“Oh, my bad, ma’am,” he said as he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a wallet.
“I didn’t realize we were doing formal introductions. My name is Special Agent in Charge - note the ‘in charge’ part in the middle - Jack Looper,” he replied, holding out his badge and identification. “Of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That’s the FBI for short, honey.”
Ashley took a close look at the identification. The high-handed introduction gave her pause since the federal agents she had met before were professional-acting, well-spoken officers and not insulting, loud-mouthed chauvinists.
“I take it you’re not from around here, Agent Looper,” Ashley said as she handed back the officer’s badge.
“Not hardly, honey,” Jack replied with a smirk. “I’m from the home of the real Big Orange. That’s Knoxville, Tennessee. You know, the Volunteer State.”
“I believe I’ve heard of it,” Ashley responded.
She didn't appreciate the comment since she was a Longhorn fan from birth. She had a University of Texas license plate on the front of her personal vehicle, her favorite shirt a Texas Longhorn sweat shirt, and her favorite blanket a giant burnt orange “Hook ‘em Horns” blanket.
“Yeah, you know why we’re the Volunteer State, don’t you?” Jack continued, each word offending Ashley even more. “That’s because we came and rescued your folks when Santa Annie was kicking your butts back at the Alamo. If it wasn’t for the good folks of Tennessee, you’d still be speaking Mexican.”
Jack paused for a minute, his smile getting even bigger, working his timing like a stand-up comedian.
“Oh wait, you still are,” Jack concluded with an irritating chuckle, finalizing the pair getting off on the wrong foot.
“So, other than being an arrogant jerk, what are you doing here?” Ashley finally spoke up. She was already tired of the federal agent’s braggadocios attitude. Her headache was worsening by the moment.
Jack extended his hand, somewhat pleased she had finally spoken up.
“Why, honey, I’m here to help you catch your killer,” Jack responded, taking her hand and giving her a firm handshake. “It seems that we’re going to be partners.”
“Partners?” Ashley repeated with a hint of dread in her voice.
“I guess ‘partners’ is a bit of a stretch,” Jack continued. “After all, I'm a federal agent and you're a Texas Ranger. I mean, until I got here, I thought Texas Rangers were a baseball team and then I found out that’s the code word for your state police.”
Ashley gave the agent a disgusted look, knowing she was under explicit orders to coordinate with the loud-mouthed lawman.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ashley rolled her eyes.
“Nope, it’s your lucky day, honey,” Jack replied as he walked behind Jana’s desk, taking a seat in her chair as if it was his office. “Now, since we got the formalities out of the way, what you say we get started?”
Jack motioned toward the chair across the desk from where he was sitting. It was almost as if he were sitting her down to conduct a job interview or something. Slowly, still shooting him an irritated gaze, Ashley took a seat even as Jack put his feet up on the late agent’s desk and leaned back in the chair. His lack of respect was insulting. She was tempted to walk over and slap his feet off the desk, perhaps teaching him some manners.
“Let's cut through the crap, sweetheart,” Jack began. “They tell me you’re one of the better profilers the Texas Rangers have to offer. So, fill me in on your impressions of the killer. We ain’t got all year to get this thing solved.”
Ashley cleared her throat, watching as Jack laced his hands behind his head, looking at her with anticipation. She had had three days to formulate her theory after carefully considering the circumstances of the string of murders.
“Well,” she began shyly, blurting her theory out in one long breath. “I figure he’s probably a white male, somewhere between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five, likely with a history of relationship issues, probably divorced, with a checkered employment history. He probably had problems identifying with his mother as a child, likely raised in a single parent home with no strong male role model.”
“Go on,” Jack encouraged. He nodded his head as if he was giving her opinion credence.
“Well, he is probably doing this for excitement, a thrill-killer you could say, who likes to read about what he’s done in the papers,” Ashley continued as she nervously revealed her theory. “He’s probably choosing his victims at random, picking them out when he shows up at the various public events. I figure he gets a rush from killing in a public setting. It makes him feel powerful, knowing he’s fooled the authorities.”
Jack leaned forward in his chair after hearing Ashley’s theory. He nodded his head as if mulling over what she had just said.
“Really, Agent Reynolds, really?” Jack began in a condescending tone. “I didn’t realize I got here after happy hour. I mean, I sure do like beer, and all but this drinking on duty ain’t no good.”
“What?” Ashley asked, confused by her colleague’s direction.
“You just described every serial killer in history,” Jack replied. “A white male between thirty-five and forty-five. Really? Why not just say the naughty man did it?”
Ashley didn’t appreciate the tone of the federal agent. After all, she had helped catch serial killers before. It wasn’t exactly her first dance.
“Well. Sherlock, suppose you tell me who’s doing it since you seem to have all the answers,” Ashley said in an annoyed tone. She stubbornly crossed her arms, not happy about his unceremonious dismissal of her theory.
“How do you find a deer hunter?” Jack asked calmly.
“How do I find what?” Ashley responded.
“How do you find a deer hunter?” Jack repeated. “First, you find the deer.”
“I’m sure I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Ashley said, shaking her head, still irritated by the agent’s rude behavior.
“To find the hunter you first need to figure out what he’s hunting,” Jack clarified. “You’re going about it all wrong. You’re wandering around out in the woods looking for a guy in camouflage when you should be figuring out what he’s hunting. That’s how you find the hunter.”
Ashley still sat with her arms folded, not following the agent’s gist.
“Are you sure you’re a federal agent?” Ashley said with disdain in her voice. “Maybe I need to check that badge again.”
Jack sighed as he tried to catch Ashley’s eye from across the desk.
“Okay honey, I’ll break this down for you,” Jack said, returning to his condescending tone. “You’ve been looking for a needle in a haystack, trying to figure out who is killing those kids. What you ought to be doing is figuring out why he’s killing them. And, let me just set you straight on something right now. He ain’t doing it for a thrill. He has a list and he’s checking it twice, sweetheart.”
Ashley cocked her head. Jack’s line of logic was just enough to catch her interest.
“See, while you’ve been wandering around checking data bases and doing all your little profiling, I’ve been doing some checking on our victims,” he revealed. “And, wouldn’t you know it, they got something in common.”
Ashley’s eyes showed she was biting on Jack’s bait, her arms unfolding as she listened.
“And, that was?” Ashley asked as Jack made a dramatic pause.
“They were all assholes,” Jack responded.
“They were what?” Ashley questioned. His simple explanation fell short of the great reveal she anticipated. “If you could kill assholes, well, I’d say you would need to wear your vest to bed at night because I’m sure you’ve got a fan club out there.”
Jack smiled at Ashley’s comment, the agent’s quips entertaining to him.
“While you were here going through files, I did some researching and even paid a visit to some of the schools they attended and talked to some of the students w
ho knew them, not just their friends and not just the administrators,” Jack continued. “It seems all of our victims were bullies in their own way, those who preyed on those weaker than them. You realize even girls can be bullies. As a matter of fact, they are the worst kind. You’d be surprised what you can find out if you get off the beaten path and think outside the box, as the long hairs call it.”
“You did all that since Friday?” Ashley asked, not believing the agent could have made such a whirlwind trip around the large state.
“Actually, I did it Monday, traveled from one end of the Lone Star State to the other,” Jack said in a bragging tone. “It’s the twenty-first century, honey. We have airplanes that can zip you anywhere you want to go. Or, do you rangers still just ride horses?”
Jack’s condescending attitude was wearing thin. However, despite her irritation with her new partner, Ashley had to admit - but not out loud - that the agent’s theory made a lot of sense. Why hadn’t she taken a closer look at all of the victims, aside from Jimmy Granderson?
“What about Jimmy Granderson, our mascot at Rock River?” Ashley asked, realizing a potential hole in Jack’s theory. “From everything I can find he was a good kid, never hurt anybody.”
Jack nodded, agreeing with Ashley’s assessment.
“You’re right,” Jack confirmed. “But then what makes you think he was the intended victim?”
Ashley gave Jack a confused look.
“What if Agent Ferrell was his intended victim?” Jack queried. “What if she was getting too close and was lured there and the kid was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Don’t worry, honey, I’m privy to your agency’s little leak. They told me all about it in the briefing.”
Again, Ashley hadn’t considered that Jana could have been the intended target as she had worked on the premise that all the intended victims were high school age.
“Nah, our killer isn’t out for thrills. He’s out for justice,” Jack continued, not giving Ashley time to digest what he had just said. “In his mind, he’s a regular knight in shining armor, giving the bad guys what they have coming. It’s Revenge of the Nerds, except this time, the nerds kill the popular kids”
“But why?” Ashley asked, looking for a motive.
“Because he was probably bullied himself in school. He probably had some traumatic event that really set him off. It’s really hard to figure out the exact thing that triggers these maniacs but it’s usually something that really messes them up in the head,” Jack answered. “And, he ain’t no middle-aged man. He's little more than a kid himself. This is fresh. He’s let it simmer for a few years and now he’s setting things straight; at least that’s how he sees it. I’d say our boy ain’t no older than his late twenties, if that.”
The agent’s idea made sense, but how was the killer choosing his victims? That question, Ashley realized, was very important if they were to prevent more murders.
“You're saying he isn’t picking his victims at random?” Ashley asked. “I mean, these murders have happened all over the state and Texas is pretty big, you know.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen a map,” Jack responded dryly. “No. He’s choosing his victims very carefully and taking his time. He’s patient, very patient. These are all planned, almost choreographed. I’d go so far to bet he’s watching his next victim as we speak.”
“You think he’s stalking them?” Ashley wondered. She sat listening with interest, her elbows on the desk, forgetting what a jerk her new partner was, given his insight on the cases.
Jack leaned back in his chair again, obviously trying to figure out how to explain his thought process.
“When I go deer hunting, I don’t just go out with a gun on opening day and start shooting up the woods,” Jack declared. “No, I do my homework. I go out checking deer rubs and running trails, seeing where their moving. I do my prep before open season, maybe even putting out a salt lick or two if the game warden ain’t hanging around the woods. I’ve even been known to pour out a little deer pee.”
“You and your deer hunting,” Ashley interjected as she rolled her eyes, somewhat worried she actually understood his illustration. “Please tell me you’re going to explain what deer pee has to do with all this.”
“Then, when it’s deer season, I don’t just shoot at the first shadow I see,” Jack continued, not pleased with Ashley’s interruption. “No, I’m patient. I sit up in my tree stand and watch the doe go by and the smaller ones cross; I’m waiting for that big buck. When he does show, I don’t just take a shot through the woods. No, I wait until I get him right in my sights, then I bear down on him and pull the trigger. Bang!”
“So, you’re saying our guy is hunting his victims,” Ashley said, capsulizing his explanation.
“Absolutely,” Jack said. “He’s made it into a hobby, except in his case his hunting season is football season and his prey is human.”
Ashley again settled back in her seat. The federal agent’s theory was interesting but still had some holes.
“Once again, Agent Looper, Texas is a big state and our victims were from all over,” Ashley pointed out. “How is he selecting his victims?”
Without a word Jack reached across Jana’s desk and whirled around the laptop computer.
“The magic of the Internet,” the agent explained. “There’s a group for everything on here. It’s where freaks go to meet other freaks. The Internet is for more than just shopping and porn nowadays. I think our killer is part of a group on here, a group that’s tired of being bullied. Our guy is probably trolling chat rooms, blogs or group sites to find his victims. Nuts like to be surrounded by other nuts, even if it’s in a virtual world.”
Ashley couldn’t argue with Jack’s idea. It made a lot of sense, admittedly more than her theory, which now sounded silly even to her. Still, the agent’s condescending attitude annoyed her.
“Well, it looks like you’ve got it all figured out, Agent Looper,” Ashley said, sitting back and again folding her arms. “Why do you need me?”
Jack laughed at her statement, finally taking his feet off Jana’s desk.
“If you like a cake, why try to guess how it was made when you can ask the person who baked it?” Jack riddled. Ashley’s head was starting to hurt from the agent’s constant word play.
“We aren’t talking about cake,” Ashley retorted. “We are talking about murder. Can’t you simply say what you’re talking about instead of making everything an illustration, Agent Looper?”
“Someone has already figured out what was in the cake and the late Agent Jana Ferrell knew the recipe,” Jack shot back. “She knew where and when to be, so she must have been on his trail. She didn’t just end up in Rock River by luck. Our killer must have been a step ahead and got the drop on her - and our late Pioneer Jake.”
“I’m way ahead of you on that, Agent Looper,” Ashley announced with a bit of pride in her voice. “That’s what I was doing when you interrupted me, without knocking, I might add. But so far, there’s nothing. I’ve checked her laptop and all her files.”
“You know what, when I’m working a case I’ve found the best place to keep my notes is right under my nose, at home, rather than the office where anyone can come by and rifle through my files. Sometimes there’s stuff I don’t want the boss man to find,” Jack said. “Has anyone bothered to drop by her house yet? I mean, if she suspected our killer was connected with someone in the department, it would have been foolish to leave her casework at the office.”
“Not as far as I know,” Ashley said, realizing the late agent lived only a few blocks from headquarters. “But, she lives right here in town. I’ve been there dozens of times.”
“What are we waiting for, darlin'?” Jack said, hopping up from the desk. “We need to get over there before mamma starts going through her things, maybe destroying what we need. Who knows? We may be able to solve this case before supper.”
Ashley’s urge to solve the case outstripped her immediate dislike for her new
partner. She agreed to the afternoon reconnaissance mission and made a call to Jana’s mother to meet them with a key to her late friend’s house.
“I know it’s been a hard time for you, Ms. Ferrell,” Ashley said to Jana’s mother as they strolled up the walkway to Jana’s house. “I hate to even ask you to do this, but there could be something in there that could help us catch who killed your daughter.”
The middle-aged woman forced a brave smile as she paused before plugging the key into the lock.
“I’ll do anything I can do to help you find the person who killed my baby,” she responded with a sincere look.
“You know, I’m going to do everything in my power to catch Jana’s killer,” Ashley responded. “She was a good friend.”
The still-grieving mother let out a startled yell as the door swung open to her daughter’s home, revealing a scene of complete disarray. Jana’s home had been ransacked. Furniture was turned over; drawers were pulled out and left emptied onto the floor.
“Watch out,” Jack said as he pulled his gun and stepped into the house in front of the ladies. He carefully cleared the house, room by room, to make sure the intruder was not lurking around somewhere inside. He took time, doing searches in the back rooms of the house while Ashley waited with Jana's mother at the door.
“Ms. Ferrell, have you been in here since your daughter’s death?” Jack asked when he returned a couple minutes later. He holstered his weapon, satisfied he had cleared the house and that no one was lurking inside.
“No. I just haven’t been able to get up the courage,” the mother admitted. “I’ve been putting it off. One of her brothers came over to pick out her clothes for the funeral. I just wasn’t ready to go through her things. I hope you understand.”
“We do,” Ashley said, reaching over to give her a reassuring hug, recalling she had misgivings herself about going through Jana’s office earlier that day.
“Our guy is on the same trail as we are,” Jack said with certainty as he began searching the residence. “Let’s just hope he didn’t find what he was looking for.”
Friday Night Frights (Jack and Ashley Detective series Book 1) Page 5
