by Paris Morgan
Adam came out of his room and leaned against the wall until he noticed that I was there.
“Sorry. Listening inside his head is annoying. He’s so smug.”
“Anything useful?” I couldn’t help but eye the room where John Reed was in a little warily.
He rubbed the back of his neck to ease some of the tension. “He’s not going to tell us anything. He knows that he doesn’t have to, and with all of his connections, I wouldn’t be surprised if the judge lets him go home on his own recognizance.”
“That will defeat everything we’ve done,” I protested.
“I couldn’t agree more, but at this point, we don’t have everything we need. Going through all of the files will take days, and his lawyer is already making phone calls to get him home. He doesn’t want him to be stuck in a jail cell. It might hurt his dignity.”
“Isn’t that the point?” I frowned at the ironic nature of things.
“Well, we would think so because we’re law enforcement, but that’s not the way they see it. He’s an old man and he won’t survive in jail, blah, blah, blah.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “So tell me how you really feel?”
Adam started laughing. “You’re so right. That feels so much better.”
“Are we getting anywhere?”
“I think most of the interviews that are providing information will take a minute, but those that aren’t talking, I’m having sent over to the county prison. Not all of them, but most of them. Give them a night with real prisoners and we’ll see what the rest of them have to say in the morning.”
“We’re allowed to do that?” I questioned, not sure exactly how legal it was.
“Eh, it’s a fine line, but we can’t keep them all here, and I’ve made a few decisions about which should stay here and all that jazz.” Adam straightened. “Well, I’ve got to go back in there and see if there’s going to be an arraignment.”
“Have fun.”
I turned to go back so I could watch Leslie finish getting information from Frances, when all I really wanted to do was go home and hold my baby girl.
Chapter 5
Zodiac Master
It was time again. I couldn’t wait for my victim to arrive home. These past few nights had only made it clear that I was going to need to do this more often.
I’d forgotten how much fun the taking of a life oneself could really be. I really needed to get out more often.
These women were so easy. They had no common sense and practically invited me in.
I grinned at my own cleverness as I snuck inside. It wasn’t even a challenge. Maybe that was why I was so fascinated with Leslie. She wasn’t one of these stupid little airheads that went about their lives completely oblivious. That was the challenge, she was so smart that it was hard to know what she was thinking.
As I took my bloody gloved finger and wrote the sign and the word on the wall, I could already feel the joy fading. It never lasted long enough, and I kept having to come back for more. Those few moments weren’t enough, but for now, at least, I was able to have some fun every day. Let a little bit of myself out to play instead of keeping everything bottled up.
As I walked back through her living room, something on the TV caught my attention. She must have been watching it before she ran to the store.
“An anonymous source has released the information that this is the biggest bust in FBI history. He feels like this has taken a huge bite out of the criminal underworld.
“The Urban Energy Corporation is not only tied to one of the largest criminal money banks, but was in fact a cover for them. By using a legitimate corporation, crime syndicates ran their money through this company to hide their earnings. What was supposed to be a company built to help the environment has been harming people in so many, unimaginable ways.”
I sank to the victim’s couch in shock.
“She really did it. We killed her guy who took down the clubs and she still went through with it.” I let out a hoarse laugh. “I can’t believe she’s willing to take such a chance.”
“Sources have not identified all those arrested, as the FBI is still working on processing the massive amounts of evidence. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.”
This was such a blow to my plans. She’d had my father arrested. The news hadn’t said that, but I could read between the lines. They just weren’t going to release any big names until there was actual proof so they wouldn’t be sued for slander.
I might have sat there on the couch with blood covering me longer if her phone hadn’t rang, alerting me to the fact that someone was trying to get a hold of her.
Not wanting to go to jail myself, I collected all of my things that could be considered evidence and left the scene of the crime. This wasn’t the time to be slack in my killing duties.
Just in the nick of time, I turned the corner of the house, only to see someone come up to the front steps and let themselves inside.
“Whew,” I breathed as I hurried to my car only a few blocks over. “That was way too close. I’m going to have to make sure that my secretary does a little more research next time. There wasn’t supposed to be anything on my victim’s calendar today.”
Actually, my secretary might have to join the Zodiac killings because she knew too much. It was a good thing her birthday wasn’t until December with a Capricorn sign, as I still needed her for at least the next few weeks.
My hotel was only a few miles from my victim’s house, and I seriously needed to get cleaned up.
The hot water felt good as it washed away any possible evidence, though I was still seething from Leslie’s betrayal. I knew that it was her job, but it hurt because the man I wanted to have call me son, wasn’t ever going to do that now. He didn’t have a kingdom to hand down to me.
I’d screwed it up by pointing the police to them, hoping to gain his attention. It had had the opposite effect on what I’d had planned.
My fist hit the tiles, not even cracking them, which only pissed me off more.
Getting dressed, I scanned through the news channels, but they were discussing other topics about celebrities and their activities. I didn’t care for any of that, so I opened my laptop and put in a search for trending news.
There were only a few little blips about the Urban Energy Corporation’s raid. I would have thought it would be on the top news channels, but either it wasn’t really as big of a deal as I’d thought, or the FBI was trying to hold what they had close to the vest.
Well, whatever the case, it was time to make a splash. I was going to paint the Zodiac name in all the papers until the FBI had something else to occupy their time. Nothing like the old Zodiac killer in San Francisco had done, but something so vicious that the entire country would be looking over their shoulders in fear.
They weren’t going to be distracted by a little thing like white-collar fraud when there were bodies dropping all over the country. I was going to make sure of that, even if I had to call the news channels myself.
It was almost Halloween. I could add a little bit of fun to the mix and drop a heart off at each police station from the last murder before I committed the next one. That would do the trick.
***
I traveled from city to city, leaving a trail of bodies behind me over the next few days. Georgia was where the majority of my anger was played out, as it fit the profile for the Scorpio sign and was a moon sign, so I could work under the cover of darkness to get everyone on my list taken care of properly.
Within days, the entire state was running around in fear, worrying over their neighbors and who could be committing such horrible crimes.
My anger had given me the strength needed to literally rip out their hearts. All it took was a small incision and I could reach inside and yank them out while they were still beating. It was so empowering to stand there holding a vital organ and know that I was letting the life slip away from me. Maybe that was why doctors always acted like
they were gods each time they had the choice to give or take a life.
It was so intoxicating. I needed a night out to get away from this or it was going to consume me.
An hour later, I was sitting in a local bar, ordering a drink when a cute 30-ish woman took the seat next to me. She’d barely sat down before she started hitting on me. It was hard to resist such a yummy offering when it had been months since I’d been with a woman. I was sure that Leslie would understand if it ever came up.
“I have a hotel near here if you’d like to go back there for a while with me.” I gave her an encouraging wink, but inwardly cringed at how stupid it was for her to go off with a stranger.
“Oh, I’d love that,” she gushed, tracing a finger seductively down my arm and toward my leg.
Laying a hundred-dollar bill down on the bar top for our tab, we made our way out, just as the evening news came on, warning of a killer who ripped the hearts out of their victims.
I had to restrain myself from doing the same thing to her that I did to all the other ladies because it wasn’t her time to die. Even though she was incredibly stupid, she was going to live to see another day.
The next morning, I paid the bill for my hotel room and drove away, having taken care of my physical needs. But only one person would ever be able to possess me completely—Leslie.
She was the perfect match for me. Her spirit called out to me, and I craved to touch her. Sex with her would be the ultimate spiritual experience now that she had gotten in touch with her inner self. There was no plateau that we couldn’t reach together.
My destination was Savannah, to drop off my latest victim’s heart. Savannah, Georgia held a friendlier atmosphere, and people tended to notice strangers more often.
“One day, my precious,” I whispered in the early morning dawn as the sun crept over the horizon to shine on a new day.
Chapter 6
Leslie
We’d been so overwhelmed with all the evidence and processing the statements of those that had spoken to us in hopes of getting a better deal that I'd almost forgotten the Zodiac Master.
Honestly, I could never forget him. In jail, or even dead, he would always haunt my dreams, but at least I’d been able to put him out of my mind for just a little while.
I hadn’t even been able to follow-up with Flora and Shea to take them out to teach them how to shoot. If there was one thing I knew, it was that the ZM would strike when we were least expecting it, and this week would be one of those times when we would be paying attention like we should be.
Which was why I’d called Ryan to make an appointment to take my guns with me so we could go out to the woods and train them. Flora had managed to talk her grandmother into letting us use a portion of the ranch that wasn’t close to the cabins for target practice.
Ryan was on babysitting duty, and it was going to be a fun morning with just us girls.
Shea gave the baby one last kiss before she climbed onto the gator, or what some people called a golf cart. I was loading the ammo and guns onto the back when Flora joined us.
“These are so much fun to drive. I had no idea ranches used them until I came out here for that week earlier this year. They can go so many places that a truck can’t get to while carrying everything.” Flora took her place in the driver’s seat next to Shea.
“Yep. These can be lifesavers in so many ways on a farm or ranch. Heck, where I’m from, locals even use them to drive down to the convenience stores to pick up stuff.” I smiled, remembering those days well.
“Really?” Shea questioned in disbelief. “I guess I’m too much of a city girl. We never had people doing that kind of thing, but I could see it being allowed more in a small town than in the city.”
“Lawn mowers or gators are pretty common on the small-town streets when there are community events as well. Some people don’t even use their cars or trucks unless they’re going out of town.”
“Oh, to live in a town like that. I always thought I’d want to raise Hope in the city where it’s close to everything, but these past few months living out here have been amazing. It’s such a close-knit community."
“Yep, and everyone knows everyone else, or they’re all related to each other. Each one has their own benefits. I sometimes miss being able to go out there and get good and muddy, but then the food delivery and movie theaters make up for it.” I held onto the seat as Flora hit some rough ground.
We made it to a large clearing, and I walked out to set up a few targets on a set of trees.
“There, I think those will work.” I walked back, counting to make sure it was a least fifty feet.
“That looks pretty far. Are we going to be able to hit something that far away?” Shea eyed the targets like they were going to chase her.
“We’re going to practice until you can not only hit the target, but the guy in the center. Then, if you’re attacked, it will be much closer so there’s no chance that you’re going to miss,” I chirped, because I was in my element.
“How does this work?” Flora asked, holding the shotgun I’d brought along.
“Well, now, you’re going to point it at the target and pull the trigger.” The snarky comment left my lips before I realized it. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. It’s just that I’ve never had a need to use or be around guns much.”
“Here, put these on.” I handed each of them a pair of noise canceling headphones.
“The gun will kick, so you need to make sure it’s against your shoulder so that it doesn’t bounce and leave a bruise. Or as big of one anyway.” I was so used to guns that I didn’t even think about these kinds of things anymore.
“We’ll start with the long-range ones and then finish up with pistols.”
Shea put the headphones on and nodded.
I quickly showed Flora how to hold the shotgun properly. “Squeeze the trigger gently.”
She nodded and adjusted everything one last time before she aimed.
The sound was deafening in the peaceful quiet of the morning. I could tell from where I stood that she’d completely missed the target.
“How’d I do?”
“Um, let’s try it again, but this time, don’t jerk the gun up when you’re done. It changes the direction of the bullet. I think you might have hit something in the trees.”
“Oh.” She sounded a little deflated.
I patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. Only, like, one percent of people can make a bullseye on the first try.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” Flora joked.
“Maybe, but it’s true. I just don’t know the exact percentage.”
She lifted the gun and took a little longer sighting it up than she had moments ago. Another loud shot rang out, and then another, going through the entire clip of twenty.
“There, that should do it,” she beamed. “I can tell I hit at least some of them.”
“Yep.” I took the now warm gun from her. “Why don’t you go take those down and put up new ones for Shea?”
She skipped out to the trees and began setting up the new targets, giving me time to reload new rounds for Shea.
“Do you think you need some pointers?” I waited until she’d removed the headphones so she could hear me.
“Nah, I’ve shot one a few times before when Ryan and I were in high school.” Shea shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
I handed her the shotgun, or what some labeled as a riot gun.
While she didn’t hold it like an expert, I could tell that she’d at least been around guns before.
Keeping the gun flush with her shoulder, she pulled the trigger. She didn’t hit the bullseye, but managed to hit well within the black circles. Poor Flora had only managed to hit inside the outlines.
It was going to be a long morning.
***
I was exhausted, and I’d only been giving the girls instructions for about two hours. But it had been a welcome change from going through evidenc
e searches and computer time we’d been logging lately. It was also a nice surprise when I arrived home to find flowers from Jerome.
Yellow roses were a sign of friendship. I was glad that we could be at this stage without being all weird. Friends were hard to come by these days, and I didn’t have the energy to go out and try to replace the ones I’d lost.
With a smile still on my face, I dialed his number while putting the flowers in water on the coffee table.
“Hey, I got your flowers.”
“Oh, good. I was hoping that you’d call. How’s your day going?”
“So much better now. I spent the morning doing target practice with Flora and Shea. They’re not too bad. Much better than I thought, but I’m hot and tired,” I groaned as I took off my sneakers.
“If you’re needing any company to help relieve some of that stress…” He trailed off, letting the thought sink in. “Friends only. No strings attached.”
“Well, that sounds wonderful, but I’ve sworn off sex. Or, more like, sex with you. I can’t even do friends with benefits because that stupid Zodiac thorn in my side might decide that you don’t need to exist anymore.”
“Now that’s just crazy talk and you know it. I realize it might seem like that, but he didn’t kill me the first time around. Why would he decide to change that now?” he reasoned.
“Anything that I’m remotely attached to he wants to take away. Maybe the first time, I just hadn’t pissed him off enough. It’s nice to know I’m getting under his skin in a way, yet I’d rather not lose anyone else to this monster that feels the need to control the world.”
“I’m sorry. At least I know you like me enough not to let me get killed.”
“You do send nice flowers. How on earth could a girl live without that?” I teased.
“Yep, you know me. Flower guy to the rescue,” he chuckled.
“If only that were the case. I swear, it’s like every time we think we’re close, it’s another goose chase. I keep trying to do things that will make him slip up, but instead get people killed.”
