob or Sebastian.”
Ian nodded and turned to Rob. “Who is Callie St. Marie?”
“She’s a friend of Sable’s that may have the piece of evidence we need to finally see what our killer looks like. I’ll be right back.” Rob left the room to retrieve the tape.
“Callie stopped by the hospital this morning to see Sable around the time we were there. She said she had the tape the news people put out when Sable went missing,” Sebastian filled in Ian. “She is also supposed to bring in a list of Sable’s friends and family.”
Rob returned a few minutes later with a video tape. He popped it in the machine in the office and they all saw the footage of Sable dancing in the streets. The tape showed a host of people celebrating. They were singing, dancing and having a great time as they made their way from one street to another. When it didn’t show them what they expected to see, everyone in the room was disappointed.
“If our killer was there, I sure didn’t see him,” Rob said out loud.
“I sure didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. All I saw was a bunch of people having a good time,” Ian commented. “What about that list of friends and family? Is there anything on there we can use?”
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. There was something he felt they had missed, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I’m going to check the fax for my reports.” As he left the room, he looked over at Jesse and frowned.
Jesse was wearing an expression that confused Sebastian. He looked almost relieved. His expression only reaffirmed Sebastian’s suspicions that the agent was hiding something about this killer from the rest of the group.
Before he was out of hearing range, the phone in Ian’s office rang. He came back to the office when he heard Ian swear.
Ian, Rob and Jesse looked furious.
“What’s happened?” Sebastian asked.
Ian scowled. “The boat patrol went back to the last sighting of the houseboat to bring in whoever was on board for questioning and the damn boat was gone.”
Chapter Four
“Now what do we do?” Jesse asked. “We were so close to nabbing him.”
“I’ll tell you what we can’t do. We can’t give up.” Sebastian fumed. “If we got that close once, next time he won’t get away. He can’t have gone very far, there hasn’t been enough time.”
“What happens if there is no next time?” Rob asked. “What happens if this was the only chance we had?”
“Well, I for one am not giving up so easily. That bastard turned my life upside down when he murdered my wife and I want him to pay for that. He left my son without the most important person in his life. I’ll be there for him because I love him but he doesn’t have a mother anymore,” Sebastian grumbled. “Besides, he’s already made one mistake. His latest victim got away and through her, we at least know what he looks like and how he gets around. I can’t see this killer letting her live too much longer. We have
to find her before he does.”
“That’s true, but that same victim is now missing and we don’t know for sure if he’s got her or if she left on her own.” Ian pointed out. He tried to overlook Sebastian’s last statement, but in all conscience couldn’t. “I’ve been told you would do your best to bring this killer in to stand trial, but it doesn’t sound like you can do that. It sounds more like you are going after him for revenge.”
Sebastian nodded. “It might sound like it and I don’t blame you for thinking that, but I know I can’t get my life back. My wife is gone and nothing I do is going to bring her back, so all I have left is making sure the man responsible spends the rest of his miserable life in jail.”
Ian stared at him for a long moment and nodded. Before he could comment, the phone rang again. Ian reached out and answered the call. He listened for a moment then hung up. His face was grim. “That was the hospital. Someone found Sable Willows a little while ago.”
“Where was she?” Jesse asked.
“A city park patrolman found her hiding in a playhouse not too far from the hospital. She had passed out again from loss of blood. She ripped open the stitches on her side.”
“Did she say anything about why she left the hospital?” Sebastian asked.
Ian shook his head. “The doctor told me that she was babbling incoherently about the fact that she couldn’t get away from him, and that he told her he would always be able to find her. He didn’t know what that meant but I think we do.”
Everyone turned and looked at Jesse. Whether they liked it or not the evidence was pointing right to him.
Jesse just stared back at them with a cold look on his face.
Sebastian headed for the door, but Ian called him back, “The doctor in charge lists her condition as critical. They’ve put her on life support and have her sedated. No one can talk to her right now.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then Rob told his boss, “I’m going over to the hospital. We made a critical error before by not giving her protection, and the killer got to her. That won’t happen again, not on my watch,” he vowed.
Ian nodded. “Take a uniformed officer with you. I don’t want anyone getting to her.” Ian reached for the phone. “I’ll call the boat patrol and tell them to search every avenue and backwater branch they can find. I’m not giving up; the boat has to be somewhere.”
Sebastian went out to the desk he’d been using and reached for the phone. He was going to call Alec. Maybe if the killer left this area he went back to New Orleans. Alec could be looking down there.
“Hunter.”
“Alec, we have a problem.”
“I was just going to call you. You have a problem on this end too,” Alec told him. “Tell me what’s happening up there.”
“I told you earlier that the killer has been getting around by boat, actually it’s a houseboat. Anyway, the boat patrol up here found it then temporary lost sight of it, so we think the killer is tipped off that we know his mode of transportation. Captain Nevell has them looking up and down the river and in all the backwater areas right now, but I wanted you to be looking for the boat down there as well.”
“That makes sense. He might just have come back down here, especially if he wants you to follow him.”
“What are you talking about?” Sebastian wanted to know.
“Before we get into that little surprise, I need to let you know what I found out when I paid Paul Moran a visit. I didn’t find Mr. Moran, but I did find a trashed house and blood everywhere. He hasn’t been at work and no one knows where he could be. His family is worried and filed a missing person’s report last week.”
“Why didn’t that show up in his background check?” Sebastian wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I’m betting that when I get down to Myrtle Grove, I don’t find Nick Granger either,” Alec surmised.
“Yeah, well let me know how that goes. What did you mean when you said the killer wants me to follow him?” Sebastian asked.
“A letter came for you at the station this morning. The words were cut out of several magazines and pasted on paper—” Alec started to tell him but was interrupted by Sebastian.
“If it was addressed to me why did you open it?”
Alec hesitated a moment, wondering just how much he should tell him. “It had a dark stain on the front.”
“What kind of dark stain?” Sebastian asked already knowing the answer.
“It turned out to be a blood stain.”
“Whose blood was it?” Sebastian asked quietly.
“It matched Carolyn’s blood type,” Alec replied quietly.
Sebastian felt a devastating blow to his heart. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. Finally he asked, “What did the letter say?”
“He wants to see if you can find him before he kills again.”
Sebastian was silent for a minute. “What were his exact words?”
“The entire letter reads, ‘Can you come out to play a little game of Hide and Seek? The rules are you have to find me before I find another Carolyn. That’s the only rule.’ Pretty sick if you ask me.”
Sebastian knew his partner, and he knew when his partner was holding something back. “What else was in the envelope?” He heard Alec take a deep breath.
Alec hesitated. “There was a lock of Carolyn’s hair and a picture of her.” He paused and then had to ask, “How did you know there would be something else in the envelope?”
Sebastian didn’t speak for a minute. “I knew because I’m beginning to know this creep. He would want make it worth my while to keep coming after him.”
“And did he? I mean did he offer you just enough for you to go after him?” Alec asked his partner.
“He did that when he murdered my wife. Alec, I want you to look after Wyatt and Janet. This killer won’t hesitate to go after them if I don’t play his little game and I don’t want them anywhere near him.”
“Have you found your witness yet?”
“Yeah, somebody found her and she’s back in the hospital under guard. She may not make it this time, though.”
“That’s too bad; I was hoping she would make it. I’ll move Janet and Wyatt to a safe house and run down Nick Granger. If I find anything out, I’ll let you know. If you need anything, call me.” Alec ended the call.
Sebastian stared at the phone for a minute, and then got up to inform Ian of the exchange.
Ian wasn’t happy with the news. “Damn, he’s making this personal isn’t he?” Ian stared at Sebastian. “And he’s aiming his sights right on you. Why is that do you suppose?”
“I think he wanted it this way for the beginning. The real question is why? What did I do to deserve this honor?”
“I think because you were very close to discovering who he really is,” came Jesse’s voice from the doorway.
Sebastian turned to look at Jesse. “What do you mean?”
“You were getting too close to him and he had to find a way to stop you before you could stop him. I think that’s why he killed your wife.” Jesse looked somber.
“And just what are you basing your conclusion on?” Sebastian asked.
“In the four years I’ve been working this case, I’ve followed hundreds of leads that didn’t turn out. They led nowhere. This killer is very clever that way. But you found out something he doesn’t want anyone to know. Something he feels will lead the police right to him. He sees you as a threat. So he killed your wife in an attempt to get you as far away from the case as possible.”
“He doesn’t really know me that well then does he?” Sebastian stated. “What he did when he killed Carolyn was make sure that I would follow him. This won’t be over until I see him in prison or he kills me too.”
Jesse nodded. “He miscalculated the strength of your resolve, but he also knows that your jurisdiction is limited. If he takes himself out of Louisiana what are you going to do then?”
Sebastian thought about that question for a moment. He hadn’t
really thought that far ahead. The rage he’d felt at the cemetery was still inside him. He felt it every waking moment. “If he wants to play hide and seek with me, he better have picked a good hiding spot. The game is about to get very rough.”
“At what cost?” Jesse asked.
“What do you mean?” Sebastian raised a brow as he sensed a threat in the veiled question.
“How far are you willing to go to get this guy off the street?”
“Do you mean am I willing to kill him before he can kill someone else? Yes, without even hesitating and I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it either,” Sebastian stated.
“What are you going to do if he goes after what’s left of your family?” Jesse asked still playing the devil’s advocate. He knew he was pushing but he had to know just how far Sebastian would go.
“My family is protected,” Sebastian assured him. He didn’t tell the FBI agent any more than that. He still wasn’t one hundred per cent sure about Jesse, and he decided to be safe rather than risk his son’s life.
“I hope so, because if he’s cornered, he may lash out at the one person he feels is responsible and that would be you,” Jesse warned.
Ian could feel the tension escalating between the two men. “I don’t mean to put a damper on your emotions guys, but we still have to find this bastard. I suggest you save the speculation until we do.”
Jesse looked over at Ian and nodded.
Sebastian didn’t say a word, he just left the room. On his way out, he picked up the tape Callie had dropped off this morning and decided to watch it again. He was still sure there was something on the tape they had missed.
Two hours later, he sat up in his chair and grabbed the remote. He rewound the tape and began watching it again. This time he was looking for something specific. As he neared the spot he thought he saw it before, he leaned closer to the screen.
He sat back and smiled as he froze the frame. They had missed it earlier. Pointing his finger at the screen like a gun, he pulled an invisible trigger at the screen. “Got ya, sucker.”
Sebastian grinned as he used the equipment to print a photo from the tape. He had his first real piece of evidence that showed what the killer looked like. When the picture came out of the printer, Sebastian took it and the tape; he wasn’t going to let the tape out of his possession. He didn’t want anyone misplacing it.