by WL Knightly
Before he could clear his throat to say good morning, Max breezed past Darek on the way to his desk and stopped to give Lizzy an intense look. “You’re much too serious this morning, McNamara. You’re going to pop a vein in your neck if you’re not careful.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder.
Surprising Darek, she looked up and smiled. “I knew you’d be the one to fuck with me,” she said. The two were constantly picking on one another, and Darek had always assumed she’d found Max to be a nuisance. But to see her face now, he’d think the two were best of friends.
“Darek’s slipping. But don’t worry, beautiful, I’m here to pick up the slack.” Max gave her a big grin and then sat down in his chair behind his desk.
“Good morning,” said Darek. “What does our day look like?” He figured he’d go ahead and ask, hoping that there would still be the two of them working as a happy little team.
Lizzy looked up from the computer keyboard with an unreadable expression. “I’m almost finished, and I’ll tell you.”
Max chuckled and turned to angle toward Darek’s desk. “How was the weekend, my friend?”
“Long. I came in and did some work.”
“That’s no fun. You should have come to Darius’s house. We had a poker night and got blitzed.”
“I got the text, but I had dinner at home.” He didn’t think it was a good idea to go into detail. “By the time I got home, I was exhausted.”
Lizzy got up and walked over to the printer that was already hard at work on her document. When it was done, she hurried back over and slapped the paper down on Darek’s desk. “This is your copy. Just thought you’d want to keep a record. We’re probably going to get a lot of questions, and I want to make sure that we’re staying on the same page.”
He picked it up and saw that there were images attached to her document and a list of names of the victims and the signs that they bore. “What’s this?”
“It’s what we talked about. I’m still going with the cult angle. Now that I had the chance to confirm that Kari Lynn Stone’s death was, in fact, a suicide, I wanted to try and get as much information as we can about the victims and their marks. I feel it’s time the press actually does some good, so I want to put out a release asking for information regarding any cult or group that might be responsible for the murders. It’s quite possible that Kari Lynn felt that there was no way out of the situation she was in. Many cult survivors say that they feel hopeless and like they’ve lost their way. Maybe she felt the same way.”
“Oh? Did you find a mark on her?” Darek wasn’t sure how she was trying to tie Kari’s suicide to Seth’s murder. “I mean, other than the fact that she’s a grieving widow of one of the Zodiac Killer’s victims, I don’t see much of a connection.”
“There could be, though, is all I’m saying. She might have felt like the cult would come for her as well. We’ve seen a lot of deaths with men and their significant others. If this is a cult and we can put a stop to it, wouldn’t that be a wonderful ending to an otherwise fucked-up investigation? We get cut off at every pass, and when we think we’ve found this serial killer, it becomes more and more apparent that there’s more than one killer, and just when we think we have a suspect, they die too. I’m tired of running out of leads. I want to out this cult, out this killer in a big way and try to force them into a corner.”
Darek sighed. “Far be it from me to disagree with you, but isn’t that a bad idea to poke the bear? Not to mention that by getting the press involved, we’re going to have five times the work and a lot of dead ends. You know how this goes, Lizzy. You put out the notice with the best of intentions, and we spend our nights and weekends in the interrogation room, questioning attention whores and know-it-alls.”
“Or maybe we out whatever this is and put a stamp on it that says case solved,” she said. “I’d like to do that. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to solve this case sooner than later, and let’s face it. Since we no longer have those unhealthy distractions between us, we can put all of our energy where it belongs.”
It irritated him that she didn’t even sound fazed. “I want that too, but this way, we have to go through a lot of shit that we’ve already closed the door on. For instance, when you ask for anyone who has information on anyone with one of those marks and half of Tad Halston’s ex-lovers show up. Not to mention all of the people calling in every person they know with a zodiac tattoo or a brand of any kind, just to be careful.”
Not to mention, his ex-wife and doctors, but hopefully, Megan might still be too scared, and since he’d saved his doctor from an abusive husband, maybe she would keep her mouth shut too. The only other person who knew was his mother, but she was so out of her mind, she couldn’t snitch him out.
“Better safe than sorry. Being thorough is going to make a difference.” She narrowed her eyes. “What do you have to be afraid of?” Her question gave him chills, and then she leaned in and added, “A little hard work? I mean, come on, we both knew this wasn’t going to be a fucking cakewalk.”
No, he’d known from the first victim this was a shit storm he was getting into, and with no way out, it kept taking him deeper and deeper. “When are you releasing that?”
“As soon as possible. I want it on the midday news. By tonight, the floodgates will be open. So be ready.” She gave him a smirk, and he almost asked her if she got off on the pressure.
Instead, he forced a smile. “Let’s do this.” He knew better than to fight her. She had him right where she wanted him, and he knew it. He was going to have to give her a wide berth and make sure not to lose his temper with her, but at least she hadn’t mentioned anything more about telling Sam that she wanted him off the case, and he was too afraid to remind her of what she’d said. He hated her having that over his head, but figured things could only get worse, and perhaps they would before all was said and done.
If all else failed when it came to his mark, if Megan came forward, he was going to deny that he ever had one. She was a bitter ex, and it would be their words against each other’s unless she could find other of his exes and ex-partners who had seen it. Surely, none of them would remember anything and come forward. Shit. He cursed under his breath and was glad that he at least didn’t have to wear the fucking mark any longer.
Max got up from his desk. “Well, you two, good luck. I’m going out with Darius today.”
Lizzy grabbed her report. “I’m right behind you. I want to take this down to the press as soon as possible.” She turned to walk out to the front desk, and Darek walked to the coffee pot and fixed his favorite blend. After a moment, he glanced up and saw Max brush a loose strand of Lizzy’s hair and tuck it behind her ear. Then he smiled big for her and turned to leave. And even though all of that was a tad strange, what made it even weirder was the way she looked after him. Like there was some kind of feeling stirring inside of her. She finally turned her head, and Darek looked back down to his coffee.
She walked back into the office and grabbed her bag. “Louisa is going to call the press and tell them I’m on the way. Would you like to join me or wait here?” She didn’t seem too bothered either way.
“I’ll go.” He got up and grabbed his coffee and brought it along. As they walked out, he wondered if he should even bother asking her about Max. The man had offered a friendly gesture is all, and for him to make anything more of it was ridiculous. Max was his best friend, right? The guy wouldn’t be hitting on Lizzy, would he? Although he had moved in on a couple of Darek’s women in the past, and one, he continued to see long after Darek had married.
Lizzy gave a nod and headed out, with him two steps behind her. “With any luck, this case will be over soon, and we can go back to how things were before,” she called over her shoulder.
His jaw tightened with her statement. He didn’t want to go back to the way things were. He wanted to go on to better things, to a promotion and a new title, new pay and a better future. Even if it didn’t seem like it was going to have her in
it.
Chapter 5
Corey
For a moment, Corey thought it had all been a terrible dream as the smell of bacon frying filled the air. He opened his eyes on a new day and realized that he was really on Justin’s couch, after all, waking up on a brand-new day, still a murderer. He sat up and scratched his hair then scrubbed his stubbly chin. He didn’t have the glorious beard that his friend did, but then, he hadn’t ever really seen anyone pull it off quite like Justin. He somehow managed to look like a Viking god, while Corey felt he looked like a bum.
“It’s about time you woke up,” said Justin from the kitchen. “Breakfast is nearly ready. You passed out just after dinner last night.”
“Sorry, I must have needed it. I haven’t exactly done the type of manual labor you had for me yesterday.” They had trampled through the woods around all of his booby traps to hunt for trees which they then cut up and split, all by hand.
“You’ll get used to it.” Justin walked over and put the food on the small wooden table and waved him over. “Come on, eat up.”
Corey grabbed his phone and headed over. Once at the table, he poked around at it and decided to turn it off and on again. There was still plenty of battery, but he couldn’t believe he didn’t have a signal. “Damn phone service.”
“Oh, about that,” said Justin. “You won’t have a signal here. I have a scrambler. This place is off their radar.”
“Off whose radar?” Corey wondered if he had scrambled the signals to keep the killer from messaging them.
“Big brother. I don’t like the government listening in on my calls and nosing around on my computers. So, I have precautions.”
Corey realized that no matter who was trying to reach him, he wasn’t going to be able to communicate. Even when the killer decided to get back with him. “Shit, I can’t stay here, man. I have to have internet for my work.”
“Then you might want to find another place to stay. I don’t compromise the homestead. There are people who will depend on its low profile when the end comes. We’ll need it secure.”
Justin spoke with such conviction that there was no wondering if he was teasing. He really believed all of his big brother conspiracies. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Corey. He had to get somewhere and check his phone. “I’m sure my work has already contacted me.” He was more than certain that he needed to know if the killer had. He was going to break the news to them. Tell that son of a bitch that he wasn’t playing his fucking game. Something occurred to him. “If there is no signal, how did I reach you?”
“I was on my way back from my store.” Justin didn’t waste time and picked up a thick strip of crispy bacon and bit into it.
Corey did the same. “This is good stuff,” he said after taking a bite.
“The eggs are from the yard, and I killed the boar in the woods. He was a scrapper. His tusk gave me this scar.” He held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a deep red scar. Then he bit another strip of bacon like he was showing the boar who was boss.
“Damn. You really live off the land, don’t you?”
“The only way, my friend. You never know when you’ll have to, so may as well be used to it. Besides, I’ve got all the modern conveniences if I need them down at the store.” He took a forkful of eggs and shoved them into his mouth. “So, you going to tell me why you’re really here?”
“What do you mean?” Corey was playing dumb.
“Come on, man. You show up here, afraid of a killer that is in New York City, and you drove up from Phoenix to hide from them? If you wanted to know if I’m still loyal to the Zod’s, the answer is yes, but if you want to know if I’m going to uproot my life for them, the answer is no. I’m not saying I’d turn my back and run from some killer who might or might not be after me. That’s not happening.” Justin didn’t look like he ran from much, although he did live in one of the most secure houses of the remaining group. He downed a glass of milk, and Corey wondered if it came from the goat outside. “I gave up on that Fortune bullshit a long time ago, too. We make our own fortunes in life. After what happened, of which I will never speak, I decided that the Zod’s would only land me in prison, and I’m not going out like my old man. I damned sure don’t need Bay Collins sticking his nose into my business every time I turn around. So, if he sent you here for some reason, you can tell him I said so.”
“Bay didn’t send me. It’s like I said. I am worried.” He couldn’t help but make a face, wondering about what he had said. “Your father was in prison? I thought your parents were dead.”
“Everyone did back then. I was embarrassed, and I didn’t want you all looking at me like I was some kind of freak. Now, I don’t give a shit what you or anyone else think.”
“So, what did he do?” Corey thought he’d ask since Justin was so hellbent that he didn’t care.
“He killed my mother,” said Justin. “That’s why I was raised by my grandparents.” He took another bite of his eggs.
Corey did the same and then sipped some of the milk, which he’d decided not to ask the origin of. “So, that was your secret, wasn’t it?”
“My secret? What do you mean?” He gave him a sideward look, and it was hard enough to make Corey wish he’d taken it back. He should have known better than to go on about it. But he was in too deep, and Justin wasn’t going to stop staring until he explained.
“We all have one. That is, the Zodiacs all have one; something that Bay knew that everyone else didn’t.” Corey thought of Alan and how his secret was about his mother and father too. Bay was smart; there was no doubt about that.
“How do you figure?” He leaned in closer and rested his elbows on the table. His forearms were massive and intimidating.
“Mine was that I was bullied relentlessly at school. I didn’t want the rest of the guys to know, and he’d promised not to tell anyone. It was my secret that was safe with him.”
“Yeah, Bay knew about me. Told me the same thing. That he wouldn’t tell anyone. I trusted him, and he never did as far as I know. But he did use it against me. When it came time to carve up— when it came time to do what we did, rather. He used it on me then. Said that was how I’d know if I was like the old man or not. But I’d have to do it. I did. I learned that I’m nothing like my father. I decided right then that I would distance myself from him and the group. And by the way, I always knew you were a skinny little shit who got bullied. That wasn’t that hard to see.”
“Well, thanks for knowing and still being my friend. For taking me under your wing.” Corey had always thought if anyone knew, they’d tell the others and make camp life hell too. But that wasn’t the case.
“I knew what it was like. The kids used to make fun of my size and most knew about my father and mother. If you think I was immune to relentless bullying, you’d be wrong. I didn’t take you under my wing as much as I thought we should stick together.”
Cory couldn’t believe that Justin was bullied too, and if anything, he’d have thought that the man might have been a bully himself. But it made him want to tell him more of his reason for coming, if not everything.
“Alan Lowe showed up on my doorstep several days ago, and I later found out that the killer had sent him. He not only killed Seth, but he’d gone out of his way to show up and kill me.”
“What? Alan killed Seth?” Justin nearly choked on his bacon.
Corey still couldn’t believe it had all happened either. Especially what he’d done himself. “They told him to. This killer, they had his wife. She was tied up in some old abandoned building from what he told me. So, the killer is playing this game, making us turn against one another, but the thing is, they found out that Alan was faking his part.” He took a deep breath.
“Is he dead?” Justin met his eyes directly, and it took Corey off-guard.
Corey froze and thought very long and hard how he wanted to answer that. If he told Justin he killed him, he wouldn’t let him stick around. He wouldn’t trust why it had
to happen and he wouldn’t trust him to stay there with him. “The last I saw of him, he was headed back home to his wife. He said something about hiding out with the family a little while until this all blows over. So, I didn’t have anywhere to go. I decided to come here because I knew if anyone could help me hide, it’s you.”
Justin dropped his fork to his plate with a loud clank, and then he slowly looked up at Corey with narrowed eyes and a stare that scared the shit out of him. “Did you come here to try and take me out?” His voice was much calmer than the thunderstorms in his eyes.
Corey’s own eyes widened. “No way, man.”
“Good, because I’m a hard mother fucker to kill, and I plan to take others out with me.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and went back to eating.
The man was really unnerving, and for a moment, Corey wondered if he could be the Zodiac killer. He pushed the thought from his mind. “But it’s like I said, they want us to do that, whoever it is. I want the game to stop with me; if I stall things then maybe we can figure out who it is and stop the vicious cycle. I figure if I could hide out, I have no family that they can use against me, and I’m able to work from anywhere. But I need internet and my cell phone. I’m still trying to trace the killer’s number. The last ping I searched ended up close to the police department.”
“You don’t think it was the cop, do you? Darek Blake? Bay said he was handling it, but if there is anyone in the group that Bay doesn’t have a reason to trust, it’s him.”
“I don’t think it’s him. But can I stay around here and figure it out? I could go to your store and use the net there.”
“I’ll do you one even better. I have a room upstairs in the storeroom in the back of my office. It’s yours if you want, but you’re going to work in my garden department. I have people coming in for feed and plants this time of year.