by Robin Mahle
After spending hours at the hospital only to be denied his rights, Danny was helpless to do anything. Just as he had been when his mother died. And how his sister was in the same shithole he’d gotten her out of only a few years earlier.
With is elbows on his knees, his leg twitched, and his mind raced. His laptop lay on the coffee table and he opened it. The loss of control sent him reeling and he did the only thing that would return his sense of power.
Danny spent a great deal of time online, but not where ordinary people operated. He was drawn into the darkness where the wicked dwelled. And now he sought the advice of those who had offered it before. He logged into the private group. “I have more to offer. Just tell me how best to do to them what they’ve done to me. My resources are endless.”
Guidance was offered for a steep price and Danny readily paid that price. Now, he knew what he had to do. His choice had been taken from him and so it was time to take away theirs.
His palms pressed against his thighs, Danny pushed off the sofa and walked into the kitchen. Standing at his folding table where he had spent too many hours, he stared at the phones in the small black tray. There were five now. He placed his index finger on each one. “Duck, duck, duck…goose.” He picked up one of the phones and pressed the screen to illuminate it. “When your number’s up, it’s up.”
Sienna Page was a 23-year-old Instagram Influencer and in Danny’s eyes, was nothing more than a fraud. Famous and rich for doing nothing but peddling products made by desperate companies, she was the epitome of everything wrong with this society.
He pulled out his chair to sit down and scrolled through the messages. He hadn’t checked in on her in a few days. Perhaps now was the time for an introduction. Only the most deserving caught his eye and Sienna had proven herself worthy.
Within minutes, he’d learned her location. Danny swiped his keys and started away once again. This time, to a trendy bar in a trendy part of town. That was where Sienna Page was with two of her friends. Stupid bitch told the world when and where she was every moment of every day.
He drove through the darkened streets until reaching the spot near Downtown. It was ladies’ night and the bar appeared busy. Music pounded through the walls of the building when Danny stepped out of his car parked several yards away. As he approached, he checked Sienna’s posts once again just to be sure she was still here. “Perfect.” He returned the phone to his pocket and stood near the edge of the building, away from the entrance. The bar would close soon, and Danny would ride it out. One last test before deciding Sienna’s fate.
He lingered nearby while people began to emerge from the bar, stumbling over each other, laughing like insane hyenas. Making fools of themselves without a care in the world. They were nothing like him.
Finally, he spotted her. Sienna Page walked out of the bar with two other women at her side. All three appeared perfect, even in the early morning hours after a night of drinking. Danny pulled back his shoulders, making himself taller, and started toward the entrance. He watched Sienna eye the men who followed, teasing them with her gaze. She might as well have fluttered her eyes at them like they did in the old movies.
When the three neared the sidewalk, he moved toward them. His gaze cast down, Danny lurched forward, appearing to stumble into Sienna.
“Hey.” Her brow knitted as she looked at him in disgust. “Watch it, man.” Sienna grabbed hold of her friend to help steady her. “You ran right into me. What are you drunk or something?”
Words failed him. His tongue tied into knots. For a moment, he forgot why he was there and why he’d just rammed into this admittedly beautiful woman. “Sorry.”
“Come on, Sienna. Let’s go.” One of her friends took hold of her and the three marched on, but not before the friend looked back. “Asshole.”
Danny regained his composure and eyed them as they stepped into a car with Sienna behind the wheel. He suddenly remembered why he was there.
The whiteboard had always been Kate’s best friend. It was how she visualized her profiles, a technique she’d learned through years of working alongside Nick Scarborough. Other, more sophisticated, tools were at her disposal, but staring at that board sparked her thoughts in a way nothing else had. And so she peered at it now as it sat on the easel inside her office.
What she knew about the Pittsburgh bomber, written in bullet points on the board, was just a starting point. Computer expert. In his 20s. May have a grudge against people with money, which suggested possible financial struggles. Aims only to kill the one he targets, as evidenced by the type of explosive device used. “Not a mass murderer,” Kate said as she chewed on the cap of the black Sharpie.
“Not yet.” Eva Duncan stood in the doorway and made her way to Kate. “Looks like you’re jumping right in. I think you might be forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?” Kate asked.
“The unsub is finding his victims somehow. The two dead so far lived on opposite ends of the city, but both worked near the center,” Duncan added.
“Coincidence? I’m not sure this guy is trolling Downtown Pittsburgh in search of targets.”
“Why not? People who work in the area have good jobs in the financial sector, most likely. Then we have to remember that in order to clone a cell phone, he’d have to get pretty up close and personal with his victims. Walking the streets, running into people. I don’t know, but I think it’s worth considering.”
Kate leaned back against her desk as they continued to study the whiteboard. “It’s almost impossible to get physical access to someone’s phone without them knowing about it.”
“With my limited knowledge of cloning phones, I’d agree with you. It would, however, make it easier to gain access through the victims’ social media this way. That could be how he’s doing it. Might be a good idea to consult with Unit 2 on this. They’re the cybercrime experts.”
“Yep. You’re absolutely right,” Kate replied. “I requested CCTV footage from the immediate perimeter around the bomb sites. Tillis assured me his team scoured it already in search of new details, but I thought it might give us a better idea of how the unsub operates.”
“I’m sure that went over well,” Duncan replied. “I have a feeling we weren’t Agent Tillis’s first choice. But hey, I’m all for utilizing a second set of eyes.”
“Yeah, I don’t think we’re his favorite right now. But according to ATF, the bombs were remotely detonated. The bomber had to be around somewhere. He knows his victims get into their cars. He knows that they’re alone. Neither bomb went off until after the vehicles were started. That means he must be watching them, waiting for the precise moment to initiate the livestream and then…boom.” Kate’s fingers flicked away for illustrative purposes.
“I’m not arguing your point. We’ll just have to take a look. Has ATF viewed the footage as well, or just the Bureau?” Duncan asked.
“I don’t know. Stallard has been fairly non-committal. I think he’s waiting for results from his own team before he takes a position.”
Fisher appeared in the hall and stopped in. “Hey. You two just get back?” He glanced at Eva. “I haven’t heard how it went, but I see you’re already hard at work.”
“Pieces of a puzzle,” Kate jumped in. “We gathered a lot of detail from the field office and the ATF agent, so we’re trying to assemble these pieces now and see if something starts to click into place.”
Fisher walked inside and studied the board. “You might want to think about pulling old case files for reference or get with the ATF agent and ask him to pull relevant cases. You need guidance on the type of bomber you’re dealing with. Maybe someone who’s following in the footsteps of Kaczynski, McVeigh, or Rudolph. There’s a lot of precedence to study. Especially when you consider the motive could be that he thinks he’s leveling the playing field.”
“Kaczynski could serve as a role model based on that theory, but the other two were looking more for mass carnage,” Kate added. “I just don’t s
ee evidence of that here. These attacks were highly targeted. He was after those men and I think the only way to know why is to learn more about who they were. That’s how we’ll figure out who he is.”
“Let me know what resources you need,” Fisher replied. “We’ll get it done.”
Kate waited for him to disappear into the hall and looked at Duncan. “Why do I get the feeling he’s holding back? It’s not like him to nod and walk away.”
“He’s the boss now. I don’t think he wants to be accused of keeping his thumb on the team. Cam’s still finding his footing and with you getting the promotion, he’s looking to you to take the lead on what you do best—profiling.”
“He may want to leave it up to me, but I’m finding my footing too.” Kate turned her gaze back to the trusted whiteboard. “I’d like to bring the team up to speed and get some input.”
Duncan started toward the door. “Let’s get it on the books.”
The information had been presented to the team and now Kate waited for guidance as she stood at the head of the conference table. “Anyone have any thoughts? Any holes in my theories that need to be plugged?” She looked at Surrey, who had been quiet throughout and appeared unwilling to offer suggestions.
Instead, it was Levi Walsh who chimed in first. “Do you know if the field agent has spoken to either of the victims’ co-workers?”
“From what Duncan and I were told yesterday, interviews with the Delaney victim’s co-workers were nearly finished. The most recent victim ran his own business. I don’t know if they’ve interviewed his staff as of yet. What are you thinking?” Kate asked him.
“Just wondering if anyone noticed anything unusual going on around the victims in the preceding days. If they’d had unexpected visitors. Anything that might point to a suspect,” Walsh added.
“Nothing so far stood out to Tillis based on the first round of interviews. I’m not sure what he asked, but he didn’t seem to think anything was out of the ordinary,” Kate replied. “But Duncan thinks the unsub could be hunting for his victims in the downtown area. The financial district.”
“That would line up with your theory the unsub is looking for retribution, or fairness, as it were. Good luck with that, right?” he added
Surrey raised his index finger. “They won’t find any connection to the victims or the companies they worked for or owned.”
Kate regarded him. “You seem sure of that.”
“It’s debatable as to whether this is personal for him,” Surrey added. “To me, it’s a statement against, well, to make a generalization—capitalism. What I think is that the unsub is targeting the wealthy because he isn’t among them. Whether he had once been remains a possibility. He could’ve lost money in the stock market. Lost a business. Hard to say at this point. He has a remarkable understanding of cyber security, cloning, hacking.”
“He’s educated,” Kate replied. “I would agree with that.”
“There are still a lot of unknowns right now,” Fisher cut in. “Feels like we’re spit balling, but that’s the name of the game. Give them what you have. See where it gets them. I know I’m not alone in the assumption that this unsub won’t stop at two. Reid, you’ll take point if this thing hits hard. Two bombs in two weeks. He’s not done. Livestreaming the event shows you he wants attention. He wants people to stand up and take notice of his work.”
Agent Grant Tillis tossed the file onto the ASAC’s desk. “This is it. This is the best the BAU has to offer. A generic profile we could’ve done here in our own office. Nothing we didn’t already know or discuss with those agents two days ago.” He paced the floor. “What the hell, sir? What are we supposed to do with this?”
“Just calm down, Tillis.” Assistant Special-Agent-In-Charge Neil Garofalo leaned back at his desk. “It’s thin, I’ll give you that. But what we gave them was thin. We don’t know shit about this suspect or his motives. Getting the BAU in here early was the right call. ATF hasn’t done anything for us except tell us how the suspect made the bomb. They did their own profile and came up with not much more than those guys at Quantico did. This entire investigation is light on details and heavy on sensationalism. That is exactly what I wanted to avoid.” He pulled up at his desk. “Did you see the news last night? Lead story…‘Downtown bomber wants to make the rich pay.’ Seriously. That was their tease. They’re already branding him as some sort of damn Robinhood. How do you think that’s going to go down with the mayor, the governor?”
Tillis stopped and looked at him. “Rob Delaney wasn’t a rich man. More than the average Joe, but not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to the 6 o’clock news anchors,” Garofalo replied. “Look, just do your damn job, Grant. That’s all I can ask of you. Take the file, learn as much as you can from it. Use those guys at Quantico. Pick their brains. That’s what they’re there for—us. Okay?” He closed the file folder. “And find this son of a bitch before he blows up someone else.”
“Yes, sir.” Tillis grabbed the file and marched back to his office. So far, he’d been juggling the Pittsburgh police, the ATF and now some profiler with the BAU. And yet with all these so-called experts, a bomber was still on the loose.
He returned to his office and sat at his desk. With his head in his hands, he heard his name and glanced up. “Yeah?”
“Agent Stallard is here. Wants to see you,” the man replied.
“Yeah, fine. Send him back.” Tillis pulled up in his chair and waited for the agent to arrive. “Stallard. I hope you come bearing gifts.”
“Not the kind you want.” He entered the office. “Listen, I think…”
Another agent hurried inside, brushing by Stallard. “Excuse me. Tillis, there’s been another bomb. PBP is heading to the scene now.”
Tillis stood and grabbed his keys. “Where?”
“Duquesne Heights, Emerald View Park,” the agent replied.
Stallard shot a look at Tillis. “That’s not Downtown.”
Tillis started ahead. “No, but it’s not far from it. Let’s go.”
Not a cloud hung in the sky as the agents raced toward Emerald View Park. Patrol cars, fire trucks, and ambulances were already on the scene on their arrival.
“Looks like we’re the last ones to the party.” Tillis rolled to a stop and jumped out with Stallard trailing. “I see Lieutenant Crenshaw ahead. Let’s see what he knows.”
The lieutenant spotted their approach. “Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up. A day late and a dollar short, by the look of it.”
“Spare us. Who’s the victim?” Tillis asked.
“Victim is Sienna Page, 23 years old. Some kind of social media influencer.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Stallard cupped his ear as though he hadn’t heard the man properly.
“She was an influencer. Someone on social media who gets paid to basically advertise and make it look like she lives a desirable life,” the lieutenant replied. “That’s what I was told.”
“A desirable life.” Stallard nodded. “Right. Okay. Female victim. That’s a first.” He placed his hands on his hips. “What kind of car was it?”
“She leased a Lexus sports coupe. Red.”
“Giving off the appearance of money, then,” Tillis replied.
“That’s how it seems,” he added. “I don’t know much else yet. We’re just now searching for next of kin. Looks like our bomber is still on the hunt.”
“We’re going to check out the car.” Tillis and Stallard carried on toward the scene when Tillis continued. “Jesus. Right here in the park?”
“Wasn’t all that busy this morning. Downtown was far busier, but the gym wasn’t. He appears to be considering collateral damage, but that’s hard to be sure,” Stallard replied.
“How much you willing to bet her phone was cloned, same as the others?” Tillis asked.
“I’m not dumb enough to take that bet. How the hell is he finding these people? Had they wronged him in some way?”
>
Tillis gazed out at the scene. “Couldn’t tell you. Right now, it doesn’t look like he knew them personally, but then, we haven’t asked him.”
Stallard chuckled. “Then let’s get right on that. Look, I don’t know anything about Sienna Page yet, but if the bomber thought she had money, she made for a prime target, just like the others. Doesn’t look like he cares if it’s a man or woman.”
“Money, or wealth, seems to be the only common thread among these victims. And it doesn’t get us any closer to learning how he finds them.” Tillis picked up his phone. “But I’ll give Reid a call and let her know we have ourselves another attack. Maybe she can pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
Kate rushed through the halls, passing by colleagues with a mere nod. She arrived at Fisher’s office. “There was another attack.”
Fisher pulled the toothpick from his mouth. “The bomber?”
“Female victim. Alone at a park, according to Agent Tillis,” Kate walked inside. “He and Stallard are on the scene now. Duncan and I need to be there. The third bomb and this one less than one week from the last.”
“He’s speeding up his timeline for whatever reason,” Fisher replied. “Go. But I want Surrey in on this too. You’ll be running the show, but you’ll need them both to back you up. Take the plane and get there as soon as you can. We got to be all in on this one.”
“I agree, but what about Walsh?”
“He is our local liaison, but I need him here with me for a while,” he replied. “Besides, with you three, the ATF and the local field office, there’s enough talent.”
“If you say so.” Kate disappeared into the hall and hurried back to her office. It was odd that Fisher didn’t want Levi to go with them. They were a team, each with their own areas of expertise. So to hold him back meant Levi was working on something important, and Kate could only guess what that was.
