Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  I hurried to call Leslie. I couldn’t help the way I sounded as I tried to explain what was going on.

  When I heard the words, “We’re on the way,” I breathed a sigh of relief. Leslie was much better at all this psychic stuff, and for some reason, the person who had Shea and Hope might just work out a deal with her. If she asked nicely, that is. I just wanted my family back.

  Following Adam into the house, I caught the tail end of his argument with Flora’s aunt, Rosella.

  “It doesn’t matter that you’re her boyfriend. We’re her family and know what’s best for her. If you and your friends hadn’t brought all this evil to our door, then poor Flora wouldn’t have this happening to her,” Rosella declared angrily. “We welcomed you, and now Flora might not recover.”

  “Look, I’m not trying to hurt her or change what you’re doing, but can I at least try and see if I can bring her back? I love her, and she’s the one I want to spend my life with. Doesn’t that count for something?”

  Aunt Rosella eyed us as she considered Adam’s words before nodding yes.

  Adam started to race into the room, but stopped himself and proceeded in slowly, pausing before gently taking Flora’s hand. “Flora, honey, I don’t know what happened, but please, try to make it back to us.”

  He closed his eyes, seeming to concentrate on something I couldn’t see.

  It was so quiet that I didn’t realize what was going on until Adam slipped to the floor, unconscious. Flora started to groan, but wasn’t fully awake yet.

  The protective circle moved back farther, leaving Adam on the floor, clutching Flora’s hand. He’d given his energy or whatever to Flora. That bastard zodiac dude must have taken hers when he came to get my family.

  Leslie and Noah arrived just then, and I went out to greet them.

  “Is Adam here? Did you find out anything?” Leslie questioned as soon as she got out of the car.

  “Um, yeah, about that. Adam just passed out on the floor where Flora is.”

  “Passed out? Did something happen to Flora?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but went inside with Noah and I following behind her.

  “Ah, Ms. Leslie. We are honored that you’re here. Flora is just waking up,” Rosella greeted her, completely ignoring the fact that Adam was just lying there on the floor.

  Leslie reached down and touched Adam’s head before removing his hand from Flora’s.

  She closed her eyes and was about to do what Adam had done when Noah took a place on the other side, making it a threesome. With a quick smile, she closed her eyes again and began.

  Adam groaned, but stayed on the floor as he came to, while Noah caught Leslie as she started to sway, breaking the connection between them.

  Those in the protective circle were muttering and shaking their heads about something as they started to file out of the room.

  Aunt Rosella stuck her head back inside. “Order has been restored. They will be okay, but Mr. Adam will be a bit woozy from giving his life source. We approve of his dedication to Flora, and hope he will continue to prove himself worthy of her.”

  With those words, the five of us were left alone. I was the only one standing there untouched by whatever mumbo jumbo was going on with the cosmos.

  Flora’s eyes opened and she looked around, confused. “Why are you all here?”

  “That’s what we’re hoping you can tell us. We came back and found out you were unconscious. Shea and Hope are gone, and no one seems to know what happened," I answered, hoping she could give us some answers.

  “Adam? I can feel him here, but where is he?”

  “I’m here, honey.” His hand moved around until he found hers again. “Just feeling a little slow right now.”

  “Leslie, what’s wrong with you? You look a little green.” Flora’s face lit up as she spied Noah. “Oh, and you must be Leslie’s new man.”

  “Flora.” I blocked her view of the others. “Can you tell us what happened to Shea and Hope?”

  She rubbed her head as if trying to remember.

  “I could tell something wasn’t right, so I went to make sure they were okay. I’d made it all the way out to the driveway before I was overwhelmed.”

  “What did he do to you?” I urged, my patience running thin.

  “No, he didn’t do anything at first. It was the overwhelming presence of evil. I felt suffocated and weak. That was when he used his talents and connected telepathically. I’m not sure what he did, but the last thing I remember seeing was him carrying Hope’s car seat out to Shea’s car.”

  I barely let her finish before I had Barbie and Mac on the phone.

  “Can you two trace the GPS system in Shea’s car? We need to find out where it’s at,” I pleaded.

  “Sure, Ryan. We’ll see if we can get something figured out for you and get back ASAP.”

  “Thanks.” The call ended less than a minute.

  “You think he has them, don’t you?” Flora attempted to sit up, but only managed to scoot up farther in the bed.

  A knock on the front door of the cabin had me pulling my gun out as I went to see who it was. Aunt Rosella frowned when she saw my weapon, but she didn’t say anything as she came in carrying a large pot of soup.

  “They’ll be hungry, and will need to replenish their energy. Make sure they eat, and then rest.” She shook a finger at me before disappearing as quickly as she’d entered.

  She was right. My team was exhausted, and they hadn’t gotten the sleep I had only a short time before. In fact, it felt like I hadn’t slept at all the night before, as worry had become my new best friend.

  Opening a cabinet, I pulled out four bowls for the soup and served up enough for everyone except me. There was no way I was going to be able to eat until we knew something about my family.

  I carried the tray of food out and tried to wait patiently as they all took one.

  “Your Aunt Rosella said you would need some food to help recuperate.”

  “We just finished eating,” Leslie mentioned, but she still took a bowl from me.

  Adam had moved from the floor and was now curled up next to Flora as if that was what would make him better. For me, all it did was make me miss my family more.

  “We know he’s doing this to get back to us. He won’t hurt them unless we don’t do what he wants. He hasn’t hurt children so far, and I don’t think he would do anything to the baby. Flora, you mentioned he had the baby’s car seat, right?” Leslie sipped her soup as if it was a coffee.

  Flora paused with the spoon halfway to her lips. “Yeah, he did. While I got a lot of evil coming off of him, it wasn’t toward the baby. Maybe he won’t hurt her.”

  “He left a psychic trace, and if Noah and I can find that, we might be able to get a lead on where he is now. I haven’t done anything like this yet, but then again, I’ve never sent my energy into another person before either,” Leslie advised.

  “I hate to be selfish, but I just want to get my family back in one piece and still breathing.” I leaned against the doorjamb, willing myself to be calm. Going off without a plan was a sure way to get my family killed.

  “Do you think we should put out a missing persons? Have you seen me alert? Then, wherever he takes them, someone will see and help us find him?” I suggested. “Will it make him mad? This is what we would normally do if someone’s been kidnapped, isn’t it?”

  Adam was looking a little better now that he’d gotten some food in his system. “Maybe that’s what will make him contact us. I’m surprised he only left a note that didn’t proclaim he had them. He might not have realized we would think it meant they were at Flora’s.”

  “It might cause him to make a mistake. He must have had this planned for a while. There has to be somewhere he could take them, like a sort of home base for when he’s not traveling to oversee his serial killers,” Leslie surmised.

  Noah added, “I know most of you have been looking at what he’s doing, and even where he came from, but what if we start working on
where he spends his free time? Leslie said it, his home base has got to be here in Texas, and I’m going to take a wild guess that it’s somewhere in Dallas. He would have wanted to stay close to my biological dad and Leslie so he could keep an eye on her.”

  “Let’s get a team out here if the Demeter’s will let us. Have them take a look at where he would have gotten access. He took Shea’s car, so he must have been dropped off by someone, or left his vehicle parked somewhere he could walk from.” Adam sat up and took his phone out, ready to get things going.

  Needing something to do while he put things in motion, I gathered the empty bowls and carried them to the kitchen.

  “So, Ryan, we’re going to head out to where Mac and Barbie are stationed and see what we can do with their systems and our brains.” Adam turned to Flora. “From here on out, I’m not leaving you alone until we’ve caught this bastard. I’m not taking any chances on him deciding that he needs more leverage.”

  It took everyone a few minutes to get up and moving after using so much of their energy, but by the time the other team arrived, we were ready to leave it all in their hands.

  I drove because Adam still wasn’t looking too great, and I needed to feel like I was doing something.

  Mac and Barbie had made some progress, but Shea’s car had been driven for a while, and then abandoned in a shopping center parking lot.

  “Are there cameras so we can find out if he moved them or dropped them off somewhere?”

  “I sent a few cops out to check on it and they came up empty. The car is just sitting there. He knew what he was doing because he stopped at the end of the lot where there aren’t cameras and transferred something over to another car. The problem is, it looks just like every other car coming or going from the parking lot,” Mac explained.

  “We’re still working to see if we can get a picture of him driving in or out of the area, but I wouldn’t hold my breath at this point. He knows how to avoid the main areas where we’d know to look.” Barbie spun around to talk to us before spinning back to the massive amount of screens.

  “I’ve put out a missing persons alert and suggested that the man of interest would be a white male, medium height in his mid-late forties, early fifties. He would blend in easily, but might be shopping baby items. Granted, a lot of fathers would fit that description as well. Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone will remember something.” Adam patted the back of Mac’s chair.

  “I also had the number for tips set up, and they’ll be routed to the FBI for the time being.”

  “Uh, guys, I think you need to see this.” Leslie pointed to the TV hanging from the ceiling.

  It showed an explosion that had rocked the downtown area earlier in the afternoon. Moments after the first blast, another one had gone off nearby in a warehouse.

  “There weren’t many people in each of the buildings, but there are some casualties. Homeland is going to take point on it, as well as ATF, and they’ll call us in if they think it relates to our case,” Adam announced as his phone went off. “For now, we’re going to focus on finding Shea and Hope.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured, glad we weren’t going to run off chasing other cases when some of our own were missing.

  “So, pull up a chair and let’s get started.”

  ------

  Chapter 3

  Leslie

  Pictures of Shea and Hope were released to the media when Adam called for a press conference. Ryan was a mess, but knew it was important that he be seen by the public so they would be willing to help find his missing family.

  The problem was, we knew who they were with—the Zodiac Master. We just didn’t know where he was.

  Adam suggested we pursue this part as if it were any other kidnapping, which was hard because this was family—our extended family—and there was a lot more at stake than just a psycho looking for a ransom.

  All the details and things that would be asked in an investigation were things we already knew. We knew the kidnappers’ motive, what he wanted and how he’d done it—the things we’d been trying to figure out for months.

  It was all so overwhelming, I had to get away for just a little bit. I didn’t care if the family was happy with us being on their ranch or not. It was the last place Shea and Hope had been, and I was going to do everything in my power to find them, even if it meant doing things that were outside of the FBI’s playbook.

  I thought I’d snuck out of the building unnoticed when Noah knocked on the side of the car.

  “Don’t say anything, just get in,” I growled in frustration.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He piled in and shut his door quickly.

  “Stop it,” I grumbled as I merged onto the freeway.

  “What? I didn’t say anything.”

  “Yes, you did. In your head. I can hear your thoughts, remember?”

  “Is that so?” he grinned. “Tell me more.”

  “I’m not crazy for leaving the group. He’s not going to hurt me.”

  At least I don’t think so, I told myself silently.

  “You know this goes both ways, right? I can hear what you’re thinking as well.”

  Crap!

  “Yep, I heard that too.”

  “Ugh!” I yelled. “Just be quiet and let me think in peace.”

  It grew quiet, and I glanced at him to make sure I wasn’t missing something, but it seemed genuine and I did need a moment. I turned on the radio to help with my thoughts.

  Nothing else was mentioned as we drove up the road and turned into the Demeter ranch.

  I pulled over before we got to the house and shut off the engine. Giving Noah a “stay put” look, I got out of the car and walked along the gravel road.

  There was something here. I could feel it if I just concentrated hard enough.

  “Need some help?” Mary Ann asked, startling me.

  Clutching a hand to my chest, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Can you feel what happened here?”

  “He was here. He wanted to make you pay, because he’s not happy that you’re with his brother. He wants you for himself, and the fact that you’re not interested is really pissing him off,” she explained.

  “I was afraid of that. I’m the reason Ryan’s family is missing.” I slid to the ground and ran my fingers through the grass, needing to feel something that still had life in it.

  “No, it’s not your fault. He would have done something like this either way. I’m surprised it hadn’t happened before this, actually.”

  “We’re not seeing something that’s right in front of us because of all the weeds. It’s like there’s information just waiting for us to find it. We just keep walking past and ignoring it.” I pounded the ground in frustration.

  I’d been so sure I would find something if I just tried to concentrate hard enough.

  That was it. It was something easy.

  I jumped up to leave and found Noah standing there, leaning against the hood of the car, watching me.

  “You know that’s really creepy, right?”

  “And your point is? I mean, you’re the one who drove thirty minutes out into the country to put your hands in the grass. You do know we have grass in the city, right?”

  I ignored him and got into the car, starting up the engine. If he didn’t want to walk all the way back to town, he’d better hurry and get in.

  “Hey, can you hear when Mary Ann is speaking to me?”

  “No. I like your brain waves start emitting white fuzz. I’m not sure if that’s from her or you, or a combination of both. Even ghosts don’t register on my scale. I can’t see or hear them, but I do get goose bumps when they’re around.”

  “That makes sense.” I planned to have more conversations with Mary Ann in the future. Even if they were more one-sided than she’d like.

  “Where to now?”

  “Um, my house. I’m going to start from the beginning and work things through the way we learned in police academy. I want to see the whole picture and find out whe
re the holes are. It may help me find what I’ve overlooked.”

  “Sounds good. Was that an invitation, or were you going to drop me off first?” Noah asked in a nonchalant way that made it seem as if he didn’t really care.

  “You can come with me, but I’m not going to be doing any fun stuff for a while.”

  He shrugged. “I’m good with that. Where are Ryan, Adam, and Flora going to stay?”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it, but I’m sure they’ll go to Adam’s house or stay at a hotel. Not that I really think Ryan’s going to be able to sleep tonight.”

  “Agreed. If it was you, I’d have the same problem.”

  Barely taking my eyes off the road to glance at him, I wondered just how invested we really were in each other.

  “Are you seeing us sitting on a porch somewhere in rocking chairs fifty years from now?” I questioned suspiciously.

  “Well, now that you’ve asked, no. I never expected to find someone that would be possible with. I was just hoping I could live a reasonably happy life, and my future significant other wouldn’t hate me too much. I haven’t seen many happy couples, so I don’t have any plans for front porches.” His voice took on a sad tone.

  “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to dig up old wounds. I’m just always being careful to stay away from anyone who wanted to tie me down with kids and a family. I didn’t even start dating until this year. Kids weren’t on my agenda for years later in life, if ever,” I announced, almost defensively.

  “Something changed, didn’t it?” He reached a hand over and placed it on my knee.

  “Yes, it did.” I laid my hand over his, careful to keep my eyes on the road. “My sister reconnected with the man she loved and sent away because she didn’t think she could do the job and have a family. Now that’s changed and she’s got stepchildren in their teens. She could have had all of it, but she pushed him away. Then again, I see what kind of stuff we deal with on a daily basis and wonder why I would ever want to bring a kid into the world, you know?”

  “Yep. But all cases aren’t like this. In fact, I don’t think serial killers are as common as we think. Maybe those who have been doing things for years, but not those who move as fast as the Zodiac Master has over the past few months. It’s not like I have a lot to use as examples, but there’s always been the hope that there was something more. I guess I was just waiting for it to happen, bringing balance to the world so evil doesn’t take over.”