by Ali Vali
“Sept.” One of the uniform officers came running up out of breath. “You need to come with me.”
“What now?” She followed, ignoring the media that had decided to stick around. Julio and Nathan kept up. Her skin grew clammy when they stopped at the house where Tameka had been killed.
The place was surrounded by a number of cops who’d gone looking for the rookies they’d originally sent. What their superior had thought would be an ass-kicking for deserting their post had escalated into something quite different. The only people inside were their direct superior, John Loveless, and two of his more experienced guys.
“What the fuck?” John said angrily when Sept’s group made it into the house. “Why didn’t you tell me you thought this would be dangerous? I would’ve never sent rookies.”
“John, it could’ve been you or me, and the same damn thing would’ve happened.” She saw the drag marks from the back of the house and the seven drawn in blood on their foreheads.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” John combed back his thinning hair with both hands.
“They were ambushed.” She pointed to the closest guy’s gun. The strap was undone, but the gun had never been drawn. “He reached for it but didn’t get a chance to shoot back. We need some guys canvassing the backyard.”
She followed the blood-streaked drag marks to the door leading to the backyard. The dead grass wasn’t much help, but one of the guys had dropped his hat at the corner of the house. “That’s one spot,” Nathan said. “Where’s the other one?”
“It had to be more this way,” she said, pointing to the center of the yard.
“Yeah. That makes sense,” John said. “Even a rookie would’ve backed a brother up if he’d seen the guy get shot.”
“I wanted the house shut down because our victim was killed so close to another crime scene,” Sept said, slowly making her way back to the bodies. “There’s a chance the killer would’ve been here. A connection to this scene is probably the only reason for the killing a block away. It’s definitely a copycat, and whoever it is wanted to show Perlis how much he thinks of his work.”
“So why murder these guys?” Nathan asked, and John and Nathan stared at her as if her answer would be the key to solving all this.
“Maybe they saw whoever was watching from here, partner.” She studied the numbers on their foreheads, and the style of writing was different from Perlis’s. Whoever did it had drawn a small line through the stem of the number seven.
“That’s different than when Perlis did it,” Nathan said.
“It’s used to distinguish a seven from a one,” she said, taking a deep breath. These officers looked so young. Did they have someone waiting at home, or maybe kids?
“There’s also no slash through it, like in a no-smoking sign,” Nathan said, comparing it to the victim they’d found by the river where she’d sat with Keegan when they’d first gotten together. That guy had served as much as a message as the two dead cops she was staring at. The small pain behind her left eye was starting to grow.
“That slash from our first case means something different than this. Perlis wanted me gone right away, but I don’t get that sense here.” She glanced at the officers’ bodies to make sure nothing was out of place. “Have the coroner go over every inch before releasing them to their families.”
“What’s different about the messages?” John asked as more of George’s crime-scene guys came in. “I didn’t work the first cases, but you won’t be able to keep me out this time. These were my guys, and I’m going to help you catch this fucker and take him down.”
“No one’s keeping you from anything, John. Perlis put the line through the number on that guy as a warning to me to get off the case, since my name means seven, but this strikes me more as an invitation. It’s the second one I’ve gotten this week.” A button at the top of the shirt on the victim farthest away from her was slightly out of the hole. “I need some gloves,” she said, and one of the techs handed them over. She unbuttoned only three before she saw the rest of the message.
“What does it say?” John asked, leaning over her.
“Afrá.” She spelled it out. “Julio?”
“It’s the road the killer’s taking,” Julio said, blowing out a long breath. “It’s the road who gathers the bodies of the dead.”
“Who?” she asked. “Is it a road or a person?”
“Yes to both. It’s a living entity,” Julio said as he fingered the beads around his neck.
“So, the message says it’ll be our job to clean up after this guy, since he’ll keep killing until he tires of it?” she asked, buttoning the officer’s shirt back up.
“That’s just fucking great,” John said.
“Exactly.” She resigned herself to the weeks ahead. “Exactly.”
Chapter Seven
“Has Sept called?” Jacqueline asked as the lunch crowd started to thin and they sat to eat in Keegan’s office.
“Not yet, and I heard from some of the servers that something big’s going on. The diners were getting updates on their phones, which is so rude when you’re at the table with someone.”
“Let’s focus, Miss Manners,” Jacqueline said as the waiter put their food down. “What are you going to tell her about Nicole Voles?”
“That I don’t want to dish about my murdered friend,” she said, looking at Jacqueline and not understanding what she was talking about.
“So, you’re not going to tell her about ole Nicole hitting on you?”
“She wasn’t hitting on me. That’s more something that happens to you.” She laughed at the absurdity of what Jacqueline was implying.
“Trust me, she was, and as usual, you missed it.”
Keegan’s phone rang, and she pointed at Jacqueline to shut her up. “Hey, honey, what’s going on?”
“Our first case out of the blocks is a doozy, so I might be running late,” Sept said, and Keegan heard people talking in the background. “I just wanted to call and tell you to be careful. Please go straight home after work, and that goes for Jacqueline too. To be extra careful, call Melinda and Della and tell them the same thing.”
“Hon, you just started working cases again today, and you’re already scaring the hell out of me.” Jacqueline stood and moved closer to her.
“Sorry.” Sept seemed to move since it grew quieter on her end. “Is the troublemaker with you?”
“If you’re talking about Jacqueline, then yes.”
“Stay put, and I’ll stop by before we have to check out some stuff.”
“We’ll wait for you.” She hung up and put her hand over Jacqueline’s when she placed it on her shoulder. “That doesn’t sound good, and please don’t mention Nicole when she gets here.”
“Sure, but why?” Jacqueline sat back down and unfurled her napkin. “I totally understand you missed the vibes she was sending out, but why keep her visit from Sept?”
“We talked about this book Nicole is writing on our trip, and Sept wants to be the subject of it as much as she wants to shoot herself in the head. If she’s working on something bad right off, I don’t want to stress her out or distract her.”
They ate, and Sept walked in with Nathan as they finished, but Sept asked him to wait in the kitchen. Sept hugged Keegan and held a hand out to Jacqueline. “You both know how much I love talking about an open case, but the scene we showed up at today was like starting Perlis’s case all over again.”
“What?” Keegan asked.
“I’m still in shock a little, and I don’t have any idea what this is about, but I need you both to watch yourselves.” Sept kissed her forehead and sat at the small table. “From the first crime scene, we got another call to the house where Tameka was killed. The killer was watching, I guess, and left two more bodies for us. This time it was two cops with sevens on their foreheads.”
“Jesus,” Keegan said, remembering the body they’d found by the river. “The killer knows about you?”
“I think so,
which is making me crazy, but not because of that. I’m worried that if he knows me, you and the family might be in his sights as well. That’s why you need to promise me you’ll all be careful.” Sept extended a hand to them. “I love you, and it’ll kill me if anything happens to either of you.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be careful. But I do want to know one thing. What did you two want to talk to me about earlier?” Jacqueline asked, as if trying to change the subject.
“The house Della grew up in is your home,” Sept said.
“You want me to move out?” Jacqueline asked, seemingly genuinely hurt.
“Such a pessimist,” Keegan said, leaning over and kissing Jacqueline’s cheek.
“The first rule of police work is don’t jump to conclusions,” Sept said, kissing her other cheek.
“If it’s not too weird, we’d like for you to stay. I want you to, but if you feel crowded, we’ll move out. It’s only fair.” Sept nodded at what Keegan had said and wasn’t surprised when her sister’s eyes grew glassy with tears. “I hope we all stay put, but I’ll understand if you need your own space.”
“I won’t understand, but Keegan thought we should ask,” Sept said and wiped at her own tears. “I’ve missed having a sister.”
“Thanks for asking, and I guess I was a little terrified that things would change if you guys made this more permanent,” Jacqueline said, sounding a bit embarrassed. “My sister’s lucky to have found someone who understands both of us so well.”
“I love you, and cooking-lesson night is my favorite of the week. If you weren’t there it wouldn’t be the same.” Sept stood to hug them both. “And because I love you, I need you all to be hypervigilant of your surroundings. We’ll talk more about it later, but I’m afraid this is the beginning of another hard case.”
“That goes for you too, Seven,” Keegan said, pressing up against Sept. “If it’s a copycat, then it sounds like they want you involved.”
“I think that’s part of it, so call me if you see anything out of the ordinary.”
Jacqueline stared at Keegan, but she stayed quiet. “Do you and Nathan have time to eat?”
“If it’s fast. We need to get started on some follow-up,” Sept said, thankfully missing Jacqueline’s silent cues.
Sept and Nathan left thirty minutes later with a promise that they’d try to be done early enough to give Keegan a ride home. She stared at the door after they left and said a silent prayer to keep Sept safe.
“Do you have time to go over the books before you head home for a few hours?” Jacqueline asked.
“Can we do it at home? I’m shorthanded tonight, so I’ll have to come in earlier.”
Jacqueline nodded and sighed. “I don’t mean to harp on this, considering there’s a slight chance I’m wrong, but don’t start a life with Sept by omitting things you think might upset her.”
“Come on, Jacqueline,” she said, frustrated. “Voles is a non-issue, and you heard Sept. This is going to be hard on her. I don’t want her worrying about unimportant things.”
“I’m on your side, but think about what I said. I really love Sept, so I don’t want her upset either,” Jacqueline said softly, taking her hand. “I just don’t want anything to get in the way of your happiness.”
“Nothing will.” And she’d do whatever she needed to make sure.
* * *
“Where to first?” Nathan asked when he started the car. Sept stared into the side-view mirror. This wasn’t what she was expecting so soon after returning to work, but she needed to get her head back in the game.
“Jennifer texted and said she and George are in the lab now, so let’s stop there,” she said, turning her attention to the area around them. If this guy was really watching them and came anywhere near Keegan or her family, this time she’d pull the trigger if she had the chance. “I want to see the note.”
“I guess they didn’t find anything else, huh?”
“That’s something else this killer has in common with Perlis. No fingerprints, no clues, and no mistakes. With the first scene that makes sense, because he took his time, but it was the same thing with the second place. This fucker killed two cops right under our noses and didn’t flinch or leave a clue.” She flipped through her notebook, trying to prioritize her steps.
“You’re right, but why now?” The area was almost back to normal, but construction was still going on, with plenty of out-of-town contractors. It made their suspect pool that much harder to nail down. “If this really is Teacher, he’s had months to begin. Why now?”
“You should know the answer. If your name had a number in it, it’d be on those bodies next to the seven.” Her phone rang, and she groaned when she recognized the number from police headquarters. “Savoie,” she said as Nathan turned, heading away from downtown.
“Hold for Chief Jernigan,” a woman said.
“Sept,” Fritz said, barking her name as if she had a hearing problem. “I’m not sure how in the hell this happened again, but I’m putting you in charge of the new task force I’m forming. I’m not willing to put up with two dead cops.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, thinking this had gone from bad to clusterfuck at lightning speed. “As long as we can stay in the field investigating, Nathan and I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Don’t agree just to get me off your ass, Savoie. Two rookies were killed today, which doesn’t exactly scream that the city is safe and open for business. The mayor and city council have taken a chunk out of my ass since this broke, so this won’t go away by telling me what I want to hear.”
“Sir, I’m just saying that whoever this was has only begun. He’s going to keep killing until we find a clue to who he is and drop him into a deep, black hole.” Nathan swerved through traffic and laughed quietly at what she was saying. “We can’t do that if we’re stuck at the precinct managing the troops.”
“Do it however you like. Just get fucking results,” Fritz screamed, obviously taking a cue from the mayor and passing along his frustration. “One more thing.”
“Yes, sir.” Whatever came next wasn’t going to be good.
“Call this Voles woman so she doesn’t think we’re afraid to talk to her. We may not like it, but she’s popular, so I’d like us to have some input about what goes in this book.”
“I’ll take care of it, but if the cases are related, I’ll be limited on what I can share.”
“Call and get it over with.” Fritz’s voice started to rise again, but he hung up before she had to pull the phone away from her ear.
“Problems, Boss?” Nathan asked as he took the exit leading to the lakefront where George’s lab was located.
“Christmas came early this year, and Fritz gave us a task force. And as a bonus, we have to talk to the author for our fifteen minutes of fame.”
“Until the papers get ahold of you again,” he said, and punched her arm.
“I’m a giver, so I intend to make sure your name is in every article. If the Picayune and the Advocate want to portray me as incompetent, I’m not going to be alone.”
“You’re a riot.” He parked by the door and left the blue light on the roof blinking so the crews making repairs wouldn’t block them in.
“I’m hilarious, so don’t forget it.” They took the stairs to where George had set up until the flood damage of the lake’s storm surge had been cleared away. “What’s my love letter say, Uncle George?”
“We got problems, kid,” George said, and Jennifer nodded.
“What? The paper was a grocery list instead of the nicely typed confession with directions of where to find this guy?” George and Nathan both snorted as if they couldn’t help themselves, but Jennifer stared at her as if she didn’t understand her humor. “You need to loosen your wind a bit if you’re going to survive what’s coming, Schultz.”
“Stop terrorizing my people and get over here,” George said, walking to a work station with bright lights over it. “There’s a definite difference between t
his one and Perlis’s notes. This one is handwritten, but like his, it gets to no point at all. Cryptic is like a hobby for these sickos.”
It was short and might as well have been typed, considering the block, very uniform letters. “It’s different, but this guy has insight to every part of Perlis’s playbook,” she said.
Second chances will show you the error of the gods.
I want back the victory promised by the gods,
and I want to strip you of the title of warrior.
You are no child of Chango.
“What do you think?” Jennifer asked.
“The condensed version is, we caught Perlis, but that’s not how it was supposed to go down. The gods he believes in were supposed to favor him, not me,” she said, and Nathan took a picture of the note. “Thanks, Uncle George, and let me know if you find anything else.”
“Where to next?” Nathan asked when they got outside.
“I want to walk the first scene again before we head to the morgue.”
They went back out to the east side of the city, and she walked the outside of the house as well as the couple next to it on both sides. “Are you looking for anything in particular?” Nathan asked. He walked beside her but put a few feet between them.
“See if we can find a hint as to who the victim is. From the clothes, I’d guess prostitute, but knowing exactly who she is might give us a clue about the part of town she worked.”
The area was scattered with weeds and debris that had washed out of the houses around them. All the litter was a grim reminder of the lives that were only a memory now that the houses were completely uninhabitable.
“I’d think the killer would’ve taken the information,” Nathan said but didn’t give up the search. “You know, like a trophy.”
“If he’s following Perlis’s playbook, the only trophy he’s collecting is the kill.”
She followed the path to the second crime scene of the day and noticed a denim purse floating in the cracked and faded kiddie pool with enough putrid water to make it seem like the purse had been there for months. The water smelled horrible, but she stuck her pen in and pulled the purse out.
