Picture Perfect Murder

by Rachel Dylan

Steffie opened up her briefcase and pulled out a legal pad and pen. “I’m just going to take some notes as we talk. I like to fully document these witness interviews in real time to make sure I have an accurate record of everything that’s said. Not to mention it’s another reason I asked Rex to leave. It’s better from a legal perspective for me to get one person’s full story without having the other person being able to pipe in.”

  “That’s fine,” Lily replied. Unlike most people that Steffie probably dealt with, Lily wasn’t intimidated by her.

  “Why don’t we start at the beginning,” Steffie said.

  “The first night I came into contact with the killer?” Lily asked. While she didn’t want to necessarily be contentious with the prosecutor, she also wanted to fully vet her theories.

  “Well, that’s an interesting way to set it up. I don’t know that I’d call it your first contact with the killer. I’d like to talk about the night you were attacked in your home. I’m particularly interested in that night because Officer Bishop could not have been at your house.”

  “You’re right about that. There’s no way that Officer Bishop was the man who attacked me. Don’t you think that’s an issue we need to deal with here?”

  Steffie’s lips drew down in a frown. “Ms. Parker, it’s my job to worry about the implications of all of that. What I need from you is your side of the story so I can determine my legal strategies.”

  Lily recounted the entire ordeal in great detail from the night she was attacked at her home until the latest attempt on her life through the poisoning of her pizza. She didn’t leave out anything, as she wanted to put it all on the table for the prosecutor.

  Steffie took copious notes, filling up pages and pages of her legal pad. She asked very pointed questions but never once cut Lily off, allowing her to get out every detail of her story.

  “This has been extremely helpful,” Steffie said. “I appreciate how thorough you’ve been in explaining everything that has happened to you.”

  “I want you to have all the facts.”

  “And I’m grateful for that. But now I’ve got a few tougher questions for you. I know I said I just wanted to hear your side of the story, but I’m going to tread in a dangerous area for us lawyers.”

  “Dangerous how?” Lily didn’t trust this attorney to really get down to the truth, but her curiosity was piqued.

  Steffie smiled. “I want to ask your opinion.”

  “My opinion on what?”

  “As you’ve probably already surmised, I’m not the type of person to beat around the bush, Ms. Parker. So I’m just going ask you point-blank. Do you believe that Officer Bishop is the man who has made multiple attempts on your life?”

  Without a second’s hesitation, Lily responded, “No. I don’t.”

  Steffie nodded but didn’t write anything down. “And why is it you feel that way? And let me say, I want your honest, unfiltered opinion. Now is not the time to hold back on me or be diplomatic, because I want to understand your perspective. In fact, I need to understand.”

  Lily couldn’t help but smile. The prosecutor didn’t have to worry about Lily holding back. “There’s no way Officer Bishop is your man. Some of my belief is based purely on gut instinct. There wasn’t a single sign that he had any issue with me during the many encounters we had. He always conducted himself with complete professionalism, totally focused on his job as an APD officer. I would like to think that even a skilled killer couldn’t keep up that type of ruse perfectly day in and day out. Particularly one who was dead set on killing me.”

  “The way you phrased your response, it seems like you have something else to say in addition to just your gut instincts.”

  Lily nodded. “It’s all too neat. This entire thing wrapped up like a bow and delivered right to your doorstep. The shrine at Sean’s house to all of his victims feels like a setup. And while it might not be a big deal to you that Sean has an alibi for the first attack against me, the overwhelming evidence on serial killers is that they work alone. All of the experts have said that. It would be entirely out of place for him to have hired someone to come after me initially and then take over himself after that. You’d have to agree with me on that.”

  “I’m just listening to what you have to say. I’m not here to argue my points right now. I’ll save that for the courtroom.”

  “Well, that’s my opinion, and just to be perfectly clear, if anyone else asks me what I think, I’ll tell them the same exact thing. I believe the real killer is still out there.”

  “I completely understand your hesitation, but as a prosecutor my duty is to go where the clues take me. I simply can’t turn my back on the mounting evidence against Officer Bishop. Not just the shrine at his home, but the DNA evidence found at one of the murder scenes he wasn’t working. While you can argue that anything could be a setup, at some point the evidence speaks louder than any legal argument I could make.”

  “I understand your point, but it doesn’t change my outlook. No disrespect to you as the prosecutor, but I’m the one literally living these events day in and day out.”

  “I’m not discounting that fact, but I think in a way you’re letting your personal feelings for the man you thought you knew as an upstanding police officer get in the way of being completely objective. And just because all the pieces don’t fit together in a perfect puzzle doesn’t mean he’s innocent. It just means my job is more difficult, but I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. Especially when the lives of innocent women are on the line.”

  “And you still plan on moving forward with Sean’s prosecution?” Lily asked, although she already knew the answer. “Even after all I’ve said to you? If you put me on the stand I will say that I think Sean is innocent.”

  “I have a job to do here, Ms. Parker. While I certainly appreciate your opinion, at the end of the day, all prosecutorial decisions are mine. Our community has been terrorized by this killer, and the lives of six innocent women have been lost. The families want and deserve justice. The public expects a rapid and efficient prosecution. I plan to deliver.”

  “What does all of this mean for me?”

  “It means you will be a witness at trial. Assuming this goes to trial and a plea deal isn’t struck. The stakes are so high here, it’s entirely possible we can come to a plea agreement. Of course Officer Bishop’s lawyer is going to be out in the press vigorously defending him, but at the end of the day it’s his job to save his client from the death penalty. A plea deal is the only way to ensure that will happen—and that’s only if I decide I want to make that option available. A lot of people will want to see Officer Bishop put to death for the crimes he has committed.”

  “From the looks of it, I can’t imagine Sean’s lawyer ever advising him to take a deal.”

  Steffie raised an eyebrow. “You would be surprised what people will do when confronting the possibility of facing the death penalty.”

  Lily knew that Georgia still used the death penalty. And it greatly troubled her that an innocent man could be wrongly prosecuted and then put to death. She had to do something to stop that from happening. “You heard what I said, though. I’m not going to change my opinion. If you end up putting me on the witness stand, I’ll repeat exactly what I’ve said here today.”

  “That’s my problem to deal with, not yours.”

  “Seems to me that the jury would care about my opinion. Seeing as I’ve been the main target here.”

  Steffie rose from her seat. “I think we’ve accomplished more than enough for one day.”

  “You know, I have to say one more thing.” Lily couldn’t hold her tongue.

  “Okay.”

  “I believe in the justice system. I know it doesn’t work perfectly, but I do believe in it. And someone in your role should think long and hard about prosecuting someone when there are serious doubt
s in place. You’re potentially destroying an innocent man’s life.”

  “Believe me, Ms. Parker, I take my job very seriously. And I’ve heard your feelings on the subject loud and clear. I’ll walk you out.”

  Steffie had clearly ended the meeting even if Lily could’ve said a lot more. But Lily felt she had done her part by expressing her opinion. They walked out of the conference room and into the lobby area.

  “Agent Sullivan, I’ll call you to set up another time to talk.”

  “I’ll wait to hear from you, then,” Rex said.

  “Thank you again, Ms. Parker.” Steffie turned and walked away back down the hall.

  “You were in there a long time,” Rex said.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Lily started walking to the elevator. “She’s going after Sean full throttle. I don’t think she really cares if he’s actually the killer. I think she cares more about her career and putting away a serial killer to add a notch to her legal wins.”

  “I made some phone calls while I was waiting on you to finish up. Turns out that Steffie Hood has some serious political aspirations. She wants to use this job as a springboard to run for office. And what better résumé builder than putting away a heinous serial killer? It would make her a superstar in the community.”

  “It sickens me that she would put political ambition ahead of the lives of innocent people.”

  “Well, in her defense, maybe she has convinced herself that Sean is the killer.”

  “What really matters at the end of the day is that the real killer is still on the loose,” Lily said. “And we have to find him before he strikes again.”

  NINE

  Rex clenched his fists to keep from losing his cool. Eliza had come over to the safe house bringing news that he thought might come but that he definitely didn’t want to hear. Now he and Eliza had to break it to Lily.

  They found Lily in the living room watching TV, with Grace snuggled up by her side. The local news was on, and district attorney Steffie Hood was front and center on the screen. That prosecutor was really beginning to irk him. Rex didn’t have to hear what she was saying to know. The Bureau had given him a heads-up. Steffie was moving forward with six counts of murder and multiple attempted-murder counts. She had also promised a speedy trial in which she would definitely seek the death penalty.

  “You shouldn’t watch that,” Eliza told Lily.

  Lily looked up at her. “I just can’t help it. This woman has some nerve. Why ask my opinion about Sean’s guilt if she had already decided to move forward regardless?”

  “We actually need to talk to you about something else,” Eliza said.

  “What’s wrong?” Lily asked with wide eyes. “Is there another body?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” Rex said. “If anything, just the opposite.”

  Lily grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned off the TV. “Just tell me what it is. I can handle it.”

  Eliza sat in the chair across from Lily, and Rex took a seat beside Lily on the couch. Rex looked at her, took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “The FBI has decided to accept the district attorney’s position that Sean is the killer.”

  Lily looked as if she’d been slapped. “Even when we know there’s no way the first attack could’ve been him?”

  “Yes, everyone has theories on that, but it seems that a wire transfer was made from Sean’s account to an untraceable offshore account. After uncovering that additional piece of information, the FBI is comfortable with the theory that he paid someone to attack you that night.”

  “So what does this mean for me?” Lily asked.

  “As of tonight, the FBI is officially ending your security detail,” Rex said. “The powers that be think that you’re no longer in any danger. There’s very strong evidence tying Sean to the crimes. To them, this is the end of the road because the killer is in custody and the threat is no longer present.”

  “I know this is very troubling,” Eliza said. “But with the FBI’s limited resources, all efforts must be placed on active cases with live threats. And right now the evidence is not supporting that.”

  “I have to ask something. Do the two of you really believe that Sean’s the killer? That they caught the right guy?” Lily asked.

  “I’ve been somewhat skeptical of Sean’s guilt mostly because I didn’t want it to be him, even though I saw all the facts pointing that way. But this wire transfer really tipped the balance for me,” Eliza said. “While we spend a tremendous amount of time working on profiles and understanding the psychology of a killer, it’s also true that there are times when the killer doesn’t act in a way that fits neatly into one of our established profiles. People are unique and we learn more and more about the psychology of a serial killer with each new case.”

  “And what about you?” Lily looked at him expectantly.

  “I hear everything that Eliza and my FBI colleagues have said, but I can’t help the feeling that Sean is not our man. Even more troubling is the possible fallout if we’re wrong about this. Your life being on the line, for one. Not to mention the likelihood that the killer is still at large.” Unable to contain his nervous energy, Rex stood and started pacing back and forth as he spoke. “But the FBI’s position is that the evidence against Sean is so strong that to divert resources would be wasteful.”

  “What does the APD think?” Lily asked.

  “Well, Derrick is still defending Sean, even though he’s having a hard time doing it publicly because he was basically told by his boss to keep his mouth shut and let the justice system handle it.” Rex shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Then there are those at the force who have fallen in line and think that Sean is guilty.”

  “So the bottom line is that I’m on my own from here on out,” Lily said.

  As he looked at her, he didn’t see an ounce of fear. Just pure determination. One of the many things that had drawn him to her was how strong she was in the face of danger. “No, Lily. You’re most definitely not on your own, because you have me.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t just stop your investigative work to babysit me. There are plenty of cases that could use your expertise.”

  Eliza’s phone rang loudly. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. I have a meeting with a victim from another case, so I should go.” She walked over to Lily and knelt down beside her. “I know you’re going to be okay, but if you ever need a friend to talk to about all of this, please call me.” Then Eliza looked toward Rex. “Take care of her. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.” With that, she exited the room.

  Lily motioned toward him. “Come over here and sit down, Rex. Your pacing is making me nervous.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was stress her out further. Although she seemed to be handling the news much better than he had. He’d promised himself that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to this woman, and he wouldn’t abandon her now.

  “Talk to me,” she said.

  He sat down beside her and looked into her eyes. “I am not going to cut and run, Lily. It’s just not who I am.”

  She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Rex, please do not feel any sort of duty to protect me. You’ve gone above and beyond time and time again. I promise you that I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  Before he could stop himself, he reached out and gently cupped her cheek. “This goes so far beyond duty or the obligations I have as an FBI agent, Lily.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Because somewhere on this crazy journey, I’ve started to develop feelings for you.”

  He realized his mistake as she moved back from his touch. Too much, too fast.

  “Rex, I value your friendship and all you’ve done for me, but I don’t know that I can give you what you’re looking for. Don
’t you want to find someone without all of my baggage?”

  “You’re way too hard on yourself, Lily. You deserve a chance at happiness. We all do.” Yeah, he’d waited years after his heart was broken to really consider getting close to another woman, but he firmly believed that there was something special between him and Lily.

  “I’m afraid that I won’t ever be able to fully open up my heart again.” She paused. “Even if I want to try.”

  “You’ve experienced tremendous hurt and loss, but you shouldn’t have to be alone forever because of it.”

  Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Some people are just meant to be alone. I can’t risk my heart again, Rex. I’m sorry.”

  He wasn’t planning on giving up, but he realized he’d pushed her far enough for now. He’d retreat a couple of steps, but he knew his feelings for her weren’t going anywhere. “I respect that, but that still doesn’t change my stance on your security. I’m not letting you go out there alone. Not when there’s still a chance the real killer is walking the streets.”

  “So what is your plan? I don’t have anyplace to stay because of the fire.”

  “You and Grace can stay at my house. I have a guest room and plenty of space. That way I know you’ll be safe.”

  “I know you’re just trying to be helpful, but what if this isn’t necessary? What if you and I got it wrong and everyone else is right? What if Sean is guilty, and I can go about living my normal life?”

  He reached out and grabbed her hand again. “Look me in the eyes, Lily, and tell me that you truly believe that. That you think Sean is the man who has tried to kill you and has brutally murdered six other women.”

  She looked away and then back at him. “You know I can’t say that.”

  “Then, it’s settled. We’ll pack up and go to my place. Derrick has also volunteered to help us in any way we need.”

  “And what about your job?”

  “I have more vacation time built up than you can imagine. Today I told my boss that I would be using it.”