The Brass Ring

by Mavis Applewater

  "I think maybe I’ll just . . ." CC stammered.

  "Caitlin, you should go," Jamie reassured her. "I’ll be fine between hospital security, the FBI . . . that is who you are, isn’t it?" Jamie asked Mallory who simply nodded. "And don’t think I haven’t noticed all the off-duty cops coming in with cases of the sniffles."

  "I just . . ." CC began in an effort to explain her actions.

  "Worry about me," Jamie finished for her. "I know, and you’re right this time," Jamie agreed. "But if it wasn’t for you, Simon probably wouldn’t even be a suspect. I’d feel better if you were there to ensure everything goes right. Caitlin, the FBI are watching me," she repeated. "The worse thing that could happen is another old flame drops in to tell me what I jerk I am."

  "Okay," CC agreed. "I do want to talk to Dr. Carter and your profiler to see if they have any ideas about how approach this guy. Plus I want to Mirandize him." Mallory stared at her blankly. "I want anything he says to be put to use. He already thinks of me as the enemy. If I’m the one doing it, then he’ll just blow me off for being a bitch. He’ll probably forget I said it."

  "Make sense," Mallory agreed.

  "Hold him here for a moment," CC requested as she nodded to Jamie.

  The moment Mallory left them Jamie was wrapped up in CC’s arms. "Be careful," CC pleaded as she kissed the top of Jamie’s head.

  "You too," Jamie whispered softly. CC nodded in agreement and made her way back out into the hospital corridor, already regretting her decision to leave Jamie behind.

  "Dr. Fisher." She scowled as curious hospital employees looked on. "You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

  "You can’t be serious," Fisher scoffed.

  "You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you," CC continued, completely unflustered by Simon’s glare.

  "Am I under arrest?" he taunted her.

  "No," Max assured him. "She’s just being her usual pain-in-the-ass self."

  "Do you understand your rights as I’ve explained them to you?" CC pressed, wondering if the fact that he wasn’t under arrest might present a problem down the road. Simon simply curled his lip in disgust. "Do you understand these rights as I’ve explained them to you, Dr. Fisher?" she repeated.

  "Doc," Max encouraged him. "If you understand them, just tell her. It makes the whole thing legal and it will protect you down the road."

  "Fine. I understand my rights, and no, I don’t need an attorney," Simon spat out.

  "Done this before have you?" CC taunted him.

  "Come on, Doc; why don’t you ride with us?" Max suggested. "No sense adding mileage to your car." Simon shrugged in agreement. "Oh, and that thing she said; I’m afraid it applies for the entire trip and while you’re at the station." Simon blinked in surprise; CC was suddenly worried that they might have overplayed their hand. "Don’t you just hate all this legal crap?" Max added in disgust. Simon’s face relaxed slightly. "You must be use to that with everyone trying to sue you doctors and rip you off."

  "You have no idea," Simon agreed as he followed Max and Mallory out of the hospital.

  CC breathed a sigh of relief and made her way out to her new SUV, thankful that they had taken separate cars. She spotted the agent Mallory had sent over instantly. "Why don’t they just stamp FED on their forehead?" she pondered as she fished her cell phone out of her pocket. "Smithy, this is Callaway. I need a car towed," she explained with a sly smirk as she noticed Fisher’s BMW parked illegally. "Might be a small problem. It’s at Boylston General and it has MD plates," she said to the supervisor at the impound yard.

  "No," Smithy flatly refused.

  "It’s illegally parked," CC argued.

  "Those two letters on the plate means this bozo can park anywhere he wants to," Smithy carefully explained.

  "There must be a way," CC pressed.

  "Nope." Smithy sighed. "He can block Governor Swift’s driveway and we can’t touch him."

  "Now there’s an idea." CC chuckled. "Are you sure you can’t touch it?" CC pleaded.

  "Does the term illegal search and seizure mean anything?" Smithy chastised her. "Trust me; if we pick up a doctor’s car from the hospital, anything you find won’t mean spit. You could find Jimmy Hoffa in the trunk and it would be thrown out. Give me the tag on it and let me see if I can find anything out. You never know; they got the Son of Sam on parking tickets."

  "You keep reminding me of that," CC grumbled before reading off Simon’s plate number. "I ran it a few days ago and didn’t come up with anything."

  "With all the cutbacks, you never know," Smithy said encouragingly.

  "Thanks," she added before concluding the call.

  A slight sense of defeat embraced her as she was about to climb into her new car. Then she spotted a familiar figure passing by. "Terrell," she greeted the older man.

  "Detective," he greeted her in return.

  "Could you do me a favor?" she inquired as she handed him her business card. "See that black BMW over there?"

  "Yup," Terrell responded with a scowl.

  "Could you keep on eye on it for me?" she asked politely.

  "My pleasure." Terrell said, nodding in agreement.

  "Thank you," she added with sincerity.

  "Dr. Jameson okay?" he inquired.

  "Yes," CC reassured him. "Thank you for calling us."

  "I’ll keep an eye on her too," he promised.

  She thanked him once again and climbed into her car. "Damn it; if only you had been on duty that night," she muttered as she pulled out into traffic. "Then again, with a whacko like Fisher it’s just a matter of time," she reasoned as she raced towards the station.

  When she arrived she met up with Max and Mallory. During her drive Smithy had got back to her with some interesting information. She brushed past the men and pulled out a street map. "Boys?" She beckoned them over. "Where’s the good doctor?" she inquired quickly.

  "Cooling his heels in Interrogation One," Max explained. "He didn’t say anything useful on the drive down. Except what a pain in the ass you are. But I knew that," Max teased. "I think he’s onto us."

  "Fine," CC conceded. "We knew it would happen. I tried to have his car towed."

  "Not bright," Mallory chastised her.

  "No," CC admitted. "But Smithy ran his plates and he got a speeding ticket right here." She pointed to the map. "In the early morning hours on the night Sandra died."

  "That’s down the street from the park where she was dumped," Max fumed. "Why are we just finding this out now?"

  "Somebody screwed up," CC grumbled. "But I think that and the fact that he was in the garage will get us our warrant. So what do you say, boys? Want to wake up a judge and then talk to the headshrinkers? After that the three of us can have a little chat with Simon while his car is being searched."

  "I like it," Max agreed.

  "Works for me," Mallory added with a smile.

  "Mallory, you’re smiling?" CC smiled in return. "I didn’t think you knew how."

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  "MY, THINGS ARE getting exciting around here." The Captain smirked across the conference table at CC.

  "Aren’t they though?" CC confirmed as she looked around the room. There was Max; herself; the Captain; Mallory; Dr. Carter; Marissa; Dr. Richards, the profiler from the FBI; the local ADA; and, of course, a federal prosecutor. CC was certain that the last two would be pulling out the yardsticks if Fisher were their guy.

  "Callaway, it’s your show," the Captain instructed with a slight gleam in his eyes.

  "Let’s start with you, Dr. Richards," CC began. "Dr. Richards is the profiler from Mallory’s office. She’s been given all the information regarding the victims only. She’s been told nothing regarding the lead suspect. Let’s see if we’re on the right track. Dr. Richards, if you would?"

  The middle-aged blonde brushed back a strand of long curly hair as she looked over her n
otes. "The victims suffered from strangulation, blunt force trauma, and attempted rape. Based on the attacks, the victims’ lifestyles or alleged lifestyles, this is what I’ve concluded. Frontal strangulation shows his need for control. These women have probably rejected him. The attempt to rape them isn’t, in his mind, rape. He honestly believes that they want him, but somewhere during the attack he knows that it isn’t true. That explains the equipment failure. He knows what he’s doing is wrong; that’s why he crushes their skulls. He needs to cover up his mistake. And that’s all he sees this as - a mistake. He doesn’t consider his victims. He is far too self-centered to consider their needs. He’s probably from a wealthy family that covered up any misdeeds he did to protect the family’s image. He expects this. He is a white male, probably in his early to late twenties by now. The guy you are looking for has a sealed juvenile record. He probably started out with minor crimes at first then slowly escalated towards arson, animal mutilation, and violence towards others. Mommy and Daddy bailed him out. He thinks the world owes him a favor due to his station in life. He’s a professional - a doctor, lawyer, or stockbroker - something fitting his station in life. He doesn’t enjoy his work but he’s expected to make something of his life and he resents it. He thinks that he should just be able to live off the family fortune and do whatever he wants. He’s an overachiever although not because he wants to be. He’s only a success because his family expects him to be one. Disappointing his parents is, in his mind, the worse thing he could do. They would probably cut him off and he would have to actually go out and support himself, something that he feels is beneath him. He dumps his victims in the nude out in the open for several reasons. First and foremost is the shame; it’s his final punishment to them for rejecting him. Secondly, he’s smart, very smart, and knows that tossing them without clothing in an exposed area will disturb the forensic evidence. Next, the reason he didn’t do this with Ellen Murdock is because he chose Sandra over Ellen. Killing them both was confusing to him. He sees them all as the same woman, the first one who rejected him. Which brings us to the first victim. Off the record, Janie is dead. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he followed her. He probably just wanted to talk her into coming back to him. When she refused, he started to choke her for ruining his image. She would have been the perfect trophy wife.

  Killing her was probably an accident; he panicked and hid her body. When he got away with it, his confidence grew. He’s still seeking his trophy wife but he thinks it’s the same girl. Okay, now who wants to hear the bottom line?" she teased as the others laughed. "I know it’s a little dry but here it is. The killer is the same person in all the crimes. He’s a rich spoiled brat with a borderline personality disorder. He has a violent nature. He’s killing his first victim over and over again. In his mind they’re all Janie. When he was confronted with two Janie’s, he chose one to be her and simply forgot about the other one. He also blames Janie. Nothing is ever his fault. His position in life, his intelligence, and his youthful arrogance have convinced him that he’s invincible. Questions?"

  "Does he know what he’s doing is wrong?" Rumford the federal prosecutor asked.

  "Not when the attacks begin," she responded firmly as the rest of room released a collective groan. "Sorry folks; this one, in my opinion, is legally nuts. It’s only during the attacks that he realizes what he’s done. Afterward he may not even remember doing it. His subconscious knows and it kicks in his ability to evade the authorities."

  "How do we catch him?" Max inquired thoughtfully.

  "Unless you catch him in the act or gather enough evidence, which will be difficult since most of the crimes are not pure, you’d have to set a trap," she said as CC’s body tensed. "But with this guy it would take a lot of time. He has to meet the girl and be rejected by her and then his delusions need to grow until he’s forced to act out."

  Several eyes turned to CC. "Not going to happen, guys," she asserted harshly.

  "We could use a policewoman," Mallory suggested.

  "It won’t work," Dr. Richards cut him off. "If he’s found his new Janie then he knows everything about her, he won’t be fooled by someone who looks like her. I also agree with Detective Callaway. Putting a civilian in this guy’s path is far too dangerous. I’m assuming that you suspect who the intended victim will be."

  "Yes, we do," CC confirmed. "That’s if we’re focusing on the right guy. Speaking of which, Dr. Carter, would you like to fill us in on your report?"

  "My pleasure," Dr. Carter agreed. He was an older man with a rapidly retreating hairline and bifocal glasses. "Basically Simon Fisher fits Dr. Richards’ profile perfectly. After reviewing the files and meeting with Dr. Fisher, I’ve come to the conclusion that I could write a textbook on this guy. He has a juvenile record for arson, animal mutilation, and assault. His high school sweetheart, Janie Jensen, disappeared after she dumped Simon for another girl. Everywhere he travels, girls who look a lot like Janie and either have or are believed to have sexual interest in women, turn up dead. Now that’s what I got from the files. After speaking with the arrogant little jerk, this is what I’ve decided. He’s rich, arrogant, and very smart. When in the company of women or men his own age, he behaves like the king of the universe. But he responds to myself and Max. He seems to want to prove himself to older men. We probably remind him of Daddy." Max snorted at the comment. "He hates gay women. He’s convinced himself that they just need the right man. Sadly it’s a view shared by far too many people, but with Simon it’s very important for him to believe this. CC, you did a really smart thing when you had Max tell him to go home the other day because he had nothing important to offer him. His pride was hurt and he’s starting to view Max as a father figure. He stayed because he needed to prove himself to Max. Being dismissed by Daddy just can’t happen. But I bet it has more than once. The interesting thing about this yahoo is that he functions really well with day-to-day life. When Max told him to file a report against CC, he should have jumped at the chance. He didn’t because somewhere in his mind he knew that if he did he would have to face Jamie telling him that she wasn’t interested in him and wanted him to go away. This guy’s delusions run deep and so do his survival instincts. My suggestion is to have Max conduct the interview and have CC sit in. He trusts one and despises the other. It might be enough to get him a little off kilter. But I can’t guarantee it will work. That’s it."

  "Thank you both," CC said as she mentally processed the information. "Marissa? What did the boys in the lab get?"

  "We have blood, tissue, and fibers, most of which came from Ellen’s apartment and the bodies," Marissa explained shyly, avoiding eye contact with CC. "We just need to match it to something. There are some carpet fibers that Stan found at the Murdock crime scene which he did trace to a carpet manufactured exclusively for BMW."

  "That is good," Max said.

  "Not really," CC grumbled. "She was a nurse. Chances are she knew one or two folks who drive Beamers." They all seemed to ponder the situation as CC wondered just how long Simon would sit quietly in the room they’d stuck him in.

  "Now it’s time for the lawyers," she began with a smirk. "Gentlemen, personally I don’t care who gets jurisdiction. But I feel that, based on the evidence, you’ll never convict him on any crimes other than the ones that have happened here in the Commonwealth. All I want to know before our prime suspects walks out of here, because he’s free to go and is probably ready to do just that by now, can you get us a warrant so we can get to his car before he does? Because if he’s as smart as everyone keeps telling me he is, any evidence is going to go bye bye real soon if it hasn’t already."

  "It is on its way," ADA Griffin confirmed with a smile. "I woke up Judge Muller."

  The police officers smiled. "I love Judge Muller. " The Captain smirked. "A policeman’s best friend."

  "Could it get thrown out later?" Rumford questioned fearfully.

  "Let’s hope not," CC grumbled, knowing that the dear old judge was very partial to givin
g warrants to the police. But a smart lawyer could maneuver around that. Her one glimmer of hope was Simon’s arrogance. His ego would never allow his attorney to plead insanity if he went to trial.

  "Fine. I’ll have a team waiting to execute the warrant," the Captain barked. "Now you and Max go start your interview before Fisher walks out of here. Marissa, head down to the lab and wait. I’m assuming that the rest of you would like to watch?" The rest of the group nodded eagerly.

  "Come on, Max. Let’s go play good Dad cop and mean old lesbian cop." CC nudged her partner as they stood.

  As they entered the interview room and found Simon idly twiddling his thumbs with a cocky smirk on his face, CC had to fight the urge to beat the man senseless. Simon smiled at Max and sneered at CC with a look of defiance. ‘So you want to play? Fine!’ CC thought as she flashed the cocky little bugger a defiant sneer of her own. Max sat next to Simon while CC took a seat directly across from him. She flashed an amused look at him, silently telling him that she was going to win.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  SIMON STARED AT them blankly, not seeming to care that he was sitting in a police station with two cops staring at him. "So, Simon, what happened tonight?" Max proceeded in a fatherly tone. He almost sounded disappointed in Simon.

  "Nothing," Simon protested with a whine.

  "Something must have happened," Max scolded him. "Now just tell me; what did you do?"

  "It wasn’t me," Simon whined defensively. "She did this," he flared as he pointed towards CC.

  CC smiled coldly at the flustered young man, thankful that the entire interview was being taped, videotaped, and witnessed by two prosecutors, her captain, and two of the top criminal psychologists in the area. She was also thankful that Simon was far too egotistical to request a lawyer.

  "Simon?" Max continued in the same scolding manner. "You need to tell me the truth, son." ‘Nice touch, partner,’ CC noted with pride.

  "I didn’t do anything," Simon insisted, his tone calming down. CC became nervous, as Simon seemed to be readily adjusting to the situation. "I just went to visit my girlfriend when this . . . woman . . ." he hissed, and CC was quite aware that wasn’t the term he wanted to use, ". . .decided to stick her nose in our business."