Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series)

by Mary Eason

  John knew how impossible it would be to get their hands on confidential medical records. They’d be buried in red tape for days. They didn’t have that much time to spare. He’d talk to Anna in private when she arrived in D.C. “We’ll need to talk to the relatives. Belinda Cardwell’s parents are both dead, but she has a brother living in Richmond. Feel up to it?” Johns didn't wait for Rick's answer. He didn't need to. He knew his partner had his back no matter what.

  Barry Cardwell had been Belinda’s older brother by two years. At the time of her death, they’d shared an apartment together.

  John called ahead to tell the man they needed to ask him a few questions about Belinda’s health. He could tell from the length of time it took him to answer the question, Barry Cardwell considered it odd. It was just as clear he knew the truth. Not that it was any great surprise. The news had been all over the radio and the papers. It would probably hit the national news by evening.

  Cardwell was waiting for them when they arrived at his home. He’d since moved from the apartment he and Belinda shared to a smaller complex across town.

  “I won’t waste your time, Mr. Cardwell. Obviously, you’ve seen the news, so I’ll be brief. We’ve discovered some new evidence that I think may help us identify the true killer.”

  Barry Cardwell would be just shy of thirty. His sandy blond hair was cut short in typical military fashion. Cardwell had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq a few months before Belinda’s murder.

  “Come inside. You know I never did believe that Peterson creep was capable of being a serial killer. He just didn’t appear all that bright, in my opinion.”

  Looking back with the benefit of hindsight’s twenty-twenty, John had to agree. “You may be right.”

  “You said you needed to ask some questions about Belinda’s health? What sort of questions?”

  The man didn’t ask them to sit. John didn’t mind. He just wanted to get to the facts and get out of there. Losing someone as violently as Barry had lost his sister left its mark on those left behind. He knew all about those types of emotional wounds. He wore the same scars thanks to Aaron’s death.

  “There’s no easy way to ask this, so I’ll just say it. I need to know if your sister had any type of organ transplant in her lifetime.”

  Cardwell could have seen a ghost. The man’s expression told John he’d hit pay dirt. “Transplant? How did you know about that? What's this got to do with Lin's death?”

  Thank you, God, John breathed in a silent prayer while glancing Rick’s way. Relief was etched all over his partner’s face. They had something tangible. Finally, they had something to build on.

  “One of the other victims had a transplant as well and we believe there may have been more. We’re looking into a possible connection.”

  Cardwell accepted his explanation with a nod. “I see. Yeah, Lin had a cornea transplant when she was just a kid. It’s been almost twenty years ago now.”

  “Really? Was that here in Richmond?”

  Barry glanced from John to his partner. “Yes, that right. At Richmond Memorial.”

  “And do you remember the year.”

  “I should. It was my fourteenth birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday. Does that help?”

  “Yes, tremendously. You’ve been a great deal of help, Mr. Cardwell.”

  Barry Cardwell’s gaze shifted between the two agents once more. “Good. You’ll let me know if anything comes of this. I want to be able to go to my sister’s grave and tell her we caught the bastard who did this thing to her.”

  “I will. The second we know anything I’ll let you know,” John assured him.

  Once they were outside the building, John called Ryan, one of the agents working the case. “Get a court order to pull the medical records for Janice Daniels and Belinda Cardwell. Hell, get the records of all the RCK victims. I want to know everything about their medical conditions, whatever you can find, and I want to know it today. Do whatever you have to do, I don’t care who you piss off. Just make it happen.”

  Chapter Eight

  Last night had been the worst. He’d broken bones last night. He’d showed her the future and it was just as bleak and barren as she’d believed. In some odd way, it was liberating as well. With the introduction of his latest means of torture, all of her previous choices disappeared. It hadn’t hurt all that much, the serrated edge of the blade tore at her flesh in the beginning, but surprisingly there wasn’t the expected pain.

  Maybe it was all in her head. She’d managed to disappear in her mind when he’d hurt her in the past. Last night was no different.

  Today, as she sat on the park bench, her face turned upward to the sun’s warmth, she’d unwittingly come to a decision. She took out pen and paper from her purse then glanced fearfully around. Time was slipping away. He’d be home soon. She jotted the note as quickly as possible, her writing almost illegible through the pain because he’d broken her hand.

  Not that it mattered. There wasn’t much he could do to her now. And it was only a matter of time.

  * * * * *

  “What about Cheryl Larsen?” Rick asked while hanging onto to the grab handle of the truck as John whipped around a slow moving Caddie and zigzagged in and out of the light afternoon traffic heading into the city.

  “Slow down, will ya? It won’t do anyone any good if we end up in a body bag, and I for one have a date this weekend I’d like to keep. I already have the serial killer screwing with my love life. I don’t need you doing it too.”

  John glanced at his partner who’d closed his eyes, fearing the worst. Grudgingly, John slowed the truck's speed. Rick was right. Anna was safe for now.

  “Cheryl Larsen has no living relatives to ask, but I remember she was a nurse. We should check to see if she ever worked at one of the hospitals where some of the previous transplants might have taken place. “

  After his partner popped an eye open and noticed John’s somewhat more rational driving, he decided it was safe to open the other.

  Rick swore under his breath. “Okay. It’s a start. There has to be some connection between her and the others. Shouldn’t we be checking out the new victims?” he added when he realized where they were heading.

  John nodded. “Yes.”

  “But you want to see her first?”

  John didn’t answer.

  “I can have Ryan help with the rest of the victims’ medical records. I trust him to keep his mouth shut.”

  John breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew the AD would be expecting him to do his job without prejudice. Warren didn’t know about his personal relationship with Anna and John for one hoped to keep it that way. As far as he was concerned, she was simply Aaron’s widow.

  “Yeah, if you could. I just need…”

  “I know, buddy. You need to make sure she’s safe.”

  * * * * *

  Anna awoke to the familiar sound of John’s voice close by and she was comforted. Her face was plastered against the table. An empty Styrofoam cup close by and Gemma nowhere to be found.

  Anna sat up quickly, disoriented for the moment. Bev and Ed were not there, only John and his partner. When they saw that she’d awakened, Rick left them alone after a simple nod of acknowledgement for Anna.

  Once he’d left, Anna was at a loss again. Being alone with John here was too familiar. She asked about Bev.

  “She and Ed have been taken to a safe house. I was hoping to keep them out of this as much as possible.”

  His thoughtfulness brought tears close. To cover her emotional confusion, Anna remembered Gemma. “Where’s my dog?”

  John stepped outside and she could breathe again. He returned carrying a hyperactive Gemma in his arms. “I had someone walk her.”

  When Gemma spotted Anna, she squirmed in John's arms until he let her go.

  Anna scooped the dog up and accepted the kisses Gemma offered. “Thank you, John.”

  He stood watching Anna for a moment. He’d found something. She’
d seen that look a thousand times in the past. “Anna, I need your help.”

  John waited for her to say something. When she couldn’t, he took the seat across from her. “We have a lead, our first real lead.”

  Relief collided with fear. She was scared again. “What is it?”

  “My partner and I have discovered that two of the previous victims had organ transplants years ago.” The questions were all there, but Anna was too stunned to say anything Surely, this couldn't be a coincidence, yet she struggled to understand its importance.

  She hadn’t thought about that part of her life in a long time. The sickly girl she’d once been was another lifetime ago. She’d come so close to death, hours really, before the call came through. A heart had been found. She’d lived while someone else had died.

  “How did you…”

  “I didn’t.” He’d seen the painful truth in her. John’s resentment was easy to read. “Did Aaron know at least?”

  She and John had shared so much of their selves with each other. It surprised her that he’d never asked her about the scar, but then when they were together, other things occupied their time.

  Anna cleared her throat and answered him. “Yes, he knew.”

  “Dammit, Anna, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it was none of your business.”

  The warmth and anger in his eyes challenged that. “I think it was. Everything about you was--is my business.”

  His answer thrilled her a little too much. “I’m surprised Aaron didn’t mention it.” She deliberately tossed his former partner's name out between them because things were getting too personal.

  Anna watched John visibly regroup. “He didn’t,” he said quietly. “Believe it or not, Aaron didn’t share all aspects of his life with me. Maybe he had his reasons.” The implication was clear. John suspected Aaron knew about their relationship.

  Anna struggled to shift the conversation back to the case. “You think my transplant along with the others is in some way connected to the killer?”

  “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m pulling the records of all the victims.” His gaze locked on Anna. She knew her records would be included in that list. She wasn’t sure she was ready to relive those days when she’d faced death almost daily.

  Anna realized John continued to see things she didn’t want him to see. “What do you need me to do?”

  He hesitated for a moment longer and she knew. John needed her to take another look at the case. Profile it. See what she could come up with.

  “There have been two murders before he came after you. My partner is checking on those two victims’ medical history right now.”

  “All right, I’ll do it,” she answered a little too quickly, surprising him. He’d expected more of a fight. She couldn’t let John see the truth. She’d help solve his case and catch the man who wanted her dead, but she’d do it because she needed answers more than she wanted to remain in fear.

  She needed to know the secrets Aaron had kept from her.

  John watched her for a second longer then slowly he nodded.

  He got to his feet. “Good. I’ll have the files delivered to a safe house. You’ll be more comfortable there. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I have to brief Mark on the latest findings.”

  He left Anna in the hands of two of his subordinates. Of all the places in the world, the Hoover building had to be the one that represented safety to the world, but today, nothing about the place represented safety for Anna. Aaron’s ghost was everywhere around her, as were the questions she desperately needed answered. And every beat of her heart chimeed unfinished business. Unfinished business.

  * * * * *

  John had seen that look in Anna before. The night Aaron filed for divorce. She'd come to him asking for his help in understanding the change in Aaron. He’d skirted the issue. Convinced her she was making too much of Aaron’s irrational mood swings, his distant behavior. In truth, he'd begun to suspect something was different in his friend beyond the affair with Cheryl Larsen or even the other women that Aaron had hinted at. Those were just symptoms. John knew Aaron didn’t love any of them, including Cheryl. He'd loved Anna once. They were a sign. A sign that something was seriously screwed up in Aaron’s world.

  John reached Warren’s office door. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting. AD Warren’s growing distrust of John was becoming more evident with each passing day. He suspected John of holding back evidence. It was only a matter of time before Warren put the screws to Rick for answers.

  John knocked once and waited.

  “Enter.” The flat-lined tone in Warren’s voice did little to encourage.

  He steeled himself for the confrontation he knew was coming and walked into the room.

  Mark Warren eyed him for a moment then pointed toward one of the chairs.

  “You have news for me?” Warren’s gaze never left John.

  “I do.”

  “Good. Then maybe that can explain why you’ve managed to keep me in the dark about these new developments in a case I personally closed a year ago, and why I had to find out from the Washington Post instead of my senior agent that the RCK was still at large.”

  John knew no matter how he chose to play this, he’d made a powerful enemy of the AD.

  “Because I didn’t believe it was wise to jump to any unnecessary conclusions without proof, Mark. You of all people should remember the public’s reaction to the last series of murders. We had to be sure.”

  “And you believed I was a liability?” The AD harrumphed.

  “No. No, of course not.”

  Warren held up a hand. “We’ll resolve this after we catch the killer. As it is, we look like a bunch of bumbling clowns in the public’s eye. I need to know what you have that’s new. And it had better be good.” Warren leaned back in his seat and steepled his hands.

  “We've found a connection between the victims, at least some of the victims. We’re still looking into the rest.” He caught the AD’s impending anger and plunged ahead. “Two of our previous victims had medical transplants. We’ve just learned Anna also had a heart transplant as a child.”

  “And the others. The new ones?” Warren barked his question.

  “Rick’s checking with their families now. I’ve ordered all the victims’ medical records sent over.”

  Warren eyed him suspiciously before nodding. “It’s a start. Go with it.”

  John got to his feet and headed for the door when Warren’s next remark stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “And Delaney, when this thing’s over, I’ll be launching an internal investigation on you. I know that you and Sorenson kept information out of the files that might have prevented these new murders from happening. I intend to have a full inquiry into what you two were hiding. If you’re dirty, you’re going to pay for it. Sorenson’s not here to keep your secrets any longer. You’re on your way out, Delaney.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Ready?” John appeared in the doorway. Anna knew him well enough to know something was wrong.

  “What is it?”

  She watched as the walls she’d seen in the past returned to stand between them once more. John no longer trusted her with his secrets. “Nothing. If you’re ready, we should get going. We’ll need to beat the traffic.”

  Anna gathered Gemma and her meager possessions, the few things she’d been allowed to bring along. Just enough clothes for a few days. Some toiletries. Her purse and the weapon she'd stuffed inside it offering only a small amount of comfort.

  She followed John to the stairwell instead of the elevator.

  “We don’t want to take any chances.” He acknowledged her unasked question.

  Anna was exhausted and just wanted this thing to be done. She and John went to the employee parking area where his old pickup truck was parked. She recognized it right away.

  John’s father had owned the truck. He'd told her once that they’d restored it together. It was a 1960 Ford and it wa
s John’s pride and joy.

  “You’re still driving this?”

  He slanted a smile her way as he slammed the door hard just to get it to close. “Of course. It’s a classic. They don’t make them like this anymore.”

  They sat side by side as they had so many times in the past, Gemma happily hanging her head out the cracked window.

  It could have been a year ago. D.C. hadn’t change all that much. Just a few more tourists. Some new politicians.

  It never occurred to Anna to ask where they might be going until the lights of the city became a distant memory.

  “Where did you put Bev and Ed?”

  John spared her a quick look before focusing on the light traffic leaving the nation’s capital. “They’ve been moved to another state. North Carolina to be exact.”

  She and John weren’t heading toward North Carolina. She turned in her seat so that she could get a better read on his expression. John was giving nothing away.

  “Where exactly are you taking me.” Anna clutched Gemma closer for strength.

  He actually smiled at the edge in her voice. He’d seen something in her. Her nervous fear at being alone with him, the anxiety at what feelings it would dredge up.

  “Relax, Anna.” His tone dipped low and sultry, slipping over her like a caress. “I’m taking you somewhere safe. Away from Beverly and Ed for their protection. Someplace where you and I can work the case in peace. I don’t think your family needs to see all the gruesome details in those files, do you?”

  In spite of his reassurances, John’s answer did nothing to ease Anna's worries. For the time being, she chose to let the subject drop. Anna still needed to get a look at Aaron’s notes. She couldn’t afford to tip John off.

  The silence between them grew as the miles slipped by. They’d left Richmond behind some time back. Now, the city limits sign for Virginia Beach came into view.

  “What’s here?” A thousand different unwelcome feelings zipped through her mind. She couldn’t think about being alone with John and not remember the times spent in his arms. In his bed.