Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  “Yes. You have a hidden talent in that you use it without knowing it. Just don’t discuss it until I have a chance to tell you how things will work for you in the future.” He knocked on the door.

  This must be the future thing that Flora was talking about. It would have long-standing ramifications if I started having psychic visions.

  “Sir, we have a possible location of where Dana is headed. I’ve got Kevin searching now all the flights leading into the Hawaiian Islands. We have good reason to believe that she’s going to land.”

  “You heard from your friend?” He directed his attention to me.

  “Yes, sir. She said to tell you that you should be careful getting your tie caught in the toaster or you won’t have any ties left.”

  He stared blankly at me, and then burst out laughing. “I’d say your friend is the real deal. I’ll take her advice and leave the tie off until I’m in the car driving. Let’s get a small team with two other agents and the four of you to the airport.”

  “I’ll meet you at Kevin’s desk in ten minutes.”

  Dismissed, I let out a relieved sigh.

  Adam grinned. “Were you nervous he wouldn’t believe you?”

  “A little, and the fact that this might be me, I’m asking someone to trust in the future.”

  “The more you use it, the more it will become a natural aspect of your life. And it will feel uncomfortable explaining it to people who don’t understand it,” he informed me. “Just keep being you. Use your training combined with your instincts and you’ll be on the right track.”

  “Is there training to make people feel comfortable around you? You and Flora both have acted like this is just the most normal thing in the world.”

  “No training, but it’s just a natural reaction. I’d really like to meet your friend Flora.”

  “Oh, I could set things up and be a matchmaker for the two of you,” I offered.

  “Don’t get a head of yourself now. It would just be nice to meet someone who understands my uniqueness.” Adam blushed.

  “I understand being unique, and that’s a great way to describe it. I’ll see what I can do when we get back from this trip.”

  “I can work with that.” Adam paused just before we got to Kevin’s desk. “Don’t say anything to the others, please?”

  Nodding quickly, I watched as Ryan and Kevin started doing a dance at the front of the computer.

  “You found her.” It wasn’t a question. They wouldn’t have been dancing if they hadn’t found her.

  “She arrived in Maui today. If we leave on the next flight, we should make it there before she has the chance to meet her next victims.”

  Agent Watson appeared then. “We have a flight out to Hawaii’s main airport in just about two hours. We need to go ahead and start calling places because they’re a couple time zones ahead of us.”

  “I just printed out a list, and we can make some of those phone calls from the airport.” Kevin walked over to the large copier and picked up the freshly printed sheets.

  “A van will be outside in fifteen minutes, so let’s meet out there with our bags.” Agent Watson announced to the group of us that had gathered around Kevin’s desk.

  We all hurried to get our luggage and be back in time for the van to take us to the airport.

  As we boarded the plane, I realized that I needed to shoot Jerome a text to let him know I was headed to Maui so he didn’t worry.

  Leslie: Left on the case for Maui. I’ll call you when we get settled tonight, but remember there’s a time difference so it might be late.

  Jerome: So jealous you’re getting to see Hawaii.

  Leslie: The problem is that I won’t really get to enjoy anything while I’m there.

  Jerome: You’ll get to soak up the sun, though.

  Leslie: Gotta go. They’re frowning at me to get off the phone. Bye.

  I was a little frustrated that he still didn’t understand that I was working and wouldn’t be able to do any sightseeing. It wasn’t that kind of trip.

  Chapter 10

  Ryan

  We were off on another trip around the world to chase this very elusive killer. Hawaii would have been a nice place to visit, but there wasn’t going to be any time if we were going to stop Dana.

  When our feet the hit the ground, we were literally running to the van and working to get in touch with the hotel and companies that did whitewater rafting. Agent Watson was in touch with island police, which was one large department covering all of the small islands, as well as the main four that were more widely known.

  The hotel we’d been booked at held another conference room with a distinctly Hawaiian theme. A pile of leis sat by the door as we’d shed the happy welcome gift for work on keeping the public safe.

  “Kevin, pull up the airport security photos showing that Dana landed and if she took a cab, please.”

  Since I wasn’t a computer geek working on algorithms or whatever it was they were doing, I called the hotels, asking if my group of five to ten businessmen had checked in. I explained to them that they had sent me at the last minute and my phone wasn’t working correctly, so I had no idea what hotel we were at. So far, all of the hotels were taking me seriously and answered my questions like it was perfectly normal.

  Leslie had been quiet since she’d shown up at work this morning. She and Adam had been bent over whispering about different stuff during the flight, which made me feel left out. But hopefully, she was just getting to know him better. Wait, she had a boyfriend, so why was she hitting or getting friendly with Adam?

  My detective skills were slipping. It had been hours since I’d had a good coffee. I stood and stretched, needing to find a source of caffeine that would get my brain working again. We’d jumped time zones, and now the clock was only showing 5 p.m., but back at home it was closer to eight or nine at night. We’d added more working hours, but our bodies weren’t getting the extra sleep.

  Adam was standing next to the complementary coffee station, so this would give me a chance to find out what they were up to.

  “Guess we both had the same idea,” I remarked, trying to be casual.

  “Nope, I was waiting for you.”

  I frowned in confusion. “Why?”

  “We need to talk about Leslie.”

  Since that was what I’d been after, I was willing to listen. “Okay, spill.”

  “She’s going to need you to be very understanding over the next few days. I know that you don’t exactly like the whole psychic mumbo jumbo, but there are going to be a few things where she’s going to need someone in her corner. You have to be there for her, it’s very important.”

  “If I’m not, she’s going to die?” I had no intention of not being there for her considering that she was my partner.

  “She’s not going to die. There was a reading that both of you needed each other, and that couldn’t be more true at this very moment. Just remember that while she puts on a tough front, she’s still a person and a woman. She feels more deeply than she lets on, and you have to realize that she’s not okay.” Adam sipped his cup of coffee after saying it so matter-of-factly.

  “Then why are we not having this conversation with her right now?” I pour the coffee into my cup, adding a little sugar to it before putting the lid on it.

  “Right this second she’s fine. This evening, though, she won’t be,” he answered cryptically and walked away.

  “Dude, that’s not fair to say something like that and walk away,” I muttered angrily.

  When I looked up, there was Jerome standing across the lobby at the desk.

  “What the hell? How on earth did he get here?”

  Recognition dawned on me that this is what Adam had been trying to warn me about. Leslie was going to lose it on him. I had to make sure she didn’t commit murder.

  Then again, I couldn’t go in there and take her away from whatever she was doing. We needed her focused on the case, and maybe, just maybe, she knew that he was here,
but I was going to assume that wasn’t the case.

  He’d followed her, and she was going to be so pissed at him.

  Grinning at the upcoming explosion, I returned to the conference room, wanting to keep an eye on Leslie until everything went down.

  “We got a hit on a hotel that might have a group of men that checked in this afternoon. They aren’t scheduled for any tours at the moment, but they the criteria. They’re bankers, and we need to go check this out.” Agent Watson looked around until his eyes landed on me and Adam.

  “Take Leslie, and the three of you go see what you can find out. Warn them not to leave the hotel with a woman, and verify they have Taurus birthdays.”

  “On it, sir.” Adam caught the keys he tossed and we raced out the door.

  Jerome was nowhere to be seen as we crossed the lobby, but it was only a matter of time before he popped up somewhere we weren’t expecting him.

  Adam didn’t drive recklessly, but for having never been in Hawaii, it seemed like we were moving pretty quickly to the hotel on the other side of the island.

  The front desk was helpful when he showed them his badge, and then we waited for the group to come down to meet us since they’d just checked in.

  “We need to split up because Dana may know that we’re watching her already and try to meet them upstairs. Leslie, go upstairs and knock on their door. I’m going to check the stairwell, and Ryan can wait to see if they actually come down so we don’t miss them.” Adam directed the three of us to cover as many possible scenarios as possible.

  “Agent Dalca, here’s the gentleman you were waiting for.” The desk clerk pointed to the elevator door that opened to show four men in Hawaiian shirts exiting.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen, I’m Agent Dalca with the FBI, and we need to talk to you before you go out and start having fun. It concerns a hit that’s been taken out on your lives. Can we talk over here?” He motioned to the seats near the fireplace.

  “Ah, s-sure,” one of the men stammered. “I don’t understand…someone took out a hit on us?”

  “You may not be the one’s we’re looking for, but we believe the threat to be credible. How many are in your business party?” I questioned as they took their seats.

  “There are six of us, but Sam and Josh weren’t feeling good so they wanted to get a little rest before exploring.”

  “Were you planning to go whitewater rafting?” Leslie jumped in.

  “No, we plan to get a little sun. Fall off a few surfboards and go to a luau tonight and watch one of the guys eat fire. We’re not the adventurous type.”

  “This person is targeting businessmen who were born with the Zodiac sign of Taurus. Are your birthdays this month?” Leslie asked impatiently.

  “No, I’m a Capricorn. Ted, when is your birthday?”

  “June,” Ted answered, confused. The others confirmed they weren’t born Taurus’s either.

  “Gentlemen, I’m sorry to have bothered you. I would still recommend that you don’t do any whitewater rafting over the next few days,” Adam cautioned.

  “Understood. Thank you for taking the time to follow up with us, but I think you have the wrong group of bankers.”

  We moved away from the businessmen as they continued out to the beach for their vacation.

  “Now what? We’re not having any luck going about it this way.” I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated.

  A text popped up.

  “Oh my…you’re not going to believe this.”

  It read: Only twenty-four hours to save these people. Can you do it?

  “Is it from Dana?” Adam looked at the message above it and realized that I hadn’t told them about it.

  “I answered my own question by reading the previous text. Why didn’t you tell anyone? We could have put extra people on your fiancée.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t want to give him any more ammunition than I’d already had. Shea is good at taking care of herself, and we talked about a few things when it came in last week. I was scared at first, but if we worry about every message that he sends, then we’ll never get anything done.”

  We drove back to the hotel at a much slower rate of speed. I could feel Adam’s disapproval, but there wasn’t much I could do about it right now.

  “Well, what happened? Why are you back here?” Agent Watson demanded.

  “None of the men had birthday’s matching this sign. We still gave them the warning, but I don’t see them doing anything more than getting sunburns while on vacation,” I explained. “Did you want us to follow up on anything else?”

  “Nah,” he said more gently. “We’re not having much luck. She’s not going by her name, and we have the hotels and motels being canvassed as we speak. There are so many cottages and vacation homes that aren’t on the grid, we may not be able to find her.”

  “What about car or taxi services? Did she rent a car to drive around? How would you do that if you were trying to avoid being discovered?” Leslie took a seat in front of the laptop she’d brought and hooked up earlier to check it out.

  I noticed someone coming toward us out of the corner of my eye, and realized that Jerome had entered the room.

  “Crap,” I muttered. It must have been louder than I thought because Leslie looked up.

  When her eyes landed on Jerome, a fire began to burn, and I knew that I never wanted to have a woman look at me like that.

  “Outside, now.” She pointed at the door he’d just entered.

  Everyone in the room was watching with wide eyes, wondering what was happening.

  She followed him out and closed the door behind her.

  “Nothing to see here, just an unexpected visitor. Everything’s under control.” I turned to Adam. “Do you want to come with me for backup?”

  “It would be my pleasure, but I don’t think she’s going to need it. I think we need to keep her from murdering him in a hotel full of agents.” He had a huge grin on his face as we followed them out.

  I didn’t have to wonder where they’d gone because the shouting coming from the door leading to the beach was the perfect locator.

  “Do you think this is some kind of a game?” Leslie stood with her arms crossed defensively.

  “No. I just thought we could use the time when you’re not working to hang out and enjoy Hawaii together like we do at home. I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Jerome answered quietly.

  Adam and I had taken seats right inside so that we could see and hear what went on.

  “Hello! Just because I’ve been telling you where I am, that’s for your peace of mind. Not so you can follow me around like some groupie. I don’t have evenings off when we’re working a case like this. The killer just sent us a text taunting us that we only have twenty-four hours to stop these men from being killed.” Leslie started pacing the length of the small seating area.

  “What are you not understanding here, Jerome? I have to work. My job isn’t just a vacation while we wait for the killer to drop in our laps. We work constantly until we find a body or the person responsible. This isn’t a game.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you like this. I just wanted to surprise you. I have flowers in our room, and when you came up to bed, I’d be waiting for you.” Jerome looked like a kicked puppy.

  “Uh-oh. He just screwed up royally,” Adam whispered to me.

  “Our room? How do we have a room together? I’m in a room with another female agent.” Leslie’s eyes narrowed in anger.

  I’d never seen her this mad, and he was just adding fuel to the fire.

  “Oh, it wasn’t a problem. I explained to the front desk that I was Mr. Boxe and that you hadn’t thought I’d make it so they moved her over to another room so we could be together.”

  “You have got to be kidding me. I could have you arrested for impersonating my husband. You’re stalking me. I didn’t promise to let you know where I was headed so you could meet me for a romantic tryst.”

  She muttered to herself for a
moment before turning the full force of her anger onto him. “Here’s what’s going to happen. A male agent is going to escort you to the room you managed to break into. Then you’ll be taken to the airport and put on a plane. They’ll verify that you are on it. If for any reason you don’t go straight home, or you try to come back, I will have you arrested.”

  “What? Why? We can talk about this tomorrow when you’re not so upset. I’ll get a different room and stay out of your way. If you have time, then we can talk about it.” Jerome tried to backpedal to a safe place.

  He had no idea that he was only digging a deeper hole that there was no way to recover from.

  “There will be no talking because there isn’t anything to talk about. You don’t understand boundaries. You don’t respect me or what I do for a living. I’m not going to date a man that can’t have the common decency to be polite or know when to back off. When I get back home, I expect to find you nowhere near my home. Delete my number. If you start calling and trying to contact me, I will have a protection order put in place faster than you can blink.”

  “But you were excited to see me when I came out to California when you were injured. How is this different?” Jerome whined.

  “I didn’t ask you, Ryan did because he thought it was the right thing to do and I was okay with that. I needed other people to help me through that. You weren’t there beforehand, or it might have been you with a wound in your shoulder. He might have killed you instead. Not only is it not safe to be with us, I don’t have time for this kind of needy behavior.”

  “Wasn’t the sex good enough? I just don’t understand how you can throw away all that we’ve had the past few months for your job.” Jerome appealed to what he considered his best asset.

  Leslie’s voice dropped to a quiet firmness. “If you can’t figure out the difference between hot, get-me-off sex and a relationship, then you are dense. I can get good sex anywhere, but what I wanted was a relationship. You keep twisting this around on me. I didn’t stalk my girlfriend, lie that I was married to her, and then try to tell her that I’ve done nothing wrong.