Murder Stalks

by Sara York

“No sir.” The smile on Tony’s face threatened to cave. This was not the type of day he had in mind. This day was supposed to run smooth. No surprises, no bodies popping up, and no early morning calls to the Chief of Police.

  “Senator Turner.”

  The name sounded familiar. Tony racked his memory, pulling the names of local officials. Damn politicians trying to stick their fingers into police business only to stir up a snake’s den of trouble. Or was he another bozo from Washington who wanted all of the beaches cleared of people so the turtles could do their thing? The giant Loggerheads needed the quiet beaches to lay their eggs, but short of positioning armed guards, people would always flock to the beaches.

  “Does he represent our district?” Tony shifted from one foot to the other. Work was waiting for him and chatting with the Chief of Police was wasting time, precious time that could be spent catching a killer.

  “No, he’s the Majority Leader in the Senate.”

  Tony stood silent for a moment. A bead of sweat trailed between his shoulder blades. The day had just started but already it had turned south. That name was associated with a case, a recent case. His mind raced over the data gathered during the last two days. Kelsey’s murder had taken its toll. Normally Tony knew every case inside and out. A brief mention of a government official in Angela Longfellow’s background came to mind. Why had he forgotten the senator?

  “The Longfellow case. Her second cousin was a senator,” Tony replied, a dull ache forming in the back of his neck.

  “Is a senator,” Randall shouted. “Why wasn’t I informed that the first victim’s cousin is, not was, a senator? Why couldn’t he be some hick from Arkansas who had no political sway?” The chief’s voice echoed down the hall and a few heads turned to see the ruckus.

  “We put it in the report.” The response was lame, and Tony cringed, knowing Randall’s anger was peaking.

  “Report?” Randall yelled. “What good is a damn piece of paper when the information is this sensitive?”

  Tony looked around. They were still in the public area of the police station, not a place to be talking about a case. No reporters would be skulking around the station at this time in the morning, at least that’s what Tony hoped. However, a prickle of caution raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They needed to move.

  “Sir, can we go down to the conference room?”

  “Damn it, Santos, I don’t—“

  “Chief Randall, let’s move.” Tony grabbed the man by his arm and dragged him down the hall. He ran his badge through the security device, keying in the code before he pushed through the thick door separating the public area of the police station from the work area.

  The indignation on Randall’s face told Tony he needed to talk fast. Directing the chief into the last conference room, Tony held his breath waiting for Randall to get settled before he began detailing the team’s findings.

  “Chief, the evidence on the Longfellow murder,” Tony paused, not sure how much he wanted to tell the chief, “is pointing to some troubling conclusions.”

  “Of course it’s troubling. It’s a murder investigation.”

  Tony blew out a slow breath. “From the evidence we’ve gathered, we believe our suspect has done this before.”

  “Evidence? What evidence? As far as I know, you and your boys didn’t come back to headquarters to analyze any evidence. How can you make these wild claims?” The chief’s red cheeks puffed out and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. “Damn it, I don’t want a serial killer in my town.”

  Tony laid his briefcase on the table. He stalled for time, popping open each latch, letting the sound echo off the naked gray walls of the conference room. Rex, Janice, and Michael had worked with Tony on the case until eleven. Tony had stayed until one, shuffling papers, trying to make some sense of the information the team had gathered.

  It wasn’t much, but there were some striking similarities between the Longfellow murder and Kelsey Ingles’ case. The precision used to execute each crime led the team to conclude Angela Longfellow couldn’t have been the first victim for this particular killer. The ‘A’ and the ‘S’ carved into each victim meant this guy would keep going until he finished his message. Of course Randall had left the building at three-thirty so he didn’t know that eighteen and twenty hour days were taking place.

  “Chief, after going over all of the data last night, my team and I, and yes we were here late, all agree that the suspect is an expert at what he does.”

  “He could be a tourist, only here for a few days.” A light of hope shone in Randall’s eyes. As much as Tony hated admitting it, this killer was theirs. Juniper’s finest would be the ones to fix the problem.

  “We thought about that angle, it doesn’t fly.”

  “Damn it, Santos, I don’t want this mess here. I don’t want some psycho preying on the citizens of our city. The media is going to eat this up. Revenue from tourism will go down. The mayor will get angry, and I’ll lose my job.”

  “So far, we haven’t let the media know that the two murders are related.”

  “How’s Danny taking it?” Randall’s tone changed. His shoulders slumped, giving him the appearance of an exhausted old man.

  Tony let out a sigh. Hell, he felt old too. He walked around the conference table and raised the blinds to gaze out towards the ocean. How had life gotten this complicated? Wives weren’t supposed to be murdered. How could a man work when he had to fear that his wife was being raped and left for dead while he was putting out a fire or helping an old lady after a car accident? Tony’s fist hit the window, the glass shook and flexed but didn’t break.

  “He’s devastated. I talked to Chief Scott last night. Danny is taking a leave of absence. He’s going to stay at his grandmother’s house in Oklahoma for a few weeks. Scott didn’t know if Danny would come back.”

  “Damn tough.”

  Silence engulfed the room. Tony remembered the last time he had seen Danny and Kelsey together. They had been at a pool party to celebrate Marissa’s birthday.

  Marissa. He still had to tell her about Kelsey. A knot formed in his stomach. How would she take it?

  The chief’s voice cracked through the silence, bringing Tony back to their current situation. “Where do you go from here?”

  “There’s a debriefing this morning. We’re going to do more questioning this afternoon and then we’ll meet again before we break for the night.”

  “Any idea on a suspect?”

  Tony turned to face Randall. How had his job gone from challenging to incredibly difficult in one day? He had trained for this type of work. His degree in criminology and the justice system proved he was competent, but at some point the killers and other criminals had outstripped the police department’s capabilities. Solving this case would be an incredibly difficult task.

  Tony longed for the days when the cases were easier. It was more than the lack of evidence that had left him dissatisfied. Kelsey’s face haunted his memory, causing a burning pain deep in his chest. Was he up to this task?

  Squaring his shoulders, Tony stepped forward. “We’ve got a preliminary profile. We’re calling in a favor and having Jackson Spade, over at the FBI, review our logic.”

  “What have you got so far?”

  “I’d rather wait until we talk to Jackson Spade.”

  “Just give me something, anything, so when the mayor calls I can tell him that we have a preliminary profile.”

  “Dang it, Chief, forget the mayor. He’ll tell the press then everything we have will be made public. Don’t give him anything concrete.”

  “You seem to forget who has the political clout to fire me. I need something, and I’ll make him promise to keep it quiet.”

  “Please, the mayor keep quiet?”

  “He’ll do it for me. The mayor doesn’t want to be blamed for a criminal escaping. I’ll remind him that the public may want news, but they want killers caught too.”

  “Fine. This isn’t definitive, but we believe th
e suspect is a white male, intelligent, and he’s a smooth talker. There were no marks on the doors or windows at either scene. He’s a charmer. Both of these women were smart enough to know not to let a stranger in, yet they did.”

  “When Jackson calls, I want to know what he says.”

  “Yes sir.” Tony watched as Chief Randall walked out of the conference room. Stress would either bring you down, or set you up for a fall. Tony needed an outlet for his stress. He would have to find some time for a swim.

  Lost in his thoughts, he jumped when a loud noise sounded behind him. Tony snapped his head up and spun around. Rains stepped into the room and nodded a greeting before asking, “So where are Rex and Janice?”

  “Haven’t seen them. I want you and Janice back at the apartment complex asking questions today.”

  The door to the conference room cracked open. With his head downcast and his eyes averted, Rex entered the room. Choosing to stay silent, Tony observed Rex, wondering what had changed since yesterday. Normally you couldn’t shut Rex up in the morning.

  “Good morning,” Janice said as she breezed into the conference room.

  “Morning,” Michael replied.

  “Hi,” Rex said, his eyes not quite meeting Tony’s.

  Tony cleared his throat, wishing that they were gathered under another circumstance. “The pressure is on. Chief Randall received a call from Senator Turner this morning. It’s just a matter of time before the media attacks. I want to go over our profile again before we head out. Janice, you and Michael will be canvassing the apartment complex and the Ingles’ neighborhood.”

  “Anything specific?” Janice asked.

  “See if anyone’s memory jump-started during the night. Maybe someone has been out of town for a few days. Interview them and ask if they’ve seen anyone suspicious over the last few weeks.”

  Tony turned to Rex, watching for his reaction. Nothing. Rex sat with his head dipped down, no eye contact and no quipping statements to lighten the mood. His behavior was off. Something had happened.

  “Are we sure about the profile we developed?” Michael asked, interrupting Tony’s thoughts.

  “Yeah, we’re sure,” Tony answered. His confidence in their assessment of the evidence was growing. “Most serial killers escalate their violence level as time progresses. This guy seems fairly violent already.”

  Rex’s looked up, making eye contact for the first time. Tony reigned in his surprise. Rex’s eyes were bloodshot and dark smudges made them appear sunken, but his trademark smile flashed for a moment, making him look like the Rex Tony knew him to be.

  Rex’s shoulders relaxed. He grasped a pen in his left hand and started clicking the top, an annoying habit, but one that assured Tony that everything was fine in Rex’s life. His best friend looked like hell. Later, Tony committed to finding out what was up, but for now he was happy Rex was starting to act close to normal again.

  “I think we need to put the force on alert. Look for men sitting on side streets in cars. Anyone suspicious needs to be questioned. I know this might be overkill, but we have to stop this guy.” Tony’s stomach flopped as he remembered the way Kelsey Ingles had looked, her body bruised and battered.

  Tony listened as Janice and Michael debated their suspect’s profile. Why did they think this guy was intelligent? Tony wondered. How smart could you be if killing was your way of life? Tony and Rex hadn’t mentioned the Ashley angle to either Michael or Janice. At the time, Tony had held back, not wanting everyone to think he had cracked up. But after the initial shock wore off, he still didn’t want to divulge the information.

  Unusually quiet, Rex leaned back in his chair, not contributing to the discussion on their profile. His face was stoic, and his emotions were closed off. Rex was hiding something. Tony’s gut reaction was to pull Rex out of his chair and shake him.

  “I’m ready to get out there and canvass the neighborhoods,” Janice said as she stood, clearing off the table in front of her.

  “Sure, I’ll be right with you,” Michael replied. He picked up his material, filing it into his briefcase.

  “Michael, I know you guys in Dallas saw more murders than we do down here. Do you remember anything like this while you were there?” Tony asked.

  “No, nothing at all.” Michael closed the case and turned to go.

  Tony looked out the window towards the beach. Why was this happening in his town? There would be more victims unless they found a way to stop this guy. “Thanks guys, keep your cells on. And this room is now our war room.” To emphasize his point, Tony took the pictures of Angela Longfellow and Kelsey Ingles and pinned them to the wall. “Now there’s no avoiding what this guy is capable of. We stop him before he does this to another woman.”

  The room was quiet after Tony tacked up the photos. Janice stared for a long moment at each picture. With her back held straight and her gait purposeful, she followed Michael out of the conference room.

  The tension in the room grew as Tony stared at Rex over the long central table. When Rex looked away, Tony closed the door, giving them privacy. He pushed the seat next to Rex back, and stretched out.

  Rex picked at a piece of paper and toyed with it. Placing it on the table, he pushed it away and averted his eyes. The thick tension increased the pressure on Tony. He wiped his hand across his brow, searching his brain for the right words.

  “You’re going to try to figure out what’s wrong with me, aren’t you?”

  “Why don’t you tell me?” Tony said in an even voice, hiding his trepidation.

  “Don’t do the psychoanalyst junk with me. I just had a long night.”

  “You can have long nights. Just don’t let it affect your job.”

  “Deal.” Rex loaded papers into his briefcase. Edginess still clung to him, making his movements seem stilted. He snapped his briefcase closed and moved to open the conference room door. Hesitating, he glanced back at Tony. Rex’s hand clung to the door handle. The pressure in the room kicked up another notch. Tony saw the change in Rex’s face just before the door was pushed open from the other side.

  “Hey, Tony,” Michael said, sticking his head into the room. Rex pushed past him, leaving Tony to catch up later.

  “Michael, what can I do for you?”

  “Did you set a time for us to meet back here?”

  “It’ll be around four or four-thirty. I’ll get in touch with you later,” Tony said hastily, wishing Michael hadn’t returned and interrupted his conversation with Rex. There was no time to search out his strange acting friend. The conference call with Jackson Spade, the FBI’s super genius guy, was due to start any minute.

  Chapter 8

  The car next to Tony’s rumbled and bounced with loud rap music. The headache he’d been fighting all week threatened to take on a life of its own. When would the stupid light change? The call with Jackson went well. His team had gotten much of the profile correct, but Jackson had brought up a theory the others wouldn’t like. The amount of submission the victims had been put through led Jackson to believe their suspect was in an authority position, but a low position, one where he didn’t have a great deal of power.

  The traffic stalled again. Tony let his eyes drift over the pedestrians. There were still a few tourists hanging out, but the foot traffic consisted mostly of residents going to lunch. A shop door opened and a young woman walked out. Shock washed over Tony. His breath caught in his chest. It was Kelsey, but in his mind he knew it couldn’t be her. He blinked furiously. The wind blew and her hair moved around her face. The illusion was gone. He could see clearly that it wasn’t her.

  A horn blasted behind him and Tony switched his foot from the brake to the accelerator and took off. He gripped the steering wheel and eased off the gas. A nice long lunch with his wife would take the edge off.

  Marissa sat at a table outside of Manny’s. He spied her long brown hair before he even pulled into the parking lot. His fingers itched to pull the clip from her silky locks and let the control she tried to m
aintain slip away.

  Her mouth was drawn into an unforgiving line. Tony drew in a deep breath, calming himself before facing her wrath. He climbed out of the car and sent a prayer up to God, asking for favor. Maybe his hard work on this case would make up for his sins, letting Marissa would smile when she saw his face.

  Uneasy and fear gnawed at his gut as he moved through the parking lot. He loved the food at Manny’s, but he wondered if he could swallow even one bite.

  Kelsey. He shouldn’t have waited to tell Marissa.

  The oppressive heat clung to Tony as he moved across the street. It was too hot to sit outside, but Marissa looked cool as she fanned herself. She deserved better than he’d given her. His work always came first. Now, he was paying the price.

  Maybe waiting to tell Marissa about Kelsey was the way to go. Putting off the news might make his lunch more pleasant, but if he didn’t tell her now, she would hold it against him. Determined to do right, Tony took a fortifying breath, calming his nerves.

  Marissa hadn’t seen him yet. His eyes roved over her body, studying every detail. Her golden skin shone in the sun. Tony wanted to caress her arms, to run his fingers across her skin and feel it’s silky texture. She was still as beautiful as she had been the day they met. The fear of losing her forever brought pain to his chest. Regret over his past mistakes snaked through his mind. How had he ever been so stupid?

  “Tony.” Marissa waved as she turned towards him.

  Smiling, he moved through the tables and chairs. Seizing the moment, he lowered his head to kiss her before she had a chance to turn away. Her shoulders stiffened when his lips brushed hers, but he wouldn’t apologize. He would never apologize for kissing her.

  “Marissa, you look great.”

  “You look--”

  “I know I look like hell. We’ve been working a tough case,” Tony said as he lowered his body into a chair.

  “I don’t really want to hear about your case.”

  “I know you don’t, but Marissa, you have to--”

  “No, I don’t.” A scowl darkened her features. Her chair wobbled as she stood, taking a step back, away from Tony and his world. Marissa looked ready to bolt.