They headed to the kitchen, and when they opened the door, there was no evidence of anything ever being stored in there.
“He had a maid who likely cooked for him. She would have seen organs in here. Plus, serial killers who eat their victims, don’t take only one organ here and there. They hollow the victim out, harvesting everything. In fact, most of them take the body and keep it in the freezer.”
Callen called into the other room to their techs. “Did anyone find any other refrigeration devices?”
“None!” one called back.
Elizabeth handed Ethan the suicide note. “It’s typed and not signed. When a killer is offing themselves, they usually pen a freaking memoir, not a six lined typed note. There’s no signature. That to me means one thing.”
“They didn't want us comparing handwriting,” Callen stated.
“Yep. This is screwed up. We have a setup. We really need to know if his hyoid is broken, if he has any remnants of person in his gut, and if his DNA matches the sperm donation in the victim who had six samples.”
They knew she was right.
Elizabeth kicked the counter. “Damn it! I really hate when people screw with me.”
She pointed at Chris. “Get him down and into the morgue. I can’t go any further unless you do your job,” she stated.
No one said anything more.
Here, they wanted a miracle.
They just didn't expect to be handed the killer on a silver platter.
That never happened before.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Monday Mid-Morning
Two Hours Later
Morgue
She was pissed.
With each passing minute, her blood pressure shot up, making her want to kick the shit out of someone.
One of her biggest pet peeves was when someone believed they could con the FBI and get away with it. There was nothing more insulting than thinking her team was stupid.
She was pretty damn sure that the man strung up wasn’t there of his own volition, and now her people had to prove it.
It could go either way at that point. It would come down to him being guilty as hell, or a way to screw with their case a little more.
“Lyzee?” Chris called, getting her attention. From the metal morgue table, she glanced over.
“Yeah?”
“I can give you what I have so far. It might help clear up some of the gray areas for you.”
She was appreciative that her ME knew that now wasn’t the time to be a hard ass about waiting. This had the potential to be one hell of a mess.
“His hyoid wasn’t broken. Had he fallen from that height, it would have been. Your theory is right.”
Yeah, she thought so.
This wasn’t her first day on the job, and she’d dealt with death long enough to know when there was one hell of a setup.
This stunk like one.
“I figured. So, someone helped him end his life. Now was it heaven or hell he was heading to?”
Merry rushed in with print out papers in hand. “I ran his DNA. Under his nails, we found only his. He dug at the rope around his neck to get it off.”
“Okay, that fits. If I was hanging and wanted to save myself, I’d try and get my fingers under the rope too.”
“When the maid found him, she was carrying around one of his wool suit jackets.”
“Are you going to tell me its Italian wool?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, I am, and that it’s an exact match to color and everything else. We even found a hole in it. When he was killing the victim in the shed, behind the frat house, he snagged it on a nail. We can confirm he was there.”
“Awesome. What about the sixth sample of semen we found?” she asked.
“It was his. It matched his DNA.”
She started pacing. “So, we found our killer, but what we don’t know is who offed the man doing all the mayhem, and why he was killing sorority girls.”
Funny…they had more questions now than before.
Elizabeth tried to figure it out in her head, but it was a jumbled mess. “Was it someone who found out what he was doing and took him out as a vigilante, or did he have a partner?”
They all shook their head.
Ethan had to know. “Stomach contents?”
“Nothing related to the case,” stated Chris. “I found coffee and that’s it. He did have one hell of an ulcer. Apparently, he was worried.”
She laughed. “Yeah, being afraid of getting caught would give you one of those.”
“Director?” Merry called.
“Yes?”
“We did all the trace on his car. We found DNA in it.”
“Okay, and it was from…?”
“The last victim, Harli Mercola. He must have transported her in his vehicle to that parking lot.”
She continued pacing. “I don’t get why. From all accounts, he loved the university,” she stated, knowing that Ethan had to give her something. “Handsome, I need a clue here. I’m freaking confused as hell.”
“It would fit that he was the killer. He disliked women. There are no traces of any in his life. Callen is running him now, but I’m willing to bet that the man didn't make attachments in his life. He loved one thing, and it was this university.”
“Then why risk it?” she asked. “I don’t get that part. He clearly didn't want us here. In fact, it was the board of trustees who asked for help.”
Ethan pointed out one thing. “He was trying to contain it from the start. He tried to get Gabe to send in someone who would keep it low key.”
That was a good point.
“Okay, I get that. If I was killing people, I’d be pissed that the board sent in investigators. I’d try and manipulate it anyway I could too.”
Callen spoke up, “It was unraveling around him. It had to make him really nervous that we were here, and that the media was following us around.”
“Any media scrutiny would have made him nervous. That’s how I know we don’t have a psychopath, but instead, a sociopath.”
Callen looked up at him. “I didn't know there was a difference.”
“There is. Look for any issues in his childhood, Cal. He’s likely going to have been a handful.”
Elizabeth hopped back up on the table. “School us, Mr. Profiler.”
“The main difference is that while the psychopath likes the attention, the sociopath doesn’t. He may keep to himself.”
“His home seemed icy. He only had one housekeeper, and she wasn’t permitted to live on site,” Elizabeth added. “That seems like someone who likes to live on the fringe of society to me.”
“He won’t have many friends. He’s going to be suspicious and paranoid. He’ll trust very few people.”
“Yet someone managed to get into his fortress, get him to stand on a chair, and die. That had to mean someone was close to him.”
Ethan agreed. “Likely. Look for anyone he called friend. They’ll be the ones who he’d let into his life. He spent a great deal of time with professors. You might want to look in that direction. He’d find them appealing, since they’re just as smart as he is, and they’re loyal to the school.”
Callen was making notes. “What else is different about them?”
“A psychopath will work up elaborate plans and go with them, while a sociopath will be more impulsive.”
“Like mixing up the methods of killing?” she asked.
“Exactly. He put a victim in his personal car, where he never let them into his private space. He was desperate and impulsive. That would have been what got him caught.”
“I don’t get why he killed while professing his adoration for the university.”
Ethan thought about it as he sipped his coffee. “A sociopath will be despotic. He’ll think his way is the best way. We’re thinking he was doing this autonomously of the school, but what if in his mind he was doing it for the school?”
She thought about what he was saying.
“What was the one thing he loved?”
They both answered, “The university.”
“That’s what I mean. He didn't form any relationships, but he always had his good old standby.”
Elizabeth thought about it.
“He didn't want us here, but the trustees pushed his hand. He saw himself as the supreme ruler, and he would want to find a way to work around the situation, thus the blackmail. He wanted the power, and that’s how he got it.”
“We need more,” Elizabeth stated.
“We can go back to the scene and check it out,” Ethan offered.
Callen got their attention as his tablet beeped. His search was done. “Raymond Hallowell had some issues growing up as a child. His parents ended up handing him over to a state home. Apparently, he was killing things.”
Well, if that wasn’t a red flag, what was?
“His pets were all found cut up.”
Ethan weighed it into the profile. “He could have done that. Since a sociopath tends to be highly intelligent too, he would have found himself bored and likely wanted to know what made them tick.”
“Uh, when I was bored, I watched a movie or read a book,” Elizabeth stated. “I didn't cut Fido up and try to put him back together.”
“That’s surprising,” Chris teased.
She pointed at him. “Don’t make me hurt you. You’re a daddy now.”
He raised his hands and grinned. “Gotcha, boss.”
“It gets worse,” Callen stated.
“How can that get worse?” Merry asked, looking disgusted. “He was killing innocent animals. That makes me sick.”
They all looked at her.
“Do you know where you work? A dead kitty is worse than the shit we see here?”
She shrugged. “I love animals. People…ehhh.”
It wasn’t like they could disagree. They’d seen the inhumanities of what man would do to man.
“His mother turned up dead,” Callen stated. “They looked at him as a suspect, but he was in the group home. It happened at night, and they couldn’t prove he broke out. It became a cold case when the investigators hit that wall.”
“Great. So he escalated from fuzzy pets, to his mother, and then to college co-eds. One of which he had sex with. Anyone want to take bets she was dead at the time?”
They all looked grossed out.
“It fits. A sociopath also lacks guilt, remorse, or a level of morals. He’d absolutely be a deviant and take a girl while she was dead.”
“We’re running background checks on all the staff at any college our kids want to go to,” Elizabeth stated. “And no freaking frats or sororities. I’m at my max.”
The men agreed.
“I’m still impressed I’ve rubbed off on you with the whole hyoid thing. I should get a raise.”
Elizabeth hated to disappoint the man, but she’d seen this before. “I worked a case where one of the victims had this same thing happen. In fact, it’s the case where I met Ethan. So, it sticks in my mind. Nice try though, Chris.”
“I’m still taking credit.”
She shook her head. “Let’s head back to his house. I want to take my time and tear that place apart now that the team has all the trace pulled.”
They followed her to the door.
“Keep processing everything,” she stated. “We need to tie this up in a pretty little bow.”
Outside, she pulled out her phone. Gabe answered on the second ring.
“What’s up?”
“Well, since you’re asking, I’m going to assume nothing is on the news.”
There was a pause.
“What did you do?”
She laughed. “Uh, this wasn’t me. Your buddy the blackmailer has caused a stir. You should be seeing it all over the media in a couple hours.”
“Did he come out and air my dirty laundry?”
“I can guarantee that’s never coming out now,” Elizabeth reassured.
“Why?”
“He’s dead.”
There was an audible gasp. “Please tell me you didn't handle the situation.”
She laughed even more. “Uh no, but thank you for your vote of confidence in my skills as a purveyor of the law. You realize I don’t kill people so easily, right?”
He let that go. “What the hell happened then?”
She told him everything.
Occasionally, there’d be an audible hiss, or some sort of gasp as all the details came out.
“Well?” she asked when she finished briefing him.
“You have a mess.”
Elizabeth snorted. “Gee, you think? I believe now is about the right time I tell you that I want a raise—a big fat one. Since I know Ethan makes more money than I do, I want you to rectify that.”
Blackhawk grinned as he drove them toward the dead man’s house. “You can be my sugar momma anytime,” he said.
Callen started laughing from the back seat. “I love me some sugar momma. Take me shopping, angel.”
She gave them both a look, but it was hard not to be amused.
“Just get this cleaned up.”
“Well, I’m not really calling you to update you or ask for a raise. I’m calling to tell you that you have to call the board of trustees and explain that they had the conductor of the crazy train running their school. Tag. You’re it.”
With that, she hung up.
Ethan kissed her knuckles. “You’re the love of my life. Anyone with balls that big to hang up on The Dragon Slayer deserves my heart and soul.”
“You’re mine,” she replied.
“HEY!” Callen said from the back seat. “Forgetting someone?”
They both laughed. There was nothing like getting Callen stirred up. They had it down to a science.
“What are we looking for,” Callen asked from the back seat, “other than my broken heart?”
Elizabeth snorted. “We need to find anything suspicious, or something that tells us why the hell the president of a prestigious university was offing his students and taking random organs.”
“Yeah, that should be easy.”
“Tell me about it,” Elizabeth said, as she stared out of the window. There had to be an answer.
It was only a matter of finding it.
* * *
It was done.
Making the phone call, the details were passed along to the people higher up.
They needed to know what was going on.
It was dire that they be aware the situation was taken care of, and fast.
“You still have one left.”
“I know. I’m planning on doing this one myself. He left one hell of a mess for us. I’m working on cleaning it up.”
“You better. Just in case, we’re going to go under and bury everything.”
“That’s probably a damn good idea. I don’t know what that idiot did. I searched his house, but I didn't find any proof that he kept a log. We may be fine. He fancied himself smart, but he royally screwed this up.”
This was one hell of a mess—one, which would take years to clean up. It was a good thing they were moving on.
“Just take care of the last one. Bring it to the drop off and leave it. We’ll pick up and deposit the money into the account. I hope you didn't leave a trail.”
“I didn’t.” There was worry there.
“You clean this up, and we’ll move to another city. See you there.”
With that, the call ended.
Yes, they would meet again.
The money was just too good.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Doctor R. Hallowell’s
House
Monday Afternoon
As they headed up the drive, Ethan saw it. The police crime scene tape was cut on the door.
Someone had entered when they were gone, and they could still be in there. Motioning to his partners, they all pulled their weapons. Callen headed for the back, and Elizabeth stood beside Et
han, ready to enter the house.
When he signaled, they quietly opened the door and went in. It wasn’t hard to locate the person. They weren’t exactly being quiet. There was a rustling of papers and shuffling around.
In the office, they found their intruder.
“Hands up, or I’ll shoot,” Elizabeth stated, pointing the nose of her Glock at the man behind the desk. “You’re under arrest, Archy Saba.”
He stood up, and Ethan’s gun tracked him. “If you move, I will shoot you.”
The man looked scared shitless.
“Wait! I didn't kill him. I was here looking for details for my story.”
Elizabeth didn't care. She kept her gun on him as Ethan approached to pat him down. As he checked the man for weapons, he found none, but he did give him a nice shiny set of bracelets.
“You can’t arrest me!”
She laughed. “We found you at a crime scene breaking and entering. We absolutely can arrest you, and for that alone.”
Callen entered, holstering his weapon. “Shocking. You found yourself a douchebag reporter. They seem to follow us everywhere we go.”
Didn't they know it?
“Please don’t arrest me,” he stated. “I’ve been following that girl from the university—the one who found the bodies. When I saw you coming out of the hospital, I began following you,” he admitted, as Ethan pulled him toward the door.
She wasn’t shocked.
“Then you came here, and I had to follow! I saw you pulling the president out in a body bag. This is going to be big news! I’m going to break it.”
“Confiscate his electronic equipment.”
“You can’t do that! I have a duty to the students!”
She didn't really care.
“I’m not technically arresting you. I’m holding you for questioning. See, here’s your loophole, Archy. I can hold you for twenty four hours. Then I can decide if I’m charging you. In that time, you’re going to have no contact with the outside world. If you are involved in this, I won’t have to look far.”
He looked horrified.
“Callen, call Sheriff Rakin for a special pick up.”
Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) Page 46