by Lora Lindy
“Can we taste it? It smells delicious.” Joe asked with a spoon in his hand.
“Of course you can taste it and you can tell me if it needs anything.” She reached for her own spoon. It looked too scrumptious to pass up a taste.
Everyone gathered in the kitchen standing in line to taste the meat sauce, and she could tell by their expressions the sauce tasted good. She let them taste it for minute then she scooted them out so she could finish.
She stacked all the layers of lasagna and covered it with foil and she let Joe pop the heavy pan in the oven. Then she made the salad and put it in the fridge. She made the garlic cheese bread for when the lasagna was done. In the meantime she made a gallon sweet tea. As she walked into the living room Mikes phone rang again and she just shook her head in disbelief.
“Hello Sara, what do you have for me?”
“I have the manifest from the flight and I’m sending it as we speak. Michael you will owe me lunch after this case. At first the airline told me I would need a court order.”
“So what did you tell them?” Everyone knew how feisty she was and they shouldn’t challenge her to a duel.
“I told them, fine. I’ll get the court order, but if the victim dies I will testify you were uncooperative knowing a life was at stake.”
All the men were covering their mouths laughing at how tough she was acting. “You go get them Sara Jane. You scared me. So did your tough act work or did you have to get a court order?” It was a cute game Sara and Mike played. She would call him Michael and he would call her Sara Jane.
The men couldn’t hold it in any longer, and they burst out laughing. “You guys are so mean. To answer your question, my tough act worked. Mike?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve picked Outback Steak House for lunch.”
“You got it sweetheart. Buying you lunch is the least I can do.”
“Later.”
“Bye.” He hung up and looked at Raymond at the computer. “Did you get the passenger list?”
“Yes, it was delivered about two minutes ago, and that’s what I’m looking at now.” he paused. “���there are a lot of men’s names.”
Mike motioned for Lana to come sit next to him. “Raymond, I want you do say out loud every name so she can hear the names in a man’s voice. That might help her remember better.”
Raymond started saying the names on the list, and then she answered.
Charles Schmidt Nope
Robert Jamison Nope
David Durham No
Paul Crocker No
Lawrence Wicker No
Peter Waters Yes
“That’s it, his name is Peter, but I don’t think he ever mentioned his last name. Are there any other Peter’s on the list?” She was so excited she remembered.
Raymond looked down the list. “Nope, there are no other Peter’s and he sat in seat 4A. He sat right where Lana said he would be sitting.”
Mike grinned. “Gotcha, Raymond you know what to do.”
“Yes sir I do.” He walked out to the SUV and pulled up all the information he could find on Peter Waters.
“Mike, I was wondering, why did Raymond go outside to use the computer?” Lana asked.
“It’s a special computer that looks up everything about a person including their picture, driver’s license, passport, and commercial licenses. It’s the same system cops have in their cars, except our computer is far more advanced. We have one in our office but we don’t have one here.”
“Am I in that computer?”
“Yes you are.” Mike answered swallowing hard, dreading her next question.
“Have you looked me up on that computer?”
“Yes I have.”
“So why did you look me up, or should I ask?” She could have heard a pin drop. The men wanted to hear what Mike had to say. He obviously had no reason to look her up, or at least not until recently.
“When all this started I looked you up to make sure someone didn’t follow you here.”
She looked around and saw the men smiling. “Mike, you’re teasing me? Did you look me up before that?”
He leaned in and whispered. “I looked you up to make sure you were not married.” He gave her a truthful answer.
“That’s not fair because I have to take your word for it.” He gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the lips, as if that would make her feel better.
It did.
Within five minutes Raymond walked in and with a stack of papers. He handed them to Mike to look at first. When Mike finished, he handed them to Lana. He smiled that ‘we got him’ smile. “Come here baby and I want you tell me if this is Peter.”
All the men grinned knowing this was what they call ‘the moment’.
She stared down at the picture, and she studied it for a few minutes. She met Mike’s eyes with a look of disappointment. “Mike it’s not him.”
“It’s got to be, look again.” He couldn’t believe his ears.
“Mike, it’s not him. I’m telling you this is not the man I met at the airport, or the one I saw at the restaurant, or at the police department, or at the grocery store.”
Mike threw the papers in the air. “I can’t believe this.”
Raymond took charge. “Okay everyone find this Peter Waters and see if he’s okay, there might be another murder in all this. Let me know what you find.”
“Yes sir.” Everyone started scurrying around and making phone calls and getting on the computers in their cars.
Mike retreated to the bedroom.
*****
The bedroom door was cracked open when Raymond tapped on the door. “Sir I hate to bother you, but I got hold of Peter Water’s family. It’s not good, they haven’t heard from him in over a week and the police are started a manhunt for him. They have filed a missing persons report. I’ve got a call into the detectives so we can cross notes and I’m sending a deputy to interview his family and the police. Also I have notified all federal law enforcement agencies of a possible serial killer, and the BAU has sent a team. Shop Rite called back and they don’t have a camera on the parking lot. Is there anything else you would like me to do?”
“No, we’re doing all we can. Thanks Raymond.” Mike was deep in thought on his next move. He got aggravated because he kept eliminating suspects, but couldn’t find the killer.
*****
Mike called a meeting.
Everyone was anxiously sitting in the living room anticipating their orders. “We are at the point where we have to decide where go from here. We’ve been working from here because it’s more convenient for Lana. Do you think she’s safe here or should we consider sending her to one of our safe houses?”
Raymond spoke first. “I think she is safe here, we are eighty percent surrounded by water. We can see clearly through the woods because it’s winter. The snow allows us to track any footsteps. There is only one road, and we’re at the end of a cul-de-sac. Not only that if we move, he’ll know we found his tracking devise.”
Mike said. “He knows in short order that we will find the devise hidden on her purse, and that goes without saying. If we move her, he will know for sure we found something. I agree with Raymond, stay here and that might buy us a couple of days.”
“Keep in mind he doesn’t know Lana remembers him from the airport. That will give us another advantage. I say let’s wait until the footage comes in from the airport. Let Lana look at it and maybe he’ll pop up in the FBI data base,” said Raymond.
Mike thought a minute. “I agree. That’s the quickest fix right now. The DNA won’t be back for awhile and his picture might work much quicker. Joe, is the video on the way?”
“They had already filed it away and they are in the process of moving from one storage building to another. Everything was in disarray. But they have several people looking, and I left Colby to stay to help find it.”
“So you finally got to pull rank,” teased Raymond.
Joe smiled. “No there was a 007 there.”
Everyone in the room laughed including Lana. It was funny now that she knew what the code meant.
Mike said. “Okay, we wait for the video and go from there. Also, we stay here for the time being.”
Everyone shook their heads in agreement.
*****
The guys had just started reviewing the case when Raymond’s phone rang. He covered the speaker and tapped the table to get everyone’s attention. “Mike, it’s Ken Summers from the BAU.”
“Thanks Raymond and go ahead and put him on speaker phone.”
“Ken I’m going to put you on speaker phone so the team can hear what you have to say,” said Raymond.
“Good afternoon deputies, this is agent Ken Summers, how can I help you?”
Mike spoke first. “I’m assuming you are on your way here.”
“Yes we are, and I’m glad you called because the more information we get the quicker we can catch this guy. I do have another urgent stop to make, but we will be there when we’re finished.”
“Tell me what you need from us so we can predict his next move,” Mike asked.
Lana walked in quietly and Mike motioned for her to sit next to him on the couch. Many papers were spread out on the coffee table and all the men had pad and paper in their hands. Since she wasn’t as prepared as them, she just sat there quietly.
“Raymond told me that your victim has seen and talked with the suspect, is this correct?” Ken asked.
“Yes, he has approached her twice, once at the airport and then again on the plane. He planted a tracking devise on her purse. And he followed us to the grocery store and I assume everywhere we’ve gone.”
Ken took a deep breath then continued. “Here is my preliminary diagnosis. He’s between the ages of thirty five to forty. Maybe he’s been in some hospitals or prisons in the past ten years or at least treated for a mental illness. As you all know there are several different kinds of stalkers. I categorized this guy as intimacy-seeking stalker. He’s delusional about Lana’s feelings for him. The stalker is usually an isolated and shy person. He lives alone or with someone who is never home. He cannot have a relationship which includes sexual or emotional. The only way he can have sexual gratification is to masturbate to her picture or watch her from afar.”
Everyone’s ears perked up because of the masturbating on the window. Ken didn’t even know about that.
All the men in the room could hear Ken shuffling papers. “He could have several mental disorders, but the most prominent is sociopath. If he can’t have her, he will give up and kill her. Since he has no conscience, he would walk out the door and never look back. In his mind the killing is justified.”
Mike asked. “Should we keep her here and let him come to her or should we take her to a safe house?”
“If you move her he will go after her, eventually. So I would suggest you do something now, or she will be looking over her shoulder until he’s caught or she’s dead. My guess is he has probably been stalking her for a while and she didn’t know it. His type of stalker is methodical about his hunt and he plans every move. My guess, he knew she would be at the airport and he planned every word said to her.”
Raymond asked him. “Why has he killed other people?”
“They got in the way or they saw him, and I’m guessing the only reason Mike or any of you aren’t dead is because your cops.”
It was obvious Mike was a little confused. “How would he know I was a cop? I haven’t worn my gun until lately.”
“Mike you will have to trust me when I tell you, he knows everything about you. From the minute she made plans to vacation there, he researched everything about the beach house. Do you want to know the one glitch he wasn’t expecting, and it’s probably saved your life?”
Mike leaned forward on the couch, listening. “What’s the glitch?”
“He didn’t expect for you to hang around or the two of you to fall in love. Falling in love saved both of your lives. Stalker’s who are as methodical as this guy doesn’t like bumps in the road. Your love caused a bump. But I guarantee he’s working on a plan as we speak.”
Mike and Lana looked at each other, and all Mike could say was. “Wow.”
Raymond took many notes, at least eight pages. He reviewed his notes and asked a question. “Ken, would he work with someone? We found two different blood types.”
“I’ll have to think on that one because they usually work alone. Where were the specimens found?”
“One specimen was on Ms. Border’s mouth and the other was found under the bedroom window, where he masturbated.”
“I hate to get personal but what were Lana and Mike doing?”
She looked around and not one agent glanced her way, or Mike’s. Oh God, how Mike answer that question? She didn’t want everyone to know their private moment. Softness in his eyes reassured her.
Mike answered. “We were being intimate.” He couldn’t have said it better. He never mentioned details.
She leaned in to Mike and whispered. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be honest I’m a little confused about the partner. This part does not fit the profile. Let me do some research and I’ll get back to you on that. Most stalkers masturbate and they can’t help themselves. Even if he sees or hears Lana and Mike he can’t help himself because he visualizes it is him instead of Mike. Unless Lana’s blood type is A+ I don’t get it. I’m thinking he probably got some of her underwear and masturbated while holding the underwear, and listening.”
Now she knew why Mike asked about her blood type.
Joe was methodical himself by taking many pages of notes. He turned several pages and asked. “Why didn’t he kill Mike with the knife while ���” He paused for a minute while looking at his boss. He wanted to ask this delicately. “���they were intimate?”
“Hi Joe, it’s nice to hear from you again, the last time I talked with you was at the academy. Mike you got yourself a great cadet and Joe you got on a great team with Mike. I don’t know if you all know this, but Mike has the most felony arrests in the U.S. Marshal history.”
All the agents looked at Mike because they didn’t know their boss held that record. Joe responded. “No sir, we didn’t know that and we’re not surprised either.”
Ken paused to think. “To answer your question, he didn’t attack Mike and Lana because the attack will happen on his terms. He might confront them both, but he will attack when he is ready. The knife in the steak was to let Mike know he was there, and this is what will happen to him. He was letting them know he knew what they were doing and he didn’t like it. That might have been some sign that he lost control. He’s very angry at Mike and maybe at Lana.”
Ken gave some advice to Lana. “Lana, if you are face to face with him, and I hope you’re not. Ask him for his forgiveness and ask to go with him and that might buy some time and save yourself or an agents life.” They could hear papers shuffling again. “I think that’s all the information I have right now. Do any of you have any more questions?”
Mike answered. “Not now, we hope to have the DNA results when you get here and maybe we’ll have some more information for you. Thanks a lot Ken and we’ll see you when you get here.”
“I look forward to it, be safe.”
Everyone looked at each other and then looked at Lana.
How did this happen, she just didn’t understand how this could happen to her. She glanced around the room and saw all the guys looking at her with pity. That pissed her off so much she stomped her foot with anger. “No more crying, and no more bull shit. Let’s do what it takes to get this son-of-a-bitch. I want a gun or someone take to me to buy one. I am not going down without a fight. By the way, I grew up with guns and I’m not afraid to use one and I know how to use one. Does anyone have any questions? Good.” She looked around the room and added. “I have one thing to say, as the bold passengers stated on the hijacked plane on September 11, let’s rock-n-roll.”
All the agent’s mouths flew open
in shock.
Now she’s pissed. And she told them so. “By the way I know you all don’t know me, but I’m half Indian and half Irish, and that’s a lethal combination. Is there any cheese cake left, I’m hungry.”
Joe was the first to say anything. “I ate the last piece.”
All the agents laughed and she even had to smile as she walked in the kitchen. She didn’t think she had ever been that angry. There is a point in her life she had to take a stand. As a woman she had to defend herself and family. She wasn’t going to cry or hide from this freak anymore. No more tears for him.
Mike followed her into the kitchen and put his hand on her shoulders and said. “Remind me never to make you mad at me. I’ll take you out to shoot and I will make sure you know how to use my Glock.”
“Mike, I promise I know how to use a gun. The only thing I ask of you is can you send deputies to protect my children in case he goes after them. And that may not be a bad idea for you as well. Keep in mind he’s methodical. And he hates you for taking me away from him, so he might try to get even.”
“I will do that.”
“Mike, there’s one more thing. I will kill him. Killing him might be a legal and ethical issue for you. The only way you can stop me is kill me.”
“What?” His mouth dropped open. Never has he had anyone tell him they’re planning a murder.
“You heard me I have no ethical dilemma killing the son-of-a-bitch. You heard Ken, he’s probably killed many, and we know he killed two people, maybe three. You may not be able to shoot him, but I can. The only way you can stop me is shoot me. If you have a problem with that maybe one of us should leave. Leave me a gun and maybe you all should leave and I’ll wait for him.” She didn’t think she had ever been this mad. Nor could she believe she allowed herself to store up so much anger.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“More than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
Raymond walked in and told Mike. “The footage is in from the airport.”
Mike looked at her with a smile and said. “Are you ready to use that anger to find this guy at the airport?”
She took Mike’s arm and said. “I’m sorry for being so angry, but a girl can only take so much. I know I physically can’t fight him, but I can sure shoot him.”
