Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  “So impatient too, but she does have a point. These don’t have the feel of paid hits or assassinations. No one has enough money to pay someone for seven kills in the same area, and I doubt they’d want the amount of heat it would bring on any future killings. Unless this was just a practice run. But they’re bunched up too closely to make sense for that. It seems like they’re going off of some kind of list,” Ryan agreed, tapping on the files laid out in front of us.

  “What do their deaths accomplish?” I wondered aloud, glancing at all the files.

  A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought.

  “Excuse me, Detective, but that lady is here again. She says that she has importation information for you.” The patrol officer bearing the message waited to see if Ryan had an answer.

  “Take her to an interrogation room that’s open. Maybe you two will have some insight into what she’s telling me.” He got up from the desk and held the door open for us.

  “This lady is claiming that she’s a psychic, and that she’s seen who’s doing the murders. So far, I don’t think she’s very credible. For all I know, she could be the one doing it.” Ryan straightened his tie and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

  It was such a cute gesture, and my brain started to veer off when I realized that I had a date tonight. A quick glance at my watch showed it was only four thirty, and we had two and a half hours before I needed to be at the restaurant.

  Joe motioned me to the side, and I was thankful from the distraction. “Why don’t you go ahead and see if she’ll open up to you since you’re a woman? If I think of something, I’ll text you and you can ask her.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. You’ve done questioning when on patrol, it’s not any different when you’re a detective. Just trust your gut and watch her for tells that she’s lying, or has more information,” he advised.

  “Thanks.” I took a deep breath and opened the door Ryan had disappeared through.

  The psychic wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all. She was a younger woman, around twenty-five. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, the only thing that might have given someone the impression that she was a little different were the multiple bracelets on each of her arms. She was on the smaller side, her brown pixie cut emphasizing her youthfulness, as she played with her necklace nervously.

  “Hi, I’m Leslie Boxe. I was consulting with Ryan when he got a message that you were here, so he didn’t have time to fill me in on what you know about the birthday killer.” I held out my hand, and she hesitated just an instant before accepting. Instead of shaking it, she turned it over and traced the lines on the palm of my hand.

  “That’s interesting,” she mumbled as her index finger moved over the lines several times.

  Suspicious at the very broad statement, I sat down and let her finish as she fixed me with a hard stare.

  “You have a hard road ahead of you. This year you’ll meet your true love, but it will only come after many tears and problems that you will come to find peace. Someone will be your opposite and lead you on a long chase, but in the end, you’ll prevail against these killers.”

  “Any idea who they might be?” Ryan laughed.

  “You, young man, shouldn’t be so flippant with what you don’t understand.” She turned her intense gaze to him.

  “Your future is tied to hers, and if either one of you die, it will cause a ripple effect that will destroy your entire families. Even now, evil is stalking you because you wish to bring justice to those that are in need of it. Don’t underestimate the bond you two will share. It’s important to your survival. He wants to play with both of you before he ends you.”

  “Yeah, see? You’ve just convinced me that you’re in cahoots with the killer. He wants to play with us? That’s not going to get you any favors, threatening officers of the law. Why should I keep you out of jail?” Ryan almost came across the table at her.

  “I’m sorry, I missed your name.” I placed a hand on Ryan’s arm to help restrain him, and bring back some civility to the conversation.

  “Flora Martin,” she whispered.

  “Don’t let him bully you, Flora. While I believe you feel strongly about this, what you’ve said does make it seem like you know more about these murders than you’re letting on. Is there anything else that the universe has told you that might be able to help us?” I pleaded nicely.

  “You both are already working so well together, good cop to his bad cop. I don’t listen to the universe, I listen to what everyone tells the universe. This wasn’t a gift that I wanted. I was born with it, and I normally hide it because of situations like this. Unlike the normal situations of advising businessmen, or settling a lover’s quarrel, this is going to shake the cosmos to their foundations. Someone wants to harm those who are connected to a greater good. They plan to wipe out the good so they can’t make the world a better place.”

  Ryan sank to the chair in disbelief that Flora had opened up to me. “How does anything you’ve said prove that you’re not part of this evil against the cosmos?”

  Flora grinned. “All I had to do was listen to the signs. This is the month of the Aquarius. I’m not completely sure about the zodiac symbols and what they mean, but I do know that everywhere I’ve gone for the past seven days, I’ve seen some version of the sign right before I believe that a murder was committed. It’s not a science in the way you want your forensics to line up, but there aren’t as many people out there that follow astrology or dabble with the stars as there used to be.

  “When everything around me is pointing to one conclusion, it generally means that it’s a significant item. I’ve had dreams of darkness for the last month, and on the first day of the new sign, a heaviness settled over me when I woke up. It’s not something you can shake no matter how many cleansings you do. My home isn’t as dark as the air outside. It hisses against those that have an inner light within because the evil believes that it will win this battle.” Flora shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts.

  “So this is just a feeling that you’ve been having, and you don’t have anything concrete to give to us?” Ryan banged a fist on the table, wanting to demand her to answer.

  “No, I’m sorry. Honestly, I’m just a college student. I don’t even read palms for a living. I’m not as connected to the world of my blood as most with my gift are. My mother married outside of the blood, and they left the culture before I was born. I’ve never actually practiced before. Since I went to college, things have gotten more intense, and I’ve been studying my family’s history. I started having visions in class shortly after Christmas break. If I learn of anything that I can help with, I’ll call you.” She pulled out a blank card and wrote her number on it.

  “The energy the two of you create when you’re together swirls faster the longer we’re here. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I’m going to call my mom and tell her she has to come clean about her family.” Flora stood, signaling that the interview was over.

  “Wait.” I pulled out one of my cards and handed it to her. “I know that he’s still skeptical, but there are many lives at stake, so anything, day or night, please call us.”

  Ryan jumped up. “Hold on…you can’t just leave.”

  “She needs to find out why things have changed, and she’s seeing things now when she wasn’t only a short time ago.” I nodded for her to go ahead, and blocked him from stopping her.

  “I know we’ve just met, but she not only doesn’t fit the profile, she’s too small to have done the crimes. I’m sure that you’ve already ran her, and she had alibis for the times of the murders, didn’t she?”

  “Yes,” he growled, slamming a hand on the glass. “Why am I taking orders from you? This is my station, not yours.”

  I moved out of the way. “You’re welcome to go after her, but it won’t change the fact that she’s not your killer.”

  “How can you be certain?” he challenged, standing over me. “Do you actually believe in all
that universe cosmos bullshit?”

  “Believe? I’m not sure that’s the correct word for it. Let’s call it curiosity. The cards that were left at all the scenes had the Aquarius sign. That can’t be a coincidence. I think if we do some research, it might lead us in a direction that we wouldn’t have pursued before.” I crossed my arms, willing to defend my position.

  “You know what? You’re right, it can’t hurt. We’re already chasing our tails, and we don’t even have a suspect. Let’s take the night and see what we can come up with that might make more sense tomorrow.”

  Joe stepped in at that point. “You two ready to let someone else have the room, or are you going to need some privacy for the night?”

  “Nah, that would make my fiancée jealous, and she’s had enough to worry about with me being shot at and chasing killers. I’m good.” Ryan backed up and his anger deflated, while his face changed to a blank, emotionless mask as he walked us out.

  “Crap, is that the correct time? I’ve got a date I’m supposed to meet at seven.” There was less than an hour to get across town in traffic without causing a wreck on the way.

  “Call him. Tell him you got stuck and will be a little late.” Ryan went back toward the office we’d been in before.

  “Well, it’s our first date, but now I really need to spend the evening going over everything I can find about zodiac symbols and meanings. Plus, I’m not sure I would be very good company knowing that someone else is out there that needs our help.”

  “No matter how hard we work, sometimes we just can’t save everyone,” Joe tried to reassure me as Ryan walked back toward us.

  “Here. These are the numbers that will reach me or anyone on the task force without having to go through the front desk. Let’s do a conference call at about nine in the morning to exchange information.” Ryan handed us both a reference list of numbers for the department as a peace offering.

  “You had her followed, didn’t you?” I accused.

  His eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t take the bait. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Then he ignored me completely. “Does that work for you, Detective Roland?”

  “I think we can see where we stand, and if we’re any closer to a suspect. Thanks for letting us sit in on that. It was…enlightening.” Joe began to walk toward the front.

  “Don’t worry. I know what you’re thinking, that she’s just a crazy lady and doesn’t have any bearing on this case. I’m going to prove you wrong,” I warned as I turned on my heel and left. I wasn’t going to glance behind me to see if he was watching. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

  ***

  Once the car doors had shut and I started the engine, I was suddenly determined to make it to my date. I wasn’t going to let Ryan keep me from a potentially good evening or a better mood.

  “So, there seemed to be some tension between the two of you at the end of the interview,” Joe accused, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

  “It’s a shame he can’t get out of his own way and explore that there might be other possibilities out there which could help us.”

  “Huh. So did the two of you become a team when I wasn’t looking?”

  I sighed as I maneuvered out into the last bits of downtown traffic. “I’m a horrible new partner. You’re not grading me and reporting to the chief, are you?”

  “No way. You’re more fun than my last few partners have been. Whether you two can play nice or not, I can say for certain that the psychic cosmos lady hit one thing squarely on the head. You have chemistry and work well together. If it catches this killer, then I’m just going to sit back and watch the fireworks go off. This should be a lot of fun.”

  “Nope. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there won’t be any sparks between us because he has a fiancée. I’m not the kind of girl to break up a relationship, and I just might be meeting Mr. Right tonight for dinner. He’s certainly going to get more of a chance than he was a few hours ago.”

  I wasn’t going to let Ryan get under my skin. After all, I’d just met him, and there was no reason that I should care what he thought, even if the psychic had given us a reading. She hadn’t really said that he was the one, but we could be partners and stay alive. At least, that was the way I planned to interpret her words.

  Joe was still grinning like he’d seen the best comedy act ever when I dumped him in the parking garage and raced out of there, determined to be on time for my date.

  Chapter 4

  Jerome was sitting at the bar when I came in, but he didn’t see me. I pointed to him as the waitress started to get my name for a reservation.

  I tapped him on the shoulder, hoping that I didn’t look as rushed as I felt.

  “Hey.” He gave me a quick hug. “Did you put your name in with the hostess?”

  “No, I wasn’t sure we still had a table since I was running late.”

  “You’re good, actually. It was a thirty-minute wait, and now we should be close to having our own booth.” He waved off any apologies.

  “What can I get you to drink, ma’am?” the bartender asked as I took a seat next to Jerome.

  “A Dr. Pepper, no ice.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want something to help you relax after your day?” Jerome offered nicely, pointing to his beer.

  “Thanks, but I don’t do much drinking because of the job. I drove over, so I’ll have to have my car with me at some point,” I responded as the bartender placed my soda in front of me.

  “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t offend you. Being on a date with a cop is something a little different for me. Normally, you could make jokes about a lot of stuff, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or think I do illegal stuff.”

  A waitress approached. “Excuse me, sir, your table is ready. If you’ll follow me.”

  We both picked up our drinks and followed her to a booth that gave us a little privacy.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your order.” The waitress disappeared quickly.

  “So, I’ll get this out there. Just because I’m a detective, doesn’t mean that I’m not a person. We joke about all kinds of stuff as well. It’s when it’s something you do on a regular basis that it becomes a problem. Laws are meant to be there as a guideline for those who can’t make good decisions. Most people just accept the laws because it doesn’t dawn on them not to, while others take joy in finding ways around them, or are just too stupid to realize that they’ve done something wrong.” I gave him a comforting smile. “Don’t be stupid, and we should get along fine.”

  “Ha! Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way, I can relax,” he joked. “So, tell me about your day. From your text, I guess that things didn’t go as planned?”

  I chuckled. “You could say that. We had to drive to Ft. Worth because there might be a connection between some of their cases and ours. We got to interview a psychic, or gypsy, I’m not sure what she would call herself. Do you believe in that kind of stuff?”

  He paused to think about it for a minute as he looked at the menu. “I guess to an extent, I do. I mean, if you follow the premise that there’s a good side and an evil side, then it tends to reason that something from the afterlife would seep through to this one.”

  “This lady isn’t so much about talking or communicating with the dead, but having visions about the future. A foretelling, I believe they call it. I’m not really sure how it all connects, but I got the feeling that she honestly believes in what she was telling us. Very down to earth, so it makes it harder to think it isn’t real.”

  “How is she helping? By telling you who’s going to be robbed or shot next?” He took a sip of his beer.

  “It’s an ongoing case, so I can’t talk about it directly, but so far, we haven’t had much luck in finding a suspect or a reason for the crimes in this case.” I worded what I said very carefully so that there weren’t any details. If we had been dating or living together, I might have been able to tell him more, but I didn’t trust him yet.r />
  “On a lighter note, their pasta sampler is amazing,” he suggested, steering the conversation to our date, which was thoughtful.

  “I’m a fan of their shrimp Alfredo. If you had to choose one type of food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

  “Oh, I’d definitely have to go with Tex-Mex—the authentic kind for sure. You?”

  “Sweets. I’d eat anything sweet. I have a confession: when I eat by myself, I order dessert first, and then if I’m still hungry, the entrée.”

  The waitress silently appeared by the table. “Here are your bread sticks. Have you had enough time to look over the menu?”

  “Yes, thank you.” We gave her our orders and she walked away.

  “I feel a little bit at a loss as to what to talk about next. I should have googled some first date questions,” he chuckled.

  “No worries. Just tell me what you like to do for fun on your days off,” I prompted.

  “That’s easy. I like to visit new places. Since I do research for my day job, I like to travel. I can go anywhere, and still spend a few hours doing research, then go out and experience something different.”

  “Wow! That sounds like lots of fun. We did some traveling when we were younger. Now, I’m just too exhausted by the time I get off to want to go anywhere. It’s not as much fun if you’re doing it by yourself anyway. I really prefer to share it with someone.”

  Well that didn’t sound like a come on or anything, I mentally berated myself.

  “My guilty pleasure is running. It helps me stay in shape, and gives me a way to run off some of my frustration when the job gets too intense.”

  The waitress brought our salads. “Let me see if I can get this straight. You’re tied to your job, or is it that your job is tied to you?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just been a while since I’ve been out on a date where I haven’t known the person beforehand. When you become a cop, it seeps into your soul. This is an all-or-nothing kind of thing for me. Not only do I want to make the world a better place, but with all the training you do to get ready, it stays with you. This isn’t the kind of job that you can leave at the door when you go home. It’s not any different than a soldier or being a mother. Once you start on that path or journey, it’s something that stays with you. You can’t give the baby back, and most moms that I’ve come across tend to keep that instinct even when the babies get older.” I gave him a small smile, because if he couldn’t understand that, then it would be a short date.