“You’re not going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Get those teams home, and then we’ll talk.” He threw the folder on the desk and picked up his phone. Craig had turned from the paperwork to stare at him. “Did you have a question about Libya?”
Craig’s jaw snapped shut. He shook his head, turned on his heel, and walked out the door, failing to close it after him. Daisy appeared seconds later. “I’m so sorry. He walked right by me.”
“That’s okay.” He’d meant to work on the executive office’s security anyway. He had a designer in Switzerland who was working on a fiber optic system that would resist any tampering. It was mind-bending how rapidly new technology was developing, but he intended to use every advancement to benefit Guardian. They would be the edge of the sword, and that edge would be razor-sharp. He glanced at the new Motorola flip phone on his desk. It was a prototype and wouldn’t be released for two years to the general population, but his company had access as beta testers. They could even communicate silently via electronic messages via a prototype system his company was beta testing. The effort to tap out a message was laborious, but when silent communication was necessary…
His eyes snapped to his whiteboard. He stood, walked to the plans listed there, and picked up a marker. He scrawled three letters: ASL. American sign language. Each branch of the service had hand signals for ground forces to use during conflicts, but American Sign Language was a form of communication which expressed far more than a few generalized commands. He’d ask Daisy to find him the best instructors possible and set up classes for the people he hired and those already employed.
“Sir, Mr. Southerland is on line six.” Daisy’s voice on the intercom startled him out of his thoughts.
“Thank you.”
He strode back to his desk and punched the line before he picked up the receiver. “Ken, remember that favor you owe me?”
“Shit, which one?” The man’s huge belly laugh sounded through the line.
“I don’t care. Pick one.”
“All right. What can I do for you?”
“There is a case down in New Orleans. I might need to drop your name.”
“Do it. As a matter of fact, I can call my detachment down there and make sure they smooth the waters with the New Orleans Police. The Supervisory Agent is pretty damn good.” Gabriel heard Ken put his hand over the receiver and yell for his secretary.
“Okay, I have Midge scaring up Olsen’s contact information. She’ll shoot it over to Daisy as soon as she finds it.”
“I appreciate it.”
“You know, you need to tell your boss to take POTUS up on his offer. He’d make you a federal entity in a heartbeat.”
“Mr. Xavier would never approve that. I believe his words were, ‘I’ll consider being a federal entity when they agree that I remain autonomous.’”
“Gabriel, my friend, that will never happen. Someone needs to tell your boss that the political web is sticky. Very, very sticky.”
“Did I ever tell you that my boss doesn’t like spiders?”
Ken gave him another belly laugh. “Are we ever going to meet the elusive David Xavier?”
“Never.”
“You know I tried to find him.”
“Did you? How did that work out for you?”
“Dead fucking ends. He is insulated. As if you didn’t know.”
Gabriel chuckled. There was a damn good reason why the Deputy Director of the FBI couldn’t find David Xavier. “I did know that. Thanks for the call and the contact information.”
“You got it. Oh, hey, you got any people in the vicinity of Libya?”
“Pulling them.”
“Good call. Take care, my friend.”
“Will do. You, too.” He hung up the secure line and turned his attention to the police report on his desk. He’d always thought the next time he’d see Jacqueline Brenner, it would be to tell her he’d finally tracked down the son of a bitch who’d attacked her. He hadn’t, and when the bastard had dropped off the map, priorities had been changed for him. He glanced at the calendar on his desk. Almost six years to the date she was first attacked. Six years. Why six years?
He clicked the intercom on. “Daisy, do me a favor and ask Clive from research to give me a list of every parolee or convict released from the Colorado penal system in the last year. I want mug shots.”
“Every one of the releases, sir?”
“Every last one of them and tell him to pull in some help. I’m going to need it by the day after tomorrow.”
“Are you sure, sir?”
“Yes. They can drop Ken Southerland’s name if the state corrections office gives him any shit. Send it out to New Orleans with Craig.”
“Mr. McNair is going to New Orleans with you?”
“No, but you know him. He’ll follow me out there sooner or later.”
“Yes that's true, oh, and sir, your crew is enroute to the airport. The maintenance staff is fueling the jet now. I have your bag up here. I took the liberty of pulling the correspondence that needs your signature, so if you could let me know when you have a moment, we’ll slay the paper dragons before you depart.”
“Daisy, what would I do without you?”
She laughed softly, “Probably perish as paper dragon fodder.”
“Don’t I know it. Come on in. Let’s take care of business. Oh, and remind me to tell you about some training I want you to arrange.” Gabriel glanced at his board again. Small steps.
Chapter 7
Anna stood at the door and gazed into the large, private hospital room. She’d had a ten-minute chat with the nurses on duty and gotten all the information and gossip, which included a discouraging report on Jackie’s man.
She glanced at the corner of the room and saw the duffle Nathan said he’d brought for Deacon the night her friend was admitted. That had been three days ago. Jackie’s man had his head down on his woman's bed. His thumb slid over the back of her hand in a slow sweep. Well, at least he was awake. From what the nurses had said, he slept in short snippets and was close to collapsing.
She inhaled the ripe odor of unwashed male and literally crossed her eyes. The ladies at the desk were right. Time for action. “Well, girlie, we have done this before, haven’t we?” Anna stepped into the hospital room as she spoke.
A massive wall of a man lifted from beside her bed like a sentinel. He looked like warmed-over horse shit. Now that she gave a moment’s thought, to say he looked like horse shit gave horse shit a bad name.
“Hey, you must be Deacon. My name is Anna. I’m Nathan’s sister and Jackie’s friend.”
Up close, she could see black circles under the man’s eyes. Haggard lines of worry creased his face. Even so, he gave her a tired, sad smile.
“Deacon Long.”
God, she was falling in love with this guy. She’d perfected the art of reading people. This man was a gentle giant, and he was perfect for Jackie.
“Deacon, I have to ask you a serious question.” She walked over and grabbed the chart at the foot of Jackie’s bed even though she knew her status from the conversation she’d had with the nurses.
He shifted to follow her movements. “What do you need to know?”
She wasn’t going to tolerate the hopelessness in the guy’s voice. Nope, she added his name to her project list, and clasped the metal clipboard to her chest. “Sir, exactly what are your intentions regarding my friend here? Are you planning on making a respectable woman of her?”
The look of complete and utter confusion that flashed across the man’s face was priceless. She stopped him from answering by talking first. “She likes her feet warm. We need another blanket. Go out there to the nurse’s station and tell them I want another blanket and tell them if they have any in a warmer, I’d prefer one of those. You can do that before you hit the shower.”
The man looked out into the hall and then back at her. “What?”
Fatigue made the man slow, at least she hoped it was the lack of sleep. Otherw
ise, Jackie had found herself a really dull boy. He was supposed to be some business guru according to her brother, so she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She pointed to the hall. “Your lady wants another blanket. She gets cold easily. Go. Now.”
He blinked at her, and she could see coherent thoughts starting to engage, but he was still lost in his own head. “A blanket?”
“Yes, now, if you please, and don’t forget the shower?”
He started toward the door and frowned, spinning around. She lifted a hand. “You haven’t been out of that chair since she was transferred to this floor. You, sir, are a very large person. The nurses I just spoke to are worried about you doing a jolly green giant impression and falling down the beanstalk. There is no way all of us working together could pick your canned veggies off that floor. Go ask them to bring me a blanket. After that, you’re going to use one of these vacant rooms to take a shower, because, no offense, you stink.”
“I don’t… I’m not going to…”
“Yes, you do, and yes, you are. I am here now. She’s going to pull through, and together, we, as in two, not one, are going to get her through this. This is no longer a solitary effort; we are going to be here for her. We are going to do this, and God help me, we are going to do this smelling fresh. Now will you, for the love of all things not smelling like sun-ripened garbage, please go take a shower? The blanket can wait. Seriously, go. You’re not doing anyone in this room a favor by staying here.”
“But–”
“Oh, my gosh, like, you don’t get it, do you? You need to bathe, with soap. The room stinks of stale man, and honey, that isn’t attractive at all.” She pointed to the door where the nurse who’d she’d conned into finding a vacant room stood, pole axed.
“See this nice lady? She’s going to take you to the shower.” She pointed to the expensive leather bag shoved in the corner of the room. “There are your clothes. The same ones Nathan brought here, what was it…three days ago?”
“But what if…”
“I’ll be here. Now go! She’s stable. She’s strong, and she’s a fighter, but if you love her even a little bit, go wash!” Anna turned her back on him and made a show of flipping the clipboard open. She slowly flipped through the metal clipboard, giving it her complete attention. She dropped her eyes to the floor as if thinking, then did a long slow sweep up the man’s rumpled appearance. “Are you still here?”
“Listen, I don’t think you understand who–”
“Oh, I understand. What you fail to realize is that I can do this all day, all night, and into the next day. I’m a registered nurse and her friend. If anything happens, I will come to that shower and pull your, I pray, Irish Spring smelling ass out of the water and get you back here. But nothing is going to happen. She’s stable.” Anna stalked over to the corner, grabbed the strap of the bag, and held it out to him. “Now, go!”
“Mr. Long? I don’t think you’re going to win this one. I promise, sir, if anything happens, we’ll come get you.” The New Orleans nurse added her two cents.
Deacon grabbed the bag and glared at her. Oh, he was working himself into a snit. Good. He needed to get his blood pumping. Anything but that hopeless depression. Anger would work just fine. He turned and headed out of the room before he stopped and addressed the nurse who was escorting him. “She needs another blanket. Please.”
Anna smiled and winked at the woman. A knowing look passed between them.
“Not a problem. Let me take you to where you can clean up, and I’ll get her one.”
“Okay.” Deacon nodded and glanced down the hall. He didn’t follow the nurse. When she stopped and looked back at him, he gave one final look over his shoulder at Jackie and then at Anna, before his shoulders slumped, and he walked down the hall.
“Oh, thank you.” Anna glanced heavenward before she spun and took a moment to really look at her friend. She’d been beaten and choked. That much was obvious. The bruising on the soft tissue of her neck was black, purple, and dark green tinged with yellow.
“What in the hell happened to you, sweetheart?” She pushed her hair away from the bandages on her forehead.
“The police are assuming it was a mugging because her purse was stolen.” Nathan’s voice didn’t startle her. She had known he’d be up as soon as he parked the car.
“Muggers don’t generally strangle their victims.”
“They do if they fight.” Nathan leaned against the door frame. “Good work getting Deacon out of here. I’m going to run to the cafeteria and get him some food. Would you like anything?”
She shook her head, still examining Jackie. “There are no defensive wounds.”
“What?”
“Look, her hands aren’t bruised, neither are her arms.” Anna lifted her own arms and trailed her fingers down the edge of her forearm and made a blocking motion.
“So?”
“So, she didn’t defend herself. Why?”
“I guess we’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.”
“Indeed.” She glanced over at her brother. “Weren’t you going to get some food for the jolly green giant?”
Nathan snorted and straightened from the doorjamb. “Bossy thing, aren’t you.”
“Damn straight.”
“I’m telling.”
Nathan’s taunt made her laugh. He’d always snitched to their mom and dad when she said a bad word. Brothers were annoying.
When she was finally alone, she took Jackie’s hand in hers. “So, you remember my friend Kay? She’s now the proud parent of my five goldfish. I figured it will give her some nurturing practice before she has a baby. There is a pool going around the ward on how long they’ll last. I picked one week. I thought I was generous. She’s going to kill them. I know she is. If sacrificing my goldfish is what I have to do to get down here, then sorry, fish, but it’s happening.” She tucked in Jackie’s blanket and continued, “I have one of the new nurses subletting my apartment on a month-to-month. She was in this apartment with three other women. Four women, one bathroom. Yeah, the horror! Let me tell you, she jumped at the chance to stay at my place. You’d like her. She is so sweet, in a genuine way, you know? Of course, you know. Cause she's just like you. Now that I’m here, we’ll get this healing process of yours in motion. Okay? Cool, I’m glad we have a plan in place. So, we are good for as long as it takes to get you on your feet again.”
She picked up the chart and glanced over the doctor’s notes and the nurse’s annotations for medications, and vitals. She glanced up at Jackie again. “Can I just say, I think you’ve had enough of this type of adventure. One time around the let’s-get-the-shit-beaten-out-of-us amusement park is enough; you know what I mean?”
Anna went over to the blinds and opened them to let the sun in. “It’s time to wake up, Jackie. You did it before. You can do it again.”
“Sergeant Delacroix, NOPD.”
Gabriel shook the hand offered. “Good to meet you and thank you for coming to the hospital.” He motioned to the cafeteria table he’d commandeered for the meeting.
“Not a problem. The brass said to roll out the red carpet. Anything you want, you got.” The man crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “I gotta ask. Since when does a case down here on the bayou garner the attention of you D.C. types? Something special about this case? Hell, don’t answer that, I know there is something special. Rumor has it our congressman and senator called the mayor, who called the Chief, who called my boss. Shit of untold proportions has rolled down hill and let me tell you, since New Orleans is below sea level, that took some serious clout.”
Gabriel made a casual, visual sweep of the people in the room. No one else was close enough to hear them. “She is the only living victim of a serial killer. After her attack in Denver, the man fell off the map. We scoured reports, nothing. As quick as the bastard had come onto the scene, he was gone.”
“Okay, but why are you here now? Do you have a lead?”
“The case f
ile said that this happened in the back of an alleyway. That there was another woman already dead in the alley. Correct?”
“Yeah, but that vic had been deceased for at least two days.” The guy shrugged his shoulders. “There is no way to know if the two cases are related. The brass actually split the cases, assuming that they weren’t related. Two crimes, two different sets of detectives working the evidence.”
Gabriel leaned down and withdrew the file Craig had provided. “This is your crime scene. Correct?”
He laid a wide-angled shot of the N.O. scene on the table.
The detective leaned in and tapped the corner. “How did you get photos of an active investigation?”
“I’m very well connected.”
“Obviously. In answer to answer your question, yeah. That’s our crime scene after Brenner was taken by ambulance to the hospital.”
He pulled the next picture out of his file. “This is the Colorado crime scene.” His finger pointed to the dumpster. “The same dead-end alleyway. Look at the garbage bin. Different color dumpster but they’ve been positioned in the same manner. The dead bodies were left in the exact same positions. The first victim had dark brown hair and the same physical characteristics. I haven’t accessed your medical examiners’ reports yet, but I’m betting this woman was violated and then killed by blunt force trauma. Her skull was fractured.” He tapped the newspaper plastered against the wall in the original picture and then pointed to an identical positioning in the N.O. picture.
“Wait, you think he’s duplicating the original crime scene?”
“I think so.”
“Why in the hell would he do that?” Delacroix stared at the two photos. “How could he be so precise?”
“I’m not sure, but the similarities are striking. What I do know is Miss Brenner got away from him six years ago. To this date, she is the only living witness to his crimes. I think he was going to finish his work. What happened to stop him this time?”
“A cruiser drove by and looked down the alley. We have a problem with drunks from the Quarter using the alleyways as public restrooms, or the homeless population will fish around in the dumpsters. It pisses off the businesses because they beg for money from customers. The patrol that found this scene said the man that fled when he flashed his alley light, was wearing a black hoodie and jeans. He ran through the back entrance of the alley. By the time responding officers arrived for back up, the suspect was gone. The patrolman gave chase, but the guy was damn fast. It wasn’t until the patrolman came back that he noticed the dead body. Fuck, is this guy really trying to replicate the old crime scene? Ballsy.”
Gabriel (Guardian Defenders Book 1) Page 6