by Angela Kay
“I’m sorry?” Aidan asked.
“That was written where my son died, wasn’t it? And it was also at the other murder scene?”
“That hasn’t been released to the press,” Shaun explained. “May I ask how you came about the information?”
Mrs. Parsons gave him a puzzled expression. “From the press. It was on the news a couple of hours ago.”
“What station?” Aidan asked, squaring his jaw. He clenched his fists, bracing himself for the answer.
“WJFX.”
Aidan exchanged knowing looks with Shaun.
“Jordan Blake,” Shaun stated.
Mrs. Parsons nodded.
Aidan pressed his fingers to his eyelids with a sigh, shaking his head. How Jordan Blake came to find out about the carvings at both scenes, he didn’t know. The fact that his old nemesis found it out grated his nerves.
“We haven’t yet figured out what the saying means,” Aidan answered her question. “Do you by chance have an idea?”
“No, I was hoping you might. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with Ray.”
“Maybe,” Shaun agreed after a brief pause.
“You don’t believe that,” Mrs. Parsons leaned forward, her eyes focused on Shaun. “You know something. You think my son’s a victim of a serial killer, don’t you?”
“To be honest, we’re not discounting the idea,” Shaun replied, “We’re trying to connect your son to Stephanie Carpenter. Does your family know her?”
Mrs. Parsons shook her head. “Only from the news. But my ex-husband might. He knows a lot of people.”
“We’ll ask him,” Shaun said as he pushed to his feet. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Parsons. We’ll contact you again if we have any other questions.”
“Please, tell me, Agent Henderson,” she said, rising. “Do you have a lead? Do you know who killed my Ray?”
Shaun exchanged glances with Aidan, who offered a single head shake. “We don’t have anything just yet, Mrs. Parsons. Once we do, we’ll be sure to let you know.”
Mrs. Parsons frowned. “I’ll walk you out. Thank you for stopping by.”
“Of course,” Aidan replied as they made their way to the door. “We appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Again, we’re sorry for your loss.”
Mrs. Parsons only nodded as she watched them walk away.
Aidan looked sidelong at his partner. “How in the world does Jordan Blake know about the carvings at the scenes?”
Shaun only shook his head.
11
AIDAN TOOK A bite of his fried chicken as he glanced up from his computer to see Agent Rob Harrelson heading his way. The agent grabbed a rolling chair from an empty desk and pulled it over to Aidan’s, plopping on the seat with a grunt.
Shaun, whose attention had been focused on his computer screen for the past hour eyed Harrelson, then leaned back to give the agent his undivided attention. He picked up the single serving of mashed potato and gravy and spooned some into his mouth.
“Hey, Robbie. What’s going on?” Shaun said, his mouth full.
“We just got back from Ray Parsons’ school, interviewing his classmates. Apparently, Rachel Amos had been having issues with a student by the name of Mitchell Garvey. He’s been spreading rumors that he slept with Rachel and claims to have a video proving the fact. However, no one has seen the evidence.”
Shaun arched an eyebrow.
“Ray Parsons and Leon Quick defended her, giving Garvey a black eye and a mild concussion when they banged his head against a locker. They’ve been put on warning by the principal that if they start fighting again, they’d all be suspended. Some of the students heard the boys spew threats at each other later. Some even believe Garvey would take revenge.”
“Worth looking into,” Shaun stated as he spooned more mashed potatoes. He chased it down with his Pepsi, sucking his cup dry. “Do they all have classes together?”
As Harrelson continued to talk, Aidan took a pen from inside his top drawer and began writing notes in his pad.
“Ray and Mitchell have History in the morning, but all of them are in one class…gym, right after lunch. A female student overheard Mitchell talking to Rachel, calling her dirty names. His friends also joined in on the taunts. They cornered her in the girls’ locker room, and after that event, she went home early. The following day, Rachel didn’t go to school, claiming she was ill.”
“Sounds like a classic case of bullying,” Aidan said.
“Yeah. The incident happened a few days before the shooting.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a student would take bullying this far.” Aidan tapped his pen against the edge of his desk as he considered what he’d heard. If Mitchell Garvey killed Ray Parsons, then it likely was a separate incident than the other murder. Still, he felt uneasy.
“But why would Mitchell kill only Ray?” Shaun wondered, breaking into Aidan’s thoughts. “Wouldn’t he have fired some rounds on Rachel and Leon?”
Harrelson shrugged. “Maybe Mitchell didn’t have a chance to go after the other two.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Aidan muttered as the carving in the railing flashed in his mind.
The hunt ends here.
What would be the reason for Garvey to carve the phrase? And why would another killer copy Garvey? Even so, the phrase hadn’t yet been released to the press. Stephanie Carpenter was murdered only a few days ago, before Jordan Blake reported on it. It just didn’t seem to fit with any of the few puzzle pieces he and Shaun already had. The murder of Ray Parsons seemed too methodical. They still had to exhaust all leads.
“We’ll look into Garvey’s friends as well,” Aidan said. “Did he have any connections to Stephanie Carpenter?”
Harrelson shook his head. “So far, we haven’t found one.”
“Garvey is also a fan of hunting,” Douglas added as he walked up. With a glance for an empty chair nearby, he propped himself on the edge of Shaun’s desk. “He and his dad used to go deer hunting. Mitchell used to have cutouts of guns taped inside his locker until he was found out, then facility was told to remove it.”
“Have you checked his background yet?” Shaun asked.
Douglas nodded, handing Shaun a sheet of paper. “A couple of years ago, Garvey got into major trouble for threatening another student. The student claimed he threatened he’d kill him with his father’s gun, but there were no witnesses to the incident, however, the school takes death threats seriously, so Garvey had to be questioned by the police. They searched his house, and his father did have several of his hunting guns within reach. He was warned to lock the weapons up and keep them out of reach from his son. Mitchell got a warning for the incident. Soon after, he and a friend were caught on school grounds with beer. They hadn’t been drinking, but he was suspended for a few days since it was in his possession. Another offense would expel him permanently.”
“I’m not completely sold on the idea, but,” Aidan mused out loud. “if Mitchell cared enough about staying in school or was afraid of what his parents might do if Ray and Leon got him expelled, that could go for a motive for murder. ”
Douglas nodded his agreement. “He shot Ray, and in the rush to get to safety, Leon fell back, hitting his head. If he was also targeting Leon, then he may have thought he’d taken care of him as well.”
“Makes sense to me,” Shaun said.
“Go question Mr. Garvey and see if there’s anything there,” Aidan suggested. “In the meantime, Shaun and I can pay a visit to Rachel Amos and see if she’s willing to talk to us about what happened at the swamp.”
“Will do,” Douglas replied with a nod, standing from the desk.
“Nice work, guys,” Shaun said, picking up two French fries and slipping them into his mouth before tossing his trash into a wastebasket.
After they walked away, Aidan dunked a piece of chicken into his honey mustard and bit into it. He quickly added a few more details into the system, then logged off his computer.
&
nbsp; “Kids these days,” Shaun muttered, shaking his head. “It’s unimaginable the trouble they find themselves in.”
“It’s always been like that,” Aidan told him as he stood from his chair. “But along with the rest of the world, they are an increasing problem.”
“How will it end?”
Aidan started for the exit. “With lots and lots of prayer.”
12
“HEY, RACHEL.” AIDAN lowered himself to sit in the kitchen chair, directly across from her. “I want to start by thanking you for allowing us to talk to you. We’ll try to make this as quick as possible. How are you doing?”
Rachel Amos remained silent, looking as if she’d been without a shower for several days, and Aidan supposed she had been. She wore a blue tank top with black shorts, both wrinkled as if she’d been sleeping in them. When Aidan first looked into her eyes, they were dark and sad. She now stared down at the surface of the table, tearing a napkin into small pieces.
“I know this is hard for you,” Aidan continued. “You’ve been through a great trauma, then having to be questioned time and again. But my partner and I…well, we’d like to find out what happened that day at Phinizy Swamp. To do that, we need your help. We need to hear your side of things. You’re the only one who can tell us.”
Rachel continued to maintain her silence, and her father, sitting next to her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, agents, but my daughter has been through a lot this past week. Can we—.”
“Phil,” Mrs. Amos said sharply, standing in the corner by the sink. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she glared at her husband. “One of her friends is dead. Another close to death. These agents want to know what happened. I want to know what happened.”
“Krystal, she needs time,” Mr. Amos protested, his voice cracking. He looked from Aidan to Shaun and back again. “My daughter just needs time. Can you try to understand that?”
“What our daughter needs is to talk about what happened that day,” Mrs. Amos exclaimed, cutting her hand through the air as if making a point. “I know you want to protect her, Phil, but what good is it if she’s not talking about it? She hasn’t spoken a word since it all happened. And…and…one of her best friends is dead! Leon’s in a coma…and…”
Mr. Amos pushed his chair back, screeching it angrily across the floor. “You don’t have to spell it out for me, Krystal! I know! I know!” He spewed out a curse. “I’m trying to protect my daughter.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Amos,” Shaun said, although the bickering of the parents overtook his voice. “Mr. and Mrs. Amos, please—.”
Mr. Amos continued to ignore him. “I know exactly what the stakes are—.”
“Obviously, you don’t—.”
“Krystal—.”
“Stop it!” Rachel screamed, gripping the sides of her head. “Stop fighting! I’m sick of listening to you! That’s all you ever do! I can’t take it anymore!”
She pushed out of her chair, forcing it to fall back against the floor with a clatter. Rachel pulled the kitchen door open, face streaming with tears, and stormed out, despite the protests of her parents. The door bounced off the table against the wall, then slowly closed, settling against the door jam.
“Let me talk to her if you will,” Aidan said quickly, holding up his hand to prevent Mr. Amos from chasing after his daughter. “If you don’t mind.”
“She’s not ready to face it.”
“The sooner she talks about it, the sooner she can focus on healing,” Shaun replied. “And the sooner Agent O’Reilly and I will leave your family to your grief. Think of your daughter, Mr. Amos. Think of her friends. Ray Parsons deserves justice, and Rachel may be a way to get it for him.”
For what seemed like long minutes, Mr. Amos stared at his wife, whose face was twisted in pain and wet with tears. Finally, he nodded at Aidan, pulling his wife into a tight hug.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” Mr. Amos said, his words muffled in her hair. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”
“Thank you, Mr. Amos,” Aidan said. “Do you know where Rachel went?”
Rachel’s dad raised his eyes to Aidan. “She’ll be in her treehouse out back. It’s her safe place. I built it for her a few summers ago. But if you ask her, we built it together.” He smiled. “A little girl with a hammer, and me holding the nail.”
Shaun smiled. “And you’d do it a thousand more times.”
“A million,” Mr. Amos said and gently kissed his wife’s hair.
Aidan found a glass and filled it with iced water before walking out the door. He shut it behind him, staring toward Rachel’s treehouse.
He slowly walked toward it.
“Rachel?” Aidan called as he approached. “It’s Agent O’Reilly. Do you mind if I come up there?”
When she didn’t respond, Aidan began to climb to the top, holding the glass of water in one hand.
“Wow,” he said as he stuck his head inside. “This is an impressive hideout.”
Rachel sat on the floor in the corner, a blanket covering her body, her eyes red and cheeks soaked with tears. She was shivering with anguish, rocking back and forth.
“I thought you might be thirsty, so I brought you a glass of water,” Aidan offered. He set it next to her, then went to his own corner to give her a little space. A table sat underneath a window with a photo of Rachel, Leon, and Ray. Beneath the table, were stacks of board games. “Did your dad build you this treehouse?”
He looked her way and waited until she finally nodded.
“That’s great. Really cool. I never had a treehouse like this, but in Ireland, where I’m from, my sister and I used to hang out in some caves. That was our clubhouse.”
Rachel seemed to be paying attention, however, made no effort to talk, so he continued to carry the conversation.
“We’d have passwords for those interested in coming in. I can’t remember what it was, though. Something silly like colcannon.”
Aidan allowed his speech to lull, giving her a chance to respond.
“You don’t sound very Irish,” Rachel finally pointed out shyly.
“I don’t?” Aidan asked with a smile. “I guess it kind of went away after a while of living in the states. It still comes out sometimes. But my sister, she still sounds a little Irish.”
“Does she live here too?”
“Mairead’s in Boston. She moved there from Ireland a few years after I did, wanting to be closer to me. But then, I needed to transfer out of state, so I moved to Atlanta. Now I’m here.”
“Your job made you leave your sister?”
Aidan frowned, his heart growing heavy at the memory which still resurfaced when he wished it didn’t. “Actually, not directly. A close friend of ours was killed. She was a victim of a serial killer called The Carnations Killer.”
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said.
“Thanks,” Aidan replied.
“Did you find out who killed your friend?”
Aidan nodded. “We did catch the killer. It took about ten years, but he’s in jail now. He’s on death row.”
She looked up at him now, through her long eyelashes. “Will you catch who killed Ray?”
“I’d like to,” Aidan said. “I’d like to very much, Rachel. But I need you to help me. Do you think you can help me?”
Rachel diverted her eyes again and sniffed, before nodding.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Aidan suggested. “You and your friends went to Phinizy Swamp for a class trip, right?”
With hesitation, Rachel nodded.
“We left the group.”
“Why?”
“I’m not supposed to tell. It’s all stupid, really. But…” She trailed off, trying not to cry again.
“Go on,” Aidan said. “I won’t talk about anything to anyone unless it is directly pertinent to the case.”
Rachel looked back at Aidan and studied him, then sighed, wiping her eyes. “A few weeks ago, Ray had
gotten involved with a game.”
“What kind of game?” Aidan wondered.
“A scavenger hunt,” Rachel told him. “It was kinda like Pokémon Go, except the game started out in the emails. If you’re interested, you have to sign up. So Ray did. Only certain people were eligible to play.”
“What was included in the emails?” Aidan pressed. “Did it come with instructions?”
“It had a map of the search area. There would be miscellaneous hidden items. We’d have to solve a riddle, and the answer would be what we needed to find.”
“When you did find the object, did you have to somehow tell him? Or did he give another riddle?”
“We’re given twelve hours from the time we open the email to finding the item. Then we’re supposed to email a picture of ourselves with the item. And the next clue would come in a new email. When we got the map of Phinizy Swamp, Ray started thinking it was someone in our class. We knew we needed to go to the bridge because there was a red X over it on the map.”
“Interesting,” Aidan muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck.
Rachel narrowed her eyes. “Why? Did I say something helpful?”
“Maybe,” Aidan muttered. “When was the first time Ray started getting the emails?”
Rachel was silent for a few minutes before she frowned with a shrug. “I don’t know. Two weeks? Three…it’s a blur. I’m sorry.”
“And neither you or Leon received the emails?”
“No.”
So, Ray was no doubt the target, Aidan decided.
“Did you find the final prize at the bridge?” he asked.
Rachel nodded. “Leon found it. It was a photo of some guy. That’s when I heard the gunshot. I turned around and saw Ray falling into the swamp.”
She paused, her bottom lip quivering again.
“It’s okay,” Aidan assured her. “Take your time.”
She began to cry. Aidan had to strain to understand her near unintelligible words.
“I remember…screaming. I remember…Leon…he…he froze, then he started to run. But he…he tripped and hit his head. I-I tried to get him to move, but he was…wouldn’t. Ray, too. They weren’t moving, so I ran. I-I-I left them.”
