Quinn shook his head. “I feel like with each murder, we were distinctly pointed at our suspects. It’s like it’s so obvious that we would have to be blind not to see it. Could the killer be screwing with us? Is he that intelligent to point it at three suspects and expect us to be tripped up?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Terrific.”
“Then, we need to go back through the facts and start fresh,” said Callie, as she was interrupted by Quinn’s cellphone ringing.
When he hung up, he was torn. “I have to go in. We have a situation at the station, and I need to be there.”
“Go ahead, Quinn. I’m fine here with Zeke. I can go over all the information and see what I can find.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone, Callie.”
Damn it!
He was torn between duty and love.
“Quinn, I have my gun and Zeke. Just leave me the key to the Mustang, in case I need to get out of here, and I’ll be fine.”
“Promise me that you’ll be okay, Callie,” he said, trying to decide what to do.
Callie gave him a small smile. “I’ll be fine. I swear. Now go, and I’ll call you if there’s an emergency or a break in the information.”
“Okay, Callie, but don’t leave here alone, unless it’s an emergency. Please don’t forget to take your cellphone.”
Callie agreed, moving to sit in the seat that Quinn had vacated. “I love you, Quinton,” she said, as he was walking out.
“I love you, too, baby,” he replied.
His gut was all stirred up as he left her behind. In the back of his mind, he said a little prayer, hoping he was making the right decision.
And that Zeke would pick up the slack.
If not, he knew he was risking not only her life, but his now too.
Sitting on the floor, Callista spread the files out around her, as she began breaking down the information again. Only, this time, she approached it without there being any suspects.
She had a feeling that the three men were leading them off track. Her fixation was on that single hair. Everything else led to a dead end, and that had to be the piece that was the key.
For now, she allowed her instinct, allowing her years in the FBI to lead the way. Forcing her mind to go blank, she began reprocessing it all.
What if they were wrong from the start?
They saw the sins, and immediately went with the church angle, but what if it was so much more?
Could this be a ruse?
It took a while, for her mind to empty, but as soon as the slate was clean, Callie began doing what she excelled at—profiling with a vengeance.
Staring at it, the picture began to unfold. This wasn’t so much a religious crime as a crime of retaliation. Callie began thinking about the reasons why people killed. Money, love, and anger were at the top of the list. Staring at the victims, she could cross off the money angle. They had a gold digger, and the rest were average women.
Love and anger had to hold the key.
It would be the only thing that they could have in common.
Callie thought about her own life, and revenge could be an ugly motivator. If someone went after what was hers, she could be pushed to defend it. Immediately, she thought back to the irritation she felt when the coffee shop girl hit on Quinn.
Yeah, jealousy was a good place to start.
Staring at the victims’ files, she decided to focus on the sins of the three suspects and work it backward. None of the men were innocent. Plus, what Quinn said resonated with her. Someone was trying their damndest to make the reverend look bad.
Well, more so than he did himself.
Callie began analyzing their lead suspect. The reverend had a sexual relationship with two of the victims, Sissy Parker and Sammie Jean. Callie began imputing the details on the whiteboard they had set up in Quinn’s office.
On it, she wrote the three suspects names across the top. Beneath their names, she drew arrows pointing downward. Under the reverend, she wrote the two names of the women he was having sex with and then the only person who would want to take revenge against him.
MARGARET HIGGINS.
Callie moved onto Ed James and did the same thing, adding the names of the two women he was having sex with, Jonnie Sharp and Martha Jackson. Who would want revenge? The answer was simple. It would be his wife, BEULAH JAMES.
Finally, she moved on to Jimmy Lee. Callie knew that ELLEN CROUSE was jealous. The young deputy admitted that his girlfriend had a wicked temper when provoked. If she found out about a teenager in love with her man, would she lose it? Callie added her name below his, knowing that was her weakest of the three new suspects.
Next, she reread all the facts they had. Her eye kept going to the weapons. Ellen would have access to the baseball bats, and while Jimmy Lee swore he never bought one, she could have. After all, it would have been the perfect opportunity. Who else could slip a receipt in to screw with the cops? Added to that, Ellen had told Nate and Luke that she did all the ordering of the merchandise.
It gave her opportunity.
Her suspicion was piqued.
As for Beulah, it would be easy to get her hands on the wrench out of her husband’s toolbox. Callie started to get excited as the information began falling into place. It was indeed looking like a crime of revenge, and it was so simple that she didn’t know how she missed it.
A genius wasn’t behind any of this. Sometimes, the most unassuming facts fell through the cracks, helping a killer hide in the shadows. This was one such case.
Callie leaned against the desk, staring at the board. It was Beulah gossiping in the grocery store about how Aimee Jo was having a relationship with a deputy. If she passed that along to Ellen, it would have added fuel to the fire. She worked with Aimee Jo, and could have seen them leave together. Her part in this was to spread speculation, causing confusion.
Then, Jimmy Lee allowed Ellen to believe it was Susie who came forward to report the reverend, and she could have taken it back to her accomplices.
Flipping through the files, she scanned all the alibis. When the women had said they were with their husbands, on days they weren’t, they were creating suspicion toward the men.
It was perfect. The men who were cheating looked bad, and the women had alibis. This was ultimate revenge not only on the women, but the men who crossed the line.
Callie finished writing everything on the board in the perspective categories. As her fingers massaged her forehead, the stitches drew her attention.
Then, the light bulb went on.
SHE WAS IN THE LADIES’ ROOM!
“Oh God, Zeke! I was attacked in the ladies’ room, and Martha Jackson was taken right after the women’s auxiliary meeting!” Callie grabbed her phone. She needed to make a call to Doris. At that moment, she wanted to kick herself. It was all so damn obvious, and they missed the simplicity behind it.
A man wouldn’t go after her in a public bathroom! Who better to go unnoticed, grabbing the mayor’s wife, but someone she had just seen at the meeting. They wouldn’t have to sneak up on her!
Doris answered the phone on the second ring.
“Doris, it’s Callie. Can I ask you some more questions?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
Callie stared at the board in front of her. “Are Margaret Higgins, Ellen Crouse, or Beulah James in the women’s auxiliary?”
“Well, girl, I haven’t been religious with my attendance, but I don’t recall Ellen ever being a member,” she replied. “But I know the other two have been in it for about four years.”
“Four?”
“Yes. When Beulah married Ed James almost five years ago she joined, and Margaret came from the west coast a year later. From what I’ve heard, she was working at a special camp in the desert for troubled youth.”
“When did Ellen come here?”
There was a pause, as she pondered it. “I do believe she arrived right after Margaret did.”
; “Who does the reverend’s wife socialize with? Is she friends with anyone in particular?”
“I know the three of them are in a coffee club. They meet certain nights to have their own private Bible study. Why?”
Callie wanted to kiss the woman, and she just might do it too. “Just putting pieces together that’s all. Thank you, Doris,” she blurted, hanging up.
At the board, more details fell into place as the puzzle clicked together. They had found scratch marks on Martha Jackson’s side, which could have been nail marks from a woman. Callie added it to the board and drew her arrows. She was putting in the final piece of the puzzle when she thought about Susie.
Why her?
She wasn’t sleeping with anyone in town.
Then, it occurred to her that this was directed at her. The killer was trying to drive a message home and scare her.
Well, it did the opposite.
It cleared her mind, giving her focus. In fact, it just occurred to her that she saw the smoking gun doodled on the blotter on Susie’s counter.
Yeah, this was the end of the line. Callie knew the truth. It was time to wrap this up, finishing the game. Killing her friend was a big mistake. It made her want it that damn bad.
Now, it was time to get the proof, and stop this.
It ended here and now.
* * *
The three women stood across the street from ‘The Herb Pot’, watching as the last deputy locked the door and posted the crime scene tape. They were thrilled the body was found so quickly, but still nervous at the same time.
“What if she wrote down that I called and made an appointment?” asked Beulah.
Margaret answered her calmly. “We’ll break in later tonight, and check to see if our names were written down anywhere.”
“If the sheriff hasn’t taken everything in as evidence,” said Ellen nervously. “Where did you call from, Beulah?” she asked.
The look on the woman’s face said it all.
Beulah was sick to her stomach.
“I didn’t think of that,” said Margaret. “Please tell me you called from somewhere safe!”
“I called from in front of the store,” she whispered.
Margaret slapped herself on the forehead. When they agreed to do this, it was to get rid of the whores who were after their men. The plan was to make everyone believe it was a religious crime, throwing off the authorities.
Now, it was falling apart.
“Oh shit! The Feds are going to be on our ass,” muttered Ellen. “I just wanted my boyfriend to pay for screwing some little girl,” she admitted. “Then, I wanted to watch her suffer.”
It was time to do damage control.
They were going to have to finish this, and then move on. It wasn’t like she was in love with that rat bastard of a husband. He was a way to get her free from the hell she lived out west.
Now, he wasn’t useful.
“We may have to make a run for it, ladies,” she admitted. “Once we finish it up.”
“We should go now,” Ellen said. “The cops are getting close to solving this.”
“Let’s pray about it, and ask for a sign,” Margaret suggested, needing to buy some time. While she didn't need the two women for their brains, she did need them to help her do the dirty work.
Ellen and Beulah closed their eyes.
“Look!” hissed Margaret. It was as if her prayer was answered from above. All three women stared as the flashy Mustang pull up in front of the shop. When the doctor stepped out, they watched her predatorily from a distance. Here was what they had just asked for.
“See! Even God wants this done.”
It was all the two women needed. They knew the plan must go ahead as scheduled.
Margaret was more than pleased at their gullibility.
When Doctor Carter moved quickly to the door, pulling on the handle only to find it locked, they saw her pull out a key.
“Not only do we have our sign from God, but he delivered her right to us. We need to move the next cleansing up some, and then leave Myrtle Springs. I hope you’re light packers,” said Margaret.
“Today?” asked Beulah, incredulously. “Taking her would be like taunting the sheriff and the FBI. I know she was planned for the last one, but won’t that push the cops over the edge?”
Margaret refused to let it go. “She’s the personification of desire. They all wanted her. I’ve seen the way the reverend looks at her.”
“And Jimmy Lee,” Ellen admitted. Her man was head over heels in lust with the woman, and that just wasn’t going to do. That reminder was all that she needed to be swayed into the madness.
“Then, there’s the sheriff, and the two FBI agents. We take her now, and end this so we can get rid of the brains behind their team. I heard she did this for a living. If we take her, they can’t find us,” she urged, hoping to get them to follow.
“Okay,” the women said together.
Margaret grinned evilly. Little did they know that once Callista Carter was dead, so were they. It would be easier to disappear without two weak and feeble-minded women dragging her down. They wouldn’t be transporting Callista Carter anywhere. There would be three dead women found in that cabin. The end was indeed here, just not for her. These two women were lambs, and the slaughter was coming.
Their usefulness was done.
“Okay, let’s do it,” said Ellen.
“I’m in,” stated Beulah. “At least we have each other while we are on the run.”
Margaret smiled once more. “Of course we do. We’re just like sisters.”
* * *
Callie turned the key in the lock as she wandered through the silent shop. The day’s earlier events made her want to be sick, but she needed to get to that blotter at all costs.
At the counter, she was scared shitless at what she would find. If she had to look at Susie’s blood, Callie knew that she would lose it once more.
Her heart thumped wildly, as she slid the blotter toward her. As long as she stayed on this side of the register, there would be no need to see the evidence of her friend’s murder.
Focusing her attention on the calendar, Callie had her proof. Handwritten, on yesterday’s date, was her clue. This would be the catalyst to lock all three women behind bars forever.
Picking up her cell, she dialed Quinn’s direct line. Only he didn't answer, Doris did.
“Is Quinn in?”
“Yes, but he’s in a meeting with the mayor. Hell is breaking loose all over him because they don’t have a killer yet. I just heard the mayor threaten to fire him. Are you sure that you really need him?”
“Yes, it’s an emergency,” she said, as Doris put her on hold. Callie listened to the music, studying the initials on the blotter.
CCCL.
To anyone else, it would mean nothing, but to her and Susie, it said it all. They used that to abbreviate the term ‘Crazy Christian Church Ladies’. It was written beside seven at night on the appointment list.
Here was all she needed for confirmation.
Suddenly, Callie was getting an uneasy feeling in her gut.
Damn it!
Where was Quinn?
As the hairs on her arms began stand on edge, she was alerted that something was definitely wrong. Turning, there was a flash of motion behind her. Callie couldn’t focus, since everything around her exploded in pain, right before she fell to the ground.
The last thing she saw was the three pairs of feet, her phone sliding across the floor, and her impending doom.
Chapter Sixteen
Q uinn heard the commotion and glanced up to see his secretary standing in his doorway. “Yeah, Doris?” he asked, as he and the Feds tried to calm down the hot tempers which were flaring. He had an angry judge, mayor, and reverend on the rampage.
It was a shittastic trifecta.
“Your fiancée is on line two, and she said it’s an emergency.”
That was all he had to hear. Quinn immediately grabbed the phon
e, feeling a wave of dread wash over him. Instead of Callie, he found the line was dead. Quinn frantically began dialing his home number and no one answered. At the same time, Nate dialed Callie’s cell.
“Nothing. She’s not answering.”
“We need to get to my house as fast as possible. Something’s not right,” he said, as the men ran out of the office for the second time in one day to get to Callie’s side.
No one cared that there were three men left staring after them in their wake.
There were priorities and Quinn’s gut instinct.
Something was definitely wrong.
* * *
Pulling into the driveway, Quinn tore through the house and right to his office. It was the last place he had seen Callie, and he prayed that she was still there. When Quinn arrived, all he saw was files scattered on the floor and Zeke guarding them.
Yet, no fiancée to be found anywhere.
“Oh God! Callie! Where are you?” he whispered to himself. Then, he saw the white board. “Nate! Luke! Get in here!” he yelled, as the men came tearing into the room at his call.
“Did you find her?”
“No, but Callie figured it all out,” he said, pointing to the white board. They saw that she had written:
NOT A RELIGIOUS CRIME BUT REVENGE
Then the names of the killers were at the bottom in red. Right below that, she had left him a personal message.
Q~
I solved it! I have to get to ‘The Herb Pot’ for final proof. I’ll call you when I find it, big guy!
I love you.
C~
“Damn it! She went to the crime scene,” said Quinn, racing out of the room. He was pretty sure he was going to shake her senseless when he found her. After all, he did tell her not to leave the house.
Obviously, she was trying to kill him.
“I have a really bad feeling about this,” he stated, hopping into the truck with the two FBI agents.
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