by Kelly Shade
Her colleagues were terrified and disgusted by her words. Hunt shook off the sickening feeling and spoke. “These are very . . . well, nice. I’m guessing, but we have one victim. So, for now, there is no serial killer. And Blake, if you are bored, please find a hobby.”
Jane lifted her eyebrows and exhaled loudly. “You’re the boss. When there are more victims, we will talk again. And, yes, I’m sure there will be more. Now, since we have nothing, you will leave the case open for some time; we won’t find anything, and the chief will ask you to close it in a month,” she said arrogantly and stormed out.
Chapter 6
He’ll come back again!
The air was heavy and hot, and Jane couldn’t sleep well. She was tossing in her bed trying to fall asleep. Opening and closing her eyes for almost an hour, she ended up staring at the ceiling. A sound made her move her eyes off of the amazing shades on the ceiling. Her hand intuitively took the gun beneath her pillow. She sat up and looked around. It was quiet. Too quiet. A moment later there was another sound. Steps were approaching her bedroom. She went slowly to the wall next to the door with her phone in one hand and the loaded pistol in the other.
“SOS someone is in my house,” she typed a message to Ryan and turned on the silent mode.
The bedroom door opened. Slowly, trying not to make a sound, a man entered the room and headed toward Jane’s bed. He was holding a USP45 with a silencer. He shot her pillow twice and lifted the blanket. After realizing Jane wasn’t there, he turned around. The man was wearing black jeans and a jacket with a hoodie and raised collar. He wore gloves. Jane could see part of his face but didn’t have much time because he started shooting at her.
Jane hid behind the door and fired too. The shooter jumped behind the bed and continued shooting, but this time in random directions. As far as Jane could count, he had two more bullets in the magazine before he needed to reload. She threw her phone at the end of the room. This made him use those two last bullets in the direction the phone landed. He fired twice, and Jane heard the familiar sound of a magazine dropping, so she acted quickly. With quick steps, she got to the bed and pointed her weapon at the man.
“Who are you?” she shouted.
The man didn’t answer. Unfortunately, he had already loaded, so Jane had to hide again. She dropped to her knees to avoid the bullet. Then she shot back. He was almost on the balcony. He wanted to jump out. Jane stood up and shot him in the shoulder. The man turned to her but preferred to drop out on the terrace. Jane ran after him, but he was a fast runner.
“Shit!” Blake hit the wall with her fist.
Two cars stopped in front of the house. Ryan Gray and Connor Hunt ran to the front door, and Jane opened it before they knocked it down.
“How are you? What happened?” Hunt looked worried.
Ryan put his hand on her shoulder and started checking her for injuries.
“You are okay, thank God!” He breathed a sigh of relief.
Blake glanced at him sharply, so he removed his hand. Nick Lee and Ian Valdez popped in the door, too.
“What happened?” they asked in one voice.
Jane let everyone in.
“I heard the noise, so I got up and took my gun.” She told them everything.
“Can you describe him? We should have a team search the area,” said Hunt.
“Not really. He was about six feet tall, wearing black clothes. I saw part of his face. He was white, maybe European, had a scar on his left cheek, brown eyes,” answered Jane and added, “I think he is a free runner or parkour; there is no point in searching for him now. He can be anywhere.”
“’Part of his face,’ she said!” laughed Nick. “You gave us a better description than eighty percent of the witnesses we interviewed.”
“I pay attention,” smiled Jane. “Can I offer you coffee? I think it is too early to start work.”
They agreed and sat on the bar stools that surrounded the kitchen island. Jane was just about to turn on the coffee machine when Hunt interrupted. “Blake, can you please put some pants on. I can’t stand Gray’s horny look, and Lee - I can see you too; at least you are more discreet than this clown.”
Jane just realized she was still wearing the tight top and very short pants she wore instead of pajamas. Nick and Ryan looked down, very ashamed without even trying to answer Hunt’s malice comment. Jane, on the other hand, was as calm as usual. She smiled and said, “I will make you a coffee, and I’ll go change. I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable.”
She turned her back again and said, “Nick, Ryan, you better remember that view because you won’t see it again. Take it as a thank you.” Jane laughed and made Gray and Lee’s faces turn tomato red. They both put their heads in their hands and stayed like this till she made the coffee, served it and went to the second floor.
Hunt and Ian were laughing hard. Actually, that was the first time Jane saw Connor Hunt having fun.
Jane came back, this time with jeans and a black t-shirt on, combed hair and some makeup. The team was discussing something in low voices.
“We decided to call the CSU in the morning. You know they will get fingerprints,” said Ian. “Is your weapon registered?”
Jane nodded. She had the right to own a gun but not to carry it. In her opinion, it was best to have a legal weapon instead of going deep with dealers.
“I believe you want to ask me some more personal questions,” started Jane “And I’m okay with that. Shoot.” She smiled “Metaphorically said.”
The four men exchanged confused glances as they thought it was too early to joke about it. Hunt brought the first question.
“You have to tell us about your previous work . . . I mean the cons . . .”
“Who did I rob? Well, everyone is in jail. I have robbed more than thirty people. Most of them were killers; some were rapists, and few thieves who were just in my way, so . . . I put them in prison . . . kind of. And nobody caught me. Nobody knew me. Can’t be them.”
“How much money do you have?” Nick couldn’t withhold the question. He regretted it almost immediately, but he couldn’t take it back.
“It’s not polite to ask a woman how much money she has; you know that, right?” Jane didn’t look annoyed at all.
Nick apologized, and Hunt continued.
“Okay, so you think it’s not because of your old life. I believe your judgment but maybe someone else, like a partner.”
“No, I worked alone. Well, there is Garry Skinner. That’s a low-life pawn shop owner. Garry is the kind of guy that can sell a freezer to an Eskimo. So he took the stolen values for nice prices and then he was dealing with them. I don’t really know what his connections are, but he knows a lot of people.” Jane hesitated for a second and continued, “And the two hackers who helped me get the property plans and people’s schedules . . . credit card statements . . . things like this. For my research before I make the con.”
Ryan got excited and a little bit offended.
“So you needed hackers, huh? And you said I’m a computer nerd if I remember well.”
“That’s right. I did say the nerd thing. But your kind is beneficial when it comes to digging into others’ lives,” Jane said arrogantly.
“How is it possible to offend and compliment a person at the same time?” Gray was a little annoyed.
“It’s a gift!” Jane continued to tease him.
Ian couldn’t take more of this childish behavior and cleared his throat loudly.
“Who are those hackers?”
“They are teens with funny nicknames. They are not the kind who would send a professional to kill me.” Jane found it funny.
“You know you have to tell us their names. What about that pawn shop guy? He sounds dangerous.” Gray decided to stop frowning.
“Garry Skinner. He wouldn’t do it.” Jane took a piece of paper and wrote the address of the pawnshop. “He should be there now. He makes his dirty deals before he opens the shop.”
Hunt told Nic
k and Ian to check it out. They drank the last of their coffee and went to do as they were told.
“Now, Blake, the hackers,” said Hunt with a serious voice.
Jane didn’t really want to put these kids in trouble, but she didn’t have much choice. She took another note and wrote their nicknames.
“That’s all I know. I have no idea what their real names are.”
Ryan took the note rudely, and at the moment he saw what was written, he started laughing.
“Seriously? Hackdaniels and 7r4s3r! What are they? Ten-year-olds?”
“No, one is sixteen, the other fifteen, but they are smart . . . crazy smart. They helped a lot,” said Jane gruffly.
While imitating her and making ridiculous faces, Ryan started typing on his laptop. He, as every hacker with self-respect, always carried his personal laptop. It was a thin, crazy powerful and very slick notebook with scratches all over it and odd-stickers that only Ryan found funny.
After some moments of typing, his smile disappeared. His face froze. He started pressing the keys severely. Hunt and Blake looked at each other with surprise. Gray almost broke his laptop when Jane asked, “What’s the problem?”
“Okay, these kids are good, but I’m better,” answered Ryan without moving his eyes off the screen. “I wanted to hack into their personal computers, but they had secured them and when I almost cracked the wall, I think some of them has an alarm of some kind. It woke him up and he’s fighting me now.”
“Well, they are brothers, so maybe they are both in front of their computers trying to push you out,” Jane informed him. “I told you they are good.”
“I’m better,” Ryan repeated.
It took Ryan half an hour to hack the boys’ laptops. After all, it looked like they had nothing to hide. They were messing with their school’s programs and classmates’ social media accounts. Now they were sure the teens had nothing to do with Jane’s attacker.
Hunt was nervous. Blake noticed and hurried to rid him of his worries.
“I know what’s the next question. I will tell you about my adoptive parents.” Jane shook a little bit when she referred to those people as parents. “They adopted me when I was eight months. The procedure wasn’t totally legal; they skipped most of the steps. Okay, the woman that adopted me is called Diane Thompson; her husband Theodore Thompson, her mother--and I say this ’cause it’s important--Lilia Jordan. So Lilia is a big shot at Grace Whitmore’s plastic surgery hospital in Chicago. She has connections. The only thing they told me was that I was left at the front door of an orphanage. Through the years Lilia said my real parents were dead, but I don’t trust her.”
She took a deep breath. “What I mean to say is that only Lilia had the connections and the brains to send a professional killer after me. Diane and Theodore aren’t the brightest people, and they don’t really have the motive to do it. “
Hunt and Gray looked puzzled. With fear in his voice, Ryan spoke. “What is her motive? She is kind of your grandmother.”
“Well, her reputation. If I figure out what did she do back then_Lilia is the kind of person who will step over everyone to get what she wants. I’m sure she did something illegal to get me for her mentally unstable daughter.”
“Why you? Aren’t there enough kids without parents? The orphanages are full.” Hunt was surprised and confused at the same time.
“Diane is very pretentious. She wanted a girl that was born under the Leo zodiac sign, with no parents or documents. Their plan from the beginning was to keep it secret. Diane and Theodore moved to New York for around a year after she pretended she was pregnant, so when they went back to Chicago, no one was surprised that their kid was eight months old,” Jane sounded vexed.
“So they knew they were going to adopt you from the moment you were born?” Ryan asked with a high-pitched tone.
“I believe so, maybe two, three days after.” Jane hesitated for a minute before she continued, “And when I was around nine years old, I almost killed her. That may be a reason, she still holds the grudge.”
“Why and how?” Hunt was astonished.
“It’s a long story. The point is, Lilia may have the motives and the opportunity to do it, but I don’t think it’s her.”
“Why don’t you think it’s her. You just described a monster, and now you’re saying it’s not her?” Ryan imitated Jane.
“If she wanted to kill me, she would like to watch. Lilia doesn’t trust anyone, and if she wants the job done, she will be there to be sure everything is fine.”
Hunt opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his phone rang. He went out in the yard to talk peacefully. Ryan told Jane that now was the time to bring in the CSU. Blake agreed, and they waited for Hunt in silence.
When their boss came back, he informed them that Nick Lee called because there was a dead body.
Hunt ordered the crime scene unit to carefully collect all the evidence and to be cautious in that house. He specifically said twice that Jane was "one of ours" and they had to respect her home. Jane was pleasantly surprised. Of course, she didn’t like the idea of leaving people alone in her house, but she chose to trust Ryan and Hunt.
It was still early, and Hunt’s team members were the only people on the floor. Ian told them about their visit to Garry Skinner. Nick was sure he wasn’t involved in the shooting. Ian was amazed by the fact that Garry let them in after he told him they worked with Jane. Of course, they found a lot of disturbing belongings but preferred to talk to Blake before deciding if they were going to call him in. Jane asked them, unusually politely, to leave Skinner alone, and after a little argument, everyone agreed.
“The shooter’s blood will give us his DNA. If he is in the system, we will get him. But as you know, it will take some time,” Hunt told them after speaking with Mrs. Bradley. “Barbara said she will do it as soon as she can.”
“Oh, so she is Barbara now. You old dog,” Nick said.
Hunt ignored him, but the others were secretly giggling.
“Now, it’s time to do our job so chop chop!” Hunt clapped his hands and almost pushed them out of the office.
Jane, Ryan, Nick and Ian arrived at an old motel on the edge of LA. Jane was disgusted by the condition of the room. The others weren’t excited to go in either, but a job is a job, so they went. The heavy smell of cheap alcohol, malodorous perfume, and cigarette smoke hit them in the head. After coughing and sneezing for a while, Jane was able to see the body.
“Male, around forty years old.” Blake carefully took his wallet off the ground. “Chad Adelson, forty-one.” She gave the wallet to Ian who prepared an evidence bag right away.
“Blunt force trauma on the back of his head. No signs of a struggle.” Nick looked at the victim and then started walking around the room.
Jane hadn’t moved away from the dead body. She carefully investigated every inch of the man, and the bed and then lifted her head and said, “It was the wife.”
“Okay. And why is that?” Ian still couldn’t stand Jane’s guesses. He immediately got irritated.
“As Nick said, no signs of struggle, so he knew the killer. He recently took off his wedding ring. You can see the tan line on his finger. His belt isn’t locked, and his zipper is halfway closed. This means he was dressing under pressure, his wife’s pressure. He wears designer clothes; they drank an expensive bottle of vodka.” Jane pointed at the empty bottle on the TV stand “And he is in that shitty motel room.” She shivered. “You will find the lover’s body soon. Ian, get a team to search the area. I guess a blond, maybe Russian, half his age and without shoes.” Jane showed them the high heels under the bed and the blond hair she took from the victim’s shoulder. “As I told you it was the wife.”
Ryan agreed with Jane’s theory, but Ian wasn’t convinced. In his opinion, Blake was in a hurry to close the case so they could go back to the shooter from the morning. He wasn’t entirely wrong. Jane did want to get rid of the case. After a heated discussion, they agreed it was best if Jan
e and Ryan got back to the office and Ian and Nick continued the investigation.
Hunt was surprised that Blake and Gray were back so soon. They told him everything they learned about Chad Adelson and the agreement they had with Lee and Valdez. Hunt wasn’t fascinated about the team’s idea to split, but didn’t say anything.
Jane and Ryan headed to the lab. Barbara Bradley said she already had the results. Luckily the shooter was in the system_Alaric Savela. He came to the country ten years earlier with a visa for athletics. Initially, he was from Finland. The weird thing was Alaric had just a few parking tickets, and he once was a suspect in the murder of his neighbor.
Ryan was wondering how he got away; everyone was sure he was the killer. Alaric Savela was a scary-looking man. The scar Jane described was from a knife cut. The brown eyes were cold and empty. His hair and eyebrows were something between blond and red as if there was fire coming out of his head. The sharp facial features completed the dreadful appearance.
There was an address in the file, so Jane and Ryan headed to it right away. After a few minutes of knocking and shouting, “LAPD, open the door!” the super of the little apartment complex opened Savela’s door for them. They went into a small room with one bed, an old TV on a socks shelf, and small square table with one chair.
Jane asked the super to wait outside until they checked the place. Ryan opened the bathroom door very slowly, and when he saw it was empty, he let Jane go in, too.
“Look, there is blood here.” Blake had found a small drop on the side of the sink. “He was here.”
“Do you think he knew we were coming?”
“Well, it is kind of logical. I shot him, we had his blood so . . .” Jane wasn’t surprised at all. “Please, check under the bed.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know, something. Most people like him--let’s say eighty-five percent--are keeping dirty stuff under the bed, probably in a box stuck on the bedside or in a secret gap in the floor.”
