Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  I shrugged. “It could be, or the Zodiac Master is covering his tracks by having a key witness taken out of the mix. He did work for John Reed, and it’s not like we didn’t know there might be retaliation.”

  She tilted her head as she listened to more from the ghost of Agent Watson.

  “Nope. He says that he’s already talked to the reporter, and if anything happens to him, they’ll release his interview.” Her head shot up as the words sunk in. “Which reporter, Gavin? I’m not playing around.” She raised a hand in a choking gesture and squeezed what looked to be the air.

  It was a full minute before she released him. “That’s what I thought. Coward in life and in death as well. Who is it?” A frown appeared on her face. “He says it’s the female reporter on Channel 8. We’ll have to hurry, because she’s supposed to release it if anything happens to him.”

  We looked over at all the news vans around the area, but didn’t see Channel 8’s top female reporter anywhere.

  “Gavin says she’s probably at the station getting her story ready.” She shook a finger in the air. “If I find out you’re playing with me, or gave me the wrong information, I’m going to send my friend Mary Ann after you. And since she’s a ghost as well, there are lots of things she can do to you in the spirit realm.”

  With a slight pause to hear what he had to say, she turned and headed back toward Adam.

  “He talked. We have to go find Jessica Garcia from Channel 8. He gave her an exclusive story,” she informed us.

  Adam took out his keys and threw them to her. “Go make sure that story doesn’t air, and tell her I’ll get a court order if I have to. When this is over, she can air the entire story, and I’ll give her an exclusive that none of the other channels will get if she can delay it.”

  Leslie didn’t wait for me to follow her, but immediately took off for the car. I barely had time to get in before she was weaving around all the civilian onlookers and out toward the highway.

  She had her phone out and dialed as she dodged a trail of more cars headed into the neighborhood.

  “Yes, I need to speak with Jessica Garcia regarding a story. It’s an urgent tip that I can only tell her,” Leslie lied smoothly, giving me a challenging look.

  “Hey, it’s true in a way.” I agreed, because I wasn’t about to discuss the fine line she was walking while she was behind the wheel.

  “Jessica, this is Leslie Boxe. Yes, the one working with the FBI. We’ve had a development in the case, and Agent Watson is sending me to give you the update…No, I understand that he may have been killed in the explosion. I have some more information that he wanted to make sure was included with his interview…Great, we’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. You won’t be sorry.” She hung up and sighed in relief. “I think we’re good for the moment.”

  “Do you really think she’ll buy that?” I asked, curious, because Leslie seemed confident that the reporter wouldn’t air the story after she talked to her.

  “Yes, because she’s going to want the story I’ve got for her.”

  I wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but I didn’t really have any way of stopping her from doing this.

  With her aggressive driving, we arrived much sooner than I thought possible.

  The car stopped, and Leslie had one hand on the door handle when I reached out and grabbed her arm. Sparks flew, and I looked up to see if she’d noticed.

  When our eyes met, it was as if a force greater than both of us was pulling us together. It felt like a lifetime, but in reality, was only seconds.

  She jerked her arm out of my hand, as if I’d been holding her against her will.

  “Sorry about that,” I apologized.” It wasn’t my normal reaction to apologize for things I did unless there was a problem, but I knew that to win her over, I was going to have to approach things with caution.

  “We should get inside before she airs the story.” Leslie started to reach for the door handle once again.

  “Wait. I can read people’s thoughts. Well, at least get impressions of what others are thinking. We need to accomplish our goal, and we can do that by working together,” I urged, hoping she would agree.

  She rubbed the spot on her arm where my hand was moments before. “What are you suggesting?”

  “Don’t offer to give her your story, or at least not the psychic one. Offer to tell her about the serial killings, but don’t lose your chance at a future with the Unusual Crimes Division. Please.”

  “All right,” she agreed. “But don’t touch me.”

  I gave her a quick nod and turned to get out of the vehicle. It was going to take a lot of work, but maybe, just maybe, I’d have a chance if she would listen to me.

  Jessica Garcia was waiting in the visitor’s area, and came forward expectantly.

  “You said you have more of the story, so what is it you want?” She gave us both an appraising look.

  “We need to see his interview. It has vital information that will help us find the person behind committing these crimes. It’s why he’s dead,” I explained quickly, not giving Leslie a chance to say anything.

  “You can’t stop me from airing it. Not only do I have his permission and signature, but someone killed him to keep this from airing, so it has the potential to be an amazing story.” Jessica crossed her arms defiantly.

  “Totally get that.” I gave her a smile, turning on the charm. “We know you can use this and our potential interview after the killer is caught.”

  Leslie broke in with, “Look, we know this is a career-changing moment for you. It’s also a chance to save lives. When does it have to be ready to air?”

  “In two hours, if we want to have it ready for the slot on the early news at five.”

  “Great. Let us watch it. There may only be a few things we need to have edited so you can still air it. Give us that edge to catch someone who is killing hundreds of people, please?”

  “Well…” Jessica tapped a well-manicured nail on her chin. “On one condition, that when you are able to give me another story in the future, you will. Not something vital, just enough of a heads-up before any other channels get ahold of it.”

  Leslie’s hand shot out. “Done.”

  “Then follow me.” Jessica held out two visitor’s badges for us to put on as we hurried after her. She was practically running in her three-inch heels.

  She led us to a viewing room, which felt more like a mini theater.

  “I was already working on it when you called. Jeremy, put it back at the beginning, please?” she asked of her cameraman.

  “Already done.” He waved for us to take a seat.

  We sat down and watched as Gavin Watson took a seat in his home.

  I had no emotional attachment to what I was seeing, but Leslie seemed to give a start in the beginning. I would have to remember to ask her about it when we didn’t have extra ears listening in.

  Gavin sat in a chair facing Jessica as he prepared to answer her questions.

  “Can you tell me a little bit about why you wanted to do an interview with Channel 8 News today?” Jessica leaned forward, but the focus shifted inward on Gavin.

  “I’ve been an FBI agent for about five years. I went to the academy because I was offered a spot in their training program. I’d worked as a security guard for one of John Reed’s clubs. What I didn’t know was that the academy offer had strings attached.”

  “So you weren’t really told that after training, you’d be helping out with his empire?” Jessica followed up.

  “No. I was naïve and thought I was about to become someone who could help others, which wasn’t exactly the case. After training, and a year of shadowing someone, there was a case of importance to Mr. Reed, who wanted that evidence to disappear.” Gavin ran a hand through his hair. “It didn’t seem like it would hurt anyone, so I did it.”

  “You didn’t have a guilty conscience?” Jessica questioned.

  “Not really, because I didn’t see a problem with it. It wasn�
�t destroyed, just ‘misplaced.’” He emphasized the word using air quotes. “After that, it didn’t seem so difficult to move things around or give him a heads-up.”

  “So in the five years you were an actual agent, how many times would you say you impeded justice from happening?”

  He groaned. “That’s really difficult to say. I kept some records, but even with those, it’s hard to say what really made a difference legally, or was it just a problem morally? I would say that most of what I did seemed to be just legal red tape, but now that I’ve seen the end result of some of my actions, I can see the problem. Everything has a bigger impact morally on others.”

  “Would you do things differently if you could?”

  Gavin thought about it for a moment. “Yes, I would. By having the FBI find out about me, I’ve pretty much sealed my fate. It’s not exactly the way I wanted to have the world remember me.”

  He gave the camera a sad smile. “That’s why I’m doing this interview with you now. When something happens to me, you’ll have the proof on film of my testimony, and it will be about what happened instead of the rumors.” The camera zoomed in on his face. “I apologize for my actions. To my colleagues and friends who didn’t know about that other side of me, I’m truly sorry.”

  Jessica continued to grill him about different cases, and I finally zoned out. It was all-important information, but I just couldn’t keep my mind on the task at hand. Then he said one sentence that stood out.

  “Hold on, go back about two minutes.” I waved at Jeremy to reverse it.

  “Is there anything you feel needs to be said so you can help the FBI with some of their cases?”

  “I have a case that is ongoing, but while my team does have a few clues, they don’t have all the information. They believe that the serial killer they’re searching for is the bastard son of the famous John Reed. He does have a son, but he’s not the only child born to him.”

  Jessica leaned forward in her seat. “Do you know the identity of his son, or sons?”

  “No, but I do have a few thoughts on the subject. I believe that he’s working closely with the case, and we’re just not aware of his connection to the man.”

  “Why would a man who built such an empire not want to claim his children?”

  “He doesn’t want to share the limelight with them. This serial killer has used his father’s connections a few times to give the team clues when he thought we weren’t figuring things out quickly enough.”

  I started coughing, and realized I couldn’t listen any longer. I was pretty certain who that other child was.

  Leslie frowned when I got up and raced out of the room.

  Unsure of where to go, I barely made it to the bathroom stall before I lost my breakfast in the toilet. The sound of the door opening alerted me that Leslie was in the same room.

  “Noah?” she called quietly, standing in the open doorway in case there was someone else in the room with me.

  “I’ll be out in a minute. Tell her to take out that part about him having more than one child and she can air the interview.”

  “How… What?” she sputtered before turning on her heel and retracing her steps to the viewing room I’d raced out of.

  I knew it was the coward’s way out, but I couldn’t face her right then. I used the app on my phone to request a ride, threw some water on my face, and hurried outside when I received the notification that it had arrived.

  Unable to explain things, I simply texted her a message: I had to leave. Don’t worry about me. I’ll let Adam know.

  She responded immediately. “I will worry. Something’s not right and we need to talk.”

  With a frown, I leaned back against the seat as the driver drove me home. She was right. Something was wrong, and I needed to take this next step on my own without her or the FBI looking over my shoulder.

  Using my card, I paid the driver and looked over my shoulder, worried that Leslie was about to appear on my doorstep. I knew I didn’t have very long before she arrived with questions.

  I threw a few things in a bag without really paying attention and headed to the garage where my car was parked.

  Even though I’d had a head start on her, I made it to the stop sign just as she was turning onto my street.

  “Maybe next time,” I muttered as I pulled away and proceeded to hop onto the freeway, located only blocks from my home. “You’re not going to like what I think is the truth.”

  I told myself that I wasn’t running from her, but to protect her from an unpleasant reality.

  Chapter 4

  Leslie

  When Noah had requested that we replay that portion of the interview, I thought we’d really found something. Unfortunately, I was having to listen to Gavin on both the large screen in front of me, and his ghost sitting beside me.

  It was hard to hear anything important, and even when the interview restarted, I almost missed it.

  John Reed had two illegitimate sons, maybe more. But now we knew there were at least two of them.

  Noah’s sudden departure and illness hadn’t made sense until he’d disappeared. He’d apparently heard something while working there that indicated the second child. It must not be good if he’d raced off like that without a word to me.

  Then again, I hadn’t been the most encouraging person in the world, so what would make him think I’d be willing to listen to anything he’d have to say to me?

  After giving Jessica my apologies, I’d hurried out to see if I could catch him, only to see the tail lights of a vehicle he’d jumped into pull away.

  Returning inside, I spoke once more to Jessica, who was ecstatic to be able to use the majority of the interview, and didn’t mind that I wouldn’t let the last part be aired. It was enough to give her a boost over the other stations, and would make a great addition to her resume.

  In the car, I dialed Adam as I headed back toward the crime scene.

  “Adam, do you know where Noah lives?” I asked, dispensing with the pleasantries.

  “Yeah, I can text it to you. Why?”

  “Noah just ran out on me, and I’m pretty sure he’s gone home.”

  “Why on earth would he do something like that?” he demanded.

  “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. There was a portion of the interview concerning the son of John Reed. It appears there may be two sons, and something about that is what caused him to have an upsetting response.”

  “Crap, I should have anticipated this. He was too close to that man on a daily basis, and hasn’t had the time to recover from it.”

  “I’m going to his house to see if I can talk to him about it.”

  Adam let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Leslie. I can’t get away from here, and he really needs someone to talk things out with.”

  “I’ve got it.” I tried to sound reassuring.

  “Let me know how it goes,” Adam mumbled, sounding distracted. “Listen, I’ve got to see what they found.”

  “Sure thing.” I hung up, feeling alone all of a sudden.

  Something about the whole thing didn’t make much sense, and I was way more concerned about him than I really should be. Maybe the soul mate crap was truer than I wanted to admit.

  Either way, I was going to get some answers from him whether he wanted to give them or not.

  When I saw him leaving as I turned onto his street, I felt betrayed.

  How dare he drive off and leave me.

  I sat in his driveway, taking a deep breath, looking for a way to calm down.

  He obviously didn’t want to discuss whatever it was that was going on with him. While I felt that something important was happening, it honestly wasn’t my problem. He could find me if he wanted to talk, because I had other important things to do—like catch a killer.

  ***

  The news feeds were full of the former FBI Agent Watson’s life, and why he had turned against the people he’d sworn to protect. With all of the attention focused on his life and death, the actual
murders were going unnoticed.

  I returned to FBI Headquarters and parked Adam’s car where he could find it easily. Whenever he returned with the others from the crime scene, he’d have it available when he needed it.

  Searching out Martha wasn’t that difficult. I wanted to see if she had pulled up any murders that warranted looking into.

  This whole killing spree had started to make me antsy when things were slow and we weren’t investigating an actual murder. Logically, I knew we could find something from all the reports and details, but I was used to having something solid to work on.

  When the entire Urban Energy Corporation had been taken down, it was a wonderful feeling. Since they were a huge portion of what I’d been working on, I was left with a restlessness that could only be solved when a newer, brighter thing to work on came into focus.

  Martha appeared, and I left behind the uncomfortable thoughts to change gears.

  “Hey, I was hoping I’d find you. Do we have anything that might point to what he’s using to kill with this month?”

  “Not yet. I’ll show you the few things that have stood out, but there’s nothing definite yet.”

  I followed her to her cubicle and pulled up a chair from the next empty spot.

  “We’ve got the normal amount of crimes, and our system is filtering all those that aren’t men with birthdays falling in the Sagittarius range.”

  “Great. So anything that fits the monthly criteria should be hitting for us to look at, and decide it if it’s something we need to investigate. Do we have any to look into?”

  “There are about ten that meet the criteria, but none that really pop. It’s really strange. Normally, within the first few days, we’ll get one that really looks like it’s the ZM’s work. This time, we’re going to have to search really hard to discover which ones are truly his work.

  “There’s one report of a civilian shoving a woman out of the way of a city bus, but he didn’t make it. Then we’ve got a businessman who ordered out for dinner and died from poisoning. They think it could be the lettuce, and are tracking it back to the manufacturer.”