by KJ Kalis
The late afternoon sun had slid lower in the sky, the rays still warm even though each day they were getting closer to the fall. Not that fall in California was anything like it was when they had lived in Aldham. In Aldham, there was a true seasonal climate. Fall had changing leaves, the winter had snow, the spring had a fair share of mud and the summers were beautiful. Kat’s heart ached to be back there, to be back to the simple life that she had had when she and Van first got married. She just wanted simple. But nothing about this case was simple.
She paced on the short sidewalk in front of the police station. She was sure that the officer on duty could see her walking back and forth on their video surveillance, but she didn’t care. The fact that Meredith had given them a positive ID was good. The fact that Dr. Laffer hadn’t was bad. Was Meredith reliable enough to positively ID Joseph? The last thing they needed at this time was to chase after someone that wasn’t the person who was responsible. Stephanie’s face flashed through her memory, the pale color of her skin, the deep circles under her eyes. How her friend would ever recover from losing her niece, she wasn’t sure. She knew that people recovered from loss all the time, including her, but watching someone go through it was tremendously painful. Gut wrenching.
There was a wooden bench at the edge of the parking lot under a tree. Kat walked over and sat down, hanging her head between her knees, hoping to calm herself. A moment later, there was commotion at the front door. She looked up. The team from the college was leaving. The two men walked ahead of Meredith, angling for their cars parked on the other side of the lot. Meredith paused for a moment on the sidewalk, looking at her. She raised a hand, giving Kat a little wave. Kat only managed a nod. She was tired. Too tired to do anything else.
Another few minutes passed, Kat taking deep breaths and listening to the chirp of the birds in the trees above her, when she heard the front door of the police station click open again. It was Van. He crossed the parking lot and sat next to her. “Doing okay?” he asked. He didn’t touch her. It was like he was afraid she would crumble under the pressure they were under.
She nodded, “I’m okay. It’s just that Dr. Laffer…”
Van nodded, “Career politician, pretty much. That’s how those guys get those positions in the first place.” Van scowled, “Well, at least we got a positive ID from Meredith.”
“If it even means anything. With the way Dr. Laffer was talking, the video could have been anyone. I realize the resolution wasn’t all that good, but you’d think he’d know the people that worked for him!”
Van shook his head, “I don’t know. I don’t have any idea how many faculty members they have out there at the college. It is possible that Dr. Laffer just didn’t know him.”
The fact that Van was trying to give Dr. Laffer any latitude made Kat more furious. “How can you say that? He should know the people that work for him. Okay, maybe not the part-time faculty, but you’d think somebody in a major department like History.”
As the words came out of her mouth, Kat felt frustrated with herself and even more frustrated with the situation. Why was she taking her anger out on Van? “I’m sorry. I’m just angry and tired.”
Van smiled. “I know. We both are. I think we should probably head home and check in with Jack and TJ, don’t you?”
As they both stood up, the front door of the police department opened again, this time Detective Dawson emerging from inside the station, “Hey! Are you guys leaving?”
Vann nodded his head. “Yeah, we were just talking about that. We should probably go home and check on our son.”
Kat glanced at Van. He had said “our son.” If nothing else good came out of the day, at least there was that.
“Before you go, I just wanted to tell you I got more information while you guys were out here.”
Kat looked at Detective Dawson, closer this time. The soft eyes behind the glasses looked pained. Maybe the news wasn’t good. Maybe Meredith had decided it wasn’t Joseph Schreiber after all? A fresh wave of anxiety covered her, tingling running across her back. “What kind of information?”
“We’ve got two more people missing…”
30
Joseph left his two newest subjects in the shop and went up to the house for dinner. “Mother? I’m home!” he said, as if she was in the kitchen cooking him dinner. He closed the side door behind him holding onto the handle. His father didn’t like it when he slammed doors. Taking off his shoes, he went to the kitchen sink, washing his hands, pushing suds between each finger. That was always the procedure when he came in from being outside. He dried them on a bleached kitchen towel and walked down the hallway, cracking the door to his parents’ bedroom. “I hope you had a good day today,” he said, standing in the doorway, staring at the two skeletons. “I know you’ll be proud. I’m getting ready to start another experiment.” The skeletons didn’t respond, even though Joseph was sure he could hear his parents’ voices in his head, talking to him. “Every time I do an experiment, I do it for you,” he said. “I’m hoping for excellent results this time. I’ll come back as soon as I know more.”
He closed the door behind him, walking back down the hallway towards the kitchen, the wood floor groaning slightly under his feet. It was time for dinner. Tonight was sandwich night. It was the one little luxury he allowed himself after his parents passed. His mother never felt that a sandwich was a proper dinner, but Joseph looked forward to sandwich night once a week. He didn’t think his mother would mind, especially now that he was doing the work she had always wanted him to do. He was a doctor, a medical researcher. A man making a difference. A son she could be proud of.
As he sat at the table, taking the first bites of the same sandwich he had every week, turkey and cheddar with a smear of mayo on white bread with carrot sticks, Joseph stared. He thought about the two subjects he had in the shop, considering his options. He had high hopes for this experiment. The question was, would it be worth it to start the experiment this evening or wait until the morning? The thought rumbled around in his mind like rocks rolling down the side of a hill. He knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else until it was done. Glancing towards the kitchen, he saw a pile of grading he needed to handle for his classes. He could easily delay returning their papers for a day or so until he got the experiment finished, but he wanted to be careful not to neglect his university job, no matter how boring it was.
Finishing the last bite of the sandwich, he stood up, carrying his plate to the sink where he quickly washed it in the scalding water, dried it, and then put it back in the cabinet. He opened the refrigerator door, realizing that soon he would need to cook another batch of his mother’s casserole recipes. In the four quadrants of his refrigerator, he only had one meal left. A surge of anxiety passed through him like he had just stuck his finger in an electrical socket. Life was starting to get in the way of his work, his life’s work.
Joseph knew that when he felt like this, he needed to do something, and do something quickly. His eyes ran back and forth between the back door that led to the trail that would take him back down to the shop, his subjects, and his beloved experiments, and the pile of papers that needed to be graded. He had to do both. The question was which first. He couldn’t allow his mind to get tangled. He needed to be clear-headed for his experiment, he knew that. He looked one more time at the grading and turned. The grading could wait until the morning. His experiment could not…
31
“Tell me their names,” Kat said. The idea that two more people were missing so quickly after they had found Ben and Rebecca left Kat reeling. The killer’s rate of capture was increasing. Kat was no forensic psychologist, but she knew that when serial killers increased their frequency, it usually meant they were spiraling out of control. Anything could happen. Anything. Time was running out. If they didn’t find the killer soon, more people would die.
“Evan Chapman and Layne Clark,” Dawson said.
“He’s moved on to the C’s,” Kat said.
Dawson shook his head. “I just hope this Joseph Schreiber is the one we are looking for.”
Kat tilted her head to the side, “Are you worried he isn’t?”
“You heard the folks from the college as well as I did. Meredith seems fairly sure that’s him. The college president… not so much.”
Van frowned, “Any chance he didn’t make a strong ID because of liability? I mean, their attorney was sitting right there.”
Dawson raised his eyebrows, “Nothing would surprise me at this point. But you’d think if he knew it was Joseph Schreiber, he’d say something, wouldn’t you?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my career, but this one is really out there.”
“How did two more people get caught up in this?” Kat asked.
“The information is just coming in now. He probably grabbed them while we were sitting in the conference room over there.” Dawson glanced back towards the station, “I guess both of them work in the same building downtown. It’s an office building. Neither of them came back after their lunch break. Someone went down in the garage and found Layne’s papers scattered all over the ground. She had a bunch of proprietary documents with her, so that set off alarm bells. As soon as her boss found out, they tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. That’s when they called the security office for the building. When they looked at the video, they saw a van creep through the parking garage. Looked like the same one that was used at Rebecca’s apartment. They just emailed it to me. I haven’t had much of a chance to look at it. That’s what I’m going to go do now and then I’ll head downtown to see what else I can find out. We’ve got officers there already.”
Dawson looked down for a minute, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. He looked up, directly at Kat and Van, “Listen, you two head home. You’ve got a boy to attend to. If I hear anything more, I’ll give you a call. Try to get some rest.”
While Kat appreciated what Detective Dawson was trying to do, she knew neither she nor Van would get much rest until the killer was caught.
There wasn’t much to say on the drive home. Kat found herself lost in her thoughts, watching cars and homes and schools pass by. So many people were out just living their lives like normal. A part of Kat wondered how they could. Weren’t they worried about the safety of their family and their friends? A shiver ran down her spine. There was nothing more that she wanted then to be at home with Jack and the dogs and Van. She wanted to close the curtains and lock the doors until this was all over. Glancing at Van, he seemed to be concentrating on the road, dodging afternoon traffic as he changed lanes. To anyone else, he would have looked perfectly relaxed. But Kat knew better. She saw the ripple of muscle across his jaw. He was concerned. They both were.
As Van slowed the truck to a stop in front of a red light, Kat glanced out her window. To her right was a small shopping center, where there was a sporting goods store. In front, she saw what looked to be a mom and a young boy, probably not more than eight, opening the door. She imagined they were going in to buy soccer cleats or a new baseball glove or maybe even a lacrosse stick. It was so normal, all of it. Memories of doing the same with Jack settled in her mind. She swallowed hard. What if the killer got to their family? What if he took one of them and they became part of the experiment? Kat realized at that moment that if the killer truly stuck with his pattern, then she and Jack had already been passed over. Hopefully, they would be able to find him before he got much farther down the alphabet. Hopefully.
The truck bumped up the curb and onto their driveway. From around the side of the house, Tyrant came running, her tail flopping in the wind, her tongue sticking out panting. “Hi, girl!” Kat said, sliding out of the truck. She bent over and rubbed the big dog behind her ears. “I missed you. Where are your brothers?” For some reason, Kat had gotten in the habit of talking to the dogs as if they were people. To some degree, it felt like they were.
TJ, Jack, and Dillon were in the kitchen when she and Van walked into the house. Kat set her bag down in the corner, the puppy coming over to give it a sniff and bat at the handles. She hugged Jack. It seemed like every time she saw him, he had grown. He was taller than she was now. “How did your day go?” she asked, feeling grateful to get a break from the case.
Jack nodded. “Good. I had a math quiz today. I think I did pretty well,” he said, opening the cabinet door, probably looking for a snack.
“Did you and TJ already eat?” Kat asked.
TJ nodded, setting his baseball hat down on the counter. “Yep, me and the big guy, we picked up a pie on the way back from baseball. Meat lovers.”
Van opened the refrigerator door, “Did you leave any?”
“Yeah,” TJ said, “There’s some pizza left in there for you guys.” He glanced at Kat, “And yes, we ordered a salad, too.”
Kat smiled. It felt like the first time she had smiled all day long. “Well, I’m glad to know the two of you are trying to stay healthy.”
Jack bent over and scratched Dillon’s head, “I’ve got some homework to do. Biology. I’m going to head up.”
That left the three of them in the kitchen, Kat and Van eating cold pizza and salad with TJ. “How did today go?” TJ asked. “I didn’t want to ask in front of Jack.”
Van took a long drink of iced tea from a plastic cup that read “Hollywood,” “It’s hard, man. Working these cases is tough. Bodies are dropping like flies.”
TJ raised his eyebrows, “More bodies?”
Kat nodded and wondered if they should tell TJ. It was confidential information, but she needed to talk. “Right before we left the police station, Detective Dawson came out and told us that two more people are missing. Looks like they got snatched up from the same office building just a few hours ago.” Kat set down her piece of pizza, suddenly feeling guilty for having a peaceful meal while the killer had two more terrified people in his grip. “Their last names begin with C,” she said.
“This guy’s a real lunatic,” TJ said. “He’s working his way through the alphabet?”
Van nodded. “Looks that way. Unless we can stop him.”
TJ looked off in the distance for a second and then back at Kat. “Do the police have any leads?”
“We have one. A history professor from the college. Joseph Schreiber. His department chair thinks the video the police have of the letters we got this morning from a source look like his signature and his face, but the college president wasn’t so sure. It was enough to cast some doubt.” Her stomach clenched, “If it’s not him, TJ, I don’t know what we're going to do.”
TJ stood up. “You’ll get him,” he said, putting his baseball hat back on his head. “Just stick with it.” He looked towards the door, “I’m going to go do another walk around the perimeter and then I’ll be back in. I’ll take the dogs with me.”
“Okay, just put Dillon on a leash. It’s starting to get dark. I don’t want him to get lost.” Kat’s mind flashed back to the day a wildfire burned their house to the ground. The whole family had been trying to escape when one of their dogs, terrified by the fire, ran off into the woods. Tyrant had to go in and bring him out. The last thing Kat needed on a day like today was to lose the puppy. That might enough to send her over the edge.
TJ nodded and called to the dogs. They came running, their nails scratching on the tile floor, trying to get out the door. That left Kat and Van by themselves in the kitchen. “I can’t eat any more,” Kat said, looking at Van.
She had only taken a few bites of pizza. She had done a better job with her salad. Her stomach was tied into such a small knot that it didn’t feel like she could eat anything, or that if she did, it wouldn’t stay down. “You feeling okay?” Van asked, putting his hand on her forearm. “It’s been a busy day.”
Kat stood up, carrying her plate over to the trash, scraping the rest of her dinner off. She gave the plate a quick rinse and put it in the dishwasher. She didn’t know what to say. “It’s just… It’s just that it feels
like everywhere we turn, we hit a roadblock.”
“You don’t feel like we made any progress today, even with the letters?”
“Honestly? No. I mean, what do the letters really tell us? There’s some guy who wants to do medical experiments who isn’t qualified? There have to be tons of those people out there. And that Meredith, I think we could’ve put a picture of Mickey Mouse in front of her and she would have confirmed it was Joseph.” She rested her hands on the edge of the kitchen sink. “I mean, where do we go if it isn’t Joseph Schreiber? We don’t have any other leads and now two more people are missing. I just can’t imagine what they’re going through, how afraid they must be…” Kat hung her head, overwhelmed. Tears started to run down her face. “How can we live like this? No one is safe.”
She heard the scrape of the chair pushing back from the table and felt Van’s warm body behind her. He wrapped her in his arms. “You are safe. We are safe.” As Kat hugged him, she felt the lump of his gun on his side. He was right. She was just being emotional. She had a Marine, a Navy SEAL, and a military dog in the house. For that matter, Dillon might at least gnaw someone to death. “It’s just that this case is different.”
Van let go of her, “How?”
“I don’t know. I guess,” she looked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. “I guess it’s just that there is normally one problem to solve. You know, like when Laura was sick with cancer and the blackmailer approached me. It was just Laura and the blackmailer. There weren’t all these other things happening, there weren’t people dropping left and right. It’s all happening so fast I can’t even catch my breath, let alone try to figure out how to help.”
Kat looked down at the floor. She was suddenly embarrassed at how much doubt she felt. How could she ever be effective if she felt this way? She wondered what Van must think of her. She was supposed to be a strong, tough journalist that had gotten through an IED attack in Afghanistan, not some whimpering, quivering woman who couldn’t even eat a piece of pizza after looking at some letters.
