by A P Morgan
“I’m going to have to let the two of you drive up to Seaside. Agent Perez needs me to run point on something that’s come up here. I’ll take you to my building and put in the address. I’ll let her know that you’re on the way.” Agent Watson looked apologetic.
“We can handle it. Nothing like a murder to take you to new places or go on a road trip.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, but I just hate that we’re treating you like this.”
“It won’t be the first time. If this keeps up, we may be going all over the country, but we’ll manage. I’m just thankful that we didn’t have to rent a car.” Ryan got out of the back and walked around to the driver’s side.
“It’s a company car, so I have no problems loaning it out.” Agent Watson grinned. “I don’t have to pay for the insurance when it comes back with bullet holes.”
“Does that happen frequently?” I asked, shocked.
“No, but it has happened before. You never know what kind of situation you’ll find yourself in.” He patted the top of the car. “I’ll let her know to expect you in about two hours.”
“Thanks.”
Neither one of us saw the truck pull out from the groups of traffic and follow us to the state highway.
Chapter 5
Leslie
Agent Perez had a small group of locals that she had come in for questioning. The interrogation room was small, and there was a group watching outside, so we joined them.
“So, you didn’t hear or see anything unusual next door last night?”
“No, ma’am. I went to work like I normally do, and came home at about six thirty or seven. My TV faces the other side, and I was busy watching the basketball game. Went to bed around ten thirty because they went into overtime, and I had to see how it ended.”
“Can anyone verify that you were home last night?” Agent Perez pressed.
“Nope. It was just me and the dogs.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a trucker for the Spring Mill. It’s a day job, and I’m home most nights by five, but sometimes I work over.”
“Do you work there or run it since your last name is Spring too?”
“It’s owned by my extended family. Mama’s daddy owned it until he died, and then they split the company between all the boys. They gave Mama a nice check, and she bought the farm where I live now.”
“Where’s your mama these days?”
I might have been out in the hall, but I was picturing a Psycho story, where he had his dead mother propped up in a chair to keep him company.
“Well, ma’am, she’s been buried about five years now over in Oak Cemetery. It’s not the same, but life goes on, doesn’t it?” He grinned up at Agent Perez.
“So you live alone out there?”
“Yes, I told you that already. Look, I’m real sorry about this girl going missing, but I didn’t have anything to do with it. Now, you asked all of us neighbors to come in to help you, but if you’re going to start questioning my moral character, then I’m going to need a lawyer or I’m going to leave,” he threatened.
“Mr. Spring, you’re free to go whenever, and you’ve been very helpful. We didn’t mean to question your character. Sometimes if you ask questions from a different direction, you can find that you remembered more information.” Agent Perez tried to pacify him.
“Uh-huh. That’s what the cops always say, and then the innocent guy goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. I’ve seen the TV shows. I think I’ll just head back over to work. I can still make it to Templeton and back before quitting time.”
“Just one more question for you. Do you have a brother named John?”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Mr. Spring stood by the door, ready to leave.
“We were just wondering when the last time you saw him was?”
“At Christmas, I reckon. He travels a lot, but he comes home for the holidays if he can. He lives up in Seattle, or that area somewhere. I’m not one to go gallivanting off to gracious knows where when home is right here.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Spring. If we have any more questions, I’m sure that Sheriff Turner knows how to get a hold of you.” She held the door open for him.
“Sure does,” Mr. Spring grumbled as he walked out of the room with his head down, everyone’s eyes following him to the front door.
“Can you bring in Mr. and Mrs. Roads, please?” Agent Perez asked a man I was assuming was Sheriff Turner.
Bored with the questioning of the locals, I wandered out to see how a small-town police force worked. There were several sets of people crowded onto a few chairs that had been setup in a makeshift waiting room, and they all stared as I made my way outside. It was too crowded in the small space to think clearly.
I noticed that people were hovering around the building next door, so I decided to see what was going on.
The command quarters had taken over most of city hall, and people in polos with the FBI embroidered on them were bent over computers and maps. I had to show my temporary ID to the man guarding the door, but once he verified it, I was able to walk in and look at some of the maps.
They had marked a few areas that were heavily forested, which seemed like a prime spot to hide bodies or use to hunt the women. No one seemed to mind me looking around.
A list was sitting next to the map of all the landowners in the county, and wouldn’t you know it. Urban Energy was listed as the owner of the land where the women had been discovered. Excited, I scanned the rest of the property, but nothing else was listed.
“Um, excuse me.” I tapped the closest person at a computer. “Can you tell me why you’re only looking at properties here in this county?”
“Maybe, but who are you?” The agent questioned, since I had nothing on with the FBI logo.
“I’m the detective from Texas that they brought in to help with the case. We’ve dealt with similar killers the past two months.”
“Oh, I heard Agent Perez mention that yesterday. She told us to run those in the county. We could expand the search, but it would take longer.”
“I don’t think you need to expand it to all properties, but could you do a run that just lists properties owned by Urban Energy? They seem to be the link to the killers somehow, and I’m going to bet that we’ll find the next burial ground on a property they own,” I advised.
The female agent turned back to the computer. “That won’t take nearly as long as pulling all the records for several counties and verifying if they’re forested or wooded areas. When I get it done, who should I take it to?”
“Uh, Detective Boxe. I can cross-check with maps and see where I think the killer is going to go next. It might not work, but it’s worth a try.” I didn’t want to stand around while I waited, so I walked over to look at the autopsy photos of the women who had been discovered.
Two of the pictures had names underneath them, but the other three were Jane Does two, four, and five. I just hoped that we could give their families some type of closure.
Agent Perez came over after the interviews and joined me, looking at the board.
“There are already more, aren’t there?” she asked without looking at me.
“Yes. He takes one every day. We may not know who they are yet, but that won’t stop him from killing them,” I acknowledged.
“Do you think he’s one of the people I just finished interviewing?”
“I only saw the one, but he could be. Is there any connection to Urban Energy?”
“The corporation? None that I’ve come across so far. Why?”
“They’ve had something to do with the past two killers. Not directly, but they seem to have their hands in everything. It’s something to check into and see where it leads. I have a feeling the one pulling the strings is going to change things up on us, but it doesn’t hurt to check out all the possible scenarios.”
I pointed to the maps laid out everywhere. “I had your agent there widen the search,
but only looking for properties that were owned by Urban Energy. It’s a long shot, but if we find your missing girl before he hunts her, it’ll be worth it. Does she have an Aries birthday?”
Agent Perez grimaced. “Yes, in two days. He must take them early to terrify them. Then, when it’s time to hunt them, he chooses the one whose birthday it is. We got the ID on the fifth woman while I was in there questioning the neighbors. Her name is Tasha Logan. Her birthday was last week, and there isn’t a missing person filed on her.”
“Where did she live?”
“San Francisco this time, instead of L.A. He’s not playing out of just one field, he’s using this to spread us thin.” Agent Perez frowned. “We need you both to work with the profiler and see if we can come up with something to help narrow down who we’re looking for. This killer, but ultimately this Zodiac Master who’s controlling a bunch of killers.”
“I’ll find Ryan and we’ll get with your profiler.”
“Thank you. I hate when we’re just waiting for the killer to make the next move. It’s hard knowing these are someone’s daughters or sisters, but when it’s a hometown girl, that makes things so much worse.”
“Yep, I understand. I do think he’s someone that has local access, because taking this last girl was just to taunt us.”
Ryan walked in with the sheriff just then. “They uncovered another set of bodies, but they’re three counties over.”
“Who found them?” Agent Perez came to attention immediately.
“A father and son camping expedition. They literally stumbled over one of the graves because it was so fresh.” Sheriff Turner rubbed his face wearily. “We’ll stay here and let you guys do your thing, but they have to be connected.”
“Thank you for your help, Sheriff. If we get an ID on the missing woman, I’ll notify you personally.” She looked at me and Ryan. “Ready to see the crime scene? Maybe you can shed some light on what’s going on in this killer’s head.”
“We’d be glad to,” I answered for the both of us.
Since it was still daylight when we got there, we were able to get a good look at the graves. They weren’t what held my interest, though, as the crime scene teams started the process of removing the bodies.
“Ryan, look at these carvings. He takes time to mark the tree with just a knife. I think he might do wood carvings as a hobby, because they’re very detailed. He didn’t just sling it up there, he took pride in making sure they matched. Almost like he put a stencil up there before creating his art.” I traced the pattern with my finger.
“He might be doing this to fulfill a quota, but he’s enjoying showing his work off. Unlike the previous killers, he’s very experienced with this type of killing. We need to check the records for missing women over the last twenty years, because he’s an artist, and these are just his latest works.”
“Very good, Detective Boxe. I knew you had potential. I agree with your assessment. This property belongs to a corporation, but it’s not Urban Energy. It’s a real estate group that bought the property for investment purposes, and they use it on occasions such as weekend retreats,” Agent Perez advised as she snuck up behind us.
“I’m going to head back so we can meet with the profiler and get a list of missing persons. If we can narrow down the dates these kinds of disturbances started, we might be able to figure out who’s doing it now. We’ll look at any bodies that have been uncovered as well. I’m going to have it extended to statewide. I don’t think our killer has stayed this close to home and not gotten caught.”
As she walked away to give everyone their orders, I whispered to Ryan, “She’s either really good at her job, or has a sixth sense for when we’re about to find something. She scares me.”
He burst out laughing, causing those around us to frown. For the first time in a week, he seemed to come out of his depressed mood, and I wasn’t about to complain.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re scared of an FBI agent. I honestly didn’t think there was anything that could get under your skin. You always seem so confident, and yet a seasoned field agent is the one that gives you nightmares. It’s hilarious.” Ryan kept chuckling to himself as we walked toward the vehicles parked at the edge of the wooded area.
“Not scared, just cautious,” I whispered at him.
Chapter 6
Leslie
I was exhausted after hours of going over the details, trying to pin down something that would help to focus on a specific person. The town of Seaside had been overrun with tourists, and there weren’t any hotel or motel vacancies within an hour’s drive. Agent Perez was sending us to San Francisco to check out Tasha Logan the next morning, so we opted to drive back and spend the night away from all the chaos.
I fell asleep as Ryan was driving back to our hotel in L.A., even though it was in the opposite direction from our destination the next day.
Ryan cursing brought me awake with a start.
“What’s wrong?” I mumbled, glancing in the mirrors as I sat up.
“Someone’s following us.” Ryan kept watching the one lane winding road.
“How long?” I asked, trying to gauge how far behind us the headlights were.
“About twenty minutes. I would just assume it was another car, but they never quite catch up to us. Other cars have passed them, but they’ve stayed exactly the same distance behind us, trying to stay out of sight.”
“Did you call anyone?”
Ryan shook his head. “There’s no signal out here. I’m pulling over in the next town whether we need gas or not.”
Awake and alert, I watched for the next sign that announced a town. Five miles.
We slowed down as we entered the city limits. Ryan quickly found a place to pull off facing the road and turned out the lights. It was a few minutes before a large produce truck lumbered past us. A full load of vegetables didn’t seem that suspicious, and nothing else passed as we waited.
“Well, was that it, or did they turn off somewhere?” I wondered out loud.
“I think that was it, and it makes more sense than someone following us. If the truck is loaded down, then it wouldn’t be going very fast and it would fall back during the hills, never quite catching up.”
“Want me to take a turn?” I offered.
“Nah, I can’t sleep while the car’s moving. I might as well drive.”
“Well, I’m awake now. Let’s see if there’s anything on the radio that won’t put us to sleep.”
“Please tell me that you’re not going to put country on?”
“Nope.” I grinned mischievously. “Rap, of course. I fell in love with it as an alternative to country. I can only handle so much country before I want to scream.”
“Oh, heaven help us.” Ryan tightened his grip on the wheel. “How did I fall this low?”
My phone beeped. “Yay, we have service again.”
I quickly typed out a message to Jerome.
“On the road, heading back to the hotel for the night. I’ll call when we get there.”
“Your boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t sound real thrilled about it.” Ryan glanced at me.
“We’re in an unusual place. We’re still getting to know each other, but have already done the huge fight thing. He’s jealous, but his ex-girlfriend cheated on him. I get it, but I also have to have his trust. I work with mostly guys, and he’s just going to have to believe that I’m not messing around on him.”
“Oh, that’s a hard one. Shea’s pretty good with it most of the time. She wouldn’t like these trips if she hadn’t met you. She trusts you to watch my back while I’m gone. I didn’t think she’d be okay with a female partner, but so far, she’s been more than understanding about it.”
“You’ve been a little busy with our last two cases,” I giggled. “She called me before we left and made me promise to look after you.”
“She didn’t?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yep, she d
id. I told her you were a grown-ass man, so of course I’d look after you.”
“There goes my street cred,” Ryan chuckled. “After all these years of being Mr. Tough Guy, my fiancée goes and knocks me out with one blow.”
“Awe, you love her, though. She’s been worried about you.”
“You two become besties over the past two weeks or something? How did I miss this?”
“Yep. It’s better to be friends than rivals. I realized that if Jerome was having problems with you, then she might have the same concerns with me. I didn’t want that to be the case so I reached out. We did lunch last week.”
“Great. Just great. Now nothing in my life will be private. Plus, you’ll feel that you have to tell her everything while leaving me out of it.”
“Nope. Partners first. I just want to make sure we stay that way.”
Looking out the front window, I screamed, “Hey, watch out!” as the headlights from the other side of the road weaved into our lane, causing us to drive precariously on the small shoulder.
My heart was racing, and it seemed the truck had disappeared after almost driving us off the road.
“Do you think that was on purpose?” I asked, trying to stop my hands from trembling.
“It could just be because it’s a long highway, and they weren’t paying attention.”
“But you don’t think so,” I finished for him.
“No.” The words hung in the air as something rammed into us from behind.
“Hold on.” Ryan stepped on the gas.
I turned to look behind us, but there weren’t any lights.
“Someone’s trying to run us off the road!”
The car rocked as the other vehicle hit our bumper and started to accelerate.
“We’re headed down a hill. If they don’t stop, they’re going to push us off the cliff. Brace yourself,” Ryan warned.
I gripped the door as he steered across the road, but the vehicle stayed with us, and then proceeded to hit the passenger side at the perfect angle, sending us into the ditch.