by HA Fortman
Abruptly he came to a stop and lowered himself to the small bench lining the outside of the cage, lifting his head and glancing at the small camera mounted high on the wall, he gave what he thought was a good impression of a smile but was actually more of a grimace. The camera’s never picked up the soft growling sound that seemed to accompany the facial expressions, the video feed not set up to record audio.
Chapter 4
“Excuse us a moment Miss…” She smirked, just a bit, as Captain Campbell looked uncomfortable that he’d forgotten her name. She was sure it wasn’t something he did regularly. When he shook his head and nodded to the others to join him in the corner Elisa knew what he wanted to discuss with them. Even though she couldn’t hear exactly what was said, their low voices came to her as nothing more than a murmur, it was clear to her by the way their hands flew and the heads would turn to peer at her that they were talking about what she had just told them.
“It’s Miss Jones.” She muttered softly while watching them in their corner pow-wow. Elisa was staring down the four men as they considered what she’d just told them. When she glanced down she realized she was fiddling with her hands, twisting them nervously. She forced herself to stop, instead put her hands on the back of the chair she had been sitting in. She reached forward for the sheets she had given the four men to go over. She needed to keep herself busy so she decided to place the papers where they belonged on the corkboard, taking her time to give the men a chance to discuss whatever it was they were talking about.
*~*~*
“I think we should at least look into what she’s brought us. What can it hurt? We’re stuck at a dead end as it is, and she does have a point. That man has been to each of the murders and we need to find out why.” David said as he tilted his head around the other men to watch Elisa.
“Yeah, but we can’t let her know what’s going on. She can’t be kept appraised. And you need to convince her to come back to one of us if she discovers anything else. I don’t think she’s told us everything, but I agree that we need to look further.” Sam didn’t sound totally convinced yet, “It’s almost uncanny that as soon as we’ve chased all leads, this little slip of a female shows up with more.”
“What if she’s onto something, Sam, and we don’t at least follow through? What happens when there’s another murder like she’s convinced there will be, and we’re caught with our pants down? You know as well as I do that we can’t let that happen just because it’s some girl bringing us the leads.”
The rest of the men nodded at this and the Captain cleared his throat before declaring loud enough for Elisa to hear, “Alright. David, escort your new friend out of the building, take her to lunch as a thank you for her help. Sam, look into the other accidents as much as you can, I want the police reports from them as soon as possible. Then compare them to what we already know. Mike and I will go talk to this man that ran into her in the lobby, we weren’t there when it happened so he shouldn’t be as riled up over our asking to talk to him.” Nodding, the three other men moved to leave the room, each stopping long enough to thank Elisa for bringing them the much needed information.
“Well, you heard the Captain, let’s go get some lunch and we’ll see what more you have to say. Then I can drive you home.” With his hand resting lightly against the small of Elisa’s back, David gently led her from the room and out into the bright afternoon sun.
Chapter 5
Elisa was a bit shocked at how fast things were moving. Certainly faster than she thought they would as she was sure the police would just brush her off, much as the officer behind the front desk had started to. “I already had lunch, and I drove here myself. You don’t have to come with me, I can tell you’d rather be here go over the stuff I brought in.”
“You’re right, I would rather be doing that, but I don’t mind taking a break. I haven’t eaten yet today and I’d like to sit down and go over everything you have again. There might be something you’ve missed because you were nervous and I sprang the meeting on you. Besides, the station will pick up the cost of the lunch and it’s not every day I get to go to my favorite place with such pretty company. Indulge an older man Darlin’ and let me at least treat you to some coffee?” David stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as he said this with a slight grin and shrug before motioning for Elisa to walk with him towards the parked cars.
Chuckling softly Elisa finally gave a nod after studying his face and said, “Fine, but I don’t drink coffee. Just tell me where to meet you and I’ll drive there myself that way you don’t have to cart me back and forth.”
“I’ll follow you there, then we can sit down and I can eat while you fill me in on what you didn’t tell the others.” David said as he nodded and followed Elisa. He thought of all of the information she brought to them, the fresh perspective, and then told her how to get to Brownstown Pub.
Traffic was light for San Francisco and they both made it to the pub before too long. Finding a seat wasn’t difficult, being three in the afternoon the lunch crowd had left and the dinner rush had not yet started. Much like a classic diner, this one was lined with booths and tables that filled the empty spaces. The bright, warm tan and dark browns of the walls and wooden surfaces of the tables gave it a homey feeling, accented by the red and white checkered table cloths. Topping each table was a centerpiece with basic condiments and a few menus stuffed between the ketchup and mustard bottles. Along the back wall was an open kitchen, affording an unobstructed view as the cooks created each meal for the patrons, the sound of clanging and sizzling mixed with the few visitors talking. Along the far side was the dark mahogany bar, tall stools stood sentinel over each evenly spaced section where a bartender wiped the surface off with a clean rag to kill the time.
Once they were settled into a booth in the back of the bar, they gave the waitress their order and waited until the drinks were set before them. “I appreciate you taking the time to listen to me, but… why did you? No one’s been very helpful; in fact, some people have been downright rude to me because I’m a woman trying to make it in a man’s world.”
“I saw the papers you had when you were knocked over, while the others were getting that man off of you, I had the chance to see quite a few of them and I realized there was a reason you were here. You didn’t act like a lawyer, or a cop for that matter, and I needed to find out what you had. When I picked up that one paper that had your notes on it, I was convinced that you had information that we didn’t have and needed. It’s not every day that a woman catches things that we’ve missed, but I’ve been doing this job for too long not to know when to not pass up a good thing. And like I said, you remind me of my niece. Now it’s my turn for a question. Why? Why did you come all the way out here, and I can tell you’re not a native of California by your accent. Why come out here and risk no one listening if you knew there was a chance you’d get the brush off?” David said as he gave a nonchalant shrug.
“Heh… you mean it’s not every day that a woman pulls herself out of the kitchen and heaven forbid involves herself in some place she doesn’t belong? Look, I came out here because I knew I had to do something. My parents were killed when I was a freshman in high school; we still don’t have closure because no one knows who did it or even why. If I can help someone else get that closure, then it will help. Maybe not directly for me, but it’s still helping on some level.” Elisa wrapped her shaking hands around the base of her glass of ice cold water in an attempt to hide it, as well as something to do with them.
Slowly, her thumb worked its way up and down the glass, watching the condensation turn into rivers that flowed down to the table. She glanced up and met David’s penetrating gaze before saying, “I don’t care if any of you, believe me or not as long as you do something with what I brought you. Even if it turns out my ideas were wrong and completely off base, at least you’ll have looked into it in a way that I can’t. I know I don’t have access to all of the databases you do, or even to the actual police reports and rec
ords. All I’ve been able to do is give you suppositions and hypothesis, but it’s a direction you obviously weren’t thinking in or you never would have given me the time to explain it.”
The shirt stretched across David’s chest as he leaned back and rested one arm against the back of the booth, Elisa saw his calculating gaze as he listened to her. “One of these days I’ll ask you about your parents, but now isn’t the time to. You’re right, most of the time we would have just told you to give us the papers. And we do have more that we can do with what you gave us, which is why I am going to give you my phone numbers; both my home and direct office numbers. We never would have looked into what you did, and that’s wrong. I should have checked every feasible angle, but I didn’t think to check alleged accidents or suicides. What made you think to look there? Better yet, what didn’t you tell the others when you went over your information? I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Before she could respond, the waitress came back and set the plate of fries before Elisa, and the hamburger with everything in front of David. Nodding her thanks, Elisa spread some ketchup on her plate and began to nibble at her food while watching in amazement as David doused his burger with the red saucy condiment. “And maybe someday I’ll tell you, but I’m sure you can just call Detroit and get the report for yourself. Maybe even talk to the Detective in charge of the case.” She said.
“Hmm… I might, but I like it this way. At least you’re not harping on me to eat better.” David said before he started eating.
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m not your wife and your way older than I am. I’m sure you know what is and what isn’t good for you.”
The conversation died off a bit while the two of them ate, lost in their own thoughts. David going over everything she told them in that stale conference room, while Elisa fought back memories of the worst time of her life. With a start she realized she had actually eaten all of her food, normally she’d be lucky if she could finish a quarter of what she just did. The stress of college, combined with the death of her parents, meant she’d lost more weight than ever before. Having been a rather well-endowed young woman and wearing at least a size sixteen dress, she’d dropped enough weight that she had to buy a new wardrobe. Now a size eight hung loose about her frame. She just didn’t have much of an appetite lately.
Elisa found it rather ironic that most girls her age were rushing out to the beaches or even some having their dreamed of September weddings as it was middle of the month, and here she was watching a homicide detective stuff his face with his favorite heart attack on a plate and worried about finding the person responsible for the death of so many innocent people.
As she folded her hands over her small empty plate of food, she contemplated whether or not to continue with telling him more about what she hadn’t mentioned back at the station. With a brief nod, she glanced up at him through her hair,
“You were right.” She started softly, darting her gaze back to her empty plate. “I didn’t tell you everything. And I know there’s things you can’t tell me, that’s ok with me. I didn’t honestly expect you to listen to me in the first place, so I didn’t bring all of my notes with me, just the most important ones. The rest is on my wall at the place I’m renting.”
“Why don’t we go over what you didn’t tell the rest of the guys? That way I do not have to discover things you already know.”
“Alright, you know that the first cipher was decoded right? It’s basically just a bunch of chatter about how much the ‘Zodiac’ is enjoying each kill. Just psycho-babble meant to toot his own horn, something every serial killer does because they don’t feel like they’re getting enough attention. One way or another, they always leave a calling mark and his is beginning to change. He’s screaming for attention with his letters in the papers, the ciphers, and the patterns he’s using. If you take out the ones you guys missed earlier then you don’t see the patterns.”
Leaning forward, it became clear that Elisa was starting to come out of the slight shell that had started to form as David guided her out of the precinct lobby and into that conference room. “But as soon as you plot them on a map you see he’s got the outer ring already done and the cardinal points, that last ones leading closer and closer to the center. What I don’t know is if he’s going to kill just one or several more, maybe even one for each line meeting in the center or bisecting it.”
When David pursed his lips in thought, it was obvious that he was drawing up a mental map of the area, along with the added ones she discussed. Shocked eyes glanced up at Elisa, the pupils narrowing to pin pricks before expanding as they focused on hers. “You’re right. We never added the other’s that looked and were labeled as accidents so there was never any true pattern, but if you add those then he’s been making his way around slowly but surely. We’ll have to step up patrols in the areas that lead to the rest of the mark.”
Neither needed to discuss what that mark would be, knowing it would resemble a circle cut through by two straight lines and made to look almost like the target from a scope. It was the same mark the killer used to sign each and every correspondence with the newspapers. Even now he was starting to leave them at the sight of each death, either on the body or left in some other telltale way. Now he was even using it to sign his letters.
Taking a breath without even lifting her head, Elisa had planned to say something when a raised voice caught her attention. Looking around the bar, she spotted another couple had come in and seated themselves closer to the bar, in their mid-thirties, they looked like a typical pair of late lunch diners; the man dressed in a somewhat nicer dark suit and the woman in a pretty A-line dress of pale yellow with creamy off white lace trimming all of the edges and slightly pulling against an obviously pregnant belly. Seeing only their profile, it looked like the man might have had dark blond hair, or did at one point in time before he shaved it off in an obvious attempt to hide a rather large bald spot.
Elisa saw that his face was pinched in obvious anger, a slight red color starting to creep up from the neckline of his white shirt as his voice raised loud enough for them to hear. “… Told you not to order anything more! I did not give you permission to!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would bother you if I ordered breadsticks with my salad.” Her head hung in such a way that Elisa was unable to tell what her face looked like, being obscured as it was by her bright blond hair. The woman’s hands twisted, the fingers knotted together as she wrung them in her lap under the table, clearly hiding them from the man sitting at the table with her.
“I don’t care what you think! I do the ordering, not you! If I want to know what you want to eat, I would have told you what to eat! Oh wait, I did! I made the choices, but then you had to go and butt in with your want of more food! The food you clearly don’t need to eat because you can barely even fit into your clothing right now!” Slamming his hands on the table as he leaned forward, it was clear he had every intention of striking the woman. The loud slapping noise caused the woman to jerk her head and body backward, her head thrown backward and showing her wide eyed stare. “I was going to be nice and let you order a dessert, but now that’s gone out the window!”
“I… I… I’m sorry Jerry. I really am! I’m just so hungry! The baby is making me want to eat more and more and I can’t help it. The doctor said I needed to increase what I eat so we both stay healthy.” Her voice is cracked, almost as though she knew what to expect.
Elisa knew even before David said anything that he was going to go say something to the couple. When he leaned forward and said that he would be right back, before pushing himself out of the booth they were in and headed to the other table, she knew that the cop in his was riding him to go and interrupt before things exploded.
She could see the tension radiating from David as he made his way across the room to the other table where the agitated man and the almost cowering woman sat. She observed as the waitress was gently nudged to the side, putting her out o
f reach of the other man as David stood between them like a buffer. “Sir, you need to calm down. Getting angry at your date isn’t the way to make a good impression on anyone. And I’d hate to have to arrest you on my lunch break for disturbing the peace, but I will have no problem doing it if I have to. Now, I’m going to go sit back down and finish my lunch, I suggest you do the same and we’ll all be happy as daisies. Clear?”
When David placed his hands on his hips, Elisa saw the butt of his service revolver sticking out just beyond his hand and she knew that the man would see the badge affixed to his belt. She watched as the man’s glaring eyes danced between David and the badge once, then again as they got wider when he really saw what it was. Mutely the man nodded to David after a moment. At that nod, David tipped an invisible hat at the lady with a softly muttered, “Ma’am.” David caught the man’s eyes and hesitated for just a moment, then turned and came back to the booth where Elisa silently sat.
“I wish I could do more, but well, I do what I can when I see that kind of crap.” Elisa was still silent as she watched David shake his head before once more resuming his meal, although he watched the other table out of the corner of his eye.
“You’re causing a scene! We’ll discuss this as soon as we get home!” Waving the waitress back over, the man ordered that their food be boxed up as carry out instead of dine in. Elisa watched from the corner of her eyes as his gaze cut across the nearly empty bar before it landed with a scowl on her and David. He then shook his head and turned back to the woman and told her to gather their things before he reached into his wallet and headed to the bar to pay for the meal. Once he settled the bill the man roughly grabbed the woman’s arm and jerked her out of the door with such angst he nearly caused the poor woman to drop the white containers. Elisa had no doubt that that would have angered him even more as their meal would have hit the ground in an aromatic spray.