by Paris Morgan
Having anger issues? Call 1-800-555-1000 to find out how to relieve stress.
What kind of people would answer these ad? A much better question would be, who would put these kinds of ads in the paper? There were three pages of results, and I hit the print button so I could use the highlighter after making a few calls.
I glanced at my watch, showing I still had an hour to work before Karen came back to order me to my room.
Now to the other search that was waiting for me to work on: societies, or cults of killers.
Both words ‘societies’ and ‘cults’ had brought up a large list of possible groups that would need to be waded through. I needed to narrow the list to those that allowed both men and women.
The algorithms did their thing, and my list was cut down by about three fourths. Evidently, women weren’t as accepted into things as people liked to say they were.
Each club listed was an elite or social club, and I had to decide how much of the allegations against them were considered true. Anytime a group of people got together and formed, there were always those that rose to the top of the bunch, hungry for power. Power could lead to backroom deals, and having people disposed of if they were in the way.
I wasn’t going to be able to check into all of them right now, but in my downtime, maybe I could look into a few that might have started the Zodiac Master on his current path.
***
Our briefing started early. Someone had thoughtfully brought coffee, donuts, and pastries for us to eat. Agent Watson was already there, but we were waiting on Agent Spade, who was late.
As soon as he came into the room, Agent Watson began. “We were able to get a little more information about our suspect, Dana. She worked at a series of companies, and has about a dozen aliases that she uses. I’m going to let Agent Johnson explain more of the details that he uncovered over the course of the night.”
“She wasn’t really hiding her names. I checked on social media. Her profile would have her current name with her past name as her married name. If someone called her on it, she would say that her husband was chasing her. There wasn’t a husband, or even an ex that were found associated with any of her names.” Kevin shifted between his feet, his nervousness showing.
“Her real name must be Dana, because that name or a form of it is used on all of her name changes. While that’s helpful, we can’t stop all the women in the state named Dana or Anad. There’s a birth certificate that matches one of the names that this woman used in the state of New York. The six men who were just killed were all from New York.”
Kevin took a seat and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“I’m sending the four of you to Upstate New York somewhere. Find out what you can about her family and why she turned from con-woman to serial killer. Karen, I cleared it to put you on the same status as your sister and Detective Fox. You have all the same jurisdiction as they do.” He clapped his hands. “Now, the rest of you here are going to start looking for employees at her last two places of employment. Check your emails for updates and instructions for your individual teams. Dismissed.”
I looked at what was now our team, in shock. Agent Watson made his way over as soon as he’d finished speaking.
“For some reason, the two of you,”—He pointed at Ryan and I—”have some sort of sixth sense about these cases. While Kevin isn’t field trained, his badge will cover you when asking questions, but I’m going to send Agent Dalca with you as well. If he meets this woman’s family, maybe he can gain an insight into how she thinks, possibly finding something you might not catch.”
“Thank you, sir.” I nodded in acknowledgement.
“No thanks yet. I’m still not sure that you should be going anywhere, but I do believe that you might be the key to opening this investigation in ways that the bureau would never think about. Be careful, and don’t take any extra chances that will get you kidnapped again.”
***
While it might have seemed like the FBI moved at a slow pace, there were other moments when they moved at the speed of light.
Agent Dalca was the senior agent, and the arrangements had already been made.
We flew into Buffalo, New York, and the rented vehicle was waiting when we arrived.
“Kevin, where do we start?” I inquired.
“According to what I pulled up last night, Dana Andrews, as her birth certificate says, was born in the small town or suburb of Depew, near this address.” He handed the Agent a piece of paper.
“Look, I know the four of you weren’t really expecting me on this trip—” Agent Dalca began, but I interrupted.
“We weren’t expecting to go on a trip. I’m still considered to be on light duty. This was completely thrown on us.”
“You’re right. I just wanted to say that when it’s just us, there’s no need to be all agent this and detectives that. I’m Adam.” He held out his hand to me since they’d all given me the front seat because of my injury.
I took it, but still reserved my thoughts on what I felt about him.
“Adam.”
It was too hard for him to shake the other’s hands, but I gave him props for making eye contact with them.
“If you wouldn’t mind, Leslie, will you put this address in the GPS for us?” he asked, starting the car.
We pulled up to a middle-class home in a fairly nice neighborhood.
“It’s the last house on the left,” I advised, based on the house numbers.
“The mailbox says Andrews on it. Maybe her parents still live there.” Kevin bounced in the seat.
“Calm down, Kevin.” Ryan grinned at his enthusiasm.
“Adam, who are we sending inside to ask questions? We can’t all go inside and overwhelm the poor people,” Karen inquired.
“I think that Leslie and Ryan should go in. They’re a team, and know enough to find out the information. If Leslie’s up for it that is?”
“Is that a real question?” I had my door open before Agent Dalca had the car parked.
“I think you should go with them, Adam. Kevin and I don’t have any real skin in the game, and three people aren’t too overwhelming for most people,” Karen prompted from the back seat.
I turned around and gave her a curious look, but knew that whatever she was thinking, I would have to wait until later to ask.
“Let’s do this then.” Adam got out of the vehicle and joined us.
It was before noon, but there was a vehicle in the driveway. I knocked at the door because it was a fact-finding discussion, and we didn’t want to startle them.
An older African American man answered the door. “Can help you?”
“Yes, sir. We were just trying to find the family of Dana Andrews? Do you know who she is?”
He shook his head and opened the door to let us in.
“Have a seat. This is going to take a little while. Would you like something to drink?” he offered as a woman came from the back room.
“This is my home health nurse, Betty. She comes in once a week to make sure I’m taking my meds and eating what she puts in the fridge for me.”
“Aw, now, Mr. Andrews. You know I come to see you to hear all the stories you tell about the old days.” Betty snapped the hand towel toward the back of his chair.
“Are his stories all about oversized fish, or are they truly about the good ol’ days?”
“Most days, his memory is pretty good, but anything he tells you about fish, well, you know how that kind of story goes, right?” She shrugged. “Do you need anything?”
“Nah, we’re good, but thank you.”
“So, Mr. Andrews—”
“Just call me Jim. Everyone else does.”
I chuckled. “Jim, what can you tell us about Dana? Is she your daughter?”
“No, my daughter is dead. This lady that’s using my daughter’s name isn’t Dana. My daughter died in an accident over twenty years ago. Their school was going on a field trip doing one of those boat tours. There was an accident
. Another boat crashed into their boat, and several of the students, along with a few teachers, were killed and thrown into the river. They searched for weeks. She finally washed up on the shore about five miles down about a month after it happened.” He sniffled and reached for a tissue from the box on the table.
“The teacher that died had a little girl the same age as my Dana. My wife was grief-stricken, and wouldn’t rest until we took her into our home. She’d witnessed her mother and Dana being thrown from the boat and had nightmares for months. My wife acted like she was our daughter and took all the love she was missing and threw it into this child. The girl’s father had died a few years before, and from what we could find, she had no other family to take her in.”
I glanced at the others and shook my head. No wonder this girl had taken the identity of Dana and switched out versions of it through the years.
“Back in those days, I just wanted to forget that our little girl was gone. I didn’t mind that we had taken this girl in, but a white child living with a black family was just a little unusual. Once day I came home early, not feeling good, and found my wife doing this white child’s hair up in cornrows. Nothing wrong with that, but she was calling her Dana. That was when I realized that my wife wasn’t right in the head.” He wiped at his eyes again.
“I had her locked up. They did a psych evaluation and she’s been in a home ever since. I used to go see her, but all she does is talk about Dana. I just couldn’t handle that. The poor child needed more than I could provide for her, so the case worker came after I explained that my wife was sick and we couldn’t care for her.”
“Do you think that this Dana visits your wife at the hospital?” I didn’t have another name to work with yet.
“She might. I don’t know. They only call me if something is going wrong. I’m not even her guardian anymore. My wife is a ward of the state.”
“Jim, do you remember the real name of the little girl?”
“Oh, that’s right. I got so used to referring to her as Dana that I didn’t think about it. Her name was Dorothy Arella, which is why it was so easy for us to slip into using that other name. I don’t think the little girl ever went back to that name, though. She just told people who asked that it was her nickname. I haven’t seen or heard from her in years. After she turned eighteen, she disappeared, and I had other problems health wise, so I never gave it another thought. I’m a horrible person, but it is what it is.” He sighed sadly.
“Mr. Andrews, don’t you go feeling guilty. You did more than most would have, and you can’t let the stupidity of others reflect on you.” Betty turned to us. “He’s a good man. He’s worked in this community for years. Watched out for the neighborhood until his arthritis got so bad he had to give it up. He still sits out on the porch as often as he can so he can chat with the neighbors.”
“Thank you, Betty. We weren’t looking to hurt him. We just needed some background on her. Jim, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.” I stood, knowing we had a new lead to pursue to find our killer.
“Which hospital is your wife at so we can check the visitor’s logs?” Ryan asked as we made our way to the door.
“I’m not sure what they call it these days, and I think she may have even been transferred to a long-term facility. You can call her case worker, though. Betty, can you get that number off my desk, please? He looked back at us. “It’s all I have. Like I said, I stopped going years ago, and just get updates occasionally.”
Betty handed Ryan the Post-it note with the name and number on it.
“You’ve both been a big help. Don’t worry, you did the right thing, Jim. Dana, or Dorothy, needed more help. Let’s just hope we can find her before she hurts herself.” I wasn’t going to mention the others she might hurt along the way.
As we went back out to the car, I felt that we’d made some progress, but this poor kid hadn’t had a chance after her parents died.
“Well, Adam, what did you think of Mr. Jim’s story?”
“I’m sure that you’ve already realized why she’s changed names so many times. With that kind of trauma so young, the fact that Mrs. Andrews called her Dana would have made her think she was their little girl. Just like anything else, if someone you love and trust says it’s so, then you believe it. Without Jim there to hold her back, she would’ve quickly acclimated to the household while holding the horror of seeing her mother die deep inside.”
Ryan held the phone up to his ear. “Yes, I was trying to find the case worker for Mrs. Andrews? Mr. Andrews gave us this number and said you might be able to help me locate her? Ah, yes. I’m working with the FBI, and we’re trying to find the little girl they fostered over twenty years ago. We believe that she still visits Mrs. Andrews, or keeps track of her.”
He pulled out a pen and scribbled on the back of the paper. “Thank you. Yes, ma’am, it’s urgent that we talk with the staff and see if they’ve spotted her.” He ended the call and turned to us.
“Okay, the case worker said that she’s in the state hospital over in Buffalo. It’s more of a long-term nursing home with mental health benefits. She wasn’t considered a danger to herself, so she has her own room and is treated well.” He handed the address to me to put into the GPS. “I guess we’re headed to Buffalo.”
“It says it’s about an hour or two, depending on traffic. We should get there right about lunchtime.”
“That’ll be the perfect time to find her and ask a few questions.
***
Sure enough, the residents were all gathered in a dining room, finishing up their lunch when we arrived.
The nurse at the desk directed us to where Mrs. Andrews was sitting.
“Mrs. Andrews?” I gently touched her shoulder as I sat in the empty seat next to her.
“Yes? Do you have dessert for me? I cleaned my plate.” She looked up expectantly.
“I’m sorry, I don’t. I was hoping you could tell me if you’ve seen Dana lately?”
“Well, of course I have. She was here at breakfast. It’s been a few months, but it was so good to see her this morning. Oh, you must be the people I’m supposed to give this letter to.” She got up, dessert forgotten in her haste to get the letter. “Follow me.”
I did as she asked while the others started talking to those around the room serving lunch.
Her room held two beds, and the nameplates at the door had an opening for a second person, which was empty.
She started fumbling through the papers in the top drawer. “You have to hide the stuff you don’t want stolen. Gertrude over in the next hall is a clepto.”
My hand flew to my mouth, holding back the laugh that wanted to escape. She was so serious. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Here it is. I was only supposed to give it to someone that was looking for her and no one else.” She placed an envelope in my hand.
“Thank you, Mrs. Andrews. We’ve keep missing Dana, and this will give us a chance to catch up with her.” I turned to join the others, but a tug on my sleeve stopped me.
“My Dana’s in trouble, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is.”
“I was afraid of that when she wouldn’t promise to come back and visit me. She’s not planning to see me again. I know that she’s in trouble, but don’t hurt her. Her heart has always been sensitive since the accident.”
I laid a hand on her worn one. “We’ll do the best we can, Mrs. Andrews.”
Dana had already chosen her path, and this time, there was no mercy available with this option.
The others were all waiting in the lobby when I made my way back down the maze of hallways.
“We have a letter from Dana herself.” I waved the envelope in front of them.
The lobby wasn’t the place to read it, so we went out and stood by the car as I tore open the seal.
“Dear Detectives, I knew that you would eventually figure out my identity. I feel more comfortable as Dana than I ever have as Dorothy. I can’t just click my heels and go back to
Kansas. That one fatal day changed my life and who I am completely. Please leave Mrs. Andrews out of it. She’s just the messenger. I’m not far away, but I am in a different state. History tends to repeat itself in different ways. You might be able to figure out where I’m taking care of my next victims if you’re smart. Good luck.”
“Crap, she’s daring us to find her.”
Chapter 6
Leslie
Kevin had been trying to work his magic as we made our way into town. We had no idea where she would strike next, and we needed a little time to regroup.
“I’m running a search right now on companies that have had contests, or awarded their employees with a special gift recently.” He barely looked up as he walked with is laptop open, typing as he maneuvered his way into the restaurant.
“The letter wasn’t very helpful, but it did mention historical things,” Ryan pointed out, looking at the menu.
“We’re in the middle of Upstate New York. There are so many places that have some sort of historical significance in less than a hundred mile radius, that it’s completely crazy. We could search for days and not find out what she meant by that.” Karen’s practical comment sounded more sarcastic.
“Let’s approach this from a different direction. In a sense, she’s reliving the death of her mother and classmates when she does this to these men. We have no way of knowing if she’s doing it for revenge or just a way to deal with her loss. You would want to be as far away from where it happened as possible so you don’t draw attention to it. We know it’s not in the state of New York, so we need to trace her. She might be flying to the new place, but she could have a vehicle as well. If she was driving, I wouldn’t put her more than six or eight hours away.”
“Kevin, I know you’re doing a lot right now, but can you pull up a map of what whitewater rafting areas we need to check out in that vicinity?”
“I can do that while Kevin keeps working on the other stuff.”
“Okay,” Adam readily agreed.