Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  I waited until he was out of hearing. “Agent Johnson, I really like you, but if you ever do that again, I’m going to revoke your cool card.”

  “Sorry. I forget that I should just watch sometimes instead of opening my big mouth.” Kevin gave a sheepish shrug.

  “You’re good. Just think before you volunteer information. If you do that with the wrong person, you could possibly ruin an operation.”

  “Guess that’s why you’re in charge and I’m just the analyst.”

  “Stop, Kevin. The reason I told you was so that you could learn. You have great instincts, and I think with a little training you could make agent someday.” I gave him a thumbs up.

  “Wow. None of the other agents ever give out advice. They just get mad and expect us to know everything. You need anything, just let me know.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, as long as it’s legal. I’m going to call it a night, but if I think of anything we can add to your search I’ll let you know.”

  ***

  I was taking advantage of the lull to spend some time with Shea before we went to lunch at Leslie’s. I was afraid that this hanging out during off hours was going to become a thing because we all felt like family. Well, except Jerome, since the verdict was still out on him.

  That reminded me, I’d put a few feelers out about him and hadn’t had a moment to check up on the reports.

  Jerome Bell was in his mid-thirties. No marriages, or divorces which was a little unusual for someone his age, but not a terrible red flag since some people didn’t get married anymore and just co-habited instead.

  He worked for a variety of newspapers and a national affiliate as a researcher. There were also a few degrees to his name, meaning that he was fairly intelligent, or a very stupid person who knew how to pass tests. I was going to lean more toward the intelligent part because Leslie wouldn’t have given him a second thought if he’d been dumb.

  Nothing stood out to be a problem, but I might just have my new friend Kevin run a deeper background check on him. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way, and it wasn’t because I was jealous.

  I needed to have a talk with Karen and see what her thoughts were. As a fellow cop, she would have a better idea of what to look for with him being her sister’s boyfriend. He had been very attentive to Leslie and her injury when we were travelling home. There wasn’t anything he’d done to cause concern, I just didn’t want my partner to have her heart broken.

  Shea walked in and closed the computer, putting the matter to the back of my mind. She needed to be the focus of my attention while we were both home at the same time.

  ***

  Lunch the next day was set for 1 p.m. to give us time to get up and across town in a leisurely manner. I hadn’t been expecting to have Jerome there, but it made sense. I would just have to find a way to talk to Karen alone, which presented itself sooner than I’d thought.

  “Now, that you guys are here, I’m going to go pick up our order from the chicken place,” Karen announced as we settled in.

  “Why don’t I drive you since you’re not used to the area?” I suggested quickly.

  She frowned, but didn’t say anything before following me out the door to my car.

  “What was that about?” She didn’t mince words once we were outside.

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Jerome since he showed up at the hospital, but we haven’t had a chance. What do you think of him?” I unlocked the door so we could get in.

  “He’s not what I would have chosen for her. And since she met him online, I can’t help but think it could’ve been so much worse. He’s not a bad guy, as far as I can tell, and believe me, I’ve come across a few of those in my line of work.”

  “So have I, but I just wanted to get another cop’s take on it since I’m a little biased. I’m second-guessing everything since I lost my friend last month and she got hurt last week. How could I have not seen they were in danger? I just don’t want to miss anything else.” I wasn’t normally so honest about my feelings, but this wasn’t about me, it was about making sure my partner was safe.

  Karen sighed. “He’s a little clingy, but certainly makes sure that she’s got everything taken care of. I’d feel smothered, but at the same time, it would be nice to have someone who was that interested in my wants and needs. It’s not every day that we go out and fight crime, and then come home to someone who wants to pamper you.”

  While I wasn’t sure which chicken place they’d ordered from, I headed to the one I’d seen on our way in.

  “Thank you for watching out for my sister. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t ignore something if she was too close to the situation.” She looked in the mirrors and watched traffic as I was driving, her police training showing.

  “You shouldn’t blame yourself either over this guy who’s watching you and waiting for the perfect moment to step in and do something. Having my sister show up in the woods wasn’t part of his plan, so I assume he’s going to make some adjustments. As for your friend, Jesse, he was in a hospital. There was no reason to think that he would be considered a target.”

  She was trying to be reassuring, but I knew better. “Anyone who has ever worked on an attempted murder always has guards posted outside the room.”

  “From what Leslie told me, you weren’t actually in charge of that. His boss should have done it just in case.”

  “Yes, but as his power of attorney, I should have made the request. They would have listened.” No matter how comforting anyone was, Jesse’s death was going to haunt me for years to come.

  I pulled up and Karen started to get out, but paused with the door open. “I’ve been where you are, filled with guilt and regrets. Don’t let it keep you from being in the present with those who are still alive.”

  Her words kept running through my head as we ate lunch.

  The ball game was about to come on, and we shifted from the dining room table to the couch. Cleanup from lunch was easy since we’d used disposable dishes.

  The TV had been left on one of the national news channels, and as Leslie started to change the channel, I caught sight of the Taurus symbol on the bottom of a boat.

  “Go back. It’s the next killer,” I almost shouted in excitement.

  She turned up the volume as we listened to the reporter.

  “Four men and their guide set out near dawn yesterday for what is normally a peaceful trip down the rapids near the town of Cloquet, Minnesota. The one survivor was taken to the hospital for observation, but gave this statement to police: “We take all the preventative measures possible, but the boat hit one of the underwater rocks, causing a leak. We didn’t notice it because the bottom is always filled with extra water when inexperienced passengers are using the paddles. We were all wearing life vests, but that doesn’t help if you don’t try to swim to shore.”

  “When asked if she could have saved them, this was her response: “When in a situation like that, most people are so panicked that they don’t always react in the best ways. The water is really swift in that part of the river, and there was no way to get to them while they were in the middle of the rapids. By the time I was able to get back and start a search and rescue crew, it was too late.’”

  “There you have it from the only survivor of this tragic accident. The police are notifying the families before releasing the names of the victims. We’ll keep you updated as we have more information.” The reporter finished her segment, and it switched to a different one.

  “I’m sorry, but I guess I need to go,” I apologized to everyone.

  “Hey, why don’t you drive my car, and then Shea can take your car home when she’s ready?” Leslie offered.

  “That would be perfect.” I gave Shea a quick kiss. “Will you be okay with that?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll head out now. Just let me know if you’ll be home tonight.” She stood up with the rest of us.

  Leslie snuck into the bedroo
m and grabbed her bag from the last trip. She came out, dragging it awkwardly behind her because it was too heavy to carry.

  “Oh no, you can’t go with him,” Jerome protested when he saw the bag. “You’re still hurt. Look at you, you can’t even carry it properly.”

  She walked over to him. “I know. I’m only going to the FBI building. I promise that I’ll leave chasing the bad guys up to those who are able. There’ll be lots of desk and computer work for me to do. Nothing strenuous or dangerous.”

  “Still, do they absolutely need you? The doctor hasn’t released you yet,” he pleaded, searching out for someone to back him up and tell her that she couldn’t go.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s one of the safest places that I could be right now.”

  I didn’t know what to say to make it better, because it was hard to see someone you were involved with go out into danger.

  “I’ll make sure she stays in the building.” It was the least I could do since I wasn’t going to stop her from doing her job.

  “Call me when you head home, okay?” he asked, giving in.

  “Promise,” she replied, but I saw her fingers crossed behind her back before she slid her good arm around him for a kiss.

  “All right, I can’t stop you. Ryan, please take care of her. Make sure she doesn’t overdo it,” he pleaded as we all walked out the door.

  “I’m giving you until midnight before I come get you,” Karen added as we left.

  I took the keys from Karen and picked up Leslie’s bag from the floor. I needed to get my bag from my vehicle before Shea left.

  “I see I wasn’t the only one that had prepared for this.” She acknowledged the bag lying on the floor of my trunk.

  “Nope. I had a feeling that something wasn’t going right. It’s been over a week since we had anything happen, and the new clock started yesterday,” I confessed as I put my bag next to hers in the back seat of her car.

  Shea waved to me before she took off as a vehicle pulled up and Jerome came outside for his ride.

  “We kind of broke up the party, didn’t we?” I frowned as we each went in different directions.

  “Hey, it could have been worse. We might not have gotten to eat fried chicken for lunch. At least we’d finished before we saw this.” She grinned without remorse. “Do you think they’ll let us in the building?” she added as an afterthought.

  “They gave me a temporary access badge. I have one for you too, but wasn’t going to give it to you until tomorrow. I should’ve known that you‘d find a way to come along.” I smiled. “You just can’t keep a hardheaded woman down for long.”

  “Do you think Jerome will ever get used to me up and leaving the way I do?”

  “Eventually. Cops have a hard time staying married for these kinds of reasons. It doesn’t make it any easier knowing how close you came to dying just last week. Give him a chance to work through things and see how he adjusts.”

  “You’re right. I hate when that happens, though.”

  “Better get used to it, Boxe. I’m almost always right.” I couldn’t keep from laughing at her statement.

  “At least you added ‘almost’, so I’ve got a chance to prove you wrong occasionally,” she taunted.

  “You can keep trying, but the odds aren’t in your favor.” I eased onto the highway, heading to the beginning of a new case. Instead of dread, I was feeling hopeful that we would actually catch them this time.

  Chapter 3

  Leslie

  For a Sunday, the FBI building was bustling with activity. Ryan handed me my pass, and I put it around my neck before we went through the metal detectors. I was still tired, but seeing that symbol on the boat had given me an adrenaline boost.

  Ryan led us straight to the root of activity, past the conference room and into the middle of the tech center. Here I could help and stay safe at the same time.

  “Kevin, what do we have so far?”

  He seemed to think that Kevin would respond to his take charge attitude, and I was surprised when he did.

  “Yes, sir. We have the names of the victims, and the police are making home visits to notify their families. We didn’t call you because they hadn’t pulled all of the bodies out and identified them yet.”

  “Did Agent Watson send someone to the area already?”

  “No, I haven’t. We were waiting for confirmation on something beyond the symbol. I had someone from our local office contact the department on scene, and we were just notified. Kevin is looking up a profile on the victims, and we’re going to meet in the conference room in ten minutes,” Agent Watson answered for himself as he walked by.

  “Got it,” we both replied in unison.

  Kevin waited until he was out of hearing. “I suggested that we call you, but he said to let you rest until we had something. How did you find out about this?”

  “We used our detective skills.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice.

  Ryan shook his head at my response. “We saw the news and came right over.”

  “Good thing you did. Agent Watson wanted you to rest so that when we had more information, you would be able to work.”

  “Guess we should get in there for the briefing.”

  “If they don’t need me anywhere else, I might see if there’s something I can do to help on the computer,” I offered before scurrying after Ryan.

  Agent Watson was already in the room, and I was trying to match the picture of him from California to this take-charge person that was edging us out the same way that Agent Perez had done.

  Already feeling better than when I’d taken the same seat two days ago, I knew that I wasn’t going to let myself be left out of this investigation.

  “Attention, everyone. We’ve received notification on the dead men.” He pulled up a slide and began going through the specifics.

  “The four men were on a retreat for being the top sellers of real estate in their company. They were given this opportunity when they beat out everyone else in their company last month. So there wasn’t much time to plan this.”

  He held up a sheet of paper. “We have David Kirkpatrick, Gary Brickham, Jose Garcia, and John Hulick as those who have died. Our agent up there has talked to local authorities, and from what they’ve gathered, a tour guide was scheduled to take the men on a rafting trip. Each boat or raft is inspected before leaving the bank. This one sprung a leak, and the only survivor was the female guide.”

  I raised my hand and spoke, “Did the agent get a chance to interview her?”

  “No. She gave a statement at the time search and rescue were trying to retrieve the men. They transported her to the hospital, but somewhere between there and the ER, they lost her. The paramedics thought the ER had her, but they never received her for examination.”

  “So we have our killer,” I muttered quietly.

  “It would appear so, Detective Boxe,” Agent Watson acknowledged.

  “Going off of previous incidents, and the fact that this one made national news, we don’t believe that the killer will use the same method in this area of the rapids. As a precaution, we have someone checking for any groups of businessmen scheduled over the next month, with promises from the rafting companies to call us whenever someone books with them.”

  Another agent followed my example and raised his hand to ask a question. “Wouldn’t we need to know about only those with men?”

  “They might be booking without all those details being present. How will we know that we’ve got the correct group?”

  “We don’t, but we can run the company and do a little ground work before they arrive for their adventure. It’s better to be safe than have another ‘accident’.”

  “Have we thought about booking a group and seeing if this killer takes the bait?”

  “That is a possibility, but we just aren’t sure that they won’t be expecting it. If we don’t have anything come through this week, then yes, we’ll be trying that as a way to see if they know about the trips ahead
of time. These could be very specific groups of men, or it could just be a coincidence, and this was the first group that fit their profile.”

  “How did four men randomly win a sells competition? Did they all have Taurus birthdays?” I spoke up again, pointing out the obvious.

  “Yes. Agent Johnson verified it. We’re checking with the company now to see how that could have happened.”

  “What’s the next step? Are you sending us up there to look around and see if we can find anything?” Ryan spoke up for the first time.

  “No, not yet. As we’ve seen from previous crime scenes, these killers like to move locations. While we might spot something, there’s no way we can send you by yourself, and Detective Boxe isn’t cleared to go back into the field yet. We’ll let the agents up there do the follow-up and see where the next incident happens. If she’s cleared by then, we may join the agents on scene.” Agent Watson handed out a set of papers.

  “We know the method of these killers, and that we’re looking for a female. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t do our jobs and take a look at all possible suspects. We have the information on the survivor, Anad Cheever. Agent Johns is running that name through the database for possible matches. The ID that she presented to her place of employment didn’t raise any flags, and looks to be a real ID from the photo copies.

  “The agents in Minnesota are checking out the house, but haven’t found anyone living at the address listed on her ID. They’re also pursuing anyone with a combination of names that live in the area, since most people use some form of their real name.”

  He looked around the room and made eye contact with each person sitting at the table. “Just because we don’t have much to go on, doesn’t mean that we’re not going to give these four men our full attention. The Zodiac Master has been allowed to run free for far too long, and I’m making it my personal mission to see that he’s stopped.

  “So, does anyone have any questions?” He waited, but when no one raised a hand, he continued. “We have the analyst on scene, and a few of our computer techs working right now. I want everyone to go home, get a good night’s sleep, and return here in the morning, rested. From previous experience, we can’t neglect sleep and keeping our bodies healthy. It’ll be a few days before the next incident, and hopefully we’ll have the killer in custody. Dismissed.”