by Paris Morgan
“See, that’s what you think. We know better. The thought of doing this has been keeping us going for months. We got a taste when our cousins died, but we were too young to really understand what was happening. Then with our sisters, it seemed so easy, and no one ever questioned us to find out if it was the truth.”
Agent Watson leaned forward. “What was the truth? That you killed your sisters? You didn’t know that killing your sisters was wrong? Did you feel bad about it?”
“Feel bad about what? Killing people brought me joy. There was so little joy with them around. They were always taking all of our mom’s time and energy. It was a simple us or them situation. They had to go, and once they did, our world became a simple thing again.”
“Really? So it was simple because only you and your brother were the focal point? How did killing all these other people help keep your world simple? They weren’t bothering you or taking away from your time with you mother.”
“No, they weren’t. They were taking away from their family’s worlds. Baby girls and baby girl twins pull out all the energy. It was the perfect solution.”
“But what if those twin girls were the only children in their family? Don’t you think that their parents would want them to be alive?” He circled back to the flaw in their logic.
“Of course they would miss them. It’s not our place to worry about that. We have to do what we and the savior think is best. The parents will get over it. Ours did. Well, after Mom left Dad for not believing in us,” Darrell spoke with honesty.
“This savior, how does he communicate with you? Is he helpful with ideas or just a general set of rules? How long have you known him?”
“He said that you would want to know more about him. He finds you and trains you to do the best you can. He draws it out of you so that you want to please him. Rules? No, just to make sure the person dies on the day they were born.”
“That’s interesting. So you believe that he brings out the best in you? Do you believe that you were called to be a killer? Destined, so to speak.”
“We’re all just fulfilling our destinies. Called to a life of killing? Nah. We were just the products of the universe. We were destined to balance it.”
“Interesting…very interesting.”
“What, that we mentioned our savior? We answered your questions. He gave us permission to talk to you. He felt that you needed a win after four months of not having one. He said to tell you that you owe him one.” He looked past Agent Watson to stare directly at the mirror where Leslie and I were watching him.
I shivered. It was like he was talking to us.
We might have the killers in custody, but that didn’t take away from the fact the Zodiac Master was still running the show.
Chapter 12
Leslie
The Bishop twins had been taken to separate cells on opposite sides of the jail so they couldn’t see each other.
Their only request was for a glass of lemonade before bed.
Agent Watson wasn’t inclined to pamper them, but since it wasn’t a horrible request, he complied. He was curious to see what they were going to do with it, so he had someone make it for them.
They simply drank it and laid down with their arms crossed over their chests. Watching them on camera, it was eerie to see them mirror their actions at exactly the same time.
They were completely in sync with each other, but having no knowledge that the other was doing the same thing…or maybe they did.
I had been fine while they were being questioned, but now I was desperately needing food and sleep.
“Listen up!” Agent Watson clapped to get everyone’s attention.
“We’ve got them bedded down for the night. Tomorrow, they’ll be transferred to a high security prison until their trials. We’re going to have a judge hear the case in the morning so we can get them into the system. No one is going to be allowed in or out overnight. Go to the hotel and get some rest. We won a small battle, but we still have to win the war.”
Relieved, Adam and Ryan accompanied me to the SUV. “Food and sleep?”
“I’m down,” Ryan replied wearily.
“Me too. As tired as I am, I don’t think I can sleep just yet.”
Adam drove through the town until he found the only 24-hour diner.
As we got settled, other agents came in the room, deciding that food was the next thing on the agenda as well. The buzz of energy in the room grew as they all discussed the case.
It felt like an ending, but at the same time, we still had more to do.
I’d eaten the last bit when it hit me.
“We need to go back to the police station. Our twins just died.”
“What? How is that even possible?” Ryan began to swear under his breath.
“I don’t know, but I know that they’re both dead.” I got up and threw some money onto the table to cover our meal.
The other agents looked at us curiously as we got up and raced out.
We burst through the police station, startling the desk clerk.
“Detectives, what’s wrong?” Agent Watson stuck his head out of an office door.
“They’re dead,” I announced, breathless from running.
“That’s not possible.” Agent Watson took off, heading back toward the cells.
“See? They’re in the same position they were in just minutes ago when you left.” Comprehension dawned on his face. “Open the cells and keep your guns out.”
He entered the cell of Darrell and laid a finger on his neck to check for a pulse.
Looking at us, he confirmed what I’d felt. They were gone. How they’d escaped justice was beyond me.
Agent Watson backed out of the cell, motioning them to lock it after him just in case it was a trick of some kind. After repeating the process on Randell’s body, it was obvious they were gone.
“How did this happen? Who made the lemonade for them?” he growled to those of us standing around the cell doors.
One of the local officers raised his hand. “I did, sir. There wasn’t anything in it that would possibly have killed them.”
“We’ll have them autopsied to find out for sure,” Adam explained to the worried officer.
“Crap! There goes our case.” Agent Watson hit the bars of the cell. “He keeps killing our star witnesses. There has to be some way to capture this bastard. He couldn’t have gotten in because they weren’t left alone any time in the last hour.”
Little bulbs started to flash around my head.
“Uh, Adam…”
“Yeah,” he answered distractedly.
“I need some help.”
“Oh, yes you do. Let’s get you outside.” He took my arm and led me out of the station and to the park across the street.
Gently helping me sit, he took a place directly across from me.
“They’ve sensed the twins’ deaths, but need your help to go home,” Adam guided.
Neither one of us had noticed Ryan following us outside.
“What do I do?” I cringed at how helpless I sounded.
“Talk to them. Reassure them that the twins’ justice is in their hands now. Then have them forgive the twins, if that’s even possible. Last, release them to their eternal rest.”
I nodded as the swarm was becoming overwhelming.
With eyes closed, I concentrated on the excited voices buzzing around me.
“Welcome all who seek justice. Those who wronged you are dead. It’s up to God for the final judgment on their souls.”
The fluttering stopped as the faces of each set of twins circled me.
“Thank you for bringing them to justice and for avenging our deaths,” Keanna spoke for the group. “The others aren’t able to speak to you, but have asked that I convey their gratitude. You have given much of yourself, and in return we give you the location of the woman you saw murdered so that you may also have closure.”
“What?” I sputtered.
“Go back to where it happened. Som
eone will be there to guide you.” She gestured to the glowing orbs floating around me. “We would have been stuck here on this plane of existence without your hard work.”
Each group of twins smiled and waved before blinking out, until it was the youngest set that had helped us find the knife.
“You helped us find our home. It was taken so many years ago, and now we can be reunited with our parents.” Sarah held Sally’s hand tightly. “Blessings upon you for the good you bring into the world.”
Then they were gone.
Keanna and Janna stood there, wreathed in happiness. “We’re going to the other side now, but there are many more who can help you on your journey. Be true to yourself and it will lead you in the direction of your destiny.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I opened my eyes to find Adam staring at me.
I swiped at my face, noticing Ryan sitting close enough to hear everything.
“What?” I growled, wanting that feeling of peace to stay with me as they all went to find their happy ever afters.
“I don’t feel it. There’s no energy left here. Not good or bad. They’re all gone. You did it,” Adam congratulated me.
“They were happy.” I smiled right before I fell over.
“Is she okay?” Ryan dashed toward me.
“Yeah. We should get her to the hotel. She needs sleep.”
I could hear them, but I couldn’t respond. I was too tired. I’d forgotten to release my energy back into the world.
***
I woke up in the hotel room.
“Adam, she’s awake,” Ryan whispered.
They both came to stand by the bed.
“Um, what happened? Why am I so hungry?”
Ryan let out a laugh. “She’s gonna be fine if she’s hungry.”
“You used up all the energy and had to recharge. You’ve been in and out for a few days.”
It was coming back to me; the twins were dead. The spirits had been released.
“I have to go search for the body!” I shouted, then clapped a hand over my mouth. “First, I need to find the restroom.”
“What body?” Ryan looked confused.
“From when she was a child. She witnessed a murder and it triggered her psychic abilities.”
“Oh,” Ryan exclaimed softly. “That makes more sense.”
I stood in the doorway, drying my hands. “When the spirits came, they told me to go find the body. It should give me peace. It’s their way of thanking me for sending them back into the universe. So, when can we go home?” I asked, looking between both of them.
“We didn’t want to leave you unguarded, physically or psychically. There have been too many weird things going on these past few months.”
“The rest of the team left yesterday. We’re free to go as soon as you’re up for it,” Adam reported.
“Then let’s do it, with a quick stop for food.”
The two days of rest, food, and then nap again on the plane, had me feeling almost normal as I headed home to shower. It was time to go back to my family home, but I had a few phone calls to make before that could happen.
***
My mother was waiting at the door when I arrived.
“Oh, baby. It’s so good to see you.” She enveloped me in a hug.
It felt so strange to have all the years of death and crime scenes fade in the arms of my mom. She always made me feel protected and safe, even now that I was grown.
I kissed her cheek before following her into the house.
“Your sister will be here in the morning. I’m not sure how you’re going to find a grave that’s been out there for over twenty years. We’re not even sure that there is a body.”
I smiled. “Yes, actually, there is. The dead told me.”
“I think you need to come in and tell your father and I the whole story.”
“You’re going to have trouble believing it.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
***
Karen found me the next morning on the front porch.
“So you know where the body is buried?”
“Not exactly. I have a general idea. It’s over in the park area. I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Okay, I can work with that. I told my boss that I might have a lead on an old missing persons case. If we find something, then he’s going to send out a team to help us recover the body.” Karen took a seat next to me.
“How’d it go with Mom? She okay now that she’s seen you’re alive?” She grinned at me, knowing Mom was always worried about us because of our jobs.
“That wasn’t really what had her worried. It was the talking to the dead that stopped her short.” I laughed at her shocked expression. “When I got hit on the head, it rewired something in my brain. I’m not sure how it works, but I know that I’ve been able to figure out things on our cases because of it.”
“How did you not know about it all these years?”
“I mentally blocked it out. Evidently, it was such a strong block that when I let it down, it could be felt for miles.”
Karen shook her head skeptically. “I know you and Flora are all into this, but I’m just not sure about it.”
“When I walk straight to where a body is buried, that should help with a few of your questions.” I wasn’t mad at her. Heaven knew this was such a new kind of thing. I just wanted to prove it was real.
“Well, lead on, bloodhound. I wanna see how you sniff this out.”
“Laugh all you want to, but it’s about to get real out there.” I walked to my car. “Meet you over there.” I hopped in and peeled out of the driveway, spewing gravel as I went.
When I got to the park, it was almost exactly like I remembered it. The smell of fresh cut grass and the sound of children laughing filled my head as I walked to the edge of the forest.
Closing my eyes, I thought back to that day when the man in the clown mask had held the knife to the woman’s throat. The mask had made it seem like he was laughing as he sliced her open. My body shivered, and I felt a slight tug on my arm.
Without waiting for my sister, I moved into the foreboding forest. Even though it was morning, the forest was clouded over with a dark heaviness that got thicker the farther in I went.
I stopped and looked around. There wasn’t anything to indicate that someone was buried here. No markings on the trees, and the forest had had over twenty years to absorb her body. Then I realized that I was standing in the greenest part of the forest.
A twig snapped behind me, and acting on instinct, I pulled my gun at the sound.
“It’s just me, sis,” Karen whispered softly, almost as if she sensed in the atmosphere that we had entered a burial ground.
“This is where she was buried. He pulled her far enough into the woods that he couldn’t be seen, but where he could come visit any time he wanted to.”
She studied my face. “You’re sure this is it?”
I nodded. “Yes, and there may be more bodies.”
My senses were telling me that he had done this more than once.
“Boss, this is Karen. We’ve got the possible site of a missing woman. Can you send out Caleb with his dog?”
“All right. I’m sending a few members of the excavation team as well.”
“Thank you, sir.”
When the radio went quiet, the silence thickened as if to hush the disturbance our voices had caused to those buried here.
“Do you think this is connected to the other murders?” Karen sat down on a fallen log.
“I’m not sure, but I know that it’s something I had to make time for. This woman deserves justice, even if it’s been years since her death.”
We sat quietly until we could hear Caleb approaching with the team behind him.
“Karen, the boss said you might have found something out here?” He looked around, curious.
“My sister thinks she saw a murder when she was little, and this is where the body is buried.”
“Well, we�
�ll see.” He bent to whisper in his dog Kato’s ear.
Kato stood up and walked carefully around the circle clearing. Then he made his way to the middle and poked around in several different spots.
“I’d say your sister was right. I believe Kato just found six bodies,” he announced, waving the team in to get started. “It’s going to be a few hours before we know more. You’re welcome to come back,” he offered.
“Nope. I need to stand watch with them, but thank you.”
Each body that was taken out of the ground brought a sort of relief to the air in the forest. As if each body released the forest and allowed it to take a breath of clean air.
Karen stood next to me as the team dug carefully so they didn’t disturb any evidence. “I still can’t believe that you were right. Really, how did you know?”
“I walked over to the edge of the forest and let the spirits guide me.”
“Seriously, that’s what you’re sticking to?”
“Yes.” I smiled as they placed the last body into the bag for transport to the medical examiner’s office.
“Ladies, we’re done here. Let’s hope that we can get a match on these women and close some cases. Maybe we’ll even find the person who did this,” Caleb announced as he zipped up the last black bag.
“Thank you.” Karen walked over to the others packing up.
“Ready?”
“Yep.” I fell into step behind the last body as it exited the forest.
When the black bag crossed the threshold, there was a loud bang, causing all the officers instinctively to duck.
“What was that?” Caleb cried out.
“It’s was just the forest resettling after caring for these women all these years.”
The group hurried through the park to their vehicles with glances over their shoulders at the forest and me.
“You were right. It feels like the forest took a deep breath after the last woman crossed the threshold. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.”
“It was my gift for working on the other cases and bringing the last set of killers to justice.”