Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  “So you’re suggesting he’ll have them go back up toward Oregon, or maybe the Boston or New York areas?”

  “It won’t have to be the same state, but yes, I think we’re looking at a murder in many different towns. I’m looking into things, but I think there’s a correlation between the towns or states he chooses and the zodiac sign for the month.”

  “Alaska,” I muttered. “Leslie, we should check out Alaska. He’s already been in Hawaii, and that’s a good ways north. A death up there could easily be ignored or overlooked.”

  Agent Watson looked at me with interest. “Martha, start looking for all reports of deaths in the Alaska area. It’s the first thing that makes sense, and could give us a lead on stopping this before it gets started for another month. While she does this, I want the rest of you to concentrate on narrowing down a list of all men within the correct age range that have a birthday this month. Keep the lists to each state, and if we have any dead bodies with any of those names pop up, notify me immediately.” He paused, as if he was unsure of what he needed to do or say next.

  “Um, Leslie, you seem to have a connection to this Zodiac Master. Can you and Ryan continue to track down his early history? I feel that it holds a key to who he is and how to use it against him.”

  I piped up, “I think we can manage that.”

  “Everyone, let’s meet back here in three days, unless we get a hit sooner than that.” He dismissed us and walked off without letting us ask questions.

  “What’s up with him?” I jerked a thumb in his direction as Adam joined the two of us.

  “Well, when someone’s under a lot of stress, they don’t always respond in the way we want them to.” Adam’s gaze followed Agent Watson down the hallway. “We should go get started on that lead I have.”

  There wasn’t a place to talk without being overheard by either the mole, or possibly even bugs. The FBI should have been a safe place to have a conversation, but we’d become paranoid about being overheard.

  No one stopped us as we left and went out to the small café across the way.

  Leslie brought out the faraday bag and we all slipped our phones inside. Phones could be activated to make the microphone work and record conversations, or use the GPS to track our movements.

  As she placed the closed bag on the table, I spoke the one thing we were all hoping to avoid.

  “Is he playing for the wrong side?”

  “According to my source, he can’t find any money trails that lead to Agent Watson. If he’s giving information to the Zodiac Master, then it’s not for a monetary purpose. There must be something else that he’s holding over the agent.” Adam’s voice held the frustration that we were all feeling.

  Our source was Leslie’s friend, Mac, who Adam had spirited away and wouldn’t tell us anything more than that he was alive.

  “Can we get a warrant to tap Agent Watson’s phone?” Leslie questioned as they called her name for our drink orders.

  “I can’t do that on the feeling that he’s doing something. A judge wouldn’t let us do that to one of our own, even with a lot more proof than what we’ve gotten lately. He’s hiding something, and we can monitor his movements, but we can’t record anything, and we’d have to catch him in the act of aiding and abetting the suspect.” Although Adam ran his own special division, it didn’t give him authority to take on others in the intelligence community.

  “While we can never get close enough to monitor him, I’ve got a couple members of my group doing just that. If he’s got something to hide, we’re going to find it.”

  I took a sip of my coffee and thought about the next step. “Do we have a plan of action, or were you just throwing that out there to see if he takes the bait?”

  “We have a plan of sorts, but most of it is going to be flexible while we figure out who we can trust.” Leslie’s lips firmed into a hard line. “I’ve had too many chances to catch this guy, and instead I’ve given him more ammo to use against me. I think until he’s in custody, I’ll work on a day by day plan so that we’re not broadcasting what we’re thinking.”

  “So where does that leave us for today?” Adam leaned back, waiting for an answer.

  “Well, we have the information about him from his home town, and the fact that he went back to make sure there wasn’t anything for us to find could mean that something may have been overlooked. I’m willing to go back and re-examine all the stuff we got and try to piece together a picture of who he was before he started this journey.” I tapped the coffee cup, anxiously trying to make a connection from all the information that we already knew.

  “Adam has a psychiatrist that works for his division that’s willing to help me out with a profile from the images and feelings of when I’ve had contact with him. He’s going to see if he can put things into focus, and maybe I’ll see something that will point us in the right direction,” Leslie advised. “I’m a little wary, but Adam is going to be there, and I can’t hold what one person did against all the others in his profession.”

  She was referring to Lu, her therapist at the Happy Hills Rehab, who was responsible for the poisoning of everyone in his care.

  “Okay,” I agreed, even though I was starting to feel left out by the pair of them working without me. “I need to check in with Kevin and see if he’s made any breakthroughs on the Urban Energy Corporation.”

  “I won’t be able to update you on what we find over the phone, but I’ll text you to let you know when we’re finished and on our way back,” Leslie reassured, as if she could sense what I was feeling. Well, maybe she could.

  “Great. There’s got to be a weak link in this guy’s armor. He can’t be invincible.” I crushed the empty cup as I got up to throw it in the trash.

  “How’s Shea feeling these days?” Leslie asked as she handed out the phones before putting the faraday bag into her purse for future use.

  “She’s calling herself the beached whale.” I held my hands up defensively when I got a shocked look from Leslie. “It wasn’t my idea, and I’ve tried to come up with something else. Her other term is the alien she’s incubating. I thought she wanted this baby, and she was so excited, but you’d never know it these days as much as she moans and groans about what it’s doing to her.”

  “That’s pretty normal. When the baby gets here, she’ll be excited again. Try to imagine doing everything you normally do, but with a bowling ball attached to your stomach that makes you want to pee all the time.” She gave my arm a sympathetic pat. “Labor should be fun as well. Don’t be surprised if she says she hates you and never wants to have sex again.”

  “Why would she hate me?” I asked, genuinely confused.

  Leslie rolled her eyes. “Dude, you’re the one who knocked her up, and now she’s got to push that bowling ball out while being in the worst pain of her life. She’ll forgive you…eventually.”

  “How on earth do you know this stuff?” I groaned at the picture she was painting for me.

  “I’ve had friends that’ve had babies. Even though I wasn’t ready to start a family, I’ve heard the stories and laughed at the things they thought were going to happen versus what really happened.” She grinned at my obvious discomfort.

  “Adam, help a guy out.”

  “Oh, no, she’s right. Until that baby is here, you’re screwed, dude. Then, once you’re holding that little thing, and you’re thinking it’s such a cute baby you’ve brought into the world, it’ll pee and poop all over you. Your life is about to change drastically.” Adam laughed at my shocked expression.

  “I guess you’ve heard stories too, huh? Why didn’t I listen more so I’d be prepared for this?”

  “In your defense, it’s not like there were tons of pregnant women working with you on homicides over the past few years. Women generally forget all about the horrors of labor after the baby is here. I mean, not forget, but it’s not as big of a deal when they’re not in that kind of pain anymore.”

  “Stop it,” I pleaded, putting my
hands over my ears. “I don’t need to worry any more than I already am.”

  “You let us know how that goes, and give our best wishes to Shea.”

  I shook my head at them as I went back into the lion’s den to start going through all the information that I’d gathered on the Zodiac Master.

  Even watching my back, I didn’t notice the person who had just come out of the room I’d claimed as my own.

  ***

  Finally back with Shea for the night, I laid there next to her as she tried to find a comfortable position.

  “Shea, do you hate me?” I wondered out loud, hoping that she really didn’t.

  She turned to me with a confused look on her face. “No. Is there a reason I should?”

  “Several people were telling me that you hated me for knocking you up, and that you were going to be mad at me for several months after the baby gets here.”

  I’d just gotten used to the idea that I wasn’t going to harm my kid by being a detective and bringing harm to our doorstep when this new doubt hit.

  A laugh brought my attention back to her.

  “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.” She placed a hand over her stomach to still the movement from her laughter. “Oh, boy,” she exclaimed, trying to catch her breath. “I’m sure when labor comes and I’m in pain, I’m going to be considering the choices I’ve made, like if having sex was worth all this trouble, but that’s temporary. While I’m miserable right now, I can’t wait to meet our little girl.”

  I snuggled up to her, resting my hand next to hers, hoping to feel the baby kick.

  “I was afraid that you regretted ever becoming my fiancé and starting our family early.”

  “Never. It’s been an crazy ride lately, but even with all the changes, I’m glad to be surrounded by people who act like I’m part of their family. There’s no one in our group of friends or family that I would have been comfortable receiving all of this advice from about babies.” She rubbed a thumb across the top of my hand with a happy sigh.

  “Is there anything I can do to make this pregnancy better so you don’t wind up hating me?”

  “You could take me home this weekend for my baby shower. We sent out the invitations last month, and, you know, I’d love to be there for it.”

  “Done.” I started to laugh, and then realized that it would take a little more planning than that. “We might have to take Flora and Adam with us. Would you be okay with that?”

  “Honey, I assumed you’d have half the police force outside waiting to make sure that I didn’t disappear from my own party.”

  “Kind of transparent these days, aren’t I?” Sheepishly, I placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to enjoy this process or be here as much as I’d have liked to be.”

  “Hey, now. You’ve been here often enough to give me back rubs, and have even massaged my poor swollen feet. I have no idea why they do that when I’m not standing on them very much.”

  I took the hint and sat up. Pulling her feet into my lap, I started rubbing them, making her moan.

  “Who needs sex when you can get this kind of treatment?”

  “Uh, me?” I paused and raised my hand like I was a student. “I need sex whenever you’d like to give it, but I certainly don’t mind helping you relax.” Her response was to wiggle her toes. “Yes, ma’am. Sorry, I was distracted. Back to business.”

  “See? Why on earth would I hate someone who was so thoughtful?” She smiled as she pulled her feet from my lap and pushed me onto my back. “It’s a good thing you can’t get me pregnant again.”

  “Mmhmm,” I murmured as she started kissing me, the foot rub forgotten.

  “Don’t forget you promised to take me home for the shower.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I agreed, not wanting her to stop, even if the world was ending.

  Chapter 3

  Leslie

  When it felt like my world had ended only a few short weeks ago, I thought I would never get back to my normal self. But, instead, I’d come back home more determined than ever to find this killer and stop him.

  The moments when I wanted to bury my head under the blankets and never come out again were only parts of me that had no idea how to get past this.

  From my interactions with the Zodiac Master, I knew that if I tried to ignore the problem, or fought it head-on, he was going to keep coming for me. It was much better to face him with my armor firmly in place rather than letting him control my soul.

  This wasn’t just me trying to get revenge or simply stop a killer; this was much bigger. The need to stop the evil from spreading had become a mantra running through my head again and again.

  I’d spoken the truth at the meeting we’d had with Agent Watson. I wasn’t going to let a few rules or guidelines stop me from catching him. While I knew that we weren’t likely to find this guy through the normal channels, I had a much better weapon at my disposal that he’d seemed to overlook. Maybe he didn’t think it was anything important to consider, but I was hoping to prove him wrong.

  Mary Ann had been very sympathetic when I’d needed time to work through the grief and betrayal I’d felt when all the people I’d gotten to know were suddenly gone. Using Lu to get close to me had been a genius move, but from now on, I wasn’t about to let anyone inside my head. It wasn’t a great place for visitors at the moment.

  Having someone who lived inside my head and was willing to teach me how to block myself from letting others see what I was thinking had been amazing, because I wasn’t about to let this psychic psychiatrist past my inner shields.

  I’ll admit, I’d been skeptical at first. I mean, who would want a killer hanging out in their head, talking to them constantly? But I felt this was what we’d been looking for, someone who thought outside the box and wasn’t afraid to get caught.

  While I could imagine how a killer would act or think, my brain still didn’t go that extra mile because I wasn’t a killer. I didn’t want to go in that direction. I wanted to remain one of the good guys.

  Adam pulled up at the security gate and typed in a code. The gate began to open, leading to the large mansion hidden behind the trees.

  “Who is this guy?” Awe filled my voice as I took in the extra security measures and bodyguard at the entrance.

  “This is Mark Hernandez. He’s fairly well-known, and consults for our division on a pretty consistent basis. We’ve worked on some tough cases together and I trust him, which is saying a lot these days,” Adam explained as we got out.

  “Anything I need to know before we get started?” I was a little worried regarding what we were about to do.

  “Nope. Do what he says, and you should be able to find what you’re looking for. He’s also going to give us a different perspective on your abilities. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

  Saying not to worry was great in theory, but the hairs on my arms were standing up, and we weren’t even inside the house yet.

  Adam nodded to the bodyguard who opened the door, and then returned to his post.

  The maid met us in a large enclosed entryway filled with lockers.

  “Señor Adam, it is good to see you again. I hope all is well with you?” she greeted warmly.

  “Yes, Maria. Is he ready for us?”

  “Of course. If you’ll just put all of your electronics and guns into the lockers, we’ll be on our way.”

  I glanced at Adam to see if this was normal, but he was already placing his gun and phone into one of the lockers, so I followed suit.

  “The metal and technology interfere with the senses, and sometimes the body acts out in ways that are unexpected, so all weapons have to be put away.”

  “You’re the boss.” It was hard to trust that he knew what was going on, but so far, Adam hadn’t let me down.

  “Follow me.” Maria opened the door to the inner portion of the house, and while I should have been prepared after seeing the outside, it still took my breath away.

  Lovely ar
ches divided the hallway from the living area, and the small alcove facing the entry held a water fountain with Spanish tiles.

  Adam smiled at me. “I’m always impressed with all the details that Mark added when he designed this house. It’s so inviting.”

  Maria hadn’t stopped and was almost at the end of the hallway as we hurried to catch up.

  “He is waiting inside.” She motioned me toward the green door, which had a rounded top instead of a square.

  “Señor Adam, he’s requested that you make yourself comfortable out on the veranda.”

  “Adam?” I felt like a little kid about to be abandoned to meet the new class all by myself on the first day of school.

  “You’ll be fine, and I’ll be out here if anything happens,” he said, while shooing me away.

  I knocked on the door and heard a muffled sound, which I took as a sign to enter. He was expecting me after all.

  Mark Hernandez was nothing like I’d expected. He was a larger man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail.

  He was sitting on the floor, which was padded, as were the walls. In each corner of the room, incense burned. I wasn’t sure if it was simply for the pleasant aroma, or if there was a psychic reason I didn’t yet know about.

  “Come, sit,” he commanded without opening his eyes. “You have a lot of baggage, and need to release some demons from your soul.”

  The old me would have had so many questions, but the new me knew that to accept it was to be one step closer to finding peace.

  I slid off my shoes next to the door and padded over to sit in front of him.

  “Close your eyes and clear your mind of all hurtful thoughts.”

  That seemed like a reasonable request.

  “Now, open up and see where the spirits are willing to take you,” he instructed.

  Trying to think of how to open up and stay shielded at the same time so I didn’t let too many things run wild was difficult.