“I need to speak to Sara Caine,” Agent Harper said.
“One last thing. I’m convinced he doesn’t keep them alive long. From studying the footage, the woman appears clean and well fed. She doesn’t look like she’s been held captive for long.”
“Bring that film directly to me. I want to see it and bring Sara Caine back with you.” Agent Harper demanded. Eva flushed. If she was doing the right thing, then why did she feel so guilty?
“Yes, ma’am.”
22
Sara sat on Ritchie’s couch poring over Madeleine’s missing girls file.
“Oh shit,” Ritchie said. Her head snapped up to see Ritchie pointing at his computer screen.
“She’s gone missing and you’ll never believe who her mother is. Or rather her grandmother.” Ritchie said.
“What are you talking about?” Sara peered over his shoulder to the computer screen. A press conference was streaming live from in front of City Hall. Senator Geraldine Richards was pleading for any information on Lorelei Richards disappearance with a cash reward. Sara recognized the chief of police standing to the left of her.
“Who’s that?” Sara pointed to a young, dark-haired woman standing to the Senator’s right.
“The agents are taking over. I’ve seen her before. I think her name is Kate, Kate Harper. She’s the head of one of the FBI’s kidnap units.”
“How did you hear about her?”
“She joined the LA office under some cloud of suspicion. I have an alert on any new FBI transfers.”
“Why?” Sara couldn’t think of one good reason to have an alert like that set up.
“I have reasons,” was all he said.
“I’m glad the FBI is taking over. Those LAPD detectives were looking in the wrong places, “ Sara said.
“Looks like you won’t be the main suspect anymore,” he punched her on the arm.
“That’s not very funny, Ritchie.”
“Kinda.” He grinned back at her. “Guess we should have figured out sooner Madeleine Richards’ mother was a State Senator.”
“Why wasn’t this massive news in the press? A state senator’s daughter murdered, and no one hears anything?” Sara asked.
“Power and money can keep anything quiet,” Ritchie said. “There had to be a good reason for them to do that.”
“And now?”
“Her granddaughter has gone missing. That’s when you bring out the big guns.” Ritchie said. “I bet you she’s hoping that there is a way she can still save her.” They fell silent as they heard the senator’s pleas for help in finding her granddaughter.
A picture of Lorelei’s face filled the screen. “Please help me bring Lorelei home. You can be a good man. Bring her back to me.” The senator pleaded. The camera flicked back to City Hall as Agent Kate Harper took over the podium and introduced herself as head of the FBI kidnap team.
“There will be a reward for any information leading us to the whereabouts of Lorelei Richards. You will see a number on the screen. Please call if you have seen this woman, Lorelei Richards, in the last twenty-four hours. Thank you.”
“He has her. He has Lorelei,” Sara said and gripped Ritchie’s shoulder. “It’s all our fault. If we hadn’t asked Madeleine for help, none of this would have every happened.”
“Don’t put that on us, Sara,” Ritchie jerked away from her.
“How can we not?”
23
Sara stood on Eva Murphy’s porch and shifted from foot to foot. Eva Murphy surprised Sara by calling her to come over and talk. Especially after the dressing down Eva gave her about leaving the Madeleine Richards crime scene. She wished Eva could have given her the benefit of the doubt but she had seen right through Sara’s excuse and nailed her for it. Sara wondered if the woman even remembered being a novice at anything.
She’d hoped for a mentor and Eva tried to be one. Nothing in their relationship, however, was going according to plan. She knocked again and Eva opened the door.
“Come on in,” she said and waved Sara inside.
“Would you like something to drink?” Eva asked, passing by her and into the kitchen.
“No, thank you. Thank you for calling me. I wasn’t sure if you were going to still involve me in this case.”
“It’s not my case, Sara. It’s not yours either. The FBI is searching for Lorelei and two different sets of detectives are investigating Janice and Madeleine’s murders. It’s their show. But we still have work to do.”
“What?”
“I met with the FBI today, specifically an Agent Kate Harper of the kidnapping squad. Lorelei Richards went missing last night. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but she is Senator Geraldine Richard’s granddaughter. She will use whatever power she has to find her granddaughter.” Eva said.
Sara sank into her seat from dizziness. If she’d only pretended not to know Johan when he came to see her on set, Madeleine Richards would be alive and Lorelei would not be missing. She’d made the wrong choice. Again. Everything she touched turned to shit.
“I can see you think this started with you. It didn’t. Madeleine Richards and Johan Luken were involved long before you were. They were on the trail of the missing girls and put themselves in danger. BUT, they are not to blame either. Place the blame on the man who deserves this. The man who’s kidnapped and most likely killed 16 women that we know of in the last 15 years. I, of course, let Agent Harper know all of this.” Sara’s shoulders drooped even more.
“So if the FBI has taken this over, then what more can we do?”
“Lorelei’s kidnapping is in good hands. I gave Agent Harper a copy of the file and the original film reel. Ritchie sent them over.”
“You didn’t?” Sara asked in disbelief.
“Ritchie is a genius, and he’s amazing but he’s only one person. The FBI resources are almost infinite. They can talk to the NSA, tap phones, figure this out much faster than we can and time is of the essence. Agent Harper is thinking Lorelei has three to four days before this man will kill her.”
“How do you know that? Couldn’t she be dead already?” Sara asked.
“A FBI profiler has looked over the case. She’s thinking the killer takes his time due to the elaborate ritual of creating the silent film sets and filming the death. He needs everything perfect for the kill. That kind of set up takes some time.” Eva said.
“What about the face in the mirror?” Sara asked.
“If the FBI wants to deal with that themselves they can. It’s on the film reel. But we don’t know what that is either. They can find explanations for that anomaly themselves.”
“I see.” Sara rubbed her burning face. Eva had essentially given the case over to the FBI. She didn’t understand what she was doing here. Sara watched Eva argue with Anderson, her eyes blinking rapidly and her lips barely moving. Whatever they were discussing was not good.
“We need to find out about the first missing girls in nineteen ninety-three. The ones from UCLA. Your father was involved and Johan must believe that Asmodeus was somehow involved. We leave Lorelei to the FBI and we find out what in the world your father discovered to get himself killed. I’m almost certain it had to do with the girls and I’m equally certain that Johan has found out what that is.”
“He won’t tell me anything.” Sara said, her heart racing. She wanted to get up, run out the door and never come back. She didn’t want this.
“You must get him to tell you what it is. I hate to ask this, but what happened to you two?”
“I made a promise to Asmodeus to stop looking into my father’s death if he’d get me and Anderson out of limbo. He threatened everyone I cared for if I went back on my promise. I’ve kept it and so far, none of you have turned up dead. At least, I hope not.”
“Johan is safe in jail.”
“I’m going to go against Asmodeus, aren’t I?” Sara asked.
“Yes. I’m certain he wasn’t planning to keep his promise. He’s a demon after all. Johan will speak to you, I know it.
And he has to talk. I have the utmost respect for the feds but as big as they are, with all the resources they have, they don’t exactly move quickly. Maybe whatever we can find about father’s death will help find Lorelei as well. That’s whom you need to think about now. Lorelei Richards. We need to get her back alive.” Eva said and leaned in taking Sara’s hands in her own.
“You can do this. You’re very brave. Just because he got you out of limbo doesn’t mean any of us are safe. Look what has happened to Madeleine and Lorelei.” Eva said.
Sara panicked and her breath came out in short fast gasps. Her fear overwhelmed her.
Truth be told she was very happy to stop thinking about her father, her parents and that fateful night. She had pushed it so far back into her memory that the nightmares had stopped coming and she had finally been able to sleep. Deep down, she knew it wouldn’t last forever, but she despaired to see that peace of mind gone.
Eva nodded.
“It would’ve come back up again. You can’t shake that kind of trauma off. After a period of time you would’ve started looking again. Trust me. I’ve known enough victims to know this kind of stuff doesn’t ever leave you. I’m sorry that Johan started you on this path but now you need to finish it.”
24
Sara Caine brushed the scraps of shredded napkin from her lap and picked up her coffee. It had grown cold, but she sipped it anyway as she glanced over at Eva Murphy sitting across from her at the coffee shop. Her cell phone buzzed next to her and when she checked the screen, she didn’t recognize the number. She chose not to pick it up.
“That could be Johan,” Eva said without looking up.
“I don’t want to talk to him,” Sara said and went back to the file searching for that bit of clue that would make everything else make sense.
“That’s a bad idea.” Eva said and scooted her chair closer to Sara. “Talk to him. Yes, he deceived you about this case but you’ve taken up the challenge and he has information we need.”
“We can figure this out ourselves.”
“I’d agree if we had time but we don’t. You’re being stubborn. My fear is that the worst is yet to come. And we’re unprepared for it.”
“Can we change the subject?” Sarah asked and shuffled the papers in front of her. Eva needed to get the message. She wasn’t ready.
“No, we can’t. You must speak with Johan,” Eva urged, closing the file in front of Sara. Sara avoided her gaze but Eva wouldn’t be deterred. They locked eyes.
“Listen to me. Johan made it his life’s work to send this demon back to hell. I’m sure he’s told you of the loss of his uncle to Asmodeus. You understand the rage and vengeance he has in his heart.”
“I thought his love for me would be enough.” Sara whispered.
“Nonsense. You asked him to leave his calling behind?” Eva said. Sara recoiled.
“Don’t be naïve, Sara. You made your choice about giving up on the search for your father’s killer. That’s fine. It was your choice to make. But how dare you ask that of someone else? He quit the priesthood for this. He upended his life for this. Why ask him to give up on such an important task? It’s not fair. He’s willing to sacrifice himself so that this man takes no more lives.” Eva went on. Sara had a hard time even hearing what she was saying. Anger mushroomed from some deep place inside her. Her chest constricted, and she was having a hard time breathing.
“I didn’t ask him to stop.” Sara said.
Eva grunted. “Didn’t you though?”
“We broke up over me not wanting to take part in the hunt. I knew he wouldn’t give up the search. I didn’t want to be part of it. That wasn’t good enough for him. And now, he’s forced my hand. How is that fair? Aren’t I allowed some anger over that? Don’t you think that kind of deception is wrong?”
“He wouldn’t have made the choice to include you if he hadn’t absolutely needed to. He loves you and would do anything to protect you. Why do you want to be a private investigator?”
“Wha-at? How is that relevant?”
“It’s important to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. I want to bring justice to victim’s who’ve been hurt by perps. I want the perps to get what’s coming to them. Stop them from hurting innocent people. That’s why I became a cop. Justice has to be in the equation for this work.”
“I want to help people.” Sara answered. Her reply was rather lame, she thought.
“Don’t you want justice to prevail?”
“At whose expense?” Sara asked her.
“Make that choice for yourself. Why were you a paranormal investigator? Wasn’t that your way of trying to right wrongs?” Sara sat for a moment without saying a word.
Eva’s words stung.
“See him in jail. Make peace with whatever happened between you two. Think of all the victims in that file. That’s what you’re doing this for. Avenge them. He needs to tell us what he knows. No more of these games.” Eva said.
“I don’t know if I can do that.” Sara said.
“You’ve already crossed the line, you know. You lied to the police about finding the body of Madeleine Richards. You broke the law by leaving the scene of a crime. To top it off, you asked the victim’s daughter, who was in shock, to lie for you. You can do all that but you won’t go talk to Johan and find out what he knows?” Eva’s eyes bored into hers. Sara shrank against the other woman’s assault.
“What does one have to do with the other?” Sara asked.
“To show you you’re willing to do unsavory things for self-preservation. But then you judge Johan when he does things not just for self-preservation but also to bring a serial killer to justice. I find that interesting is all.” Eva said and waited.
Sara’s gut clenched. The guilt overcame the anger, and she swallowed hard. Could she do this? Could she face Johan after all that he’d done? He’d tricked her into helping him track Asmodeus. But maybe what Eva was saying had truth to it. He backed himself into a corner and had no other choice but to enlist her and Eva to help him.
Sara squirmed under Eva’s scrutiny. “I’ll go talk to him in jail. I don’t know if he’ll tell me anything but at least I’ll try.” She dragged her gaze down to the now cold coffee and fought back tears. She was a child playing adult games and Eva had reminded her of her foolishness. She was terrified.
Sara drank the cold coffee down to the grounds.
25
The director woke with a start. His bones hurt and the flesh on this body hung off the frame unnaturally. He pinched the skin and pulled it away from the rest of the meat.
It was time.
He got up from the armchair with a tiredness that made it hard to move. He grunted and groaned until he was upright and shuffled into his viewing room.
His time was shortening even more now. He needed to up the frequency in kills else he’d need to shed this skin.
This body served him well for over fifteen years and he wasn’t ready yet to part with it. He’d been lucky that it hadn’t broken down this bad before, as fifteen years was an eternity for this kind of body swapping.
The girls kept him alive. They fed his needy body.
He sank into the soft, overstuffed chair. The projector was just to his right and, as he brought his hand up to turn it on, he noticed the large patches of red bloody skin flaking off. He’d waited too long for this.
The director turned the projector on and the flickering light of the movie made him smile. He settled back to watch as Lacey, his latest girl, stared out into the darkness, framed perfectly by the window of his stage.
Her terror was already making him feel better. As she realized she couldn’t breathe, she did what all the others before had done, and the exact opposite of what they should do in that kind of situation. Instead of conserving energy, she flailed her arms around her while running around the room, grabbing at her chest.
She screamed and then fell to the floor in a heap.
“Please. Why are you doing this to me? I want my
mommy. Please, please let me go,” she sobbed.
All her theatrics made her death come on faster. There was just enough air on the stage to last around five minutes. None of the girls lasted that long. They were gone in less than two minutes.
She gasped her last breath and became motionless.
A three-dimensional image of the woman formerly known as Lacey emerged out of the lifeless form and floated towards the flat screen.
He eagerly opened his mouth, and the screen shimmered. The ghostly woman stepped off the screen and stepped toward him.
He exhaled, and the ghost split into millions of tiny pieces. They shivered in front of him for just a moment, catching and reflecting the light coming off the projector.
He inhaled and swallowed every last bit of her. The skin encasing him buzzed with energy. It tightened and stretched and grew.
The director’s transformation would take several hours. He’d be new again.
26
Eva Murphy stepped back into her old Hollywood precinct and nodded to Officer Sonny Damon at the front desk. At least they hadn’t changed the rotation yet, and she didn’t have to introduce herself to someone she didn’t know.
“Hi there, Sonny. Are Lauren or Avi Jacobs around? I’d love to see either of them,” she said with a grin as she put down a Starbuck’s cup of strong black coffee.
“You shouldn’t have Murphy. This will pull me through the afternoon blues, I tell you.” Officer Sonny Damon said and took his first sip. He closed his eyes and smiled.
“I just saw them back there about five minutes ago. Go on back. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.” He said and hit the buzzer on the door to let her in. Eva felt strange being back here and had not anticipated being there as soon as she was. She waved at a couple of detectives and officers she recognized but tried not to engage in any conversation until she made it back down to the detective’s bullpen and saw Avi Jacobs. Eva hadn’t called to tell him she was coming. In truth, she hadn’t planned out entirely what she was going to say either.
Silent Death: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller (A Caine & Murphy Thriller Book 3) Page 9