“Let’s hope we don’t have another informant working for Starr. He already has the public and the Avenger himself giving him tips, or claims he does. I only wish we had just cause to demand a sperm sample. That would either rule him out as a suspect or force him to refuse and look guilty. At least we have his hair, skin, and fingerprints for comparison if our vigilante ever leaves any behind.”
“Let’s hope we luck up tomorrow night.”
Friday morning, July 20th
Raymond Harris was waiting for Dan beside Andrea’s desk when the lieutenant arrived first thing the next morning. Harris lifted his coffee mug and asked, “How about a cup of coffee? We actually have the good kind.”
“Sounds good. If you have Equal, one for me.”
“Sure do. I’ll get it and meet you in the conference room,” Andrea said. “The files are already in there, separated by years. Would you like another cup, Ray?”
“No thanks. I’ve already had my limit for the morning. You have any leads towards the Avenger’s identity?” the District Attorney asked as he led Dan down the hall.
“So far he’s managed not to leave any clues, but we’re going to get him. Sooner or later, he’s going to make a mistake and I’ll be there to catch it.” As Dan followed Raymond into the conference room, he took note of the large table in the center with ten chairs pushed close around it. Files almost covered the entire circumference of it, so very little wood showed beneath it. Two chairs in the corner were piled high with folders and others were on the floor beside them. “Holy shit,” Dan muttered.
“More than you expected, Lieutenant? These are the worst of the worst. Andi has already been through most of the cases in your time span. She eliminated some because they don’t fit the profile you gave us. She wanted you to read these yourself,” he said as he waved his left hand over the table.
“That’s right,” Andrea said as she entered the room with two steaming mugs. “I don’t want to be responsible for excluding the file that leads you to the Avenger. The ones I ruled out over there on the chairs don’t match the type of victims he’s been selecting so far. I feel pretty confident about setting them aside, but these...” Andrea let her voice trail off. “I want your opinions on these first. Then, you can scan the others. You have the skills and experience to see something I may have missed. To be honest, Dan, going through this many files on vicious crimes in such a short time period was difficult, but I knew it was a rush job.”
“Thanks, Andi, I appreciate your hard work. I’m sure it was a grisly task.”
As Dan and Raymond sat down, Andrea explained how she had organized the cases for them. “I pulled the files for the last three years for anyone who’s been charged with rape and not convicted for one reason or another, whether or not the case actually went to trial. Then, I excluded those that didn’t involve torture or mutilations. I pulled out the ones that were obviously innocent or where there were too many discrepancies. I eliminated gang rapes, but left in those that involved only two people because of Paula’s attackers. Anything involving children was also put aside, because he hasn’t focused on them. The youngest victim involved so far was sixteen, so I left in anyone fifteen and older. Then, I separated the cases where the victim was killed, since we’re not sure if one of them is the original motivator for the Avenger. I put the ones I ruled out over there,” she motioned to the chairs. “So far, he’s been attacking men who left their victims alive, so I thought we’d concentrate on them first. Then, you can tackle that other batch. How does that sound to you?”
“Sounds like you’ve put a lot of time, thought and work into this. And it looks like too many files left after the exclusions have been pulled out.” Dan surveyed the table. “I can’t believe this many rapes have happened here in Augusta in the past few years.”
“The sad thing is, there’s probably three times this many assaults that occurred and weren’t reported for one reason or another. That’s scary. Well, let’s get to work. Where would you like to start?” Andrea asked.
Dan felt two pairs of eyes on him and wondered the same question. Where should they start? What was the Avenger thinking? Andrea had said he should try to think like him. What would be going through his own mind if he was the one who was seeking justice? All of the victim’s cases so far had been several years old, so Dan said, “Let’s start with 1988 and come forward in time. Each of us can take a file and write the case’s highlights on the front for severity of the crime, specific tortures, age of the victim, and results of the charges or trials. Then, we can compare them.”
“That’s already been done,” Raymond responded. “My past assistants and Andi always type a page that discloses the meat of a case for me. It’s in bullet style, so we can find things we need quickly when a case is active. That info page is left in the front of the file. That will save us some time. All we need to do is go through them and decide which—how many are you looking for?” When Dan held up five fingers, Raymond continued, “which five are the worst and go from there.”
“Let’s get started,” Dan replied. He picked up the first file, opened it and began to read the outlined page.
It didn’t take long before Dan felt sick to his stomach. He knew several officers who worked in the Rape/Sexual Assault Department. How did they do it? The plight of these women tugged at his heart. Images came to mind of women pulling at his sleeves, begging him to stop these evil men, begging him to help them and others. Maybe the Avenger was doing some good, he thought. The world was definitely a better place without such evil. But he had sworn to uphold the law and to put the bad guys away. The Avenger was still committing crimes, even if he was doing them against pernicious men. This vigilante must be stopped before others took up the fight.
“Are you okay?” Andrea asked, concern tingeing her voice, after Raymond excused himself to answer an emergency phone call.
“Not really. I’ve seen a lot in my days, and I’d learned how to detach myself from becoming emotionally involved. I’ve seen some of the most vicious and heinous crimes you can imagine, but I’ve never had to deal with a woman years after she’s been raped. I thought I’d hardened myself, but talking with these victims has gotten to me.”
“There’s evil in this world, Dan. Maybe that’s what drives the Avenger. Maybe he’s seeking to even the score a little bit. You’ll have to ask him when you catch him.”
Dan smiled at her. She gave him the confidence he was lacking right now. She always seemed to believe in him and what he was doing. You know what they say, his mind claimed, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But he couldn’t find anything about her that didn’t seem right, didn’t feel right. She appeared to fit into his life so easily. He watched her eyes as she dropped them to the file in front of him.
“So, which are the five worst? Now, you see why you have to do the choosing instead of me and Ray. It’s hard to pick, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’m sure I want to stake out Freddie Sims, Manuel Greene and Stuart Morgan. The rest in this stack are a close fourth and fifth. God, what is the Avenger thinking? How can I get inside of his head? How can I figure out what he’s feeling, so I can get one step ahead of him, instead of the other way around?”
“One way would be to look at the victim’s reactions to their fate. Have they been able to go on with their lives? Have their families supported them, or turned their backs on them? It seems as if the Avenger has chosen those who didn’t have someone to take up for them, those who were further victimized by their friends and families, or by society. Everyone he’s chosen to avenge so far has been someone who is still suffering horrible effects from the rape.”
“How am I supposed to know what has gone on in their lives since that God awful day? Things like that aren’t in the files, Andi.”
“They are if you look closely enough, and if you have someone who worked on the cases close by who might have more inside information.” Andi smiled at him after she said this. “I told you I would help any way I
can. There are, of course, things that I don’t know about, but I might be able to help with some things. Like Barry Freeman’s case, for instance. His victim, Sherry Meade, contracted AIDS from him and is now in the hospital with a severe case of pneumonia. She had leukemia, so it hasn’t taken long for this deadly disease to ravage her body. She isn’t expected to be alive next month. And you don’t need to investigate anyone in her family. Her husband left her and took her two kids, because he thought it would be more traumatic for them to see her die this way. After that, she’s refused to contact her family in California, and is dying alone in the hospital. I would say Barry Freeman would definitely be one to follow.”
“Maybe the ex-husband left the kids with friends or family and is seeking his revenge now,” Dan surmised.
“I doubt it. He didn’t seem like the type who would do something like this. He was a small man with a small heart.”
“How did Freeman get off?”
“Same as the others. A stupid little technicality that disallowed the information that proved his guilt. The judge wouldn’t allow the sperm samples in court, and without that, it was her word against his.”
“Why wouldn’t they allow the sperm samples?”
“Apparently, Mr. Freeman was out on probation after serving a few years behind bars for aggravated assault. He gave the sperm samples without the presence and permission of his attorney. Right to counsel was denied, so the judge had to disallow it. Or have it thrown out later in appeals. One way or another Freeman was going to walk.”
“Shit! What’s wrong with our system, Andi, when the guilty are free to roam the streets and the innocent must hide in fear?”
“Minor technicalities that force a judge to dismiss evidence or a case, even when there’s no doubt the person committed the crime. We can’t start punishing the police officers if they break a rule or don’t follow a procedure to the letter, or we wouldn’t have any left. We just need to find a way to protect people’s rights without dismissing charges on an obviously guilty party. But how? Unless someone is directly affected by all of this, most people aren’t going to get involved. At the rate this is going, sooner or later, it’s going to affect everyone. I just hope it’s not too late by then.”
“Me, too. Okay, so we’ve got Freeman, Sims, Greene and Morgan. Does anyone else stick out to you?”
“Everyone’s story is sad, Dan, no matter what happened to them. Excuse me for a minute. I’ve got to use the restroom. Be right back.” Andrea rushed out the door.
Dan looked down at the manila folders. Details from each of the many cases began mingling together. Pictures of the accused men meshed to form one horrible figure in his mind, a beast of monstrous proportions created from horrific evil. He needed to get out of here. This was too much. How did Andrea work with this misery every day and not be affected by it? The answer was there before him: the same way he faced the evil on the streets night after night and yet went back the on the next one to fight the devil again. The good guys were going to win the war, he told himself. Until then, it was one battle at a time, and this one was his to conquer.
Raymond returned while Dan perused the remaining files. “Narrowed it down a little more, I see. I saw Andi in the hall and she told me you’ve picked four and are trying to decide on the last one. Let me have a look and maybe I can help.” Raymond picked up the remaining six files and glanced at the bullet page created for each. “I’d say Kevin Davis. Don’t ask me why, because there’s no reason, really. Other than his case just seems to stick out in my mind. Of course, if he’s not the next one the Avenger selects, you won’t come running my way, will you?”
“Davis it is. We can substitute any of these bastards if our stakeouts determine somebody isn’t a likely next victim. Thanks, Ray. You and Andi have been a huge help today. I’ll go show Captain Bolton our five choices. Mind if I get a copy of their info pages to show him?”
“No problem, Cindi can do it for you. I told Andi to take a break. More like a needed escape from all this unnecessary evil.”
Chapter Fourteen
Monday morning, July 30th
It had been fifteen days since the last murder, two weekends without a strike. Ten days since the stakeouts began, with no results. No other victims had come forward to point a finger at Sam Parks, or any of the other men. They’d never know if one of the murdered men was the Avenger’s motive, unless they caught him and he talked.
Damnit! Dan cursed as the phone rang. “Mallory.”
“Lieutenant Mallory?”
“Yes?”
“This is Doctor Renew. Henrietta Harper gave me your phone number and asked me to check out some things for you. I have appointments until six, but I can see you after that if you’re available.”
“I’ll be there,” Dan responded quickly. “Have you found anything?”
“We do have some supplies missing. Is six thirty all right with you?”
“Where’s your office located?” Dan wrote down the address and thanked him before he hung up. Damnit again. Now, I’ve got to cancel on Andi, again. He dialed her number and told her what Doctor Renew had said. “I have to go check it out, Andi.”
“Of course you do, Dan. Don’t worry. I was about to call you anyway because I need to work late tonight. We have a felony robbery case going to trial on Wednesday, so Ray has a lot of paperwork for me to do.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Make it Wednesday evening. I’m going to be swamped for the next two days. Ray isn’t going to let them plea, so it’s going to be busy here, then crashing at home.”
“I’ll call you Wednesday about six thirty. Don’t work too hard, and wish me luck tonight. We still have those five possibles under stakeout, but nothing suspicious yet. Maybe we’ll catch him this weekend.”
“My other line is buzzing, Dan. I’ll talk to you Wednesday evening after work.”
“Bye.”
“Get some rest. You’ll need it.”
At a major medical lab on the MCG campus, Doctor Renew greeted Dan with a warm handshake. “Henri’s a wonderful gal. I have a great deal of respect for her. She’s come a long way. I’ve been doing a little research since she called. Our inventory count shows we have one missing jar of sulfuric acid and five of chloroform, as well as a liquid nitrogen container. Other areas have boxes of medical gloves, syringes and sedatives missing, as well as several vials of pure KCL, potassium chloride, I guess you know by now.”
Dan nodded. “What would he want with liquid nitrogen?’
“From what I’ve been reading in the papers, a form of torture perhaps. It freezes the tissue instantly. A live rose dipped in it can be shattered like glass. It’s dangerous, so I hope he knows how to handle it. Of course, he may not be the person who stole it. We had a case several years ago where a nurse took some to use for her daughter’s school science project. I can’t guarantee that your Avenger is the one who took these items. Supplies are stolen or borrowed by other labs all the time, unfortunately. For instance, someone with diabetes, who either doesn’t want to spend the money or doesn’t have to for a box of syringes, so they get them free at work. Same goes for the gloves and sedatives. It’s like someone in an office taking home pencils or pens or paper. The liquid nitro may have been stolen or misplaced, or borrowed by another lab on a tight budget. Or by a lab assistant who forgot to order one in time for a research experiment or ran out during a project. But the chemicals, their absences are suspicious because they’re on your list. However, they have other purposes: a solvent, fertilizer, animal anesthetic, and more. We have other chemicals and items unaccounted for, but they don’t fit your needs. Or rather, your serial killer’s needs.”
“Can you get me a list of all the staff members and employees in your department? I’d like to crosscheck the names against the others I’ve received. I even want those for delivery men, maintenance, and the cleaning staff, anybody with access to the labs and chemicals.”
Doctor Renew handed him a fold
er. “I already took care of that. Henri said you might be wanting it, so I already called Personnel and had them run a report to give to you. It contains the names and addresses of everyone who’s worked in any capacity in this department in the last five years. They won’t release any more than that without a warrant. They have to protect us against lawsuits. You know everyone’s gotten sue happy these days,” he jested and chuckled. “Oh, yes, I highlighted anybody who has keys or access to keys for secure areas and drug cabinets. Including mine,” he added with a grin and more chuckles.
“This will get us started. Thanks, Doctor Renew. I’ll make sure to tell Henri what a big help you’ve been.” Dan smiled and shook Renew’s hand.
“Thanks, Lieutenant. If I can do anything else, please let me know. One last thing, we’ve tightened department security, so we shouldn’t have any more stolen or borrowed items. Everything has to be accounted for and signed out. So if your Avenger somehow got his supplies from here, he won’t be able to get any more from us.”
Dan nodded. “Maybe that will shorten or halt his killing spree, because he has a set ritual, the old ‘Eye for an eye’ revenge.”
Dan glanced at his watch and was glad to see it was only six forty-five. He had arrived early, Renew was finished, and they had completed their meeting fast. Since he wasn’t far from his office, he would get there soon.
Monday evening, July 30th
“Hey, Carl, you ready to party? I’m gonna rock your world upside down. We’re gonna have some fun tonight,” the Avenger whispered with glee. “What? You didn’t think I’d come for you? What makes you any different from the rest of the assholes I’ve been taking? You didn’t really think you’d get away with it, did you? Yeah, I guess you did, since the courts turned you loose. But thwarted Justice has a friend on her side: Me. You raped Beth Franklin, bashed her teeth out with your hammer, broke several of the bones in her face. Then you left her and her two-year-old daughter in a deserted parking lot at the lake. If someone hadn’t come along when they did, she would have died from her wounds and exposure. Not to mention what could have happened to her child. I think it’s only fair if you’re exposed to some things tonight.”
Necessary Evil Page 24