“So, she disappeared from her friend’s house in a cab,” the Captain said. “Locate this cab driver. See what we can find out about him.”
“Right, Sir,” Burke said. “We also believe she was using a lot of drugs. Her friend’s nervous and jittery behavior was enough proof. They both probably got high that night.”
“When will we have the full details of the autopsy along with the tox screen?” he asked.
“Within a day or so. We believe this may be the work of a copycat killer. Someone obsessed with the Executioner and has now started killing as well. For someone as precise and accurate as the Executioner is, even small differences in the MO are enough to show it’s not him.”
“I agree,” the Captain said. “The note was in different handwriting, and this doesn’t seem to be personal to Matthews. Whoever it is, they don’t know much about her except what has been made public. But I don’t want this getting out. Let the copycat think that we believe this is the work of the Executioner. Let the media spread it around. He shouldn’t know we are on his tail. I want everyone working on this. Understood?”
“Sir, you possibly can’t mean to include Matthews on this, do you?” Lory scoffed. “For all we know, she did this.”
“Detective Matthews has been under observation for the past two weeks,” the Captain said, his voice low. “As much as I want to believe she is the killer, I know she can’t be in this case. At the time the murder occurred, our Detective was at her sister’s house. I confirmed the alibi myself before even moving forward with the investigation. But that doesn’t mean that I trust you, Matthews. I don’t trust you, even a bit.”
“I understand, Sir,” Robin said curtly.
“Get to work, team!” the Captain barked.
Chapter Seven
“Hi, my name is Detective Matthews, and this is my partner, Detective Grange,” Robin said. “We are here to get information about one of your taxi drivers. We have CCTV footage, and this is the license plate number we believe the taxi had. Could you run it for us?”
“Of course,” the receptionist said. “Let me check.”
She typed it on her computer and then frowned.
“I am sorry, but this cab is not in our system,” she said.
“Not in your system?” Kyle asked.
“This is not one of ours,” she said.
“But there is not another taxi service that runs here,” Kyle protested.
“I am sorry, but it’s not in the system,” she said.
“This is getting more and more interesting,” Robin said. “An elusive taxi driver, a girl who disappears somewhere between her friend’s house and her boyfriend’s house, and a copycat killer. I believe we need to get a look at the CCTV footage.”
“I will have the team send it to me,” Kyle said. “Where do we stand on our report about the Butcher.”
“I last tracked him down in Brooklyn, where I believe he was hiding,” Robin said. “Remember, he had to be very careful. The Butcher couldn’t just get a new name and new identity and blend in. His face was disfigured, and he stood out instantly. His face was plastered everywhere. He was sighted in New York where someone reported him, but by the time police got there, he had run away again. I think he made his way to Brooklyn, where, once again, there was a report about him being spotted. That’s the most recent report I have. A year after that, he showed up beheaded on Abby’s doorstep.”
“Let me ask my friends in Brooklyn to look into it,” he said. “See if anyone remembers him and a young man with him.”
They headed back to the station, reporting their findings to the other team members.
“Alright, this definitely makes the cab driver very suspicious,” Kyle said.
“Let’s run the footage,” Burke ordered. He opened his laptop and played the footage, all of them peering over his shoulder.
“Right, that’s where she leaves her friend’s house,” Burke said, “and gets in the cab. We can’t see the driver’s face at all.”
“Can you track it?” Robin asked. “See where the cab went?”
“We tried to,” Burke said. “But we couldn’t find anything. The taxi turned into an alley somewhere, and we have no footage of it after that. This is the footage of the camera outside the boyfriend’s apartment. As you can see, no cab appears, and no girl appears all night.”
“Let’s look into the area where the girl disappeared,” Kyle said. “Send people to look into the alley and the houses there.”
Burke’s phone rang, and he picked it up.
“Yeah?” He said. “Down in forensics? Be right there.”
“What’s up?” Kyle asked.
“Dr. Gravis wants to see us,” he said. “He found something.”
__
“Detectives,” Dr. Gravis said when they entered the morgue. “I have found something that is rather important and confusing at the same time. Now, I ran a full tox screen, and I can confidently tell you that she has been a drug user for quite some time. But at the time of the incident, there were no drugs in her system. In fact, I thought the results were rather unremarkable. And then, I found clear signs of cyanosis that I couldn’t explain. And then there was the fact that her blood was blue.”
“Blue?” Burke asked.
“Yes, a blood film showed Methemoglobinemia. Methemoglobinemia occurs when red blood cells contain methemoglobin at levels higher than 1%. Methaemoglobin results from the presence of iron in the ferric form instead of the usual ferrous form. This results in a decreased availability of oxygen to the tissues,” he said. “Now, I couldn’t find any reason to explain why the patient had this condition, so I ran a more detailed tox screen.”
He handed Burke a paper with the results in it and said, “o-toluidine. o-toluidine is used primarily in the manufacture of dyes. o-toluidine is highly toxic to humans when absorbed through the skin, inhaled as a vapor, or swallowed. Acute exposure of humans to o-toluidine affects the blood causing methemoglobinemia, with clinical signs of central nervous system depression. The killer used this drug to depress her nervous system until she was unable to fight back, and then killed her.”
“But the other victims were never given any drugs,” Robin said.
“I ran a tox screen on the stored blood samples of the previous victims,” he said. “We found nothing. This is clearly a copycat killer, and instead of risking being caught struggling, he decided to depress her nervous system, making the victim easy to handle. He probably thought he was clever. We don’t usually test for this chemical.”
“So, the killer is someone who knows this chemical is a depressant but doesn’t know the actual medical effects of it. Otherwise, he would have known that the methemoglobinemia would have given it away,” Robin said. “So, it’s not anyone with medical knowledge.”
“It would seem so,” Burke said.
They headed back to the police station while bouncing ideas off each other. The moment they entered the precinct, silence suddenly fell all around. Robin looked around confused, wondering what the hell was going on. The TV was on, and the news reporter was saying, “Mr. Danvers has returned to town and is talking about establishing a new mall on the grounds. After being abroad for over five years, he has returned to his hometown–.”
“Kyle?” Robin whispered, turning to look at him.
He was glaring at the screen, his jaw clenched, and his hand tightened into a fist.
“He is back,” he whispered to her. “The man who murdered my wife is back.”
Chapter Eight
“I am worried about Kyle,” Robin said. “I haven’t seen him in two days. Ever since he saw that news, he has just disappeared.”
“You are talking about the return of the billionaire, Mr. Danvers?” Dr. Rosemond asked.
“Yes,” she said, frowning. “I don’t know how to help Kyle out of this.”
“Why does this man affect Kyle so strongly? Is there something there?” he asked.
“I forgot, you wouldn’t know,” Rob
in said. “You were in college at that time, weren’t you? This happened five years ago when Kyle suddenly lost his wife, Rose. She was murdered and quite cruelly; assaulted before she was finally shot in the heart and killed. Kyle reported her missing and started a hunt for her, and two days later, she was found dead in a quarry. Kyle was heartbroken. The two of them loved each other like crazy. He couldn’t handle it. He started looking for her murderer, and it wasn’t long before he had a suspect: Vince Danvers, the head of the multinational company. Rose worked as his personal secretary, and recently she had told Kyle that Vince had been a bit inappropriate with her. He was asking her for sexual favors. Kyle asked her to quit, but she was pregnant at the time, and they really needed the money. Kyle believed that Danvers killed her for refusing his advances and went all out on him.”
“I assume that wasn’t well-received?” Dr. Rosemond asked.
“It wasn’t,” she said. “Danvers was a wealthy, influential man with lots of power. There was little evidence, and everyone was too afraid to investigate him. The Captain ordered Kyle to stand down, but he refused. He went off the deep end; not eating, not sleeping, only working to find the murderer. No one believed him when he said Danvers was the killer. He was all alone, except for me. I believed him, but there was little I could do. I couldn’t deny the fact that there was no evidence. And then, the incident happened.”
“The incident?” he asked.
“Kyle went after Danvers, and a fight erupted,” Robin said. She could see the scene in the back of her mind as clear as day. “Kyle shot him, but his bodyguard lunged forward and saved Danvers. An innocent bodyguard was killed, and Danvers went livid. He pressed charges against Kyle, who was suspended. Kyle had to live with the guilt that someone innocent died by his hands. He got worse and worse. Eventually, Danvers agreed not to press charges when the Captain talked to him personally. Kyle was suspended and mandated therapy for a few months, and then he resumed working. He never mentioned it again. He acted as if it never happened. Danvers left town and went abroad, and this is the first time he has come back in five years.”
“I see,” he said. “And, of course, you are worried about Kyle, and you need to find a way to help him. Do you think he has accepted the fact that Danvers is not the killer?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think so. I think that’s still what Kyle believes.”
“Robin, I think you need to be there for Kyle at all costs,” Dr. Rosemond said. “There is a very good chance he will go after this man. And I don’t mean legally.”
“What are you saying?” Robin asked, even though she knew what he meant.
“Robin,” he said. “Go to him. Go to him before he does something stupid! I have met Kyle. I know his psychology! It’s my job! Just go!”
__
“Kyle?” Robin called out, knocking loudly on his door. “Kyle, open up!”
The door slowly opened, and she found herself looking at the gaunt face of her friend.
“Kyle,” she said. “I need you to talk to me.”
“There is nothing to talk about,” he said.
Robin pushed past him and walked into the room, looking around.
The apartment was a complete mess; there were blueprints, plans, and documents scattered everywhere. Robin picked them up and started glancing over them. Her worst fears were confirmed. Kyle had been monitoring Danvers, stalking him, making notes, and studying his schedule. Robin looked around, and she spotted a gun lying in the center of the coffee table.
“Kyle, don’t,” she said.
“He killed her, Robin,” he said. “I know he did.”
“I believe you,” she said. “But this is not the way.”
“Not the way?” he whispered. “Is there any other way? You know justice will never catch a man like him.”
“I know,” she said. “But you can’t do this. You can’t become a killer. An assassin!”
“I have to avenge Rose,” he said. “I won’t let him get away with this again.”
“Then let’s work together,” Robin said. “Let’s find the evidence we need. Let’s bring this man down.”
“You know it will never work,” he said.
“We will make it work,” she said. “This is not the answer, Kyle. You know it’s not.”
Robin’s phone started to ring, and she sighed, wondering what more bad news awaited her.
“We located the cab used for the murder,” Burke said, on the other side. “You gotta get to the station. Now.”
Chapter Nine
“The cab was parked outside this apartment,” Andrews whispered. “Some officer spotted it and called it in.”
They stood behind a building located in one of the more impoverished areas of town, guns ready in their hands. The buildings themselves were old and shabby and looked as if they hadn’t been maintained in years. Some of the buildings were even empty, too broken to live in. Robin knew only squatters could be found here.
“We found out that cab belongs to one of the men who resides on the top floor,” Andrews whispered. “There is a good chance that this man is our killer.”
“Alright,” Burke said. “Let’s do this. Did we find out more about the cab?”
“We did,” Andrews whispered. “It was reported stolen over a year ago by the company. The thief must have changed the number plates. No one ever checks the taxi plates, so he probably got away with it.”
“Okay, I want this done quietly and without any bloodshed,” Burke said. “Arrest the man and make sure he doesn’t escape. Shoot if you need to, but make sure he is not killed. Understood?”
“Team Alpha, are you on the roof?” Robin asked into the earpiece.
“Team Alpha, ready,” the voice said back.
“Team Beta, are you securing the fire escape?” she asked.
“Secure,” the voice answered back.
“Right,” she said. “All clear. All escape routes have been blocked.”
“Let’s go,” Burke whispered.
Holding their guns at the ready, they slowly made their way through the building, climbing the stairs in single file. Robin held her weapon in front of her, alert for any sign of possible attack. They reached the apartment, and Burke gestured at them to pause.
“Sir, open this door!” Burke shouted, banging on the door. “This is the police!”
Nothing could be heard from the inside, and Burke reached down to turn the door handle. The door opened, and Burke gestured at the team to follow him. Robin walked into the dark apartment, her eyes and ears alert for any sign or noise. One of the officers turned on the light, and they all waited until their eyes adjusted. Then, Andrews voice rang out.
“Sir, I found him,” he said. “He’s dead.”
__
“The taxi driver is clearly not the man we were looking for,” Kyle said.
“Yes, it would seem so,” Burke said. “He was killed just five minutes before we reached there. The killer did this in a hurry. He shot the cab driver in the chest and left through the fire escape.”
“The cab driver was one Heath Jason,” Andrews said. “I ran his prints through the system. He had a past criminal record for committing various crimes. He must have stolen the cab last year.”
“I had a look at his financial records,” Robin said. “He recently received the money in his account. He must have been asked to pick the girl up and take her someplace by the actual killer.”
“And when the killer realized we were on the trail of the cab driver,” Burke said. “He killed him.”
“The killer is someone who is not very rational or logical,” Robin said. “This was preplanned, but he didn’t plan it properly. It seems as if a juvenile mind did it.”
“I agree,” Burke said. “Ask the forensic team to expedite the process. Let’s go over any possible motive and all the alibis of everyone all over again. Maybe we missed something.”
Robin’s phone rang, and she picked it up, “Yeah, Abby?”<
br />
“Hey, you aren’t home yet,” she said.
“Sorry,” Robin said. “I will be a bit late. I have lots of work.”
“But tonight, Jim’s parents are visiting,” Abby said. “I saved a dinner. I requested you specifically to be there.”
“Oh, damn,” Robin said. “Abby, I am so sorry. I just can’t get out of this–.”
“I haven’t seen you in days,” Abby whispered. “Where have you been?”
“I am sorry, work has been so messed up,” Robin said. “I will make it up to you, I promise.”
Silence fell, and Robin twisted uncomfortably, wondering what Abby was thinking.
“Alright,” she finally said. “Take care, Sis.”
Robin sighed and put her phone away, rubbing her tired eyes.
“Let’s get to work,” Burke said. “Robin, can you look into the cab driver? Find whatever you can about him.”
Robin nodded and headed back to her desk, mentally exhausted. Kyle had been strangely quiet, and she had no idea what was running through his head.
She frowned as she looked down at her desk, noticing a small parcel lying there with a simple rose attached to it. With trembling hands Robin slowly opened it, knowing who it was from.
Inside was a plain locket with a crest on the top. Robin looked around for a note, and sure enough, she found it.
“Well played, Robin. You have always been excellent at solving mysteries. You managed to evade my first plan. I am actually glad that you did. This makes everything so interesting. Do you remember all those puzzle games and math quizzes we used to do? We were always putting our minds against one another. I loved those times I spent with you. They are my fondest memories. I know you are trying to find me, so I thought, why not let you? Here is a clue. This necklace belonged to my mother. Find me, Robin, if you can.”
Past Unveiling Page 3
