The Trap

by Carol Ericson

  Someone yelled out, “You think it’s the killer?”

  “Might be.” Jake held up his hand. “Also, as you probably know, retired detective Roger Quinn passed away yesterday, suspected coronary. We’ll keep you posted on the funeral. Let’s honor Quinn and nail this guy like the others...and The Player who’s giving them their marching orders. No briefing today. I gotta get going on this footage.”

  Kyra said a little prayer that the store’s cameras would lead them right to the killer. A receipt at the dump site might not be enough to file charges, but once the detectives had someone in their sights, collecting evidence and tying that someone to the victim and the crime scene made things easier. They’d have his car and his home to search.

  Several minutes later, Jake stopped by her desk and perched on the edge. “Are you doing okay? You really shouldn’t be here today.”

  “I’m all right. I’d rather be here where Quinn had his second home than at my apartment by myself.” She dabbed her nose with the crumpled tissue on her desk. “I got a call from Terrence Hicks already.”

  “He’s fast. What did he tell you?”

  “Nothing I didn’t already know. Quinn had a living trust and left me everything.”

  “You’re going to have to go through that Venice house—whether you intend to sell it or keep it. Quinn has a lot of junk in there.”

  She covered her eyes briefly with her hand. “I’m not looking forward to that task.”

  “I’ll help you.” Jake rapped on the top of her desk and stood up. “I’m going out to Glendora to have a look at the footage. I called the store, and they have it. They’re going to pull it for me before I get there.”

  Kyra brought up a map of LA County on her computer and jabbed at the screen. “Glendora’s not that far from the Angeles Forest. Maybe he lives in that area.”

  “We’ll find out, and then we’ll unearth everything about this guy.”

  She called after his squared shoulders. “Good luck.”

  After Jake’s announcement and departure from the room, the task force members got to work. They’d gone through this routine with three other killers, and now it had become sad second nature.

  Kyra still had follow-up to do with the families of the previous victims. The pain didn’t evaporate just because their loved ones’ killers had been apprehended and in all three cases had died. As she knew all too well, it remained a terrible wound that eventually scabbed over. Then, when you least expected it, that scab could be ripped off by a memory, a smell, a song.

  Her phone buzzed and she jumped. Terrence Hicks had a few more questions for her in anticipation of their meeting. She didn’t like talking to him because it brought Quinn’s death home. When she worked, she could forget about yesterday, forget she had found Quinn unresponsive on the floor of his house when she and Jake were supposed to be joining him for dinner.

  When she ended the call with Hicks, Captain Castillo sidled up to her desk. “Are you doing okay? Another copycat killing on the heels of Quinn’s death is almost too much to take—for all of us.”

  “We’ll get him this time, Captain...both of them, the fourth copycat and the man who’s directing him.”

  “With Jake and Billy leading the way, I have no doubt.” Castillo’s already worried forehead creased further. “Are you going to plan Quinn’s funeral? Contact the department if you need any help. We pull out all the stops for one of our own.”

  “I will, and I’m sure Terrence Hicks can assist with that, too.”

  Castillo’s eyebrows shot up to his curly salt-and-pepper hair. “Hicks? You called Hicks already?”

  Her cheeks warmed with the implication. “He called me this morning. He’d heard about Quinn’s death and wanted to set up an appointment with me.”

  “Good.” Castillo stroked his chin. “Terrence is a good guy. He’ll carry out Quinn’s wishes to the T. He’ll know how to work with the department for the funeral, too.”

  Hunching forward, she said, “When is the medical examiner going to do Quinn’s autopsy?”

  Castillo’s dark eyes widened. “I know you mentioned an autopsy before, but is it really necessary? I thought he died of a heart attack. He had a history of heart disease, a couple of stents.”

  “Jake told me that because of who Quinn was, they’d perform an autopsy.”

  Castillo asked, “Is that what you want?”

  Kyra smacked a hand against her chest. “What I want? Do I have a say?”

  “As the next of kin and his sole heir, I think you can request they bypass the autopsy.” A muscle at the corner of Castillo’s eye twitched. “Do you want the autopsy?”

  “Absolutely.” She wasn’t going to admit to Captain Castillo that she had her suspicions about Quinn’s death. Quinn did have heart disease, but he’d been doing so much better lately. The meds thinned his blood and kept his blood pressure down—even in the midst of the copycat killings. He hadn’t been complaining about his health...and he’d recently made the discovery that his old nemesis, The Player, was alive and well and orchestrating a new crop of serial killers.

  Nodding, Castillo turned to go. “Then you’d better talk to the ME.”

  Jake had never made it back for lunch, and she’d grabbed a sandwich at her desk. He still hadn’t returned by the time she started packing up to leave.

  She’d noticed some activity at Billy’s desk earlier and sauntered across the room after shoving her laptop in its case. She hung over his shoulder as he clicked through and sorted the photos of women who’d gone missing in LA County recently.

  She asked, “Any luck?”

  “No and no.” His cursor hovered over the face of a dark-haired beauty with innocent eyes. He dragged her photo into a folder.

  “Two no’s? Is that for emphasis?”

  “That’s a no luck in ID’ing the victim yet, and no luck with that receipt.”

  Her fingers curled around the back of his chair. “You heard from Jake?”

  “He found the person who made that purchase and had that receipt, but it’s a woman—single, no boyfriend lurking in the background.”

  “That’s a disappointment, but it could still lead to something. What was she doing out there, or was she even out there?”

  “That’s what we’re going to find out. Jake ID’d her from the credit card info and called her in for an interview.”

  “That’s progress. Did she wonder what it was all about?”

  Billy shrugged, not taking his eyes from the monitor. “I didn’t get that far in the convo.”

  “Okay, I’ll leave you to it.” Because Billy’s own sister had gone missing, he had a passionate need to identify the murder victims as soon as possible. She patted his shoulder before gathering her things.

  She trailed down the stairs to the lobby of the station. The shift change had already occurred, so the activity level had tapered off down here. As Kyra waved to the desk sergeant, she eyed a young woman sitting all alone in a chair by the window, the setting sun striking her red hair, creating a little glow around her head.

  The woman held a crumpled tissue in her hand and periodically dabbed her nose, which practically matched the color of her hair. She had one thin leg encased in black denim curled around her other leg. She looked like a pretzel—a sad pretzel.

  With her own loss painfully fresh, Kyra felt a kindred emotion stir in her breast, and she veered from her path to the door to the bereft woman.

  Kyra crouched beside her and said, “Are you all right? Can I get you something?”

  The redhead jerked, dropping her sodden tissue. “N-no. I’m all right. I mean, everything’s wrong, but I’m okay.”

  Kyra raised her brows and jerked her thumb toward the front desk. “Have you been helped?”

  “Oh, yes. I told him that I was here to see Detective McAllister.”

  Kyra�
��s heart leaped. This must be the owner of the receipt. She took a quick glance around the room and scooted in closer to the woman. “You’re the one who lost the receipt.”

  The woman’s eyes widened, their shade of green almost matching Jake’s, and her face blanched, causing the freckles to stand out on her nose. “I—I did. Are you a cop?”

  Kyra flushed and tossed back her ponytail. “No, but I’m working on the task force.”

  “Task force?” The woman’s voice squeaked.

  Kyra pressed her lips together. She’d said too much. Jake probably hadn’t even told her where they’d found the receipt or why he needed to talk to her. She flicked her fingers in the air. “An LAPD task force. I know Detective McAllister. I can take you upstairs to wait for him, make you more comfortable, give you a little privacy.”

  “Oh, yes, please. I’d like that.” She peered over her shoulder out the window, her green eyes wide. “Because I think I witnessed a murder.”

  Chapter Three

  Jake burst through the doors of the LAPD’s Northeast Division, his stride long in direct correlation to his tardiness. He tripped to a stop when his gaze stumbled across Kyra sitting on a chair next to a blubbering redhead, Kyra’s arm around the other woman’s shoulders. He squinted. Was this someone connected to Quinn? Looked about two generations removed from Quinn’s.

  His step faltered as he approached the two women. “Is everything okay?”

  Kyra patted the woman’s hunched back. “Piper, this is Detective McAllister. Detective, this is Piper Moss. She’s your witness.”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. He knew damn well who Piper Moss was. He was late to their appointment. But what the hell was Kyra doing with her and...? His heart slammed against his chest. “Wait. Witness?”

  “That’s right.” Kyra dropped her voice, although the desk sergeant was the only one who had a chance of hearing anything over the couple screaming at each other in the corner.

  Kyra continued. “Piper was in the Angeles National Forest last night...where she saw someone dump a body.”

  Jake had to fold his arms to keep himself from rubbing his hands together. Didn’t seem the right move for the moment. “Thanks for coming, Ms. Moss. Let’s go upstairs.”

  Piper made a grab for Kyra’s hand. “Can she come, too?”

  Kyra did have a way of insinuating herself into people’s lives. She’d done a damn good job infiltrating his mind, body and soul. “Of course. Kyra is a therapist and victims’ rights advocate. She works closely with the department.”

  “I need an advocate...and you can call me Piper.”

  Jake ushered Kyra and Piper up the stairs ahead of him. Had Kyra been able to extract the information out of Piper that she’d been in the Angeles National Forest last night, or had Piper come here to tell him that herself? She could’ve claimed that the receipt fell out of her purse somewhere. Why hadn’t she come forward before his call?

  When they reached an interrogation room, Jake herded them inside. “Can you tell us what happened last night, Piper?”

  The young woman shot a quick glance at Kyra, who gave her a barely perceptible nod. “I went to the Angeles National Forest last night to kill myself.”

  Jake had been scribbling on a notepad, and his pen went off the edge. “You were going to commit suicide out there?”

  “Yes.” Piper’s lower lip trembled, and Kyra grabbed her hand with its stubby red fingernails.

  “I’m sorry, Piper.” Jake put down his pen. “Why would a young woman like you want to end your life?”

  She lifted her narrow shoulders. “My brother died in a motorcycle accident last year, I got fired from my job a few months ago, my girlfriend broke up with me and I’m camping out on the couch of a friend. Life just sucks right now.”

  Jake had never been happier for Kyra’s presence. Piper needed a level of comfort he didn’t think he had in him. Kyra had saved him from uttering some stupid, useless homilies by offering Piper her heartfelt solace. Every word out of Kyra’s mouth rang with a sincerity that couldn’t be faked.

  When Piper was able to meet Jake’s eyes again, he said, “What were you going to do to yourself up there, Piper?”

  “OD on pills.” She ran a hand through her thick hair. “I know, so bourgeois.”

  Jake swallowed. He didn’t realize methods of suicide could be categorized by class. “Are you in danger of hurting yourself now?”

  “No, what happened last night made me think twice about ending my life.” Her thin frame shuddered.

  “What did happen last night?” He picked up his pen.

  “Can I ask you one question first?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “How did you know I’d been in the forest? I know there aren’t any cameras there. I checked.” She snapped her fingers. “You asked about my trip to Walmart, didn’t you? You must’ve found my receipt.”

  “That’s exactly what happened. We were investigating a murder this morning and found your receipt. We thought it might be our killer.”

  “Until you saw me on the footage, right?” She tapped her chest twice with her flattened hand. “You know I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “I didn’t think you had, but I thought you might have a husband or a boyfriend who did.”

  “I don’t have anyone.” Her lower lip protruded, and Jake held his breath, waiting for another round of sobbing.

  Kyra plucked a few tissues and handed them to Piper. “You don’t have anyone right now, but you’re here doing something incredibly brave.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to last night. You were there to...kill yourself, and you saw someone with a body.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Stop.” Jake held up his hand. “Where did you park, and did you see any other cars there?”

  “I parked in the lot near the trailhead, the Garcia Trail. Mine was the only car there. I wouldn’t have parked there otherwise. I hiked down the trail, and was, you know, contemplating my crappy life. Then I heard noises coming from the other end of the trail, and I got scared. Weird, huh? I’m there to kill myself, but I’m afraid that someone else is going to do it first.”

  “Not weird at all.” Jake splayed his hands on the table in front of him. “It was cloudy last night. How much did you see?”

  “Not much. When I heard the person coming, I hid behind a bush. A man walked down the trail with something over his shoulder. He made a crinkling noise as he walked.”

  Jake cocked his head. “Crinkling?”

  “I heard it when he chased me, too. Sort of sounded like a garbage bag.”

  “H-he saw you? He chased you?” Kyra put a hand to her throat.

  Jake kept his face impassive and eased a slow breath from his mouth. “How soon after he got there did he notice you?”

  “Pretty quickly. He walked up with the body over his shoulder, looked around for a bit. He stopped in one spot, which, unfortunately for me, was right across from my bush. I must’ve made a sound because he jerked his head up and stared right at me.”

  “That’s when you ran?”

  “Took off like a rabbit.” She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “I got a head start on him, and I think that plastic bag he was wearing slowed him down. I was able to scramble up to my car and take off.”

  “You were very, very lucky.”

  “Gave me a new lease on life. All the stuff that happened, except for my brother, it doesn’t seem so bad now. I could be that dead girl in the forest.” Piper hugged herself, digging her fingers into her upper arms.

  “What can you tell me about his appearance? I know it was dark, but height, weight, hair, clothing?”

  Piper took a deep breath. “He was tall, or maybe that’s because I was crouched down. He seemed big to me—not overweight but not skinny. He had a baseball cap on, dark, but I didn’t see
any words, pictures or letters on it. I couldn’t see his clothes, but that’s probably because he had a trash bag over his body.”

  Jake drilled the point of his pen into the piece of paper. That would explain why they hadn’t found any fibers on the victims’ clothing. “You’re doing great, Piper.”

  Jake continued his interview with Piper. Her brush with danger had given her a new perspective on her life, so in a weird way, Copycat Four had saved a life just after he’d taken another.

  Piper hadn’t seen enough of the killer’s face to help with a composite, so Jake slipped her a card and said, “If you remember anything else about this guy, anything at all, even if it seems minuscule, let me know.”

  “He’s not going to know—” Piper glanced at Kyra “—I mean, nobody’s going to know that I saw him, right?”

  Jake shook his head. “I have no intention of telling the press that we have a witness.”

  “Okay, I feel better.” She slumped in her chair. “That’s why I didn’t call the police to tell them what I saw. I was afraid. When I saw the news later that a body had been found right where I was, I figured I better tell someone. Really. I’m not just saying that because you called me first.”

  “I understand. It must’ve been frightening, but you’re here now and you’ve been a big help.”

  “It’s not just because I was scared, either. I didn’t want to admit what I was doing there.” Piper shoved a thumbnail between her teeth and worried it.

  “Call me anytime, day or night, if you have those feelings again.” Kyra added her card to Jake’s. “What pills were you going to use? Do you still have them?”

  “Some antianxiety meds I’ve been on and off since my brother’s death.” Piper unzipped the purse slung across her body and resting in her lap. She shoved her hand into the largest compartment. “I do still have them, but I haven’t even taken one after my...encounter last night.”