Caribbean Fire

by Rick Murcer

  “Excuse me, but how dumb do ya think we are?” asked Haley Rose. “The man takes her car at the mall and drives back to the neighborhood to where she lives with no thought of being recognized, and that’s a random thing?”

  “Yeah, and he just happens to slow down in front of our house?” chimed in Jen.

  “Listen. It’s not unusual for these guys to do something like this. Criminals don’t always go back to the scene of the crime, but this guy might have been curious about where Stacie lived,” said Shaw.

  “Why would he do that? I mean if he’d wanted to take his act a step farther, why not just toss her into the car and do what he wanted to do when he had the chance?” asked Jen, taking the thoughts directly out of Haley Rose’s mind.

  Rubbing his jaw, Shaw looked at Jen with an air of impatience.

  “I can’t answer that for sure. Who knows exactly what these people think? Sometimes they tell us, and when we catch this guy, maybe he will.”

  Jen crossed her arms and stood taller. For the second time in a day, Haley Rose was reminded of Jen’s heritage.

  “Can’t answer that for sure? What happened to common sense? Like, even I can figure that one out.”

  It was Shaw’s turn to cross his arms. His neck had started the gradual scarlet ascent to his face. Jen stepped closer to him.

  “Suppose you clue me in, child.”

  “Suppose I do, cop.”

  Haley Rose began to move between them but stopped, lifting Ian to her shoulder. She wanted to hear what was coming next from Jen’s perspective, for one thing; but for another, the large backbone of this teen had suddenly made her very proud to be Jen’s step-granny.

  “That man driving by our house did it on purpose. The weirdo wanted to see what was going on at our house, for whatever stupid reason. That makes me think that maybe Stacie wasn’t the real target here. Did that ever cross your brain?”

  Shaw rolled his eyes. “Really? That’s what you think? That your friend was a smoke screen and he really wanted to visit you? Why would he do that? And why didn’t he stop by and say freaking hello?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe he wasn’t ready or something stopped him from doing it. Listen. I saw the look in his creepy eyes. He wasn’t just checking me or granny out, you know?”

  “Young lady, that’s why you go to school at your age and trained professionals solve crimes. Do you hear how you sound?”

  “Yeah, I do,” she said softly, eyes flashing.

  Officer Shaw did a double take, his air of arrogance brought down a few steps simply by Jen’s demeanor.

  Haley Rose had to admit that those three words had been very compelling.

  “I don’t—”

  “Wait,” came the voice from the white, tiled hallway.

  “The three of them turned in unison to see Stacie standing there, her long, black hair combed to one side, her mother and father standing like sentinel bookends.

  The right side of her face remained swollen and red. The stiches running underneath her orbital bone past her nose to the corner of her lip told more of the details behind her attack. Haley now understood Jen’s tears. She was holding back a stream of her own.

  “Don’t let this conversation upset you, folks,” said Shaw. “Sometimes people think they know more about how cops work than we do.”

  Stacie stepped away from her parents, standing on her own, legs apart, hospital gown swaying at the bottom. Haley sensed a measure of determination and even defiance in that brave, wonderful step. In that moment, it became more difficult to hold back her emotions.

  Stacie’s parents didn’t bother to hold back, letting their tears flow.

  Speaking slowly, her voice distorted from her injuries, Stacie confronted the officer. “Yeah, that’s true, sort of. But this time, she might be totally right.”

  CHAPTER-28

  “Missus Rathburn is resting quietly for the moment. One of the hospital’s staff nurses will stay with her until she’s ready to take the next step,” said Investigator Munoz.

  Manny nodded, feeling the escape of whatever air remained in the happy balloon that was supposed to be this trip.

  The woman in the life raft was not positively identified yet, but Munoz’s people were relatively sure it was the woman missing from the first victim’s office building. The man in the yellow rubber boat wasn’t as difficult to ID.

  Aaron Rathburn had finally been located.

  The Brit had been missing for almost exactly twenty-four hours and, oddly enough, or perhaps not, was found floating in this raft, right near the resort from which he’d disappeared. The irony wasn’t lost on any of them, especially Manny, if it was irony at all.

  “I don’t suppose Missus Rathburn will be making any future trips to Cozumel,” said Manny, standing in the sand beside Chloe.

  He didn’t blame the woman. Escaping this island, right now, had been an overwhelming urge for him as well. Hell, maybe it was still a good idea.

  “I believe you are correct, Agent Williams,” said Munoz. “The resort, and Mexico, will help her in every way possible. When we can release the body, we’ll ship him home for her as well.”

  “She won’t think so at first, but your support will be a tremendous burden from her shoulders,” said Manny.

  The ocean breeze freshened. The scent riding the wind would have been an invite to experience more of it, except for the circumstances surrounding this unique beach gathering.

  Glancing at his friends for the one-hundredth time, he tried to get a bead on the states of mind of each.

  Barb had gone back to her room, but Dean and Alex stood to his left, talking quietly. Sophie sat a few yards away, moving her feet back and forth in the white sand, staring at her purple sandals.

  This wasn’t what any of them had envisioned when they landed in San Miguel two days ago, but life doesn’t always play with an even hand or on an equal playing field. He knew that as much as anyone. He also knew his friends had a choice here—even though he’d made his, they hadn’t.

  People were dying. Any way he cut it, that circumstance was far more important to consider than a few days of vacation. Guilt had no say when it came to keeping people alive.

  Turning to Munoz, he watched as the inspector got his fill of the teal beauty of the Caribbean Sea.

  He looked back to Manny. “Tell me more why you think this was intentional. The staging of the bodies virtually outside of your rooms, I’m referring to, and not just a random act.”

  “The fact that one of the victims was Aaron Rathburn forces me to rethink that a little. The killer could have been just bringing the man home, so to speak.”

  “But you still think you are correct?” asked Munoz.

  “One of the first cases I worked in Ireland, before joining the BAU, had something similar,” said Chloe. “The woman was killed, her throat slit, and stuffed into a small, red wagon then left in front of her home for the whole family to see. It was related to a previous drug-war killing, and it was clear there was a message regarding whose territory was whose.”

  The calm and strength in Chloe’s voice was music to Manny’s ears. She wasn’t going to kill him until they got home, he hoped.

  “That could be it. He may be thinking that very thing. This is my island, and I can do what I want. But there could be something else here.”

  Just then Alex and Dean, side by side, made the five-step journey to where Manny, Chloe, and Munoz were talking, Sophie dragging a step behind them.

  “What do you want us to do?” asked Alex, rubbing his right hand over his prosthesis. “It’s not like this vacation is going to actually be one now, so we might as well get to it.”

  “That, and the fact that this display of the bodies was entirely too close to home . . . kind of forces us to get involved,” said Dean.

  Sophie sighed. “Damn it, Williams. You’re just a magnet for this shit, aren’t you? But, as much as I hate to admit it, these men are right.”

  Manny nodded. “Let’s ge
t to it then. Dean and Alex, we need to see if we can get you some semblance of a crime-scene kit.”

  “I’ll take care of that.” Munoz spoke in Spanish to one of the local blues who then headed off toward the parking lot, jogging.

  “Vámonos,” Munoz yelled, and the local blue began running.

  “Thank you. We need to process the raft again, and I’d like you two to go over Rathburn’s rented Lexus. Obviously his kidnapping and murder are related to the other killings, so let’s see what shows up,” said Manny.

  “When we get the kit, we’ll do the car first. The saltwater may have tainted everything in and around the raft, plus Munoz’s people have just gone over it, so I’m not sure that’s worth the effort,” said Alex.

  “Take a look anyway, then the car,” said Manny.

  “You were saying that there could be something else to leaving the bodies here like that?”

  “Yes. But before I forget, Josh is on the way, and he’s bringing more info on our possible suspects.”

  “Couldn’t he just fax them? Damn, that’s a long trip to deliver some paperwork,” said Sophie.

  “I guess he doesn’t get a break either,” said Chloe.

  “That, and he said he has a surprise too.”

  “What? Another vacation?” asked Sophie.

  Manny shrugged. “We wish. He didn’t say, but he’ll be here in a couple of hours or so.”

  The officer Munoz had sent to get the kit for Alex and Dean returned, breathing hard, and placed it at Alex’s feet.

  Dean picked it up, looked at Alex, and then rolled his eyes. “This ain’t mine, but it’ll have to do.”

  “It’ll work,” said Alex.

  “Before you go, I want you to know why I think both bodies ended up here,” said Manny.

  “Speak,” said Sophie.

  “There’s a reason this killer broke his protocol—or more accurately, why it looks like he broke away from his meticulous methods. For example, with the woman . . . he didn’t leave her in the jungle or even put her somewhere near her home or work building.”

  The frown on Munoz’s face made him look twenty years older.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m suggesting he may have wanted these two found together. It’s possible he sees them as a pair, for whatever reason.”

  “You mean like an affair?” asked Dean, scratching the side of his face.

  “I don’t know for sure, but maybe we need to rethink Mister Rathburn’s motivation for leaving the resort so early yesterday. We need to do our best to find out. If these two victims were an item, then it would partially explain the killer’s display.”

  “We’ll see what the car has to say,” said Alex.

  Munoz’s phone rang. He walked away and then came back after fifteen seconds.

  “We have the first three interviews set, beginning this afternoon. That should give Agent Corner time to land and get settled.”

  “Okay. I guess we have a few hours. So you’ll—?” Manny saw the look on Sophie’s face and stopped.

  “What’s going on, Sophie?”

  “You know, there could be another reason for the two bodies. Remember that case in New Orleans where the guy stepped up his agenda and started killing more people before he bit the dust? He’d escalated his pissiness and wanted to take out more county workers.”

  Running his hand through his hair, Manny thought about what she said.

  “That’s a good angle, but he said he was going to kill them all before he quit.”

  “Right,” she answered, tilting her head. “That’s my point. What if he killed these two off, together, because he’s done?”

  CHAPTER-2

  9

  “What does that mean, honey?” asked Stacie’s father, moving closer to his daughter.

  “Yes, please tell us why you’d say that,” said Officer Shaw, his lips twisted doubtfully. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

  The young cop had taken an almost defensive stance, with legs spread, jaw set, dark eyes intense. Haley Rose found the handsome young man far less appealing than a few moments earlier.

  “Good God Almighty, Officer Shaw. Is this how ya make people comfortable so they’ll confide in the authorities, man?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

  The blue didn’t even glance her way, but Stacie did. Jen’s friend offered a quick frown while studying Haley Rose’s face, more precisely her mouth, and then turned back to Officer Shaw when he spoke.

  Odd, yet given her trauma, nothing would appear totally normal to young Stacie.

  “I’m not here to make people feel comfortable. I’m here to catch whoever did this. So, I’ll ask again; why would you say that?” Shaw said.

  “What crap! Never mind talking to him, Stacie. I’ll call the LPD and have them send someone else that’s not a total ass,” said Jen, walking to where her friend and parents stood.

  Shaw’s face finished turning red, yet his voice stayed calm. “Have it your way, but it will take time and, in case your stepmother hasn’t told you, we’re short-staffed. That means maybe tomorrow or the next day maybe,” answered Shaw.

  “Fine,” said Jen evenly. “We don’t need the attitude.”

  Shaw shrugged and headed for the door, then stopped, heaved his wide shoulders, turned around, and gave his head one shake as if to clear his mind. He came back to where Jen and Stacie stood.

  Haley Rose shifted Ian to her other shoulder and waited.

  “Listen. I’m sorry. We’re working long hours these days, and this is the second case like this in two days. We had another last night. We don’t think it’s related to yours, Stacie, at least not yet. The victim was an older man sitting at a stoplight a couple of miles away from your home.”

  “Could it be? Related, I mean?” asked Stacie, touching her lip.

  “We’ll see. For now, it’s important you tell me what this perp said, okay?” said Shaw.

  Nodding slowly, she glanced at Jen, gathering strength. Haley Rose felt her pride swell. Trust, even among friends, remained a precious gift to share.

  Taking a deep breath, Stacie quickly clutched her battered ribs and steadied herself.

  “I always park on the back side of the mall. Away from a lot of other cars so mine doesn’t get all dinged up, you know? He came walking up, smiling.

  “He was pretty good looking for an old guy. He had a good smile, but his teeth were sort of yellow. His hair was long and white, like I told you. Anyway, he knocked on the window and asked for directions to the nearest bookstore. I told him Schuler’s was around the corner and pointed. He grabbed the door and opened it so fast I didn’t have time to, you know, like, react. He said to get out of the car. He needed it. I sort of got mad and told him no way. That’s when he hit me, the first time.

  “After that, I saw stars and stuff. The next thing I knew I was on the ground and he kicked me getting into the car. He kicked me again when I didn’t get out of the way . . .”

  Tears moistened her eyes. Haley Rose thought her a brave young woman.

  Shaw motioned for her to keep going. “I know you’ve told me most of this, but two or three times telling it helps.”

  “Okay. Anyway, when he bent down, he hit me again. Then he said that I wasn’t the only date he had for the day. That I was, like, holding him up.”

  “Date?” asked Shaw.

  “Yeah. I didn’t know what that meant. I was feeling a little woozy. But then Jen told me that he drove by her house. We just put it together, you know?”

  “Makes sense,” said Shaw, writing on his leather-bound pad. “Anything else before the department’s sketch artist gets here?”

  “Not really. I think that’s it.”

  Stacie glanced at the floor then over to Haley Rose. That same odd expression on her face from a few moments earlier.

  “What country are you from again, Missus Franson?” she asked quietly.

  “Ireland. Why are ya asking girl?”

  “He . . . he talked the sa
me as you.”

  CHAPTER-30

  Watching the south end of the airport’s arriving flights, Manny saw the white Gulf Stream V circle for its final approach. The thick windows of San Miguel’s airport were clear and clean. The Caribbean sun was bright, shedding its warmth for others to enjoy.

  Not him, however. For that matter, not Sophie either.

  They sat together in hard plastic chairs that did little for his attitude. He guessed not for her’s either.

  It was official; the BAU was on duty.

  “Did you just look at me?’ she asked, staring at her phone.

  She was playing another game of Words with Friends. Her opponent was probably someone halfway around the world. Technology was becoming more of a world-reducer each day.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m wondering what you’re thinking.”

  “About the case or Josh’s surprise or how I’m going to explain to Chloe that you no longer have any family jewels?”

  “Let’s work our way down your list. The case first.”

  “I can’t wait to get to three.” Sophie turned off her phone and swiveled in Manny’s direction.

  “Okay. I know we did this whole profiler meeting yesterday, but do you really think bringing in a half-dozen clowns to interview that might fit the profile is going to lead us to the killer? When was the last time that worked?”

  “Actually, that’s how several serial killers have been brought down. Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer, was finally arrested after the police couldn’t find a reason to take him off the ‘B’ suspect list. He’d been questioned, and he even stopped by the police department when he had one of his soon-to-be victims in the truck with him. Eventually he was added to the ‘A’ list after another incident with a hooker. Their background information allowed them to focus on him a bit more.

  “The same sort of thing happened with John Gacy. Parents of one of the victims had called the police over one hundred times to point a finger in his direction. He’d had a few issues prior, so investigators dug deeper, which led the Chicago police to his door and the bodies under his house.”