Delusional

by Terri Breneman

  “And how the hell did he get this list, if that’s what he’s got?” Johnnie asked.

  Vicky thought for a moment. “You know, I think just about anyone could get this. I didn’t even have to go into a long, drawn-out reason with Susie. I just said I was working on something and could I have the membership list. Maybe it’s public information.”

  “Well, that’s pretty scary,” Toni said. “But I bet it’s probably like most businesses and they sell their client lists, or share with other nonprofit organizations. That’s how we get so much junk mail, or I guess spam now.”

  “You’re probably right,” Boggs said.“I don’t remember seeing anything when we signed up that said our identity was protected. Usually if that’s true they make a huge deal out of it.”

  “Okay, so let’s say our guy got a copy of this list, or some kind of list. Doesn’t matter,” Vicky said. “We still don’t know how he’s picking out of that list and in what order. We need to go back to basics and see what we already know.”

  “Did you run the names I gave you from the shelter?” Toni asked.

  “Yup.” Vicky sat her beer on the coffee table and dug in her backpack. She pulled out a notepad and flipped through the pages. “Okay, the first guy is Frank Watson. He has a prior for flashing some woman at a mall. I looked at the police report, and apparently, he’s a bit challenged intellectually. I don’t think he could plan a picnic, let alone these killings.”

  “Yeah,” Toni said. “I didn’t get the feeling he was our guy when I met him.”

  “You met these crazy people?” Johnnie seemed alarmed.

  “Sure. Charlie gave me a tour of the place. It was pretty much the same kind of place I worked as a psychotherapist. I talked for a bit to all three of these guys, just so I could get an idea of who they were. Only a first impression, though.”

  Johnnie lit a cigarette. “Gives me the creeps, that’s all.”

  Vicky made a face at Johnnie and flipped to the next page of her pad. “Okay, the second guy is Mevin Murran and he has three priors. One is an assault and the other two are DWIs.”

  “Did you say Mevin Murran?” Patty asked.

  “Yeah, isn’t that a hoot?” Vicky said.

  “Who in their right mind names their kid Mevin?” Boggs said.

  “If you could have seen him, you’d have understood,” Toni said. “He’s not right, and I got a bad vibe from him. He seemed very paranoid to me, but I have no idea of his diagnosis. He’s the one that I would have picked out of all the guys that I saw. And there’s something else.”

  “What?” Boggs asked. “Did he do something to you?”

  Toni thought Boggs was ready to grab her gun and go after this guy. She smiled. It was so nice knowing that Boggs, and the rest of them for that matter, would protect her if they could. “No. He didn’t do anything. He’s very handsome.” She paused a moment. “His look is intense, almost alluring.”

  “And what?” Johnnie asked. “You’re thinking of dating him?”

  “Incredibly funny,” Toni replied. “No, it just made me think of Ted Bundy. He was a good-looking guy who could charm women. Unfortunately, he also killed them. But maybe this is the way our killer is getting into homes.”

  “That might have worked on John,” Vicky said. “He was gay. But what about Maggie? And now Amy?”

  “I didn’t mean it necessarily like that,” Toni said. “But our killer might be charming or charismatic. There’s got to be something about him that gets him in the front door. We need to think about how this guy gets inside. What’s his ruse?”

  “That makes sense to me,” Boggs said. The others agreed.

  “Something to consider when we’re looking at people,” Vicky said. “Especially the crazy people like Mevin.”

  “Can’t we ask Charlie what his diagnosis is?” Patty asked. “Maybe that would help Toni figure him out.”

  “No,” Toni shook her head. “Confidentiality. But here’s an idea. If he’s got priors, maybe there’s something in the court records. Sometimes the defense counsel will file a psychological report in an attempt to get a lower sentence. It’s worth a shot. I’ll take a look tomorrow.”

  “What about the third guy?” Boggs asked.

  “Winner number three is Robert Cook,” Vicky said. “He has two priors for car theft. And a butt-load of juvenile convictions. What kind of vibe did you get from him, Toni?”

  “He seemed like a follower, not a leader to me. As though he was looking for acceptance and approval from the other guys there at the shelter. I don’t think it’s him.”

  “So that leaves us with Mevin.” Johnnie snickered. “Give us the details.”

  Vicky flipped back to that page. “Okay, he’s forty-two years old. He got his DWIs about a year ago.”

  “What was the assault?” Boggs asked. “What did he do?”

  “He got into a fight at a bar,” Vicky said. “And apparently beat the ever-loving shit out of some guy in there.”

  “Anything to indicate that maybe the guy was gay or something?” Toni asked.

  “Nothing in the record that I could find.”

  “I say we leave him in,” Boggs said. “Maybe check with the cop who wrote the report and see if there’s anything that he didn’t write down.”

  “Agreed.” Vicky pulled out a different notepad. “Okay, on this last attempt by the maniac, there were no prints anywhere. Not even on the syringe. And no forced entry. Oh, and I got the results back from Maggie’s laptop. Nothing unusual there, and she apparently never went into chat rooms or anything. Basically, all of the forensics came up empty.”

  “Why don’t we call Cathy and see if she can tell us anything?” Toni said. “Can’t hurt to give that a shot.” Cathy was a friend of Patty’s sister and was a gifted psychic. She’d helped them in a couple of cases over the past year.

  Patty was already dialing her phone. After giving Cathy a brief description of what was going on, Patty snapped her phone shut. She was smiling. “She’s on her way over now.”

  “Fantastic,” Toni said. “Who wants a fresh beer?”

  Fifteen minutes later Cathy was sitting in the basement with them. Patty started to fill her in on the details.

  “No, don’t give me any more information,” Cathy said, interrupting her. “Let me see what I get without that.”

  “Would it help if you had something he touched?” Vicky asked.

  “Hell, yes,” Cathy said.

  “I’ve got one of the Bibles he left,” Vicky said. “There wasn’t any trace evidence on it, so we can touch it. It’s in my car. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll buzz you back in,” Boggs said. She went behind the bar to stand next to the monitor.

  Vicky returned with a plastic evidence bag. She looked at Johnnie. “Got a pocketknife?”

  Johnnie tossed her a small Swiss Army knife and Vicky carefully cut a new opening in the plastic and slid out the Bible. She handed it to Cathy.

  Cathy held the Bible and sat quietly for several minutes. You could have heard a pin drop. Even Mr. Rupert waited and watched quietly. Slowly, Cathy opened her eyes. “This is a very disturbed man,” she said softly. “Definitely a man. And he’s doing what he’s doing for God. At least he thinks so.”

  “Great,” Johnnie mumbled.

  “I can tell there was a huge change about a year ago,” Cathy continued. “And that he has a list, maybe two lists, that he’s following.” She shook her head. “And there’s something about jewelry, like he plays with it or fiddles with it. I don’t know if it’s a ring or a watch, but something like that. I’m not getting anything else, sorry.” She handed the Bible back to Vicky.

  With the Bible back inside the evidence bag, Vicky pulled a new evidence seal from her bag and closed the opening. She scribbled her initials over the seal and dropped it in her backpack.

  “That was great information,” Toni said to Patty. “Thank you. I think this will help us quite a bit, and it confirms some of our theories. N
ow, how about a drink?”

  “Oh, I’d love to, but I’ve got another appointment. Your place was on my way. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer.” Cathy seemed disappointed.

  “We just appreciate that you could make it,” Toni said. “Here, let me walk you back up.” She headed upstairs with Cathy.

  When she returned, Patty and Johnnie had their laptops open on the bar. “Okay, let’s see what we have so far,” Toni said. “And see if anything fits with what Cathy said, especially the part about something happening or changing in this guy’s life a year ago.”

  “I ran all the workers at Help Services,” Patty said. “And I got squat. We’ve got a total of six people aside from Charlie, and five are women.”

  “I think we can skip them,” Johnnie said.

  “Okay, well that leaves one guy.” Patty pushed her laptop to the side and pulled out a notepad from her bag.“His name is Ryan Hollinger and he’s one of the therapists. He’s also a professor at the university. No priors. He’s married and has two kids. And I found out he was giving a lecture in St. Louis on the night of the last murder, but I don’t know about any other dates.”

  “Guess that pretty much eliminates him,” Vicky said. “Okay, let’s go back to our original people. I think we have four good suspects,” Vicky said. “Let’s combine our information and see if there’s anyone we can eliminate.”

  Johnnie hit a few keys on her laptop. “I ran background checks on our main suspects, except the new guy, Mevin. I’ll do him now.” She typed in a few more lines. “He’s forty-two years old, like Vicky said.” She continued typing. “Looks like he used to be a nurse, but his license was yanked after those DWIs. Last year’s tax return shows that he worked at Christian Hospital as an orderly, part-time. And like you saw, Toni, he works part-time at the shelter and gets outpatient therapy there. Looks like he’s having a hard time getting his life back together.”

  “Jeez,” Toni said. “That would give him access to insulin at the hospital now and the medical knowledge. And the DWIs were a year ago. He seems to fit the bill. I wonder if we can find out what happened to him then.”

  “He’s definitely at the top of my list,” Vicky said.

  “Next is weird neighbor Joe Jackson,” Johnnie continued. “No priors, as Patty already told us. He’s been at the county library for eighteen years. He’s forty years old and has been a registered Republican since he was eighteen.”

  “Figures,” Boggs added.

  “He’s also a member of the National Rifle Association. No credit problems, but he did have some issues with the IRS about a year ago.”

  “That keeps him on the list in my book,” Patty said.

  Johnnie hit more keys. “Next is David Davidson. He’s forty-seven years old and has had at least twelve jobs in sales. This last one for the pharmaceutical company has lasted for a little over a year. He’s pretty much off the radar. No affiliations, and he’s not even registered to vote.”

  “Been at the job for just over a year,” Toni said. “Maybe that’s significant. Something could have happened a year ago like Cathy said. Same as Joe.”

  “Good point,” Vicky said. “He definitely stays on the list. Plus, just the fact that his parents named him David Davidson. He’s probably got issues.” She laughed at her own wit.

  “And then there’s your favorite, Boggs, Peter Johnson.” Johnnie grinned.

  “Did he make it on the asshole meter?” Boggs asked.

  “Pretty much,” Johnnie said. “He’s also a Republican and he belongs to some group called The Fellowship.”

  “What the hell is that?” Boggs asked.

  “It’s a religious organization,” Johnnie explained. “He joined when he was in college, and it’s basically a Christian men’s group. They don’t do much, at least not as far as the FBI is concerned. As far as jobs go, it looks like he actually worked for this organization for several years after college. But he didn’t get paid much according to his tax returns. And it looks like he spent a couple years doing mission work.”

  “What does that mean?” Patty asked.

  “I’m not really sure,” Johnnie said. “I think it’s similar to Mormons when the boys do a two-year mission. The only thing I can tell from the IRS files is that he received a stipend from the church during those years. After that, he started working for the Texas park system as a guide I think.”

  “He was a state park ranger in Texas right before he came to work at Metro,” Boggs added. “He did a few investigations into arson and vandalism.”

  “Why did he move up here to Fairfield?” Toni asked. “Any idea?”

  “He told Sam that he’d gotten a divorce,” Boggs said. “But I ran a check in Texas and not only did I not find any divorce records, I didn’t find any marriage license. And he only worked as a park ranger for about two years.”

  “So what’s he hiding?” Vicky asked.

  “No clue. Here’s the weirdest thing. In the file that Sam gave me, there’s no other employment listed besides the park ranger stuff.”

  “So how the hell did he get the job?” Toni asked.

  “A letter of recommendation from the mayor, that’s how,” Boggs said, shaking her head.

  “How much you want to bet the mayor is also a member of The Fellowship?” Johnnie said. “Let me see if I can get anything on our lovely mayor.” She hit several keys. “I’m only doing a quick search here,” she said as she kept typing. After a couple minutes she leaned back and lit a cigarette. “Yup. Mayor Planscot is a member of The Fellowship. Guess that’s how Mr. Creepy got his job as an investigator at Metro.”

  “That makes me sick,” Boggs said as she got up from the couch. “It’s one thing if you’re qualified and you know someone to help you get a job. But Peter’s degree is in forestry and he only had a tiny bit of experience in investigations.” She held up her beer. “Anyone ready for a refill?” Everyone nodded and she retrieved the beer from the refrigerator behind the bar. After taking several gulps, she sat back down next to Toni on the couch. “You know, like I said, I wouldn’t have minded so much if he’d had a good background with relevant experience. But only two years? And a few minor investigations? There were a lot of good applicants when he applied. I bet it really pissed off Sam that the mayor pushed for this guy.”

  “I want to know what he’s hiding,” Vicky said. “Even if you have a sure thing recommendation from the mayor, you would at least list your employment history, wouldn’t you? Why didn’t he put the park guide stuff in there and his mission crap? He could have easily fluffed it up a bit to make it look decent. But by leaving it off completely, that makes me very suspicious.”

  “I’d think so, yes,” Toni said. “And we all have to go through a background check, so how did he manage that? Did the mayor just fast-track him? Skip all the normal preliminaries?”

  “I’m going to look into this guy really hard,” Johnnie said. “Even if he’s not our killer, which I’m kind of thinking he is, I think this is a bunch of crap. I’m also going to look into Mayor Planscot just a bit.” She grinned.

  “I did a little bit of digging on him a few months ago,” Vicky said. “Remember all that crap about the dirty judges? The ones that liked prostitutes or little boys? Anne Mulhoney had me look into everyone that could have had a hand in that stuff. The mayor was always on the fringe. I never got anything solid on him, but now it makes me wonder.”

  “You know what I think?” Boggs was obviously angry. “I think our piece of shit mayor is covering up for Peter. How much do you want to bet he’s been in trouble before and this so-called organization is helping? Makes me think of the Catholic Church covering up for the priests who abused kids. Plus there’s the Bible angle here.”

  Toni squeezed Boggs’s arm. “You might be right, but then again he may just be a total sleaze ball,” she said, “because all we really have on him so far is the van. We need to figure out if he’s got access to insulin or if maybe one of these other guys do.”

 
“Don’t forget the myrrh oil,” Patty said. “Now that we have only four good suspects, maybe I could take their photos around to the health food places. I can pull the pictures from the DMV.”

  “Good idea,” Vicky said. “But we need to keep it low profile. Especially since we’re investigating one of our own.”

  “How can you even call him that?” Boggs protested. “Jeez.”

  “If he’s one of the mayor’s pets, we’ve got to be careful. That’s all I’m saying,” Vicky added. “But I’m going to let Captain Billings in on what we’ve come up with so far.”

  “Are you sure he’s okay?” Johnnie asked. She was typing again. “I’m going to see if he’s also a member of The Fellowship.” A few moments later she looked up from her laptop. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  “I’m positive the captain is okay,” Vicky said. “And his sister is gay, so he’s very open and accepting.” She pulled out her phone and went over to the other side of the room to make her call. She returned to her spot on the couch five minutes later. “Captain Billings was furious about the whole Peter thing. He said he’s wondered about The Fellowship for quite a while. There was a guy who the mayor wanted on the police force, as a lieutenant, no less. Captain Billings said this guy hadn’t even gone through the police academy, but the mayor kept pushing. Thankfully, there’s a city statute that requires all police officers to be graduates of an academy.” Vicky took a long drink of beer. “He wants us to keep digging on Peter, but keep everything very low profile. He believes the mayor has long arms.”

  “Long arms?” Patty asked.

  “Meaning he’s got people on the police force,” Vicky said.

  “And probably in the fire department and every other city agency,” Boggs added. “And we know he has Peter.”

  “I’m glad Captain Billings is involved now,” Toni said. “He definitely had our back last year when we were dealing with that whole Dexter thing.” Toni tapped her fingers on the rim of her beer bottle.

  “What?” Vicky asked. “Did you think of something?”