Games We Play

by Isabelle Arocho

  Deputy Benson was waiting by his squad car when they pulled up.

  The first thing Sasha noticed as the lack of cars in the driveway. Where was Caro’s husband, Jim? She took the lead and went up the porch first and knocked. If Jim was inside it’d be better to alert him instead of walking in and catching him off guard. Sasha didn’t care much for the guy but he was still Carolyn’s husband and for better or worse she loved him for many years.

  Jim Carson opened the door looking like he had just been woken from a deep slumber. “Sasha?” he wasn’t sure if he was guessing right as he noticed her outfit was a dress and like her sister he knew how she avoided them.

  “Yeah. Can we come in?”

  “Sure.” Jim stepped aside. “What’s going on?”

  “When was the last time you saw Caro?” Sasha wasn’t beating around the bush to spare his feelings. He might be Caro’s husband but she was her sister and if she had to face the prospect of losing her then everyone else be damned and suffer too.

  “Before she went to work, she did call around ten and say she was staying late to help Deacon with all the calls coming in abut that serial killer guy. What’s going on?” Jim was starting to panic as it became clear this wasn’t a social visit and something was wrong. “Is Caro ok?”

  “We don’t know.” Sasha whispered, looking behind Jim’s shoulder to the simple living room her sister designed. “It looks like she was taken from the parking lot of the station house. Have you noticed anyone odd hanging around the house or anyone asking you questions about her or me?”

  “No, but I haven’t been home much either. I’m working long hours at the firm and last night was the first time I got home before midnight. After I talked to Carolyn I took some pills and clocked out.” As he spoke Sasha did notice his haggard appearance, there were dark circles under his brown eyes and his brown hair was standing up on end. He wore a pair of grey sweat pants and a heavy sweater as pajamas. Jim was in his late forties but Sasha still remembered him as a young guy in his twenties wooing her sister.

  Carolyn and Jim have only been married barely five years but they began dating on and off for the last twenty. Carolyn had been eighteen at the time dealing with their parents death and her young sister but Jim still managed to find a way inside her heart and never found a way out.

  In some ways he was a good guy but he cheated one too many times for Sasha to ever forgive him even if Carolyn could.

  Sasha asked, “Do you mind if we take a look around? With the house being empty most of the day there’s no telling is something might’ve been left behind.”

  Jim nodded eagerly. “Sure, go ahead if it helps Caro. Are you sure someone took her?” denial was a powerful emotion and he was swimming in it.

  Sasha stayed behind to speak with Jim as Nick and the deputy went to search the rest of the two story house. “The killer made contact with me.” She answered.

  “Carolyn told me you were in town working.”

  “Of course she did. The less people who know that the better.”

  Jim held up his hands. “I haven’t said a word to anyone. I know as an FBI agent anything you work must be pretty serious but I never thought it’d come back to those killings.”

  “It was close to the time mom and dad died so I didn’t pay much attention to the news about it. What about you? Did you have any ideas on why those seven people?”

  “I’m not the detective of the family but I do remember thinking I had seen them all in the diner.”

  “The diner, the same one Candice worked at?”

  “Yeah, I used to bartend there for extra cash when I first started dating Caro and we used to meet there after my shift every night.”

  Sasha remembered her sister leaving every night and how bitter she had been that her sister would rather be with a boy than spending time with her. It was one of the sources of their long arguments. “Was it all seven you saw?”

  “It was twenty years ago, Sasha.”

  “Twenty one but I understand it’s a long time to remember back but if you’re right and each victim was spotted at the diner just before their murder it gives us a pattern to follow and right now we have nothing on this guy. Has Caro been by the diner recently?” Sasha knew her sister was taken because of their connection but it couldn’t hurt to ask. It was possible 7Xs grabbed Carolyn and forced the truth about her FBI agent sister out of her instead of the other way around.

  “We had a lunch date on Wednesday.” It was now Friday. “What happens now? You have to find her.”

  “We’re doing everything we can. She’s my sister.”

  Jim scoffed, his arms crossing tight over his chest. “You have a special way of showing it.”

  And this is why Sasha avoided speaking with her brother in law as much as possible in the past. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “You send her an e-mail every few weeks to let her know you’re alive and any time she tries to connect with you, you bail.”

  “When I needed her the most she was too busy to care and now that I’m trying to make a life for myself I’m the bad sister? Screw you, Jim. Fine, we’re not the most vocal family but she is my sister and flaws and all I love her. This guy is serious and he is going to kill her if she isn’t found soon so why don’t you focus on that and get off my ass because you don’t want to make a list about who’s hurt her the most.” Sasha refused to be his whipping bag ever again. When she was younger he’d yell and push her around but the times have certainly changed, she was older now and carried a gun. Silently she dared him to push her now.

  Nick returned to the living room and sensed the tension between the in laws. “Are you ok?” his hand moved over her arm.

  She was sharing a deadly stare with Jim but they both agreed to play nice in front of company. “I’m fine.” She promised Nick and offered up a weak smile. “Did you find anything that might help us?”

  “I don’t think he’s been by here. Deputy Benson is taking a look outside.”

  “We should get going then.”

  Jim called out, “Let me know if you hear anything.”

  “You too.” Sasha said the words over her shoulder and avoided looking at the bastard. Everything about him even when they were having a civil conversation bothered her. He was a reminder of all the arguments she had with Carolyn and all the problems they had never been able to work through.

  Inside the car it was time to get to the police station and figure out their next move. Sasha refused to believe the 7Xs killer was going to win again and take her sister as his trophy. It couldn’t end this way, it couldn’t when there was still so much left unsaid.

  Chapter 23

  Nicholas left Sasha with Gage in the station house office while he stepped outside and made a call to Pete. He’d rather stay by her side but this was a conversation he needed to make privately on the off chance he was wrong and for one of the few times in his life he wanted to be wrong. “I have an idea I need to toss around.” He explained after Pete answered. Nick opened the car door and sat inside away from any lingering pedestrians and reporters.

  “Ok, shoot.”

  “The unsub made a point of saying he was closer than we all thought and that got me thinking about how he’s been able to stay under the radar successfully without a slip up for twenty one years.”

  “You think he might be one of ours?”

  “It’s crossed my mind but all the pieces don’t fit the puzzle. Seven killing cycles all with a three year absence in between, that’s six different states with Maple Oaks used twice to make seven. It’s a lot of traveling and a lot of lies to keep correct.”

  “And?” Pete was acting as only an ear.

  “Instead of trying to keep the lies correct he would have a job that would give him a reason to keep packing up and moving leaving no eyebrows raised.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t have anyone he would have to explain his reasoning to?”

  “No, with a three year absence he has another life he focuses o
n to ease the urges that make him kill.”

  “What type of profession are you thinking, Nicholas?”

  “Military bases, Army to be exact. There’s a base in every state the 7Xs unsub has hit. There are three bases in Texas and I would like to reach out and find out about their newest transfers.”

  “It’s a solid idea, do it and get back to me. How’s Sasha?”

  Nick sighed as he remembered the horror across her face and how there was nothing he could do to ease it. “She’s trying to be strong and focus on only finding her sister. She’s not saying much.”

  “I don’t want us taking any chances. I want you and Sasha to move from the house into the hotel where the rest of the team is saying.” Pete always said there was safety in numbers and it was always better to have an extra set of eyes and hands looking out for you.

  “What if he tries to make contact again?”

  “We can have any calls to the landline redirected to her cell phone. I know she’s going to argue the point but I want you to pull rank if you have to. I don’t want her getting hurt trying to bait this man.”

  “Yes sir.” Nicholas didn’t want her anywhere near the rental house after that attack last night anyway. “There’s something else that might be worth a look. Sasha’s brother in law mentioned that he had seen the first Maple Oaks victims all at the same diner where he used to bartend. It’s the same diner the last victim was working at.”

  “Have Noah get in contact with Genny Dava and Alison Reyes’ families to confirm if they had visited the same diner. It could be a place our unsub frequents and uses as his hunting grounds. If it does pan out he probably has a special spot in each state he used the same way.”

  Nick wrote out a list of what he wanted to follow up on along side his ideas on a notepad he carried in his back pocket. “I’ll call you when I have anything.” He sat for an extra minute pondering over his notes. Pete was right; it was a solid lead to follow through but was it enough to find Carolyn in time? Nick feared the answer.

  It wasn’t an easy finger to point at an Army soldier and call them a heartless serial killer. It was a sensitive matter until they had undeniable evidence and even then the media was going to have a field day.

  With a sigh he got out the car and headed back inside the police department. Inside the office he found Gage alone and that was actually rather helpful. “Where’s Sasha?”

  “Taking with the sheriff. Where’d you disappear to?” Gage was a freakishly smart guy and it was written all over his face he knew without a doubt wherever Nick went had something to do with their investigation.

  “I got a few leads I wanted Pete’s opinion on and now I need your help to search them. I don’t want to bring Sasha in until it’s more than a hunch. She doesn’t need to get her hopes up.” Nick silently wished there was someway he could take her away from all of this.

  With a nod Gage agreed. “What do you have?”

  Nick handed him a paper with the army bases. “I need you to find out who’s been transferred in the last few weeks and if any of them have history to Maple Oaks.”

  “We’ve already profiled this guy to be in his forties, if he’s Army he’d be a pretty big fish.”

  “And that’s another reason we need to keep this to ourselves until we have something concrete. I’m going to find out if the first two victims of this cycle also ate at the same diner recently.”

  “And if he is using the diner to pick the women it gives me something else to use in the process of elimination. Being a small town will come in handy.”

  “Text me when you finish the searches. I’m going to take Sasha with me.”

  Nick spotted her leaving the sheriff’s office with her shoulders slumped and her mask slipping away. This wasn’t easy and she could only pretend for so long it wasn’t bothering her to think of her sister dead and it was a very real fact they might not find her in time. The unsub kept his victims for two to five days except in the case of Candice Shelburne.

  He called out Sasha’s name as he got closer. “Hey.” She greeted with an attempt at a smile.

  As he stared at her now he realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to take her to speak with grieving family members. It was a task Noah and Wayne could handle much better. “Pete wants us to move out of the rental and join the guys at the hotel. He said to tell you the landline can be redirected just in case the unsub wants to make contact again. He gave me clout to pull rank if you want to argue.” They used to have a similar argument countless times back at the bureau.

  “And I bet you’re itching to do that, huh?”

  He grinned. “Of course.”

  “Well you’re just gonna have to save it because I’m not going to argue. I don’t want to be in that house anyway and going back to change out of this dress sounds like heaven.” Sasha turned toward the exit before him.

  Nick walked at a slower pace and sent a text to Noah to follow up on the diner lead and another text to Gage to let him know where he and Sasha would be with the change of plans. Outside he jogged to catch up with her at the car.

  Like their earlier ride he made sure to hold onto her hand, it made him feel like he was doing something and he hoped it gave her some comfort.

  At the house they wasted no time heading up to the bedroom and packing their bags. Several times Nick looked her way and wanted to say something but no words came, he knew deep down there was nothing he could say that would make her smile and forget about the elephant in the room looming too close to reality.

  Yet, he still had to try. “Besides leopard and zebra want other prints do you have?” it was also a subject he was heavily interested in.

  Sasha looked up from folding a shirt on the bed and appeared to give the question some thought. “There’s cow, tiger and giraffe. You have a weird obsession with the prints and if you want I can tell you where to pick some up.”

  “I don’t think they’d look as good on me. I’m more of a simple boxers kinda guy.”

  “Nick…tell me more about your family.”

  It took him a moment to think of something that would bring a smile to her face and help her forget what she was trying to avoid by asking him to keep talking. “My little brother Samuel has a pet pig he calls Bacon.”

  She laughed and cried silently at the memories she thought of now. “We never had any pets growing up, my dad used to feed the stray cats when my mom wasn’t looking though. I think worse would be if the pig actually ate bacon.”

  “He is a fan of chicken.”

  As they packed Nick continued to tell embarrassing stories about his sibling and even a few about himself. The one about his sister forcing him to walk in her mini fashion show wearing make up and a pink dress when he was eight had her laughing so hard he thought she might pass out.

  He was loading the last of their suitcases into the car when his cell phone chimed alerting him of a new message. It was from Gage and it read ‘I have something you’re going to want to see.’

  Sasha appeared at his side. “What is it?” at his hesitation she said, “You didn’t like when I tried to leave you out of the loop, don’t do the same to me.” That was a fair assessment and when he put himself in her shoes he wanted to know everything possible to save his sister.

  “There might be a lead in a search Gage was running. He has something he wants me to see.”

  “So let’s go find out what it is. I got the last of the bags in the backseat.”

  In the car Nicholas explained his hunch with the army bases and the searches Gage was running on his behalf. He was reminded again of something Pete liked to say; it was better to suffer through the knowledge than be blindsided by the truth during a moment you needed all your wits. Sasha needed to work this case.

  When they arrived at the station house they met Gage, Noah, and Wayne in the small corner office.

  Noah went first. “Both Alison and Genny were seen at the diner two days prior to being grabbed. From what I heard the diner is one of the few places
in town with good food and drinks for cheap prices, it sees a lot of action at night. We know Candice worked for the diner during the day as a waitress so there’s that connection. If we add what Jim Carson said the diner is the hotspot.”

  Nick nodded, “Let’s get some eyes watching the parking lots. Gage, what do you have?”

  Gage glanced at Sasha for a moment before making up his mind. “I got a name of someone transferred to the fort hood base in the last month with previous ties to Maple Oaks and the diner. Carter Wesley.”

  “What?” Sasha exclaimed. “He was ten years old for the first cycle.”

  Gage passed her a sheet of paper containing the information he put together. “His father, Kirby Wesley, wasn’t and he served in the army in each state the time during the first five cycles. Kirby passed away before the sixth cycle.”

  Nick asked, “You think he’s taking over for his father and finishing his vision?” it wasn’t the first time they heard of such a thing.

  Sasha wasn’t willing to believe it. “No, the guy I talked to on the phone and the guy who attacked me spoke as the killer of all victims, he’s specifically referenced killing Maggie’s parents with his own hands twenty one years ago.”

  Wayne clasped her shoulder and tried to ease into the facts. “If he would’ve acted differently it would’ve raised suspicion and you know that and you know he’s smart enough to avoid that. There are too many pieces to ignore.”

  Sasha shook her head unwilling to accept this could be true. “I just can’t imagine him hurting someone but we have to find out if he has my sister and more about his father. There’s no doubt with DNA, has the lab said anything?”

  Nick answered, “Sheriff Howard is still waiting. The sample has been rushed but sorting through the databases can take a few days.”

  Sasha was the first one headed for the door. “Let’s go find out what Wes has to say.”