by Janie Crouch
“He never licks the envelope.” Rosalyn’s voice was tight at the top of the stairs. “Not once. He’s too smart for that.”
“I was going to read the note.” Molly looked up at Rosalyn. “Is that okay?”
Rosalyn nodded.
Molly opened the envelope and her eyes flew to Steve. This had to be bad.
“Go ahead,” he murmured.
“‘I can’t wait to meet your baby. Maybe he’ll decide to come live with me. But I’ll get rid of Dad first.’”
Rosalyn let out a sob and held on to the banister for support. Steve took the stairs two at a time to get to her, then pulled her hard to his chest. He could feel shudders racking her small frame.
“He’ll kill you. He’ll take the baby.”
“No,” he whispered in her ear. “Do you hear me? That maniac will never touch our child. I promise you that. And I can take care of myself.”
“Not all the time, you can’t. He’ll wear you down. That’s what he does.” Her quiet sobs broke his heart.
He held her close, fury streaming through his blood. He looked down the stairs at Liam and Derek.
“I want to get her back to HQ, now.”
Within minutes they were on their way. They left the forensic team and coroner’s office representatives, as well as members of the SWAT team. Derek stayed to oversee everything but really to keep an eye on his wife if the Watcher decided to come back for any reason.
Everyone else made a caravan to get Rosalyn back to Omega. Liam was in the car in front of Steve, Jon in the car behind. Weapons hot in case there was any problem. Rosalyn sat in the backseat in Steve’s car. Andrea was beside her, arm around her shoulder. Brandon was on the other side.
Every time he caught a glance at Rosalyn’s face in the rearview mirror, his heart sank a little more. She was pale to the point of gray, her lips pinched until they were colorless. Her blue eyes, usually so full of life, were dull, lifeless.
Like she had given up.
Steve felt marginally better as they pulled into Omega and he got her into the building. The Watcher’s violence seemed to be escalating, and now he was using guns. Rosalyn would be staying inside the Omega compound until they caught the Watcher.
They moved quickly past the security guard, Steve biting his tongue when Rosalyn once again set off the metal detector. The guard ran the wand up the front and back of her body but found nothing.
This was ridiculous. “Get those things looked at,” he barked to the guard. The man nodded quickly.
He slipped his arm around Rosalyn, keeping her close to his side as they walked down the hall.
“I need to write this note in my notebook. It’s important for me to keep an accurate record. Detective Johnson said so.”
Rosalyn’s voice sounded unnatural. Distant. Steve shot a concerned look over at Andrea.
“Sure, honey.” Andrea rubbed Rosalyn’s arm. “Your notebook is in the conference room. I’ll help you write it down.”
When they got to the room, Jon grabbed Steve’s arm. “Brandon and I found something interesting last night after you left.”
“Okay.”
Brandon and Jon both turned to look at the two women, who were settling in at the conference room table. Jon shook his head. “I’m not sure if it’s something we should say in front of Rosalyn. Especially given her fragile state right now.”
“Okay, let’s go into my office. You can run it by me and then we can decide whether to tell Rosalyn. Although I don’t want to keep secrets from her if it’s going to affect her safety. More information is better in this case.”
Brandon nodded. “I think we both agree. It’s some other cases we found that are interesting.”
As soon as they were in Steve’s office, Brandon pulled out four files. He opened one and laid down a picture of a young woman.
“This is the one I remembered. It’s from two years ago.” Brandon’s genius mind didn’t forget much of anything. It had helped them on cases more than once. “Her name was Tracy Solheim. From Jackson, Mississippi.”
Steve picked up the file and looked over it. “Says she committed suicide.”
Brandon nodded. “She did. She was twenty-one. But for six months before she killed herself she told multiple people, her family, friends, even the police, that she had a stalker. Said she was receiving notes.”
“Nobody believed her,” Jon continued. “Tracy had a history of emotional trauma. Did a lot of weird stuff to get attention over the years. Police reports did say she had notes but that none of them were threatening in any way.”
Steve shrugged. “Okay, there are some similarities there. But not enough to convince me it’s the same guy.”
Brandon nodded. “I agree. But look at these three others. One’s from Tampa, one’s from Birmingham, Alabama, and one’s from New Orleans.”
“I’m assuming the point is the radius to Mobile, Alabama, Rosalyn’s hometown.”
“It’s almost a semicircle,” Jon said. “And within the last six years there’s been a woman who has committed suicide in all those cities. All white females within twenty to twenty-five years of age. All who complained to family and at least once to the police about receiving ‘strange’ notes. In all the cases nothing was done to help them, because they were deemed nonthreatening.”
Brandon pulled out a piece of paper. “This is what clinched it for me. One of the officers from the New Orleans case at least wrote down in his official report what some of the notes said.”
Brandon had blown them up so they were each on a separate sheet of paper.
The park was nice today, wasn’t it?
I would’ve chosen the red sweater, but the blue one looks nice too.
Did you enjoy dinner with your friends? I was hoping you’d get the shrimp rather than the chicken.
“Those are all similar in tone to some of the notes Rosalyn has quoted in her notebook.”
Brandon nodded. “Exactly. And also, innocent enough to not be taken seriously by the police.”
Steve sat down in the seat next to the table and leaned back. “Okay, let’s assume this is the same guy. So what happened? The Watcher killed them? I thought you said they were suicide.”
“Yes, all confirmed suicide.” Brandon sat in the other chair. “We think that’s his MO, Steve. He drives these women away from their families, away from their loved ones. He isolates them. He’s smart enough not to threaten them in the notes, so nothing can be done with the police.”
“To what end? He’s obviously not living out any fantasies with these women.” That was almost always part of a violent stalker’s MO—having the women with him. “He’s not killing them, right?”
“He’s a serial killer, Steve.” Jon braced himself on the table with both arms. “Every bit as much as ones that we profile. But instead of using a certain weapon or certain ritual, he pushes and pushes until they do it themselves. That is his ritual.”
It was so sick and yet made so much sense at the same time.
A serial killer who didn’t actually kill his victims. Drove them to killing themselves by isolating them from everyone they loved, by terrorizing them until they felt they had no other choice.
It took a special sort of evil to inflict emotional trauma of that magnitude.
Steve realized the Watcher could’ve killed Rosalyn at any time. She’d been alone, undefended, for months before she met him and months afterward. The Watcher hadn’t tried to harm her. It was only within the last few days that he’d turned violent toward her.
And actually, he really hadn’t turned violent toward her. True, he’d killed Rosalyn’s sister, but probably because he found out it was Lindsey and not Rosalyn. He’d also been trying to kill Steve, not Rosalyn; she’d just been near collateral damage.
Brandon c
leared his throat, dragging Steve’s attention back into the room. “If you think about it, the fact that Rosalyn is still alive is a testament to her strength. We’re still gathering information about these other women, but so far it seems that none of them lasted as long as Rosalyn has.”
Steve stood. “Because she was alone a long time before the Watcher found her.”
“She doesn’t have family?” Brandon’s brow wrinkled. “That would go against our profile.”
“No, she has family. Just none of them have ever been there for her. She has, in essence, been alone her whole life.” Steve began restacking the files. “Let’s go tell Rosalyn what we’ve found. I think it will definitely help, not hurt. At least give her an understanding of what’s going on.”
Yeah, she’d been alone. But she damn sure wasn’t anymore.
Chapter Nineteen
Steve had been correct—telling Rosalyn about Jon and Brandon’s theory had been the right thing to do. She felt sad for the other women and angry that the Watcher seemed to be getting away with a horrible crime without anyone even knowing. But mostly she was relieved to finally understand what was happening.
“So he was trying to get me to kill myself.” She was sitting across the table from him, next to Andrea. Her voice was still soft but at least she didn’t look as fragile as she had before. “I almost did, you know. That night I met you.”
“He wanted you to feel that way,” Steve said.
“Yes,” Brandon agreed. “That’s his pattern. From what we can tell, he’s very methodical about what he does. Almost like this is some sort of experiment to him. He wants to see how far he can push each woman before she breaks.”
Jon nodded. “He’s smart. Knows about law enforcement. His notes are never threatening and don’t mention anything that would raise a red flag with police.”
“Like what?” Rosalyn asked.
“Anything that would show obsession. ‘We’ll be together forever’ sort of stuff. Instead the Watcher mentions normal everyday occurrences. Meals. Activities. Something a friend would mention casually, not someone obsessed.”
Steve sat down in a chair across from Rosalyn. “Because he’s not obsessed.”
Brandon nodded. “Exactly. He’s scientific. Experimental. He’s not obsessed with the women themselves, just what sort of reactions he can get from them.”
“And he doesn’t actually harm them himself,” Brandon continued. “But he uses tools of psychological terror instead—isolation, fear, imbalance. Then it’s just a matter of time before they crack.”
“You didn’t,” Steve told her.
A single tear escaped and rolled slowly down the side of her cheek. “I almost did. If I hadn’t met you that night...”
He leaned forward, closer to her. “But you did meet me, not that I was of much help at the time. And if you hadn’t, you still would’ve made it through. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Her smile was breathtaking.
She now knew the Watcher’s endgame—her taking her own life—and she was bound and determined not to give it to him. It was all Steve could do not to pull her up into his arms right there in the conference room in front of everyone. She was amazing.
And she was his. She might not realize it, but he had no intention of letting her out of his sight even after this was over. The baby was part of that, true, but he wasn’t the only part. Steve wanted Rosalyn—with all her strength, beauty, radiance—in his life. If she would have him.
“The Watcher doesn’t hurt the women,” Steve finally said, “but he’s obviously not above violence. We’ve got a dead agent and Rosalyn has a dead sister that proves that. He’s a killer.”
“Yes, absolutely.” Brandon nodded. “But killing the others are him manipulating variables in his equation. A means to an end. I don’t think he’s killing because he likes it. He’s killing to further the reaction in his victims. To isolate them further.”
“Everything’s different now,” Rosalyn looked around the room. “He hasn’t got me isolated anymore. But he threatened the baby, Steve.”
“That’s his way of trying to continue his manipulation of you.” Steve squeezed her hand. “There’s no way he can get to you here. We’ll put protective custody around your mom.”
“The Ammonses too. In Georgia,” Rosalyn whispered.
Steve nodded. “Roman should be checking in soon. He was meeting with them this morning.”
“We’ve still got a lot of holes,” Jon said. “The same ones Brandon was mentioning last night. Mainly, why didn’t you hear from the Watcher for the six months you were in Georgia, and how he keeps knowing where you are, even though there aren’t any more tracking devices on your clothing. There’s no way he should’ve been able to find you at Steve’s house last night.”
“I swear I didn’t tell him where I was,” Rosalyn was quick to interject.
“No one thinks you did,” Andrea murmured, leaning closer to Rosalyn.
Steve nodded quickly. “No one is idiot enough to think you’re involved.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “At least not today.”
She rolled her eyes. Steve was so happy to see her more lively that he couldn’t be the least bit irritated.
When he’d seen the note that threatened their baby... Renewed rage caused Steve’s fists to clench. He would make this right no matter what it took.
“We’re still looking for other cases,” Jon said. “Because of the intensity of his crimes, we’re pretty sure he can only stalk one woman at a time, maybe two at the most. None of the cases overlap. There are probably others but we haven’t found them yet. And we’re still gathering info on the cases we have found.”
A call beeped through to the conference room’s phone. Steve pressed the speaker button.
“Roman Weber is holding for you, Steve,” Cynthia told him. “He’s in Ellijay, Georgia.”
“Good. Maybe he can provide some answers. Put him through.”
“Hey.” Roman’s voice came through clearly. “Remind me next time you want me to go to some tiny town in Georgia to make you send someone else.”
Steve caught the slightest hint of a smile on Rosalyn’s face.
“Roman, I have you on speaker in the conference room. Everyone’s here.”
“I talked to the Ammonses this morning. Like Rosalyn said, they’re good people. Just don’t trust the government much. Their son died in the military, years ago, but I think they were probably pretty skeptical before that.”
“Okay. Did you find anything of interest?”
“I tell you what, these people are more than ready for a TEOTWAWKI event. They’ve got a cellar full of food, water purifiers, ammunition. You name it.”
Rosalyn looked confused. “What does TEOTWAWKI mean?”
“The end of the world as we know it,” Jon explained. “A lot of survivalists use the term.”
“They’re definitely off the grid. No computers, only one phone. The whole town is prepared for a zombie apocalypse or whatever, but the Ammonses are definitely the most paranoid.”
“Did you talk to them yourself?” Steve asked.
“Yes, they said to give you their best, Rosalyn. And to let you know you are welcome back at any time.”
Rosalyn smiled. “If you see them again, send my best too. I know they’re not very talkative.”
“That’s for sure. Steve, in all their survivor gear—and believe me, it’s extensive—they have some jamming devices. They didn’t want the government listening in on them in any way. This wouldn’t stop a lot of the higher-end devices we have now, but it would’ve protected them from the basics.”
And there they had it. One mystery solved. Steve looked at Rosalyn across the table. “
And their equipment would have interfered with transmissions of all kinds.”
“No doubt. I thought you would find that interesting, given the transmission devices you found on Rosalyn’s clothes.”
“Great, Roman,” Steve said. “I need you to stay there and keep an eye on the Ammonses. If you’re right about everything, there shouldn’t be a problem. We think we have a profile on the killer. Doesn’t look like he’ll be coming your way, but just in case.”
“Got it, boss.”
Roman gave a little more information before hanging up, promising to keep a watchful eye for anything unusual.
“Well, that solves question one of the two. The Watcher couldn’t find you while you were at the Ammonses’ because the equipment they were using to block the government from hearing them—not that the government is listening to a couple in their seventies who have never broken the law—also kept the Watcher from being able to hear or find you.”
He could see Rosalyn’s relief at one more piece of the puzzle falling into place.
“Thank God.” She leaned back in her chair. “I was afraid he’d just been toying with me. That he was going to hurt the Ammonses in some way, even though I never mentioned him to them.”
“Looks like the Watcher may not know about them at all. Their government paranoia saved them from a serial killer.” Steve reached over and grabbed her hand again. He didn’t care if anyone else knew about his feelings for Rosalyn. It’s not like he’d done such a good job hiding them up to now.
They all took a break to eat lunch. Steve walked with Rosalyn to the small cafeteria in the building. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t missing any meals she couldn’t afford to miss. He saw her hands suddenly fly to her belly and a little smile cross her face. He knew the baby had kicked again.
It just made him all the more determined to keep them safe.
But to do that they had to figure out how the Watcher was finding them now.
Back in the conference after lunch, they pored over the case files, comparing what little dates and specific information they had to Rosalyn’s much more in-depth notebook. Jon and Brandon had already left, Jon to Tampa, Brandon to New Orleans, to see if they could gather more intel from talking to the victims’ families and the local police.
