by Levi Fuller
My internet-based stalking has yielding the desired information. If James comes here, which I now have little doubt that he will, his best friend Brent, the arachnophobe, will be with him, as well as James' girlfriend, Nikki.
My blood begins to roar as I think of the fake advert I have ensured will find its way to him via his social media. The 'campsite' I have created is perfect. Secluded, yet within reach of one of the many rivers that, because of the heavy winter snows, will remain deep and fast flowing for many weeks to come.
I stretch, feeling my tense muscles loosen, and sigh with pleasure. The pressure in my mind has spent almost the whole winter building. I felt a familiar longing for the moment when it could be released.
****
“Why the psych files?”
Violet looked up at Mark as he came into the empty conference room she had taken over.
“I don't know, exactly. There was a moment, after the thing with Jason,” she paused as Mark's face darkened in remembered anger. “It's over, just forget it. Anyway, I had a hunch, felt like I’d seen a connection we've been missing. If it was triggered by him, then maybe it has something to do with the psychology side of things rather than the police side.”
Mark's brows furrowed. “You think we're after a serial killer?”
Violet shrugged, putting down the file she had been holding. She wished Dhillan were here. She had asked him to help look for a connection to be able to bring out Jane's file, so Mark could investigate it. But, now, seeing the look on Mark's face, maybe it was better if she tried to first convince him that a serial killer was a possibility.
“You don't agree?”
He met her eyes, his frown deepening. “I don't, but why do you? There's no connection between these victims. Not evidence or age, race or religion, they're not even all from West Virginia.”
“Most of them are,” she muttered, then sighed as he gave her a despairing look. “What you've just said is exactly why these cases have been treated individually. But do you really think we're just that unlucky?”
A strange look crossed over Mark's face, hinting at some deeper torment. “So you think a serial killer makes more sense?”
“I do.”
“What does Dr Mavros think?”
Violet felt her determined look falter.
“She doesn't agree, does she?”
“Not yet. Dr Chais does.”
Mark laughed and Violet wished she had held her tongue. For the first time since getting together with Dhillan, she wished that they were nothing more than colleagues so that his opinion would be taken at face value, rather than chalked up to a boyfriend just agreeing with his girlfriend.
Mark must have seen the look on her face and his laughter cut off abruptly. “Look, rookie, I have too many years of being on the beat going against your theory, but if Dr. Chais thinks there's something to it, then that's two of my best members with the same hunch.” He stepped up to her and placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “Find it. If you can find something, anything, to connect this many cases, I will back the two of you up.”
She threw him a radiant smile. “Thanks, boss.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. Suddenly, he sobered. “I didn't actually come here to ask you about this,” he waved a hand over the file covered table. “We got a call. A forest ranger found a body. We have to go.”
Violet nodded and followed him out of the room, sealing it behind them with both their security codes.
When Violet and Mark arrived at the scene, Greg and Harry were already taking a statement from the forest ranger.
Violet swore as she spotted the naked body dangling from the tree a few feet away from where they stood. It was discolored, but the freezing winter had left it mostly preserved.
Mark grimaced and looked over at Dhillan. “Suicide?”
“Maybe.”
“The usual drill, Dr. Chais. Let us know if you need anything.”
Dhillan nodded then met Violet's eyes and she knew he was remembering the walk they had taken on the trail just below the ridge on which they now stood. Had this man been here, already?
****
I stretch in a chair in the sun, Kareena sitting opposite me. The Orlo twins had gotten back about twenty minutes ago. My kill from the beginning of winter has been found. I smile at Kareena and pass her the plate of cookies.
“Come on, you know the chocolate will help.”
She meets my eyes. “I suppose.”
I push down my anger at Greg and Harry. They hadn’t needed to ruin her morning like that. Mark could've let her know when he got back.
“What should we do tonight? There's that movie you wanted to see.”
Kareena looks up at me again. This time her smile is less shadowed. “Really? You will sit through a period drama with me?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course. But I get to choose supper.”
She grins. “It's a deal. See you later.”
I watch her leave, the warm rays of sun tugging my mind past tonight, reminding me that spring break is not far away.
****
Violet sighed, along with Mark. Their John Doe was not a suicide. Dhillan had found bruising caused by ropes along his body.
“Another murder.” She turned to give Mark a knowing look.
Mark sighed and turned to Alma, who was also looking unhappy about the news.
“What do you think, Dr. Mavros? About the number of murders this once quiet County seems to be accumulating.
Alma looked away from Dhillan and shrugged. “I think that every place has a high murder rate at some point in their history. We are living through this one, so it is natural to make more of it than there is.”
“But—”
“So you still don't agree with Violet?” Mark asked, cutting over Violet's denial.
Alma looked over at Violet apologetically. “I have not seen any connections, yet.” There was an electronic buzz from her pocket. “Please, excuse me. I have been expecting this call.”
“There's something there. I know it.” Violet insisted as Alma left the room.
Mark held up his hand as Dhillan looked ready to contribute. “That is not part of this investigation at present. I assume you are running dental records, Dr Chais?”
“Yes, Dectective Decleor. We managed to get some finger prints, too.”
Mark nodded, waving a hand, clearly eager to forestall Dhillan from going into a more descriptive recount of the autopsy.
“Can I carry on with the cold cases, then?” Violet said.
“We have an active case, Detective Turner.”
“But, at the moment, there's nothing to do.”
“Actually, there is,” Dhillan cut in, before Mark could do more than puff himself up. “The man showed signs of malnutrition and rough living. I wanted to take another look at the crime scene before we lose the light.”
“What are you looking for, exactly?”
“I'm not entirely certain but there was a trace amount of ash in the congealed blood at the entrance to the cuts where the copper wire had sliced to the bone.”
“Ash?”
“Yes. So someone burnt something near our guy very soon after he died but before the wire had sliced all the way through.”
Mark was nodding, relief that there was some kind of lead to follow written on his face. He turned to Violet and she sighed inwardly.
“Very good, then, Dr Chais. You and Detective Turner, here, can go back. Violet, make sure you take the map of the site. And mind you two keep this professional.”
Violet bit back a sharp retort as Dhillan chuckled behind his hand.
“I will meet you outside, Detective Turner.”
She tried to give Dhillan a quelling look as he left, but his back was already to her. Turning back to Mark, she saw the laughter behind his eyes and pushed herself to her feet, leaving him to go and collect her clipboard and the map, secretly laughing, too.
****
“Excellent. Yes. I will collect payment in person at the entrance to the site. I will need to see ID, matching your name, which will be on the booking.”
I wait as the pause on the phone line is filled with a soft static, James falling silent at the sound of ID. This was the sticking point of my planned hunt this spring break. James wouldn't risk giving me his name and ID. Many sites, like the one I was pretending to be, didn't accept ex-convicts. Not officially, of course, but they'd run checks and then claim to have no more vacancies. I needed to meet Nikki in person. I needed to ensure she understood her part in my hunt. I had already begun, of course. Sending her messages, playing with her crush on Brent and playing on her fear that he would pick James over her, betraying her.
“I, uh, I am making the booking for a friend, actually,” he says, back-pedaling as expected.
“Not a problem, sir. Who is the booking for, then?”
“Nikki Dale. But I, uh, I don't have her ID to send you.”
I leer at the empty car park. “Thank you. As long as her ID matches upon arrival, she will be allowed in. Will Ms Dale have any guests with her?”
“Yes. Two.”
I can almost hear him holding his breath, praying that I don't ask for the names of the guests.
“Excellent. All is in order. Tell Ms Dale I will see her in three weeks.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Sure. Bye.”
“Bye,” I tell the dead receiver, my grin stretched tight and I can feel the adrenaline already coursing through my blood. If this all went as planned, I should be getting another phone call very soon.
Hearing footsteps, I quickly shove the spare mobile into my pocket, taking out my usual one. If no one sees it, they will have no reason to assume I am using a different phone.
“Everything all right?”
I smile at Dhillan, pocketing my mobile as if I have only just finished with it. “Yeah. Just trying to sell off some stuff. I think I might have a buyer.”
He nods, sticking his hands in the pockets of his pants. I notice the bag over his shoulder and my blood quietens, the adrenaline snuffing out like a smothered flame.
He follows my gaze and hoists the bag a little higher. “We got a new case.”
I nod, trying to figure out why he is going out if it is for that case. “I know. I was in the staff kitchen when Greg and Harry came to alert Kareena.”
He nods, looking back at the building.
I stifle my annoyance. Most people are eager to speak and making conversation with them has always come easily. Not Dhillan. If he wasn't Kareena's brother, I would—
Stop it.
“Will I need to talk to family and friends? Greg and Harry made it seem like a suicide, but counseling may still be needed.” I know I won't, but I need to keep this going. I need to know what he found. That kill had been a test of Dhillan's skills. It is a game I have been playing with him since he joined the VCB six years ago. Not that he knows about it.
“It was murder, but, no.” He turns back to face me, brown eyes hard with anger for whoever killed the stranger in his morgue. “He's a John Doe at the moment. But I have left orders to send you word after we ID him.”
Before I can ask anything else, Violet steps outside and gives me a smile.
I wave them both off, straining my ears as they talk.
“Do you have everything we will need?” Dhillan asks, his tone hinting at the inappropriate.
“Don't you start. Let's just find your damn fire, so that I can get back to those cases.”
He laughs and they pass beyond my hearing.
“You are good,” I whisper as their car pulls away. I hadn't expected them to find the fire pit, let alone evidence of it on the corpse. It seems I need to work harder if I ever want the pleasure of leaving Dhillan truly stumped.
I smile as my spare phone buzzes again. I look at the caller ID and grin at Nikki's name. Perfect. This hunt was going exactly as planned.
****
Violet watched Dhillan scanning the ground with a hand-held device he said would show up areas of recent burning even if they had been buried.
She shivered again, looking over her shoulder at the edge of the ridge. Just below her, she could see the path they had strolled down.
“Did you manage to get time of death?”
Dhillan looked up, having stopped at a spot about two feet from the tree where the body had been found.
“Hard to be exact.”
Violet went right up to him and placed her hands on her hips. “Don't bullshit me, Dhillan. I know how good you are.”
He looked down at her and placed the device back in the bag after scanning the same few feet of ground three times over. “The best I can say is that it was around the time we were here, yes. But that could mean up to a week either way of the day we walked down there.”
Violet nodded, trying to take comfort from his words, to make herself believe that there was no way she could have saved the old man. “You were right? You've found it?”
Dhillan removed his cell, his face grim. “Yes.”
Violet watched him call the forensic squad back to the site so that the buried area of burning he had discovered could be exposed and analyzed. She shook her head. How was it that with a Forensic Analyst as good as him, they were still closing less than a third of any of their cases?
12
The spring sky is a brilliant blue, the hues of sunrise having faded entirely about half an hour ago. I told Kareena that I was going for a jog and then to meet the buyer of the pair of lamps we had in storage. She wouldn't be expecting me back for another hour at least.
I look up at the sound of engines slowing.
I ready myself, envisioning the three bikes Brent has been boasting about on his social media. I wave and smile as they drive into view and stop. I force myself not to look too long at any one of them. For this to work I need them all on the right path. James thinking he'd hoodwinked me, eager to trade the drugs that had led him to my advert. Nikki believing that I was going to take James down for the drugs he was carrying, trusting Brent to the point that her fear of him potentially betraying her was forming a spiky wave around her. And Brent himself, completely ignorant that there was any kind of game afoot.
“Hi y’all! This the Dale group?” I say, affecting an accent and taking only one step forwards, ignoring the magnetic pull of her fear. I place my left hand on my hip as I tuck my hair behind my ear with the right. Nikki's eyes widen in recognition of the prearranged signal.
I resist the urge to laugh. Once you understood human nature, knew how to get inside someone's head, it was all too easy to manipulate them by tugging on the right emotional strings.
“Yeah. I'm Nikki Dale.”
“Fantastic. You guys picked a lovely day. It's supposed to be like this all week.” I natter on as Nikki dismounts and begins to remove her wallet from her bag.
“How do I—”
“Oh, right, straight to business. Just come on over to my little hut, just there, where I'll sort everything. Your friends can come with you or go on up to the camp site.”
Nikki's sigh of relief is audible even to me as James immediately offers to go on ahead and start setting up camp.
Easy, kid. Don't make him suspicious. Not now.
I feel the pressure in my head spike dangerously as the possibility of failure occurs to me. I know I can't ever let that happen, or the pressure would take over and caution wouldn't matter. I would be captured or dead in days, with a trail of clumsy kills behind me.
James narrows his eyes at Nikki, then calls to his mate and they kick their bikes back to life.
As the roar dies away, Nikki turns to me, the question on her lips dying as I show her the fake police ID I’d made.
“Come on,” I say in my normal tone, turning away to the small, disused, ranger’s station. This trail had been shut down for public use more than a year ago, but they stopped watching f
or law-breakers after the first four months.
She walks into the room and her mouth goes wide at the scene in front of her. I survey my work over her shoulder and nod to myself. It looks exactly like a sting set-up from a movie and not much like the real thing, but she wouldn't be looking for the real thing.
“You're not going to make me wear a wire or anything, right?” she says, turning back to me.
“Of course not. We needed to be sure that James would be here to meet his dealer. We want them both.”
She nods, biting her lip, and leans against the desk. “So, why did you bring me here? And where is everyone? Shouldn't there be more than just you?”
I cocked my head at her, as if debating whether or not I had the time to answer such inane questions. In the end I sigh, taking pity on the girl.
“I thought it best if my team arrived later, so that the target feels at ease.” I turn to face her fully. “Look, Ms Dale, you and Mr Sommers are innocent bystanders. I want to try keeping you both safe.”
She straightens at the mention of Brent's name, determined to look like a responsible adult.
“We will be watching for the trade off. It is likely to occur at night. James will go off suddenly on his own. Once he is away, I need you to take Brent into the tent I will mark with a small red 'x' and stay there.”
She nods, her eyebrows mashed together in concentration or worry. I deliver the final imperative, my voice ringing with authority.
“Neither of you must leave the tent until I come for you. Do you understand? This may mean having to keep Brent in the tent by whatever means necessary as he is not aware of what we are doing. Are you prepared for that?”
Nikki presses her lips together, her eyes on me, determination replacing worry. “I understand. I will make sure he doesn't leave.”
“No matter what he says?”
“Yes. No matter what.”
I had been counting on her desire to be rid of James, on her feelings for Brent. They were the backbone of this whole hunt. Without her, it wouldn't be possible.
