24
“PARK THE CAR next to that van over there,” Zach pointed. “It looks like Guardino beat us here.”
Law enforcement vehicles were parked every which way on the property leading to the crime scene. The two followed the path toward the commotion and stopped when they saw the yellow tape closing off the scene to intruders. A few feet away, the victim’s body lay covered with a sheet. “We’re detectives from the one-two in the NYPD,” Gerard told the officer guarding the crime scene.
“I can’t let you in, sir. The supervisor who’s talking to the other detective will help you out.”
“I’d appreciate yo—” The captain’s voice interrupted their conversation.
“He’s okay, Mitch. You can let them inside the crime scene.” Gerard nodded and held the crime scene tape up for Jessie. Guardino met them.
“His ID confirms its Keenan. Wait until you see his body. Christ, Morton used him for target practice. This time he used an AK-47. The casings were strewn all over. Look at that gaping star-shaped hole between his eyes. That was a contact shot at close range. The same MO, right between the eyes, but the rest of his body looks like Swiss cheese. The park rangers found him floating atop the water in Rice Pond. He aimed right through the ski cap that was pulled down over his eyes.”
“Now that’s a first,” Jessie said.
“There’s no doubt he did that so Keenan couldn’t look him in the eyes while he was killing him,” Guardino offered.
“He probably shot him in other places first so he could watch the guy suffer—or to show him he was serious. Isn’t that what he did to Carly?” Jessie asked.
“Then why pull his cap over his eyes?”
“Remorse?” Jessie asked.
“That’s highly unlikely for this guy. If he did, he must have triple personalities all in conflict with one another.”
“Any signs of the kid?” Jessie asked.
“They found a dump truck left behind.”
“How do they know it’s his?” Jessie asked.
“It wasn’t covered in snow.”
“Who’s the lead detective here?”
“I am,” a brusque voice responded. Introductions ensued amongst them. “I’m Detective Farino.” The lead, Farino, was a tall man built like he’d spent a lot of time in the gym. “Let’s get one thing straight, though,” he said, “this is my crime scene and my case. I don’t mind sharing the information with you, but make sure you understand who’s running this show here. You got that?”
“Look,” Gerard said, “I don’t want to argue with you, but this guy is a serial killer making the rounds from the West Village in New York to Morningside Heights where he killed his second victim on Detective Guardino’s turf, and now we’re following him to Connecticut where his mother lives. We all have a stake in this, Farino.”
“That may be true, but don’t interfere in my investigation.” Jessie squeezed Gerard’s arm.
“Don’t get yourself all worked up.”
“Here are the facts as I know them,” Farino said. “The park is always open, but obviously the campgrounds are closed due to inclement weather and won’t open until Memorial Day. How this guy and his kid survived in this weather is beyond any of us.”
“How did he get past your security cameras?”
“There are no security cameras,” Farino’s sidekick said. “This State Park doesn’t have them. The only thing we can figure out is the suspect must have snuck in after they did their last area check at three o’clock in the afternoon. During the winter they don’t do much of that.” He shrugged. “I guess they figure if anyone is dumb enough to want to camp here with these temps, have at it. If you’ve been in the area, you already know the snow began to fall three days ago and covered the grounds in a relatively short period of time. It seems a resident was using his snowmobile on the property and happened to see an object lodged in the ice. He said, he stopped because he thought it might be an animal needing help. Upon inspection, he realized it was a frozen body that was partly submerged at the edge by that rock,” he pointed, “over there. The water is shallow in that spot. When he fell face up, it most likely wasn’t frozen all the way around the edges, but as it got colder, he remained in a dormant position and the ice formed around him. Once his body was reported, the park’s security did a thorough search and sure enough they found a fresh campfire and a child’s charred dump truck.”
“Do you have a time of reference?”
“An hour at the most. The rocks around the fire pit were still warm.”
“Isn’t it unusual for a park not to have security cameras?” Guardino asked.
“No, it’s not,” the ranger said. “It depends on the municipality. If it’s not a high crime area, very often it gets voted down by the Board of Directors or the City Council.”
Detective Farino cleared his throat to get their attention. “Excuse me, Professor, but are you both finished with the educational lecture on the workings of the inner city because I have to get back to work now?” His tone was burdened with sarcasm.
“Certainly. Sorry.”
Farino glanced off Gerard’s shoulder and continued. “I have a team scouring the paths and walking through the wooded areas looking for footprints, tire prints, anything they can find. That’s all I have right now. Leave your business cards and I’ll keep you in the loop.” As he turned, he took his parting shot. “And I’ll thank you to leave my crime scene now so my guys can do their jobs without interference from you who are likely to screw up our evidence.” He walked away without so much as a wave and spoke to his investigators.
No longer able to hold his tongue, the words rolled off Zach’s tongue. “Then make sure your investigators don’t screw it up,” he shouted. “We have a lot more time invested in this case than you do.”
Guardino was obviously feeling as frustrated as Zach, but managed to hold back. “Don’t get yourself in an uproar, Gerard. It isn’t like we haven’t dealt with egomaniacs on the job before. Farino has his own set of issues to deal with. When we ultimately catch Morton, we’ll all have a piece of the pie.”
“Exactly,” Jessie chimed in.
“I can’t even imagine how Morton drove his car through this snow,” Guardino added, obviously trying to change the tone of Gerard’s mood.
“He’s now driving a Hummer that he commandeered from someone at a rest stop on I-84. He hit the guy over the head and left Keenan’s car.”
“What’s he doing in Danbury?” Jessie’s hand flew up. “That’s past his mother’s place.”
“My best guess is he’s just trying to throw us off.”
When the two men looked in Jessie’s direction, she was already keying in a phone number “Yep, I’m already on it.”
“We’ve got to find this bastard before he hurts any more people—especially that little boy. I promised his grandparents I’d call them the minute I heard something, but I don’t want to give them false hope. From what you’ve told me about what he did to the dog, and now hearing about the charred toy in the fire pit, this guy is capable of almost anything. This is one personality for the medical textbooks.”
“I’ll say.”
Jessie covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “I’ll give Reamer an update Gerard. You’re way too pissed off right now.” Twenty minutes later, Jessie returned. “Well, I found out about that accident on the Hutch last night.” He stared at her without saying a word because he could see she was rattled. “It was Jennifer Smith.”
“Dammit! Just what that family needs. What happened?”
“They found her blindfolded, bound, and with a mouth full of that spray foam insulation.” Jessie sighed. “The autopsy revealed she was already dead when she was placed in the car.” Zach frowned. “No coat, and this time, the letters ‘RR’ were inscribed in blood on the shattered pieces of windshield.”
“Did anyone say they thought it was the Red Reaper?”
“They analyzed the initials and they say it’s a match.”
“If it is in fact him and not Morton, then leaving his initials means he’s wants us to know its him.”
“But maybe it was Morton trying to take the heat off himself by making us believe it was the real Reaper. Maybe that’s why we haven’t seen him.”
Zach rubbed the stubble on his chin with his hand. “I guess he could have been trying to cover his tracks.” Zach could see Jessie struggling with the reality.
“I should have sent a car to pick her up for questioning.”
“Jessie, stop. Don’t do that to yourself. But why her? Did he know her family?”
“She had red hair.”
“Oh boy.” Zach groaned until he noticed the look on her face. “And you’re afraid you’re next?”
“I wish I could tell you I’m not, but I am scared.”
“Stop worrying. You’ll be staying with me, and you know I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah, but what happens when I’m not staying with you?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
25
“MORTON JUST SENT another text to his mother. Let’s contact her again and see if she tells us the truth this time.”
“If he’s on to us, why is he using his cell phone?” She gave him a perplexed look. “I can almost guarantee she’s not going to tell us.”
“Zach, she’s his mother. What do you think she’s going to say?” Jessie asked.
“Oh hell, I suppose you’re right. But . . .”
She smiled as she got behind the steering wheel and cranked up the engine. She relived their night together and that contented feeling settled in her chest. She liked that they were communicating again and the awkwardness no longer seemed to be present. They were back to being buddy partners. “Alright, let’s head on over to Mama Morton’s house. We haven’t heard any news from the locals watching the house, so I guess he’s not there yet. I think I’ll call them and see what’s happening.” He keyed in his security code and noticed he had missed calls. “Did you hear my phone ring?”
“No. But it was pretty noisy at the crime scene—I mean Farino’s crime scene.”
“Yeah, lest we forget it.” Zach keyed in the mother’s phone number. She answered on the first ring.
“Mrs. Morton, Detective Zach Gerard here.” She interrupted him.
“I told your partner my name is not Morton, it’s Webster, Mrs. Joan Webster.”
“Sorry. My partner told me, but I’ve been a bit busy and it slipped my mind. I don’t have my notes in front of me. So, okay, what about your son? Did he show up?”
“No, Detective, but I’ll let you know as soon as he does.”
“Yeah, please tell him to call me right away. I’m sure we can clear this little matter up in no time.”
“Detective, I’m not an idiot, so don’t treat me like one. I know what this is all about. You think I’m lying about him being here…that I’m somehow harboring a criminal—the answer is no. Now, please stop pestering me.”
“Mrs. Webster, I know it’s hard to believe your son could do something so heinous. I get that, but you can’t continue to protect him. He’s already killed three people that we know of from the list we found during our search of his residence, and you happen to be on that list. We’re just trying to keep you safe. And that child he has? He killed that kid’s mother and kidnapped the little boy. If you do nothing else, at least consider telling us where he is for the sake of that child.”
“I’ve told you before, my Ralph wouldn’t hurt a flea. Now please, leave me alone.” She disconnected the call.
“Goddammit,” Zach said. “If she really knew what she was talking about, or had watched her son, she’d know he’s not right in the head.”
“You’re forgetting now that Morton’s crossed state lines with the kid. I’m sure the Feds are all over this. Why don’t you give it a rest with her and I’ll call back in a little while to see if I can get somewhere.” Jessie suggested.
“I just thought I could convince her to understand.” He shook his head. “Whatever works.” Sheer frustration tightened in Zach’s chest. His hand slammed down on the seat and caught Jessie’s attention. “Damn, sometimes this job can be so frustrating. I know he’s her son. I know she loves him, but Christ, be reasonable. Accept the possibility that something has gone awry with her son. At least think about it.”
“You don’t know that she’s not.” Jessie held up her hand. “Okay, let’s just stop thinking about her for a moment and focus on checking in with the guys surrounding Commander Stoney’s house.”
“That’s another thing. Stoney is so friggin’ macho, he thinks when Morton comes gunning for him, he can take him down.”
“I’m sure with his training, he can. Hey, as soon as the locals see Morton, they’ll be calling for backup.” Jessie gave Zach one of those calming glances.
Zach released a deep sigh to let her know, then keyed in the number and conversed with the lead person while Jessie focused her mind on the missing child wishing they could find Morton and bring Joey to safety.
Zach’s voice cut into her thoughts when he called out to her. “All is good in Navy land.” Her expression told the tale of what she’d been thinking. “Uh-oh, you’ve been thinking bad thoughts again.”
“Well, yeah. It’s hard not to worry about that poor kid.”
“Look, we have enough to worry about. Let’s just concentrate on finding Morton because there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“I can’t stop thinking that Joey Vincent is seeing people being killed and it’s going to affect him down the road? Not only that, but will the kid think it’s okay to emulate Morton?”
“All anyone can do when we find him is recommend therapy. But really, Jessie, you’ve got to stop thinking about the kid. Let’s catch this son-of-a-bitch first.”
“I know, you’re right. But—”
He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “Stop. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“So why do you think Morton’s mother never sent him to therapy?” Zach asked.
“You keep thinking the mother doesn’t know her son is off his rocker? The truth is, she does know it—very well, but if she admits it, she has to do something about it. She’ll regret it for the rest of her life when Morton’s put to death.”
“I know what you’re saying is true, but it still doesn’t make me feel better. I wonder what his beef is with the commander?” Zach said.
“His commander prevented him from being a Navy SEAL.”
Flipping through the papers, Zach groaned. “Whoa. Well why wasn’t I told that?”
“Well, it was right there in the file.”
“Alright,” his voice lowered. “I didn’t see it.” He clenched his mouth tighter. “Okay, so that’s something I need to make sure everyone knows about before we try to subdue him. So that explains why Stoney is on his list. But that doesn’t tell me what happened to get him rejected. I think I’ll contact my guy in ViCAP to see what he can tell me.” Zach pulled his phone from the breast pocket of his jacket and keyed in the phone number for Leo Compton, a member of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, a division within the FBI. He tapped his finger while he waited for him to answer. “Leo, this is Gerard from the one-two.” The two exchanged niceties. “Yeah, I have a vigilante serial killer on the loose who has a dishonorable discharge from the Navy and I’d like to know about his military experience and why he was discharged.”
“Yeah, heard about that guy,” Leo said. “He’s sure making the rounds. Give me his particulars.”
Zach read from the sheet of paper.
“Oh boy, you’re going to have your hands full with this one,” Compton said a few minutes later. “He was rejected from the SEALs. His discharge papers say he had fisticuffs with his superior officer when he was told he failed the psychological testing which suggested he was unlikely to be successful in the rest of the program.”
“I’m glad they had eno
ugh sense to see he wasn’t SEAL material. So when he’s cornered, he’ll be using his training to try and avoid being subdued and captured. We’d better contact SWAT and tell them we may need them sooner rather than later. Thanks, Leo.”
“Was he in the SEALS?” Jessie said when he disconnected.
“No, he couldn’t cut the mustard. I’d better alert the locals.”
“You’re going to call Farino and tell him what to do?” She grinned. “You might want to rethink that.”
“Screw him. All I care about is the safety of those people in that house and those who are on the list. If that asshole has a problem with my interference, he can call our captain. This is our case as much as it is his, regardless of whose turf it is. I’m calling mama bear again to find out if he’s shown up yet.”
She answered on the first ring. “Mrs. Webster, Detective Gerard here again. Just checking in to see if your son has shown up yet?”
“No, Detective, he’s not here, but I’ll tell him you’re looking for him when I see him.” He heard a child’s cry in the background. Mrs. Webster disconnected the call abruptly.
“The kid is there.”
“Thank God,” Jessie said.
“So what the hell is going on with the loca—” He stopped talking when his phone rang. “This is Detective Lester. I’m staked out at the Webster house. A Hummer just pulled inside the garage with a small child.”
“We’re on our way.”
“We’ll see you when you get here.”
“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll call Guardino.” He no sooner disconnected than his phone rang again. “He’s at the house, Jessie,” Zach said before answering the call.
“I’m looking for a Detective Zach Gerard?” the voice said.
“That would be me. Who’s this?”
“This is Ralph Morton. I understand you’re looking for me. What’s this all about?”
“Mr. Morton,” he said looking at Jessie. “Thanks for getting back to me. We’d like to talk to you.” Zach clicked on the speaker so Jessie could hear.
Deadly Obsessions (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 3) Page 19
