by Paris Morgan
“Nope. We each had different things to do. I was supposed to do the food thing, Wendy was to help people with their accidents, and the other one had allergies,” Sarah added brightly.
“She was taking care of the ones who have allergic reactions, right?” I knew I was onto something if I just let her talk about things in her own way.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s it. She uses allergies.”
“All right, Sarah. You just sit tight for a little bit, and I’m going to go check on a few things before we get you all settled.”
“That’s fine. I just need to make sure he pays my family. Do you think he’ll still do that? We really need the money.”
“I hope so, but I can’t give you a definite answer. Sorry.” I left the room with Adam and Ryan following me.
“Did we get someone over to her house to collect the evidence?” I questioned them.
“Noah’s talking to the locals, and they’re getting a warrant as we speak.”
“Whew. She was a wealth of information, wasn’t she? I just hope we can keep her alive until we find out everything she knows.”
Noah arrived, out of breath. “I wouldn’t count on it. We got a warrant, and when we got there, the house was in flames, completely engulfed. At least her family got out safely.”
“Wow. He did it again.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Next, we’re going to have to have food tasters just so we don’t get poisoned.”
“It might come to that, although I hope not.” Adam frowned at the thought.
“I sent Mac the interview with Sarah for him to begin matching stuff, to see if we can find this Wendy or the other woman.” Ryan glanced in the room as Sarah continued to talk to herself.
“What’s she saying?” Adam moved closer and turned up the speaker’s volume.
“I promise, I didn’t tell them anything. I did everything you told me to. Just make sure that my family is safe, please?” she pleaded to the empty air.
“Where she’s going, I don’t think even the Zodiac Master will try to take her out. She’s crazy,” Ryan mused.
“It could be an act, but I think she’s just that dumb. Why would he choose someone with that many screws loose?” I shook my head, confused. “All this goes against his pattern. Three killers in one month?”
“We’ve gotten under his skin. Last month, we shut him down so completely, they didn’t really get all the attention that the other months did. By having three of them, he’s spreading out the chances that they’ll be able to continue killing for the entire month?” Adam guessed. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Nothing about any of this makes sense anymore. I thought we had a good profile of the Zodiac Master, and yet he keeps changing it.” My frown deepened. “We’ve got to stop this. He’s dredging from the bottom of the barrel.”
Chapter 10
Ryan
It seemed to me that every time we made a little progress, we went back about ten steps.
When they’d made progress on that program last month, narrowing down who the potential victims could be, we still had to find out what kind of murders to look for before we could try to save people.
Mac was working on using the things we’d learned to get started on catching these guys. When this new motive for killing was discovered, it made it very hard to warn people about the killer.
There was no way you could warn against people’s kindnesses. Everyone always commented on how horrible the world was, and I could agree with that because of the business I was in. Murder wasn’t a pretty job, but I’d seen people come together through tragedy, and the human act of kindness helped to make it better.
By using this method of kindness murders, the Zodiac Master was using the one thing we had to fight against evil and turn it against us. We would be constantly looking over our shoulders, and wary of our neighbor’s helping hands.
The same loop of thoughts kept running around in my head, coming up with slightly different versions. None of them making more sense than the one before.
I couldn’t stand to watch the horror show of poor Sarah’s interview any longer, and went outside for a breath of fresh air. What I really needed was a moment with my baby.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I smiled at the cute picture of Shea and Hope on the background screen.
Hope. That’s what we needed. Not my daughter, but to instill hope that we were going to find this guy and not make our country scared of receiving help from others.
Was there any hope in this situation? My brain couldn’t handle the ins and outs of thinking about this anymore. I was afraid to hope because it seemed that we were never going to win.
My smile returned as the screen lit up with a call from Shea.
“Hey, babe, how’s it going?” I greeted her cheerfully.
“Good. Someone wants to say hi. Talk to her so she knows it’s you.” Shea put the phone on speaker so Hope could make her little coos.
“Hope, are you being a good girl for Mommy? I’m so jealous that she’s getting to be there with you all the time.”
Hope cooed loudly at the sound of my voice.
“Ryan, are you making any progress? I switched it off speaker so you can tell me, because Flora’s been really worried lately. She’s started pacing for hours on end.”
“Things have been difficult,” I hedged. “Noah and Leslie are an item now. We’ve tracked down one of the killers. Although, she hasn’t been much help.”
“One of the killers? Does that mean there’s more than one?” Shea’s question held a hint of worry.
“Yes, there’s more than one, and they’re killing with kindness. Like, literally, doing a kind deed that leads to someone’s death.”
“That’s horrible,” she breathed. “Why would someone do that?”
I gave a sigh of agreement. “We’re trying to wrap our heads around it. It’s why I came outside for a breath of fresh air.”
“I’m sorry, babe. I should have been giving you something nice to think about, but instead, I’m asking you to relive all that mess.”
“No, it’s okay. Really, just hearing Hope coo and your voice are so helpful in keeping me grounded. Flora’s been having visions?”
“I’m not sure if that’s it, but I know she hasn’t been sleeping well. She doesn’t tell me what’s going on psychically, I just know she’s been worried and nervous about something.”
“Well, I’m sure that she and Adam are talking regularly, but if anything unusual happens, make sure to call me. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
Just the thought of that had me closing my eyes and whispering a little prayer of protection for my family.
“Don’t worry, I’ve been practicing with the guns, and my aim is getting better every day. Plus, I’ve got my pepper spray and taser with me all the time. We’re well-prepared. You just take care of you and our friends.”
“Speaking of that, I should probably get back inside. I’ll call you tonight when we’re settled.”
“Okay. Love you.” Shea never ended the conversation without telling me she loved me. It always made me feel good.
“You too. Tell Hope bye for me.”
I had barely hung up when a news van pulled up in front of the police station.
“Crap!” I muttered under my breath as I turned and raced inside to alert Adam.
***
Breaking News
Viewers, we are coming to you with a special edition of the story that started a few days ago with a corrupt FBI agent and who he was working for. Since then, Channel 8 News has been working diligently to uncover what the FBI and local police agencies are trying so hard to keep from you.” Jessica Garcia preened in front of the camera, giving it her best angle.
“While reports of the FBI having a new set of victims are true, we’ve managed to catch up with them in the town of Jackson, Mississippi, where they are holding a suspect. We’re just waiting to find out if they have this month’s killer, or if all those with the Sagit
tarius sign are still in danger of dying.
“In the course of our investigation, we have uncovered that some men were being killed when the dinner they ordered showed up on their doorstep with an added layer of poison. We’ll leave you with this word of caution for today. If it appears to be too good to be true, then it might be. Pick up your own food for the next few days until it can be determined that the crisis is over.”
The news reporter was about to pack things up when Adam appeared on the front steps with the rest of the team standing in the background behind him.
“I’d like to make a statement.”
“Uh, sure.” Jessica motioned for the cameraman to continue rolling.
“We do have a suspect in custody. She isn’t in full use of her faculties, and we will be having a psychologist take a look at her to determine if she understood the severity of her actions. We are looking for another woman who we think might have been working with her named Wendy Slim. If you see her, please let us know on our hotline so that we can ask her a few questions. At the moment, she is just a person of interest. Thank you.” Adam nodded and moved away from the mic.
“Off the record, what else can you tell me?” Jessica inquired.
Adam shook his head sadly. “Nothing right now. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get back to work.”
Jessica turned away, frustrated at the lack of information.
***
The Zodiac Master
“Today’s news was very informational. I can’t believe he gave an interview while it’s still ongoing.” I eyed the TV with suspicion until I noticed that Noah and Leslie were holding hands.
They appeared to be trying to keep it out of sight, but there was no doubt they were together for someone who knew what they were looking for.
“That bastard. We might have the same blood, but obviously, his mother never taught him not to take others toys away from them. It’s time I showed the whole team that I meant business.”
I picked up the phone and made a call.
“Wendy’s been burned. Take her out, and make sure she’s in a public place so she can be discovered quickly,” I commanded the last remaining member of this month’s team.
“Yes, sir. Do you want me to continue with my mission?” she asked.
“Hmm… I would say yes, but take more caution when you’re doing a delivery. We can’t have you taken out yet. I have to make sure they stay busy and focused on other things and not what I’ve got going on.”
“I’ll make sure they are focused on me, far away from Mississippi,” she promised.
“See that you do. I’d hate for you to have to end such a promising career,” I threatened.
“No worries. You’re covered, sir.”
“Good.”
I sat back on the couch and pushed play as I listened to the rest of the news update.
Yes, it was time that this group learned what happened when you went against the rules. Past time, actually. I might have lost Leslie to Noah for now, but I still had one chance to change her mind. I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
I threw my clothes in the suitcase and prepared to check out of the hotel where I’d been for the past few days. Texas was where it was all going to go down, and I was going to use my home-field advantage for as long as possible.
Chapter 11
Leslie
The leads that Mac had given us were going to take a few days to follow up on. Adam had sent the other agents of the team in Dallas to check up on look-alike accidents that needed to be crossed off the list.
It hadn’t even taken a full day before there were so many sightings of Wendy French, it seemed as if she was everywhere at once.
Bodies were starting to turn up in St. Louis, Chattanooga, Little Rock, and other places all over the U.S.
What had happened was that while we were focusing on trying to find a new pattern, the three killers had been having a heyday around the country. With three of them, the chances of one getting caught went up greatly, but now that one was in jail, and one was on every TV station, it was up to the last one to complete the other deaths without getting caught.
We’d just gotten to sleep when Adam pounded on the door.
“Wendy French’s body was just found in Shreveport, Louisiana,” he informed us quickly when Noah let him in. “We’re going to drive over and see if we can get anything from the crime scene. Be ready to go in five.”
He left us standing there, wondering at his abruptness. I began to hurry to get dressed.
“Five minutes? I just got to sleep,” Noah groaned, following my lead as we threw the last few things in our bags. “I think the Zodiac Master is trying to kill us by depriving us of sleep.”
“He’s not known for caring about our health,” I commented as I pulled my sneakers on.
“Well, I’m not going to vote for him in the next set of polls. Anyone who keeps me existing on coffee is a horrible person in my book.”
I laughed. “So forget about all the murders he’s had done on his command. It’s the lack of sleep that put him in your little black book of horrible people.”
“Yep, I’ll stand by my statement. He’s evil because of this new type of torture. Aren’t villains supposed to make you sleep for hundreds of years? He’s found a way to twist the fairy tales in his favor.” He made a quick pass through the room, making sure that we hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Maybe Adam will take pity on you and let us stop at a coffee shop before we head out.” I gave him a peck on the cheek. “Look at the bright side, we have about six hours to sleep in the car while Adam drives. It could be so much worse,” I grinned as I made my way out the door, not waiting for him to follow.
I’d barely made it downstairs when my phone rang. I juggled the suitcase and my backpack while trying to answer.
“Hello, Jerome. I don’t have much time to talk. We’re about to head out,” I told him, not wanting to have a long conversation, because I was feeling extremely guilty about hiding Noah from him.
“It’s okay, Leslie. We’re just friends. I get it that you’ve got other things going on right now. I just wish that you’d have respected me enough to tell me yourself instead of letting me find out about you and your new boyfriend on national news.”
“Crap.” I threw my hand over my mouth. “I’m so sorry. It all happened so fast, and then bodies started showing up. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know.” He took my words at face value. “That’s always been our problem. We never wanted to hurt each other, but it happened anyway. I’m not at the top of the list anymore.”
“Don’t say that. Flora and Shea don’t even know unless they figured it out like you did. Adam and Ryan were here when it happened, and so they just kind of found out all at once. I wasn’t trying to hide it, I promise.”
“Well, that does make me feel a little better. At least I’m not chopped liver when it comes to being your friend. Just don’t forget about me. I’m not as fragile as you think I am,” he informed me.
“I feel horrible, and I’m about to feel worse because I really do have to go. But when I get back into town, we can do lunch or coffee, okay?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” he replied.
“Again, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
“Sure. Go catch the bad guys or look at dead bodies, whatever it is on your urgent list.”
I started to respond, but he’d already hung up.
With a shake of my head, I joined the others and we got started. There wasn’t a way I could change the situation and make him feel better no matter how much I apologized. I was just going to have to be a better friend in the future, which also meant that I needed to call Flora and Shea to tell them myself. I was sure that Adam and Ryan had already told them, but I didn’t need to lose any more friendships at this point.
“Everything okay?” Ryan asked from the front seat.
“Yeah, it was Jerome. He wasn’t happy that I’d started dating without givin
g him the heads-up. I mean, he does have a point. I was trying to irritate the Zodiac Master, but I should have thought about my friends who should have gotten a phone call of warning.”
Noah pulled me over, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You can’t be held responsible for everything that happens. Sometimes, our best intentions have to cover a multitude of sins. If he’s really your friend, he’ll forgive you eventually.”
“I know, but it’s just a respect kind of thing. I’d want others to give me that consideration as well. I’ve just been so wrapped up in all of this that I forget about how others will take something.” I made a demand of myself that in the future, I was going to have to be less selfish.
“You can’t blame yourself for being busy. It’s part of your job,” Ryan protested.
“Which is exactly the reason we’re not dating anymore. I put my job before Jerome, and it’s not okay. I can’t treat people like this. I have to be considerate of my friends.”
“True friends will just be glad for you instead of making you feel guilty for not telling them.” Noah gave me an extra squeeze of comfort.
“Maybe.” I didn’t continue the argument. There wasn’t really a point, because I knew I needed to do better, even if my friend forgave me. It was on me to change things in the future.
I leaned my head on Noah’s shoulder and shut my eyes. No matter what I could do in the future, I was going to need some sleep, or I would become a grumpy sourpuss like Noah. I wanted to solve murders, not commit more.
***
Flora
I woke up with a horrible feeling of dread. I hadn’t meant to doze off in the recliner, but after days of fitful sleep, it happened. The dreams I’d started having were so vivid, and I couldn’t let myself drift off for fear that I’d be pulled into them. Adam wasn’t here to save me this time, and I couldn’t take the chance I wouldn’t be able to escape on my own.
The clock proclaimed it was almost six in the morning as I stood up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
