by A Wallace
“Let's go home Sean. I don't like it here.”
“Good idea. You warm enough?”
“Yeah,” she said, wiggling out of his arms and the covers. “I'm leaving my leathers on.”
“You look good in leather,” he said as he slid off the bed and grabbed his backpack. “Let's go home.”
“We should take the side door at the end of the hall. We don’t want to be seen leaving.”
She snatched her overnight bag, walked into the bathroom and turned off the shower. He waited for her at the door. She trotted towards him as he opened the door for her. In the hall, she stalled. “Wait, I forgot something. Stay here. I’ll be a second.”
∞ ∞ ∞
Charley closed the door, leaving him in the hall. She scurried across the room to the nightstand, opened the drawer, grabbed the green dolphin ring, and stuffed it in her backpack.
Chapter 24
Two Spares and a Strike
Two Spares and Lorton, VA – Faraday Farms
Sunday, 22 May – 11:12 AM
Charley swiveled the office chair back and forth, staring at the ceiling as her mind shifted between the recent changes surrounding her professional and personal life. In the last two months, much had happened. Her softening attitude permitted her to experience sincere warmth towards the man sitting next to her sipping his coffee. A man whose touch didn’t sting. She glanced at him. His coffee mug to his lips, Murphy toasted her. He spent more time with her and less everywhere else.
“You okay?” Murphy said.
Charley blew a raspberry. “I heard from Scott this morning. The hard drive from Natalie’s computer had nothing suspicious or valuable.”
“Fingerprints on the DVD?”
“Natalie’s only.”
Murphy shook his head. “That sucks.”
“You ready to go to the firing range?” She turned and unhooked her shoulder harness from the back of the chair.
“Yes. Could you not outscore me this time?”
“Jealous?” She grinned.
“I am a man, so…” Murphy rubbed his chest with his hand.
“Dream on, tree boy.” Charley draped the harness over her shoulder.
“You’re the only person I know who can put three bullets in the same entry point.”
“Well, Sean, consider this. If you’re ever on your knees with a gun to your head,” Charley checked her weapon and secured it in the holster, “first, I’ll shoot his trigger finger, then I’ll put one in his temple. Unlike some agents, I go nowhere without my weapon.”
“Wouldn’t attempting to shoot someone’s trigger finger be risky?”
Charley nudged him with her arm. “Would you trust anyone else?”
Murphy admired the dust on the floor. “No.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Exactly.”
“You’re a dangerous woman.”
“Sean, put your alpha male between your legs and let’s go kill a few silhouettes.”
Their cell phones chimed simultaneously.
She buried her face into her hands. “Please, no.”
“Put your boots on, Char. We’re going hunting.”
“No crossbow fun today.” She worked her feet into her combat boots, tied the laces, and stood.
“Unless the killer is there.”
“Gives me an excuse to put a slug in his apricot.” She patted Murphy’s shoulder as she walked past him.
Herndon, VA – St. Francis Lutheran Church – Shalidor Drive
Next to Lawson’s Bowling Alley - 1:20 PM
In the massive, landscaped gardens of St. Francis Lutheran Church, Natalie Norman laid at rest nestled between two raised flowerbeds.
Charley and Murphy crouched on their knees to examine the child posed in the same fashion as Robin and Olivia. Her slender body lying on a green flannel blanket surrounded by nine white patchouli scented candles. A handmade yellow pillow supported her head. The differences in the dresses intrigued them. Robin and Olivia’s were solid colors. Natalie’s was two-tone. Cream top, light green skirt, and gathered at the waist with a ruffled collar. The shoes were the same lightweight sneakers, laced with green ribbon. The socks on her feet were mint green. In the victim’s hands were three yellow carnations.
Murphy scooted to the child’s shoulder. His gloved finger identified the same yellow velvet bow in her hair.
Behind them Doobie’s agitation spilled from his voice. “Dumped at the church the Normans attend.” He tramped in circles. His hands never still, they rubbed his head, wandered across his face, until he cracked his knuckles and punched the air. “It’s next door, people. Next door to the bowling alley, the fucking abduction site.”
Charley rushed to him, clasping his hands in hers, she brought them to her chin. “Whoa, big guy. Breathe, Doobie, breathe.” She massaged his neck with her fingers. “That’s it, deep slow breaths.”
Murphy stood behind Charley. “Doobie, how about you and I go for a walk?”
Doobie took control of his hands and wrung them. “I’m okay. I needed to let loose. No walls for me to destroy.”
Charley cupped his cheeks with her palms. “You okay? Can we move forward?”
“Yes, please.” Doobie’s eyes trailed into the distance. “I’m sorry. Stress. Little girls, man, little girls.”
“Stay strong.” Charley eyed Doobie then Murphy as she sighed. She nodded at Murphy. “Go.”
Murphy admired her tenderness towards the only father figure she had. The person who helped bring her into this world and witnessed her success as an agent. Murphy ran his finger around the inside of his collar. He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t he dump her at the bowling alley? He returned Robin and Olivia to the original site.”
“Confusion.” Charley circled the body and gazed out over the lawn. “He anticipated police patrolling the bowling alley property. What better way to mock us than this? Make us appear incompetent.”
“Same vicinity,” Doobie said.
“Far enough for us to miss him,” Murphy said. “Why would he leave the body at a church?”
“Shock value.” Charley returned to Natalie’s side and stood next to Murphy. “Doobie, who found her?”
“After church services,” Doobie pointed towards the east, “two boys were playing by the tree line, which separates the property from the bowling alley. They saw her and ran like hell to tell the pastor they found Natalie. The Normans were with the minister.” Doobie combed his fingers through his thick locks. “Dammit people, they thought she was alive and asked where she was. The boys led them to Natalie’s body. Mrs. Norman fainted two seconds before her husband. They’re at the trauma center.”
“Hmmm.” Murphy rubbed his eyes. “This character is beyond cruel. He’s heartless. Cold-blooded. Think about it. A soccer field behind an elementary school, a playground, and now here. God’s house.”
“What are you saying, Sean?” Charley shimmied closer to him.
“Char, he places the victims where children may find them. This animal’s plan is definitive.”
“You believe he’s orchestrating the discovery?”
“Yes. He’s determined not to only destroy the victims, but hurt living children. Who does crap like this, Char?”
“His vendetta is against children?”
“Maybe not children, but a certain child. One from his past. You said the victims are representative, a conduit.”
“This manifestation may go as deep as schoolyard bullying, ridicule, feelings of inadequacy. This isn’t about love. This is revenge.”
“No. It’s both.”
“Revenge against someone he loves. That makes sense.” Charley paced frantically. “He has a sister.”
“Not his mother?” Doobie said.
“No, if it was his mother, he would murder adult women. This targets a certain age group. Something happened during his life when he was ten or twelve. The clothing is from the eighties. He’s our age, Sean.”
“Char, Doobie, I’ll bet my life
savings, my Harley, and my house, he attended the same school as one of the victims.”
“Maybe Carmichael can give us more,” Doobie said.
“My opinion, Natalie’s cause of death will be the same as Olivia’s.” Murphy said. “The crime scenes are the same. Nothing new.”
“Anal,” Charley said.
“He’s an ass all right.” His medical bag in his hand, Carmichael trotted towards them. “He is consistent, isn’t he?”
“I’ll give him that much,” Doobie said while Carmichael dropped to his knees to examine the victim. Charley and Murphy situated themselves on the opposite side of the body. Doobie stood behind them while sweat coated his forehead.
“Three yellow carnations, he purchased these. They symbolize rejection, and distance,” Charley said. “Overuse of yellow can cause a disturbing effect, it makes babies cry. A nursery should never be all yellow. Used with black, it suggests caution. Natalie is African American. He’s warning us it’s not over. There’s more coming.”
“Isn’t yellow associated with cowardice?” Murphy said.
“This guy is no coward. He proved that by becoming brassy, confident, comfortable. He’s enjoying this. His purpose is changing or evolving into another direction. Now he’s beyond dangerous,” Charley said.
“The candles burned less than an hour,” Murphy said.
After he removed the flowers and placed them in an evidence bag, Carmichael determined the time of death. “Natalie’s been dead about nine hours.”
“He killed her around three-thirty this morning,” Charley said.
Doobie stepped around them stopping behind Carmichael. “Property visibility is low. The church grounds are covered in trees and gardens.”
Carmichael waved to Phillip Fleming who was on his hands and knees combing through the grass searching for evidence. “Let’s transport her.”
Fleming trotted towards them with a body bag. Murphy helped Carmichael lift the victim for Fleming to place the bag underneath her. With Natalie’s body above the blanket, Murphy’s brows creased. “Stop.” He pointed with his head. “Well, what do we have here?” Hidden in the folds of the cover a silver coin shined.
“A quarter?” Charley glanced at Murphy and Doobie. She stooped, retrieved the coin and waited for Fleming to ready the bag, and handed it to Fleming to label into evidence. “We didn’t release to the press we found a roll of quarters behind the bowling alley.”
Carmichael and Murphy laid Natalie on the body bag while Fleming bagged and tagged the quarter.
Curious, Charley approached Fleming, holding out her hand. “I want to see the coin again.” He gave her the clear plastic evidence bag. She inspected the contents. “Unbelievable.”
“What?” Murphy scurried over to her.
“The quarter is twenty-nine years old.” She smiled. “His age.”
“Explains the vintage dresses.”
“Possible.” Doobie scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. “So, we hunt down every twenty-nine-year-old male in Northern Virginia and hope we find one who admits to abducting the victim, held her before bringing her back to the crime scene.”
“Wish it were that easy,” Charley said. “He didn’t stray too far from the point of contact, same with the other two.”
Murphy stood while Carmichael remained crouched. “I understand what you’re saying. I don’t believe he was nearby. Someone would have seen Natalie.”
“But he had time to stash her somewhere and return,” Charley said.
Carmichael motioned to Fleming for an assist. Murphy acknowledged Carmichael’s indication he and Fleming would handle the transport. “No way. He had her, he’s running.”
As they carried Natalie to the transport wagon, Carmichael yelled over his shoulder. “Murph, Char, my place, tomorrow.”
They acknowledged with a single nod.
“I’ll give you that one.” She vied for Doobie’s guidance.
“Charley has a point,” Doobie said. “We withheld the discovery of the quarters from the media. He was here, watching us.”
“But where?” Murphy said as Carmichael and Fleming loaded the body into the paddy wagon. “We accounted for everyone at the bowling alley.”
“Sean, they were miles away when someone realized she was missing,” Charley said. “They ran through the trees behind the bowling alley towards the park. Natalie was in the grove. The quarters are proof.”
Murphy paced, each step adamant. “No, no, no.” He swished his arms back and forth shaking his head. “He came back.”
“Came back?” she said.
“Yes, he came back later. He learned she dropped the money. The kidnapper returned to retrieve the missing coins. That’s how he knew we had the quarters.”
Charley’s smile enlarged. “You’re right, you are so right.”
“Damn, Murph, maybe I can retire and you can take over.” Doobie grinned. “Wait, we had patrols everywhere.”
Murphy waved for Doobie and Charley to follow him. “The perp came from the park on the other side of the grove. Easy to slip through at night.”
“That makes sense,” Doobie said. “He was on foot.”
“Patrols watched for cars, not individuals.” She nodded. “Sean has a point. He used the tree line as cover to avoid detection.”
“Did the evidence crew check the park?” Murphy said.
“We spent two days searching the park,” Doobie said. “Found nothing. If Fleming and his crew can’t find it, it’s not there.”
“People were at the ballgame during that time. Anyone come forward?”
“No. That’s expected. No one paid attention.”
“Why didn’t she scream, yell, or anything?”
Charley stood before him, her hand on Murphy’s upper arm. “Because she knew him.”
“Charley’s right,” Doobie said. “Whoever this guy is, the girls aren’t threatened.”
“How did he lure them, convince them to go with him?” Murphy said.
“He engages, manipulates them,” she said.
“The girls aren’t acquainted with each other.”
“Yes they are.”
“How?” Murphy presented his hands. “How are they connected? Tell me?”
“They are students from the same county but don’t have a personal connection. It’s loose, but valid. They’re students.”
Murphy closed his eyes for a beat. “A tenuous connection won’t cut it. We need something concrete to link the victims.”
“It’s our job to find out.”
“We better, or more will die. Has it occurred to either of you, he dumped her where she attends church?”
“Yes he did,” Doobie said. “Everyone is inside the building being questioned.”
“What about the ones who left after services?” Murphy stepped back, inspecting the grand granite structure.
“We’ll get the attendance rolls and work from there,” Doobie said.
“That doesn’t account for visitors.” Murphy shaded his eyes, scrutinizing the church.
“You’re right, Murphy, it doesn’t. We can only work with what we find. We can’t invent evidence or suspects.”
Charley sighed. “We need to figure out where he’ll take the next one.”
Murphy grasped Charley’s shirtsleeve, dragging her over to him.
“Need something?” Charley said, trying to maintain her footing.
Murphy pointed at the colossal stone house of worship. Two tower spires sat on each side of the immense arched window situated above the weatherworn gigantic wooden doors with steel hinges and pulls. “What does that look like to you?”
Charley’s eyes followed Murphy’s finger. “A church.”
“Look again, Char.”
She rubbed her chin and studied the massive edifice. “A castle.”
“A castle.”
“You two are talking about what Erin said?” Doobie said.
“Olivia would live in a castle,” Murphy said.
&nb
sp; Doobie rocked on his feet. “But this is Natalie, not Olivia.”
“Yes,” Char said. “He revealed where to find the next victim. Geezus this is crazy.”
“He has a list.” Murphy massaged his temples. “He knows who is next.”
Charley watched the morgue van drive away with Natalie. “Not only did he give us a clue. It was next door to where he kidnapped Natalie. He is taunting us.”
Murphy opened a map of Fairfax County on his phone. “He’s hit Reston, Great Falls, Herndon. Isn’t it unusual for a serial killer to go outside his race or ethnic group?”
“It’s not about ethnicity.” Charley tugged his arm to tip his cell in her direction. “He uses his brain. His selection process goes beyond race. Each child represents something unrelated to the other girls.”
“Let’s explore other areas we haven’t considered. It seems with all the girls, the family dynamic is strained or dysfunctional.”
“I wonder if the killer is aware,” Doobie said.
“That’s a reasonable assumption,” she said.
“Char, let’s run through the likenesses,” Murphy said. “Perhaps the killer will fall in the same category as the victim’s family. It’s what he knows.”
“They live in nice neighborhoods.”
“They were active in sports and the arts. These are middle to upper-class families.”
“They pay their taxes, live within their means.”
“The murderer is abducting and killing those with whom he is familiar,” Murphy said. “He’s staying within his own environment. He will not stray outside his comfort zone. It gives him a sense of security.”
“Yes, it does.”
She turned to Doobie. “Sean and I will be at the home office if you need us.”
“Bye, you two.” Doobie waved and trudged toward the church.
Charley and Murphy ambled in silence to his truck.
“It’s gonna get worse, isn’t it?” Murphy said.
“Yes. It is.”
Chapter 25
Girls Have Goals
Manassas, VA – Medical Examiner’s Office
Monday, 23 May – 4:35 PM
Charley, Murphy, and Carmichael stood next to the steel slab, holding the remains of Natalie Norman. A white sheet covered her from neck to toe. The glare of the overhead light illuminated the fine features of her face.