Shadow Stalker

by D W Cooperstein

  “What about the large bouquet of flowers sitting on the round table next to the door? Was that bouquet wired?”

  My boss looked over the report again. “Sorry, Jim, no wired bombs of any kind were found,” he repeated.

  “What about detonators? Were any found?”

  The Colonel shuffled through more papers on his messy desk until he found what he was looking for. “Yes, I see it right here on the report.”

  “What did they find?”

  My boss cleared his throat, then spoke. “The bomb squad did find one fake plastic detonator in a corner of the room but dismissed it as harmless.”

  “A fake detonator?”

  “Yes.”

  “You mean to say there were no wired bombs or active detonators found in that apartment?”

  “That’s what the lab report unequivocally states. We did, however, get many fingerprints, including yours,” the Colonel said with a laugh.

  What if Caroline was telling me the truth in jail? What if she was innocent of these horrific crimes and wasn’t the dreaded Shadow Stalker at all? My boss cleared his throat again. “You know, Jim, it was courageous of you to apprehend the killer on your own like you did. That took real guts, and I like that in my agents. You could have been killed in that apartment.”

  “Sir, I appreciate your time today. I know you have a very busy schedule.”

  “It’s no problem at all,” the Colonel said.

  I looked around his large office, then got up and left. I was puzzled. If Caroline wasn’t the Shadow Stalker, who was? Dozens of lives had already been lost in tragedy. And now I was worried about the broader implications of my current thinking. What if the killer was still out there?

  I returned to Highgate to reassess the Shadow Stalker case considering this new information. The only crime Caroline had committed was blowing up her vendor cart in a public place. I needed to be sure that dynamite was used in that explosion. I returned to the lab and asked my friends there to show me a hard copy of the lab report. The test results confirmed my suspicion. The report clearly showed that no plastic bomb-making material was found. The cause of that fiery explosion was indeed several sticks of dynamite, just like Caroline said. All remaining doubts of her innocence vanished. My body shuddered as I read the final report. I shook my head in disbelief. Caroline had told me the truth in jail. She was being held for crimes she didn’t commit, and I was to blame.

  How could I have made so many mistakes in my thinking, and drawn so many conclusions that turned out to be wrong? In the past, I could never admit to myself, or anyone else, that I’d been mistaken in what I believed to be true. I was ashamed of myself for what I did to the woman I loved. I was responsible for imprisoning an innocent person for the Shadow Stalker killings. I’d been so mean to Caroline in our meeting in the jail. How could I ever win her forgiveness for making such a terrible mistake? I was determined those errors in judgment would never happen again. I was through working with these numbskulls in the Bureau. I was determined to find this killer on my own and release Caroline from her chains of incarceration.

  In the early morning hours of the next day, I devised a new strategy. I decided to simultaneously pursue three independent tracks. First, I had to get Caroline out of jail. I needed to free her in such a way that the media wouldn’t trash the police and investigative units that diligently worked this case for more than three years. Their reputation to the city was important, and I needed to preserve it.

  Next, I had to figure out a way to work independently with the Bureau. This would be a challenge. For all those who still believed that Caroline was the Shadow Stalker, I had to get creative in how I’d approach these people. This terrorist was too clever to allow anymore bungling from these incompetent but well-intentioned, investigators. I needed to work the case alone with no interference from my superiors, and I knew that wasn’t going to be easy. And yet, I felt I had to do this with or without the blessing of my boss, Colonel Richards.

  Finally, I had to pursue the killer. This was the dangerous, live third rail track. It would be a formidable challenge, given all the work I’d previously done with this investigation. I’d spent months working on every lead and still came up empty. I didn’t know how I was going to find this killer, but I had to try. He’d attacked the city I called home, and I’d make him pay for his crimes no matter how long it took me to put him behind bars. But now I needed to return to the jail. I had to regain Caroline’s love and support.

  I asked my boss to arrange another meeting with the prisoner. At first, he was reluctant, but I convinced him. I think the Colonel understood my emotional need to patch things up with Caroline. He cooperated fully with my planned reconciliation. I wanted to apologize for the way I treated her. I decided to tell her everything, including my new strategy to get her out of prison. I also wanted to know why she blew up her vendor cart. That seemed like an odd thing for her to do if she was innocent. I wasn’t sure that she’d even listen to me now. I stayed awake many sleepless nights thinking about how Caroline was suffering in that prison.

  The Colonel complied with my request and arranged another Sunday meeting with Caroline similar to the last one. With the real terrorist still on the loose, I had to be extra careful in what I said and with whom I spoke. I approached Brandon about securing the meeting room in jail. I explained the situation to him, and he told me he’d take care of it. What I was about to reveal to Caroline needed to be held in strictest confidence. As promised, the prisoner was moved to a secure room. Everything was now ready for my arrival.

  I went into the room where Caroline was being held and locked the door behind me. She was sitting in a corner and looking out a small window, half-dead. I pulled over a chair and sat down beside her.

  “I don’t want to talk to you. Get away from me.” Her voice was hoarse as if she’d been crying. I reached out for her, but she pushed me away.

  I pulled my metal chair a little closer. “Caroline, what I’m about to tell you is terribly difficult for me to do, but I need to say it. I want you to listen.”

  “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Just get the hell out of here! You’ve caused me enough misery.” She looked at me with an icy stare, then turned away and kept staring out the window.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you. I love you and need to ask for your forgiveness. I know that you’re innocent of these crimes, and that you were telling me the truth.” I started to choke up as I spoke. “I can’t tell you all the times I wished I could’ve been here to hold and comfort you. I’ve spent many nights awake in bed, when all I could think about was how you were suffering. I am truly sorry for that. I need you to forgive me for all of the pain and misery I’ve caused.”

  She turned to me in anger and kept watching with an icy stare.

  “It’s hard for me to admit that I was wrong about you and the Shadow Stalker killings. Please forgive me for ever doubting you and our love. I need you now more than ever. I love you.”

  Caroline continued staring at me in silence.

  I looked at her with tears in my eyes. “It’s hard for me to admit that I was wrong about you, but goddammit, I was wrong! Caroline, please…I beg your forgiveness for putting you in here.” I started to cry in my metal chair, feeling emotional pain.

  As she watched me, Caroline started to cry. Her icy stare began to melt away with her tears. And now, despite the torment of her incarceration, the terror of being locked up alone and frightened, and the loneliness of living in her own personal hell, Caroline reached out for me. She pulled my sobbing body closer to hers. I reached for her and we embraced.

  “Oh, Jimmy, I love you, too,” she cried. At that moment, I felt complete and whole. The power of love and forgiveness had reunited us stronger than ever. The bond of love we shared from the beginning held us together now. We hugged and kissed, as I gently caressed her wet, teary face. The incredible strength and power of love had done for me now what I couldn’t do for myself. For the first time in my
life I felt free from the emotional demons of my past that tortured my thinking. At long last, the disconnect that haunted me was gone. I felt integrated and happy. What a great joy and relief to be unburdened by the demons that plagued me since childhood. The healing power of Caroline’s love had made me whole, and I was glad to have her back in my arms.

  When I was a young boy, I was physically attacked and sexually abused by my father. Later in life, he became an alcoholic when the pressures of work and providing for his family became too stressful. I hated him back then. I was a teenager trying to deal with life and protect my mother from his violent behavior. I had serious emotional problems dealing with all that anger and pain. But it was my mother’s love that saved me. Her kind and gentle ways prevented my rage from destroying me. No longer would I be tormented by the crazy thinking of my past. I was finally free to be the person I was meant to be. This was as real as life gets, and I had Caroline to thank. I really did love her, and I felt she could see that with the clearest vision that one can impart to another. With renewed determination, I’d find this terrorist and bring him to justice. I made that promise to Caroline in jail. I’d teach this arrogant fiend a lesson in humility, and by the power of love make his evil shadow disappear!

  Soon I confessed everything to her. I told her of my desire to get her out of jail and bring the real terrorist to justice. Caroline told me that she wanted revenge for the killing of her parents. She came up with the idea of making flower bombs from the floral boutique downtown where she worked. Caroline started making rudimentary detonators and timers for her creations. At one point, she even thought of attaching a stick of dynamite to one device and blowing it up just to see what would happen, but she never did. As the subway bombings continued to terrorize the city, she fantasized about being the crazed but clever killer at the flower cart locations in the city where she sometimes worked. She never really got as far as attaching any explosives to the several flower bomb devices she created. Caroline couldn’t bring herself to do that. She was content in acting out her fantasy of being the Shadow Stalker when she got the chance.

  It was only when her fantasy was about to be unmasked by the police at the T4 rail station that she panicked. She was afraid the police would discover the rigged dynamite sticks under her display table and think that she was the real terrorist. It was then she bolted from the scene and eventually blew up the display table to cover her tracks. In her fantasy, she concealed her identity by using several disguises. When Caroline spotted me at the T4 rail station as part of the investigative team, she felt embarrassed by what she’d done and quickly disappeared into the crowd. I don’t think she expected me to be there. When I went to her apartment that day to find out the truth of what I’d suspected, she decided to reenact her fantasy of being the “killer.” Caroline had me completely fooled.

  I told her again of my plan to get her out of jail, but it would have to wait until I could figure out a way to do it. This case had become very complicated when I realized that she wasn’t the Shadow Stalker. I had to now consider several different factors: The Bureau, police and law enforcement, and opinionated city politicians who sometimes could be uncooperative. Caroline agreed to what I suggested and promised not to tell anyone. For the first time in a long while, tears of joy rolled down Caroline’s face. I saw her lips break into a familiar smile. Her eyes sparkled, and her countenance brightened dramatically. We hugged and kissed for several minutes. Soon Richard knocked on the door, informing me that it was time to leave. I left the jail feeling completely satisfied, knowing that Caroline had never betrayed my love and trust in her. She was still the angel she’d always been, and I never felt happier than at that moment.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It wasn’t going to be easy to get Caroline released from jail without tremendous repercussions from the press. There was comfort in people’s minds thinking that the Shadow Stalker was behind bars. People went about their business without the terrible fear and anxiety to which they’d grown accustomed. The knowledge that the killer was still out there would be too much for most people to bear. I didn’t know if I could win Caroline her freedom.

  I needed to figure out a way to break this news to my boss. The Colonel knew about my love affair with Caroline. He knew the emotional toll this was having on my life. It was hard deciding on a path to follow, but in the end, I decided to confide in Colonel Richards. The Colonel was stubborn, and it wouldn't be easy to change his mind. What I was planning to do was outrageous. I wanted to be in charge of the entire Shadow Stalker investigation. I couldn’t tolerate any more incompetence in the field. I wanted to call the shots in how this investigation would continue.

  While I contemplated how to approach the Colonel about this, I decided to visit the ocean. The rocky coast was the best place for me to clear my head and think. I drove out to Sherbourne by the Sea. The ocean gently lapped the shoreline. The rocky coast was interspersed with short tracks of open, sandy beach. It was here that I’d spent some of my most memorable moments with Caroline.

  I drove home and got a beer out of the fridge. I kept thinking about what I was going to say to Colonel Richards when suddenly the phone rang. It was my friend Sam Mayfield from the police station. Oh God, I’d forgotten that Captain Goloft was having a surprise birthday party at Flanagan’s Bar. Sam called, wondering where I was. By the time I arrived at the bar, the birthday celebration had already begun. Brandon was sitting at the bar telling old war stories, surrounded by his captive audience of police cadets. Everyone was enthralled, listening to the guest of honor weave a worded tapestry of past adventure and intrigue. Brandon could be the life of the party, and on this occasion, he was true to form. I had a stiff drink to relax my nerves, then settled into the conversation and spoke up.

  “Well, Brandon, sixty-one isn’t much fun, is it?”

  My friend looked at me from the bar. “Oh, Jimmy, that’s where you’re wrong,” he shouted, whooping it up and not missing a beat. Someone in the crowd wanted to put a lampshade on his chrome dome and have him dance on the tabletop like a stripper, but Brandon would have none of that nonsense. This man had a heart of gold, loved people, and was a great Captain.

  I schmoozed with many of my friends from the police department. This party was a fun time for me and a great opportunity to relax and unwind. There were a few of Brandon’s friends from the Bureau. I didn’t know them very well, so I chatted mostly with people and friends I’d gotten to know through the years, like Sam Mayfield. After a few drinks and several hours of good conversation, my head started spinning. I felt myself weaving around the tables in the bar like slow dancing. I knew it was time to leave. Brandon was still partying hard, and I didn’t want to disturb his merriment, so I drifted out the door. I walked back to the Bureau and noticed many lighted windows in the Waverly Building. It was unusual to see so much activity in there this late at night. I was tired and decided not to go inside the building to find out what was happening. By now, I’d sobered up and felt able to drive myself home. I drove at a snail’s pace, finally securing the outside gate to my apartment. It had been a hell of a day, and I just wanted to sleep.

  I started to undress when the phone rang. I answered it.

  “Jim is that you?” the Colonel asked. “Thank God, we’ve been trying to reach you for hours. I’m afraid I have terrible news.” I listened without saying a word, praying for Caroline’s safety. “There’s been another subway bombing. It occurred this evening at the T5 rail station during the homebound commute. We have four people confirmed dead, and many more injured.”

  “What?”

  “My God, it’s the ninth time the bomber has struck. What the hell is going on?” the Colonel shouted into the phone.

  I clenched my fist and smashed it down on a nearby table. “Listen to me, Colonel Richards, I need to speak with you immediately. I’m on my way to headquarters.”

  “Please hurry.”

  I grabbed my coat and flew out the door. As I approached the Waverly
Building there were many windows shining brightly in the night sky. I drove into a waiting parking space, then walked briskly into the Colonel’s large private office. He was standing near his desk. I could see that he was ready to go ballistic.

  The Colonel’s angry, reddened face immediately glared at me. “What the fuck is going on?” he yelled. “Jim, for God’s sake, I thought she was the Shadow Stalker!”

  “Sit down, Colonel,” I said with a firm voice. After he sat down and cooled off, I made the case I’d been preparing for days. I told him about my meeting with Caroline in jail and what she’d told me, and my plan to catch this brazen killer. He sat there and listened in stunned amazement as I continued my soliloquy.

  “We are dealing with an extremely brilliant criminal, someone that you and all of the Bureau’s well-intentioned investigators will likely never catch. You and your men have been outwitted and outclassed for three years by a lone serial killer whose intellectual prowess is on a par with mine. Colonel, I ask your permission, as head of the entire investigation, to move quickly with my plan to capture him on my own. I must be untethered by any condition or restriction imposed by the Bureau in my pursuit of this killer, otherwise I’m afraid many more innocent people will die.”

  The Colonel looked at me with a silent and drawn face.

  “Miss Prichard is innocent of these subway bombings. Sir, I must insist that she be released immediately. Her incarceration in jail for a crime she didn’t commit is appalling.” The Colonel’s upper lip began to twitch nervously as he kept staring at me. “Let’s just say that this whole affair was a case of mistaken identity. And, as far as Miss Prichard’s release, I expect a full exoneration of her in the press for any alleged crimes for which she is being charged.”

  “Go on.”

  “Next, I demand to take complete charge of this ongoing investigation. From now on, the hunt for the Shadow Stalker will be mine. It is imperative we act immediately, and I cannot take no for an answer.”