Malice

by C. M. Sutter

  I pulled out my weapon and hugged the wall as I peeked around the corner. All was clear. I headed back to the Explorer to call J.T. I hadn’t seen the truck as I drove into the neighborhood. Could he have stolen a different vehicle? Did he take public transportation? How the hell did he get there? One thing I knew to be a fact—Ed Tanner was the Scenic View Serial Killer. Now we needed to find out why and apprehend him.

  Chapter 44

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, just sore. I don’t know if he’s on foot or drove in with a different vehicle, J.T. I can’t place that truck here at the scene.”

  “Seeing blue eyes won’t stand up in court, Jade. We need that truck on tape. I’m on my way. Did you get a look at what he was wearing?”

  “Nah, it happened too fast. I’m going to drive around this area and see if I can find him.”

  “Just stay put. I’ll get Patrol to take care of that. I have to let Hardy know, and I’ll have someone else finish up at the gas station. We have to identify that truck on the tapes today before Ed goes off the deep end again and kills another person, especially now that he knows you saw his face. You’re lucky to have only gotten zapped.”

  “J.T., I was only doing what any officer would have done. I didn’t come here looking for trouble, and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to literally run into him.”

  “I know that, and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Keep your eyes peeled but stay in the Explorer and lock the doors. Hang on.”

  I listened to silence for several minutes.

  “Okay, I’m back. Hardy has Patrol on their way. They should be arriving in the area in the next few minutes. They’ll search the neighborhood for any man on foot. Give me a rough idea of his height and weight. I’d take your description as fact over what the boys said.”

  “Yeah, he has your hair color, and it was about the same length but not groomed, more of a scrappy cut like he does it himself. I’d put him at six foot and one hundred ninety pounds. He’s probably around forty years old. The only thing striking about him were those deep blue eyes, otherwise he could easily blend in with the crowd.”

  “Got it, and I’ll relay that to Patrol. Hardy and I are heading out.”

  With my head on a swivel, I watched out every window, the rearview mirror, and the side mirrors. I never got a second look at Ed Tanner before he was in the wind. Minutes later, several patrol units pulled up alongside me. I stepped out of the Explorer and led them to the backyard, where Ed had been lurking.

  “Here’s the spot where I came around the corner and he zapped me. I never caught a glimpse of which direction he went after that.”

  A car door slammed, and I looked around the corner toward the street. J.T. was charging toward me with Hardy right behind him.

  J.T. squeezed my shoulder. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. This is the spot where I saw him turn the corner. At that point I didn’t know it was him, only that somebody had just gone into the backyard. When I rounded the back of the house, he nailed me with the Taser. The problem is, these yards aren’t fenced in. He could have gone anywhere from here. Why do you think he came to the house, J.T.?”

  “I don’t have the slightest idea. He went back to where he dumped Jackie too. Maybe there’s something about her in particular. Either way, we have four units patrolling the neighborhood, five blocks in each direction. They arrived minutes after your initial call, Jade. If he’s still in the area, they’ll spot him, but so far nobody has reported seeing anyone.”

  “Damn it. We need solid evidence against him. Maybe he has a second car. What ever happened with the cars we photographed around the neighborhood?” I asked.

  “They were checked out, and every one of them belonged to people who lived on the block,” Hardy said.

  “Then we have no choice except to finish looking at those tapes.”

  “Lyles, Franklin, Tyler, and Andrews are working diligently on that. Andrews picked up where you left off, Jade.”

  I smirked. “Good, that place was disgusting, and so was Elvin Freed.”

  “Who?” Hardy asked.

  “Never mind. Maybe we should spread out and look for Ed first.”

  “That isn’t happening. Patrol is doing fine. I’m not letting you out of my sight, especially now since he probably recognized you. You could be his next target. Let’s go.”

  I frowned at J.T. “Where?”

  “Back to the station. We need to figure out who Ed Tanner really is.”

  J.T., Hardy, and I walked back to the vehicles. I had my doubts that anyone would spot Ed wandering through the neighborhood.

  “We’ll follow you, Cap,” J.T. said as we climbed into the Explorer.

  Hardy waved in acknowledgment and led the way.

  Chapter 45

  I stared out the side window as J.T. drove. “There’s a missing link, and I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “About what?”

  “If Ed is our guy and he’s angry at a woman, like Dr. Collins believes, then how does anyone in real estate, particularly Scenic View, come into play?”

  J.T. shrugged. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? The second his truck is confirmed on video in at least two of the four neighborhoods, we’ll pull all known records relating to Ed Tanner. It won’t be considered invasion of privacy since we’ll be looking at him as a murder suspect. We’ll have a very strong case. If only we knew where he was staying and had a picture to post on the news.”

  “You want the news involved?”

  “Not yet, but as soon as we have confirmation of his truck, we’ll hold a press conference and list everything we know about him on the news channels. Having help from the public will be the fastest way to flush him out, especially since we don’t have a known address for him locally. He could literally be anywhere and sleeping in the woods, his truck, or people’s backyards.”

  “The second we know positively that Ed’s our guy, I’m going in and interrogating William Stewart. There has to be something he isn’t telling us.”

  “Do you think you remember Ed’s face well enough for a composite to be drawn up? It’s something since we have no actual photographs of him.”

  “Let’s wait on that. Once we figure out where he’s from, we can pull up his driver’s license photo. A picture is always better than a drawing of somebody I’ve had a twenty-second conversation with on one occasion.”

  J.T. agreed to wait. He pulled into the station behind Hardy, and we entered the building together.

  I headed to the elevator. “I’m going upstairs to start a list.”

  “Of what?” J.T. asked.

  “Of everything we need to find out about Ed like where he lives, who his known associates are, where he grew up, and if he has a job.”

  Hardy scratched his cheek. “A job seems doubtful. He was out prowling neighborhoods during the daylight hours and at night. When would he have had time to work?”

  “Okay, that would be another thing to find out, then. How does he support himself? We need to pull bank statements and his tax returns.”

  “Take a breath, Jade. Let’s see if Tech has anything on the nighttime images going in on Vine Street.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, okay.”

  We entered the tech department at the end of the hall and almost slammed into Lyles coming out.

  “I was just going to see if you were back. You aren’t going to believe what Leon and I just saw on the tape near Sarah’s house.”

  “Please, let it be a piece-of-shit, rusty red truck.”

  Lyles grinned. “In the flesh, so to speak.”

  “Finally.” I fist pumped the air. “Show us.”

  Leon turned in his chair. “Grab a stool and roll on over here. I’m trying to get in closer and still maintain a crisp image. It would help to know the make and model.”

  “Can you get a number off the front plate?” J.T. asked.

  “Nope, there isn’t one.”


  “I wonder if that’s an accident or by design. Some states don’t require front plates, and if he isn’t listed with Nebraska’s DMV, that could be why.” Hardy pushed a few roller stools toward us.

  “Anything on the nighttime images in Bellevue?” J.T. asked. “Can you confirm that the truck turning on Vine is the same one?”

  Dave Lawrence spoke up. “I took over that duty when Lyles needed Leon. I’m seventy-five percent sure. Give me a few more minutes to do some tweaking, Agent Harper.”

  I picked at my cuticles while we waited. J.T. gave me a disapproving frown.

  Leon leaned back and stretched. “This is as good as it gets, agents. I can’t get any emblems off the footage. That truck is too old and faded to see much of a contrast. I’m betting either the emblems have fallen off or they’re so corroded the chrome is gone.”

  I stared at the tape from Sarah’s neighborhood. “From what I recall, it sure looks like Ed Tanner’s truck. Don’t you agree, J.T.?”

  “I’d say so.”

  Hardy’s cell rang seconds later. “Cap here. What have you got, Andrews? No kidding? Get that tape back here immediately.” He hung up and grinned. “Andrews just saw a rust bucket red truck turn at the intersection in front of the gas station.”

  I punched J.T. in the shoulder.

  “What the—”

  I interrupted enthusiastically. “All we need to do now is compare the footage to see if it’s the same truck in both tapes. The best part is, they’re the two tapes we needed most, the ones during daylight hours.”

  Hardy tipped his head at Tyler. “Busy?”

  “Not at the moment, sir. What do you need?”

  “Get started on tracking down Jackie Stern’s next of kin. I’d say her brother may be the easiest to find. He’s in the service and deployed overseas right now, but he can certainly get a bereavement leave. As soon as Andrews gets here, I want both of you to head back over to Jackie’s house and start looking for an address book. Maybe we can find her folks too since her cell phone was never recovered. Call Tara Lamar if you need more information.”

  Five minutes later we heard footsteps approaching. The door swung open, and Andrews appeared wearing a wide grin. “Here you go. I stopped the tape right at the moment I saw the truck.” He handed the VHS tape to Leon. “You only need to rewind it a few seconds.”

  Leon stared at the tape as if it were an alien object. “Do we even have a VCR?”

  Hardy smirked. “You better hope you do.”

  “Just joking, Cap. You never know who you’ll come across that still lives in 1990. Okay, let’s line up the images side by side and see how they look.” Leon handed the tape to J.T. and tipped his head. “Turn on that TV and pop the tape in the VCR.”

  “Got it.”

  “Okay, go ahead, but pause it the second the truck comes into the frame. I’ll do the same with the image on Sarah’s footage.”

  Leon nodded, and J.T. clicked Play. The tape progressed.

  “Any second now,” Andrews said. “There, stop!”

  I squinted at the image. “No shit, it looks like Ed’s truck. You can’t identify the driver, but I can tell in both views there’s only one person inside.”

  Leon inched his footage forward with the scrubber bar then paused it. He looked from the TV screen to his computer monitor. “It’s too bad I can’t do anything to enhance a VHS tape, but the shape of the truck looks the same on both images, and the color does too—faded reddish orange. I’m leaning toward them being the same vehicle, and what are the odds of it being near both crime scenes?”

  “I think our odds just improved one hundred percent.” I pointed at the videotaped image. “Look. That truck doesn’t have a front plate, either.”

  “Bingo!” Hardy said as he slapped the desk. “Let’s start pulling everything we can on Ed Tanner. Meanwhile”—he turned to Franklin— “take a picture of that truck and head over to the homes of those young boys. I want to know if it’s the same truck they saw.”

  “Right away, Cap.”

  “All right, let’s get busy. Grab something to tide you over, and let’s meet in the conference room in ten minutes.”

  Chapter 46

  Ed exited the city bus and walked two blocks to a small community park. He sat at the picnic table in the shade of a large evergreen where he was well hidden from view. He needed a minute and had to think. He had gone to Jackie’s house, the only one he hadn’t visited yet. Without TV coverage, he had no idea if a memorial had been set up for her or even if the police had found her body.

  Maybe those boys were too scared to tell anyone about me. If they went to the police, the area surely would have been searched. The cops would have found her, and there would have been a memorial set up by now. Of course, I had to check things out for myself, but that damn FBI bitch showed up and saw me. As usual, women screw things up, and they’re the reason my life is in shambles.

  Ed was giving that FBI agent more thought as the day went on. He added her to his list of maybes. If she didn’t stay out of his way, she might have to be eliminated too.

  The beeping phone disrupted his train of thought. The timer had gone off.

  Aah…it’s time to call the main bitch.

  He didn’t store her name or number in his contact list. He wasn’t that stupid. The number was engrained in his memory, and if she changed it, he’d find the new number with his PeopleSeeker software, anyway. She couldn’t hide from him.

  Ed picked up his phone, blocked the number, and dialed. She answered on the second ring.

  “Hello.”

  “I want to see my kids.”

  “Leave me the hell alone, Ed, or I swear I’ll call the cops. I have enough going on in my life right now without your crap too. If you don’t leave us alone, I’ll have a restraining order filed against you.”

  “For wanting to speak to my kids? I can call them whenever I feel like it.”

  “You’re harassing me, and they aren’t home, anyway.”

  “I think it’s time for a visit.”

  “That’s not happening. We’ve been over this a million times. You’re unstable, and I have full custody.”

  “You’re really pissing me off, P—” Ed heard the familiar click on the other end. She had hung up on him again. “You’re going to be sorry you did that.”

  Ed made another call, this time to a car service. He needed to be driven only a few miles, and he’d walk the rest of the way. Nobody needed to know the whereabouts of that tucked-away cottage he rented by the week. The three-month advance payment from his last disability check kept the elderly owner happy, and no questions were ever asked.

  Chapter 47

  With a soda and sandwich in hand, I entered the conference room and took a seat. J.T., with his own hands full, was right behind me. I grabbed my briefcase that I had tucked away in the corner of the room earlier that morning. My laptop, along with the list I had started yesterday, lay inside.

  J.T. leaned toward me and checked out what was written on the sheet of paper. “Looks like Ed was your main suspect all along.”

  “Nah, he’s the only suspect, we just don’t know the reasoning behind his actions. I need to jot down a few things so I don’t forget, then we can start checking databases.”

  Hardy, Andrews, and Lyles entered the room, each carrying a laptop, and took their seats.

  “Good news, agents.”

  I looked up and actually saw a smile on Hardy’s face.

  “Dave finished cleaning up the Bellevue tape. He’s certain that truck matches the others. It’s time to find Ed Tanner.”

  J.T. spoke up. “And that’s exactly what we’re starting to do. Let’s begin with a national background check on his name and see if he’s in the database. If he has a record, we’ll know what state he’s from, then we can pull his driver’s license information.”

  Hardy tapped computer keys while I Googled Ed Tanner’s name.

  I groaned at the results. “No help there. I have a docto
r from Boca Raton, an ex-football player, and an obituary for an eighty-eight-year-old man who died in 2002.” I crossed that entry off my list.

  “If we had his Social Security number and a middle name, we’d have everything we needed to know in five minutes,” Andrews said.

  “But we don’t, and believe it or not, there isn’t a criminal history for anyone named Ed Tanner in the age parameters we’ve established,” J.T. said.

  Hardy looked hopeful. “IRS records?”

  “Yeah, but not without pulling teeth and certainly not on a Sunday afternoon. That would have to be a request from higher up and with a phone call. It could still take days, especially without the Social Security number to go along with the name,” I said.

  “We have to rely on the public, then. Ed’s face has to be put on the news along with his general description. The BOLO is out on the truck, right?” J.T. asked.

  Lyles nodded. “Already taken care of, Agent Harper.”

  “I hate to contact Channel 9 and ask them to air that footage in front of Sarah’s house, but it may be our only option. Ed’s face does show up on that tape,” J.T. said. “We haven’t been very forthright with the media or given them anything of value to air. They’re fearmongers, and now we want their help?”

  I looked at Leon. “Is there any way to take his face out of that footage and make it a still shot? I doubt if Channel 9 asked everyone’s permission to have their cameraman pan the crowd.”

  “True, but they own the rights to that footage.”

  “Just pull Ed’s face out of the crowd. Nobody has to know where it came from. People post things on YouTube all the time without permission. If you take a picture of his face without any of the background showing, nobody will know the difference. We’ll offer it up to Channel 4.”

  J.T. agreed. “It’s a bit shady, Jade, but let’s do it. We don’t have time for anything else.”

  Leon entered the website address for Channel 9 and pulled up the video footage filmed in front of Sarah’s house. “Just tell me when you see him. I can lock in on his face and separate it from the background. I’ll drop it on my desktop, make sure nobody else is in the image, and save it.”