by Scott Pratt
Brooke followed the officer with Lukas right behind her. Outside, he stopped next to the suspect’s vehicle. The trunk had been opened. Brooke took out her mini MagLite and shined it around in the trunk. In the right corner was a short length of rope. She picked it up and showed it to Lukas. “Does this look familiar?”
“It looks like the rope used at the library. I wonder what other secrets are in here.” Lukas bent down and shined his light in the trunk. “It looks like there’s blood here on the carpet. Some hair, too.”
“We’ll need to have it all tested.”
“I’ll mark it for CSU.”
Brooke heard someone approach from the rear. She turned to see Captain Hunter peering into the trunk.
“Are you two done here?”
“For the most part,” Lukas answered.
“I’ll be in my office. When you get things wrapped up here, I’d like to see you for a debriefing.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thirty minutes later, Brooke walked into the Johnson City Police Department headquarters along with Lukas. The building was becoming familiar to her. It almost felt like home. Brooke pulled Lukas into a dark, empty conference room as they walked past, shut the door and turned on the lights.
“Okay, you mentioned some things at the crime scene, and said we’d talk about them later. I know we didn’t have much time with all that was going on, so let’s clear the air now. What did you see that I didn’t?”
“The condition of the house for one thing. Absolutely no organization. I mean, his house was a wreck. This guy has been one step ahead of us the whole time. Do you think a guy who lived like that could outsmart us?”
“It’s a stretch, I’ll admit,” Brooke said. “But I’ve seen stranger things.”
“And Odell was a street junkie. He lived from one fix to the next. I have a hard time believing he would have had enough foresight to plan this thing out.”
Brooke didn’t answer. She was starting to see where Lukas was going, and she didn’t like it.
“And then there’s Danny’s profile,” Lukas said.
Brooke leaned against a table and folded her arms across her chest.
“Odell does go against that, but I don’t have as much faith in a profile as you do. Sometimes they’re just wrong.”
“And how did he know who to prey on?” Lukas said. “How did he choose the victims? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of the victims had children.”
“I agree,” Brooke said. “He either knew them personally or had to have access to records with their personal information, and Odell wouldn’t have had that kind of access. But what about the evidence we do have? The evidence at the scene.”
“Obviously, we can’t ignore it. The victims’ clothing, the rope in the trunk matches what we found, the red car, black male, not to mention his sperm. It’s all there.” Lukas walked around the room running his fingers through his hair. He turned back to Brooke. “We either got lucky, or this is frame job, and an obvious one at that.”
“What do we tell the captain?”
Lukas shrugged his shoulders. Brooke knew what was at stake. They were about to meet with Hunter about the case, and he was going to want answers. Did they have the guy or not? A mountain of evidence was at their disposal. It was almost too good to be true.
“Just follow my lead,” Lukas said, and he walked out of the room.
They made their way through the detective division to Captain Hunter’s office. The door was open, and they were beckoned in and offered seats in front of his large, mahogany desk.
“Thanks for coming in so quickly. It’s been quite a night so far. I’m supposed to brief the chief within the hour, so I need to know exactly where we stand. When I brief him, he’ll want to know all the details. Nobody knows these cases like you two. So, let’s have it. Is this our guy?”
Brooke glanced at Lukas. Their eyes locked, and he began to speak. “Everything we need to make a case against Rodney Odell is there, sir. The victims’ clothing, a red car, the rope, the fact that we have a witness who saw a black male carrying a rug near the mayor’s house close to the time a body was dumped in his driveway. And the most important piece of evidence is the guy’s DNA from Razzy. There are some loose ends that need to be cleared up, of course.”
“I don’t like loose ends.” The captain turned his attention to Brooke.
“What do you think?”
“The evidence at the scene points to Rodney Odell as the killer,” she said.
“What about Odell’s death? Anything suspicious?” the captain said, looking back at Lukas for the answer.
“Nothing other than the fact that it was mighty convenient for our serial killer to wind up dead with a house full of evidence around him. It effectively ends the investigation, because dead men don’t talk. Rodney Odell can’t tell us a thing.”
“I sense you doubt he’s our killer. Why?”
“I just have some problems with the convenience of it all. I also have some problems with the condition of the house, the fact that Odell is dead—”
“So, you think somebody’s framing him?”
“I don’t know, sir. It’s possible.”
“Anything’s possible, Detective.”
“Cases as complicated as this are never perfect. Like I said, there are just a few minor things to follow up on. Nothing major.”
The captain leaned back in his well-worn leather chair and gave a glare, first at Lukas, then Brooke. “What are the two of you up to?”
Brooke decided to enter the game. She pointed at Lukas. “Like he said, there’re just some small things to follow up on.”
Hunter sat there looking back and forth between them as though he was measuring them up.
“I’ll brief the chief in thirty. Any suggestions?”
“Just that it’s still an active investigation. Less is best,” Lukas said.
“Damn it, Miller, I’m not feeling very confident. Do we hold a press conference and say we got the guy?”
“Yours and the chief’s call, Captain,” Lukas said. “That’s why they pay you guys the big money.”
“Shit,” Captain Hunter said. “You’re no help. Get out of my office.”
Brooke followed Lukas down the hall to the squad room. Several officers and detectives were milling around in jovial moods. The stress caused by the homicides over the past weeks seemed to lift like a morning fog with the discovery of Odell’s body and the treasure trove of evidence.
Brooke spent the next two hours helping Lukas sift through the evidence bags that had been collected by the CSU team. Everything was carefully catalogued and sent to the property and evidence room, where it would be stored before being sent to the lab for testing and comparison. Brooke sat at the table in the center of the squad room and stared at the empty interview rooms on the monitors. Her mind wandered back to the night Lukas interviewed Razzy. It seemed like an eternity ago. She glanced over at Lukas who was entering case notes in the file. He seemed to feel her gaze and turned to look at her.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I was just thinking about the night Razzy was in there.” Brooke pointed to the empty interview room on the monitor.
“I still have trouble believing she’s gone.” Lukas lowered his voice so the others in the room couldn’t hear.
“I’d really like to believe this is over, but I don’t,” he said. “I think there’s another layer that’s even more sinister than what we’ve been dealing with.”
“God help us if Odell isn’t the guy,” Brooke said. “That would mean someone has now committed six murders, is still out there, and will keep on killing.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brooke sat on Sierra’s bedroom floor with her rudimentary set of mismatched tools. The Cinderella bed lay half-finished in front of her. She picked
up the instructions, looked them over, sighed, and promptly tossed them back on the floor. How was she supposed to turn this mess into the beautiful bed pictured on the box? She wasn’t even sure what some of the screws were called. She’d never seen anything like them.
She picked up the phone and dialed her dad’s number. It went to voicemail. She’d forgotten that he was with her mom at their cabin this weekend and probably didn’t have cell service. She set the phone down and rolled over on her back, massaging her temples.
“Mommy, how long until you get the Cinderella bed done?” Sierra was standing at the door.
“I don’t know, sweetie. I’m doing the best I can. We might have to wait until Grandpa gets back home.”
“But you promised.”
“I know, but I don’t think I have the right tools here.”
“Then call Daddy. Please.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll work something out.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. She had to be at the firing range at 2:00 p.m. for the last session of the Citizen’s Police Academy class and the graduation ceremony. She had roughly four hours to fulfill her promise to Sierra and get the bed put together.
“It’s okay, Mommy. You can do it later when you have some help.” Sierra, who was still at the door, seemed to sense her frustration. She walked into the room and threw her arms around Brooke’s neck before she went back to the living room and her Saturday morning cartoons.
Brooke threw her hands up and laid back. She stared up at the ceiling. So much to do, so little time. She sat up and hit Lukas’s number.
“Hey, Brooke, what’s up?”
“Not much. What are you doing this morning?”
“I couldn’t sleep last night. I just got out of bed and am fixing a pot of coffee.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll call you later.”
“It’s no problem. I’m up now. What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve been thinking about Odell, and something is bugging me.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Actually, I just lied. I need some help putting together a bed for Sierra. I promised her I’d do it this morning, but it’s a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. Are you any good at assembling kid’s toys?”
“I don’t have any kids, but I’m a man of many talents. Text me your address and I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
“I don’t want to hijack your Saturday.”
“Text me the address.”
Lukas arrived a short while later, and Sierra opened the door before he could knock.
“Hi.”
“Well, hi yourself.” Lukas stood there with a cardboard tray in his hand that contained three cups. He looked back and forth between daughter and mother. Brooke could see the look of surprise on Lukas’s face. She’d seen the look before. People were often shocked at the resemblance between her and her daughter.
“Sierra, this is Lukas Miller. He’s a friend of mommy’s. He’s a police officer too. Lukas, this is Sierra.”
“Hi there.” Lukas held out his hand and Sierra took it. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Mommy is putting my new Cinderella bed together. But she gets mad. Are you going to help?”
“I sure am. We’ll get it together, I promise.”
“I wouldn’t be so confident, Mr. Goodwrench,” Brooke said. “It’s a mess.”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” He handed her the tray. “Hold this. Coffees for you and me and a hot chocolate for Cinderella. My toolbox is in the trunk of my car. Be right back.”
When they finished assembling the bed an hour after they began, Sierra was ecstatic. She even gave Lukas a hug, which seemed to surprise him as much as it surprised Brooke. Sierra jumped on the bed and began to play as soon she was given the go ahead.
As Lukas was packing up his tools, Brooke took the opportunity to slip away and prepare a lunch of sandwiches and chips. Lukas came out of Sierra’s room and accepted Brooke’s invitation to the table.
Brooke served the meal, and as they ate, Sierra jabbered on and on about how much she loved her new bed. Once they were finished eating, Sierra disappeared back into the bedroom.
“I really appreciate you coming over and helping out. I wish I could stay here and enjoy Sierra and her new bed, but duty calls.”
“On a Saturday? After they announced the man they believed to be the serial killer was found dead?”
The two departments had issued a joint press release announcing that the serial killer who had been terrorizing the communities of Kingsport and Johnson City was dead.
“They took the coward’s way out,” Brooke said. “I don’t think either chief or any of the captains believed what they were selling.”
“Doing it by press release was the best way,” Lukas said. “They didn’t have to answer any tough questions and if things go badly later and there’s another murder, they can blame each other.”
“If there’s another murder, I promise the district attorney generals in both of our districts will take the case away from us and give it to the TBI,” Brooke said.
“Yeah, well, we’ve done the best we can.”
“Have we? Are you planning to stop looking at the file and following up leads?”
“Not a chance. I’ll just have to do it on my own time.”
“Same here. Back to what we were talking about, it’s the last day of the Citizen’s Police Academy, and that means graduation night and dinner.”
“And you have to be there?”
“I’ve told you before. It’s the chief’s pet project. I have to go.”
“At least we got Sierra’s bed finished. I enjoyed it. It seemed to mean a lot to her.”
“You have no idea. She’s not usually so open with new people. She even gave you an unsolicited hug. That’s big, believe me.” Brooke’s phone rang. She looked at the ID. “Excuse me,” she said. “Hey, Haley.”
“I need a favor.”
“You’ve got it. What can I do?”
“I know I’m supposed to watch Sierra for you, but I was wondering if there’s any way you could get your mom or dad to watch her.”
“They’re out of town, Haley.” Brooke looked at Lukas and rolled her eyes.
“You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. But I got a last-minute date.”
“Who’s the lucky guy?”
“It’s the hottie from my apartment complex I’ve been stalking. I finally got him to notice me. We are, or were, going out to a movie and then later he’s taking me to dinner. But I can cancel it. I promised you, after all.”
“No, don’t do that. I know how long you’ve been lusting over this guy, and I don’t want you to bail because of me.”
“But I feel so bad. I mean, I promised.”
“Not another word. I’ll handle it. Go have fun. Bye.”
“Babysitter issues?” Lukas said.
“Yes. Of all the days.”
“Who are you going to get?”
“I’ll call Alex and get him to watch her. It’s not his weekend to keep her, so he’ll be pissy. Then I’ll have to listen to a lecture about responsibility and career choices.”
“So, Alex is your ex?”
“Yeah, Alex Fisher. I changed my name back to Stevens after we divorced.”
“I could watch her.”
Brooke was surprised, almost shocked.
“Absolutely not. I’m not going to completely ruin your Saturday.”
Sierra came running across the room and jumped into Brooke’s arms.
“Thanks again for fixing my bed, Mr. Miller.”
“It’s Lukas, and you’re welcome.”
“Are you good with bicycles?”
“Sierra, that’s enough,” Brooke said.
“But you said you’d fix that, too.
And since Mr. Lukas has his tools here, why can’t he—”
“That’s it,” Lukas said. “I’m staying. What kind of man would I be if I left Cinderella without a ride?”
Brooke watched the grin cross her daughter’s face. “Please, Mommy, please?”
“Lukas, are you sure about this? I really don’t want to impose on you any more than I already have.”
“I’d be more than happy to stay. I’ll fix the bike and keep an eye on the princess. As long as you’re comfortable with it.”
“Of course, I’m sure you two would do fine.” As she spoke, she thought about how Lukas interacted with Timmy the day he delivered the awful news about Timmy’s mother. “But what about you? Don’t you and Gabriele have plans?”
“She isn’t too happy with me right now. I was planning on chilling today. But now it looks like I have a date with Cinderella – if she’ll have me, that is.”
“Yes,” Sierra said. “Cinderella wants you to stay.”
“Okay,” Brooke said. “It looks like I’m outnumbered. You two win.”
Sierra grabbed Lukas’s hand. “C’mon, Mr. Lukas. I’ll show you my bike.”
Brooke watched as Sierra led Lukas through the kitchen and out the French doors to the back yard where the bicycle was. She wandered over to the window and watched the two of them.
Before she left, Brooke gave Lukas a rundown of where Sierra’s snacks were located, and then left for the police training facility. The drive was pleasant. The afternoon was cool but not overly so, allowing her to drive with the windows down and the air off. She thought about how nice it was of Lukas to volunteer for babysitting duty on a Saturday, especially with a child he didn’t know well. He was becoming a good friend. The problem was, she found herself wanting more.
When Brooke arrived at the range, she looked over the materials for her presentation, which was to be on evidence collection. It took her just over an hour to give her talk. Afterward, while the cadets played with some of the department’s favorite police toys, she checked in with Lukas. Sierra seemed to be having a good time, and Brooke clearly heard a football game on the TV in the background.