“No. The governor’s office reached out before the phone was located. They know they’re in over their heads.”
“Show the hometowns on the map.” Jeri asked. Instantly, three red dots appeared. “Now, add in the locations where the bodies were found.” Three blue dots appeared, each within the area created by the first three dots.
“Connect the dots.” Adam stood, moving to the screen for a closer look. “That’s almost perfect.” Two isosceles triangles lit the screen, one intersecting the other.
“Mark the locations where the phones were found.” Jeri instructed. A third perfect triangle appeared, intersecting the first two.
“He dumped the phones in locations dead center of the distance between the abduction sites.” Adam mused. “He’s made a star.”
“Or, he’s making a star. This pattern could overlap and increase exponentially.” Jeri tossed her tablet on the table. “It could also be a complete coincidence, but I doubt it. The pattern means something to him. Or he’s sending a message. What’s the relation between the time of death and the phone calls?”
“The one, and only, call to Lucy’s parents came nine hours after the abduction, same as the first two. Jeffrey’s parents also received two more calls. One 27 hours after the abduction, and the last, 45 hours after the abduction. He called Angela’s parents only once more, 36 hours after the abduction.” Cara scrolled between pages on her tablet, reciting the information as she found it.
“The numbers form a pattern, just like the kill zone. There has to be something to it.” Jeri began to pace. “Cara, ask Jimmy to run the data for mathematical significance, as well as for similarities to other crimes. Don’t stop with regional, go national. This guy is too precise for these to be his first victims.”
“On it.” Cara began typing a message.
“If the son of a bitch is leaving us a pattern, let’s follow it,” Jeri continued. “He started in Dixon, with Jeffrey, took Angela from Eula, and then moved on to Coker. He left the bodies’ halfway between each child’s hometown and his next target area.”
“Each body was posed for maximum effect in a central location. He left Jeffrey on a bench outside of a movie theatre. Clientele, mostly teenagers, left the late showing and found him.” Adam saw Jeri cringe at his words, even though she knew the details as well as he did. It amazed him that such a sensitive soul would chose a career dealing with the worst of humanity. But she was also tough as nails, he reminded himself. The FBI is lucky to have her.
“And Angela?” Jackson asked. He and Cara had not been following the cases as closely as Jeri and Adam.
“Angela was left on the steps of the county library that serves both Eula and Coker.” Jeri told them.
“And Lucy was on top of a picnic table, in a park popular for after-school activities.” Adam read from the report. “He likes an audience.”
“Look at the topography of his kill zone.” Jeri interrupted. “There’s nothing larger than two lane roads connecting the towns, and most of the terrain is mountainous. No way could he move quickly from one place to the other.”
“There’re a lot of hiking trails and back roads in those mountains. Locals would know the best way to maneuver.” Jackson added.
“He could be local, or recently local.” Jeri was pensive. “I’ve no doubt that he’s done this before. We just have to make the connections.” She glanced over at Adam. “Is Lucy’s cause of death consistent with Jeffrey and Angela? What about her time of death?”
“COD is the same for all three victims. Multiple, excessive stab wounds resulting in exsanguination. He tortures them with shallow incisions for hours before he kills them, removing their eyes, digits and most of their hair. He removes hair from their scalp with what seems to be a dull razor. Multiple abrasions and extensive bruising indicate prolonged beatings. When he’s through toying with them, he stabs them in, or near, every major organ.” Adam took a breath. “There’s no sign of sexual activity on any of the victims. No word yet on Lucy’s TOD from the Medical Examiner. The other ME reports state that Jeremy died less than an hour before he was found, and Angela died approximately two hours before she was found.”
“So he’s not a pedophile, at least not overtly. He’s getting off on the pain he’s inflicting on the children, their parents, and the community.” Jeri moved from the window to the table and back again. “A true thrill killer.”
The phone on the center of the table beeped. “The plane’s ready, Ms. Forbes.” The woman’s crisp delivery broke into the room.
“Thanks, Janet. Alright everyone, let’s move.” Jeri stuffed her tablet into her briefcase, grabbed her jacket and led the way.
The Littles is available from your favorite ebook retailer.
If you enjoyed the story, please leave a review, no matter how brief. Thank you. For excerpts of my other works and for details of upcoming novels and purchase links visit my website, https://www.TallulahGrace.com. Take a look at the Flashy Shorts page to read short stories and flash fiction created just for my fans.
Visit this page to subscribe to my newsletter and be the first to learn of new releases, contests and giveaways.
Titles by Tallulah Grace
Romantic Suspense with a Paranormal Twist
Timeless Trilogy, Book One, Fate
Is precognition a prescription for happiness or disaster?
The good things in life are coming together for Kristina Collins. She’s found her ideal home, her career is on track for mega success and the man of her dreams has finally come back into her life.
In Fate, the first installment of the Timeless Trilogy, Kris Collins discovers the benefits and risks of having precognitive visions while being stalked by a serial killer. Her friends can’t help her, the FBI can’t save her; she must save herself.
The Timeless Trilogy heroines, Kristina, Veronica and Cassandra, each deal with paranormal abilities as they discover and rediscover eternal love.
Timeless Trilogy, Book Two, Spellbound
Veronica Myers is an herbalist with a potent talent that takes her by surprise. Follow Roni’s perilous journey as she discovers her authentic self in spite of forces that seek to steal her power and manipulate her destiny. Along the way, true love offers protection if she can only recognize and accept its magic.
Timeless Trilogy, Book Three, Destiny
Cassandra Locke’s dreams have the clarity of remembrances, the pain of love lost and the essence of future connections. Who is the man that haunts her, nearly every night? Could they truly have been lovers throughout centuries past? Where is he now? Will they have another chance?
Cliffs of Starsdale
Stories of Starsdale, Book One
Seeking a fresh start after her mother’s death, Chelsea Bates lands in the picturesque town of Starsdale, California. Nestled amid the peaks of the High Sierras, Starsdale defines the term ‘small town’ with its mish mash of well-meaning residents who always seem to know everyone else’s business.
The one thing no one knew, could not have predicted, was the evil lurking beneath the surface of Chelsea’s ex-fiancé. Preston Beecher follows her to Starsdale with the intentions of taking everything she owns, including her life. Will Preston destroy her dreams before they begin, or will bonds forged in a small mountain town be the pathway to her future?
Chelsea’s attempts to put the past behind her leads to a new partnership with one of Starsdale’s most respected citizens, John Mills, a man who harbors secrets and an agenda of his own. With the help of John and his talented son, Mac, Chelsea turns a dilapidated building into a bed and breakfast showcase.
Join Chelsea as she learns the ways of a small town in this, the first book in the Stories of Starsdale Series.
Precipice
Stories of Starsdale, Book Two
Standing on the edge of insanity, one man’s quest for vengeance threatens the love and lives of a couple torn apart by secrets.
In Precipice, Book Tw
o of the Stories of Starsdale, Sharon and JB deal with old heartaches and fresh guilt as they find their way back to each other. Neither one realizes that the biggest danger they must face hides beneath the masque of friendship.
Cascade
Stories of Starsdale, Book Three
Jade Kingsley had run out of options. Surviving a disastrous marriage, and subsequent divorce, her life had dwindled to not much more than a shadow existence within the four walls of her tiny apartment. When her friends, Robert and Dana, invite her to move to Starsdale, she packs up and takes a chance on a new life.
Nothing could have prepared her for the spellbinding attraction she feels for Justin Devereaux, a friend of Robert’s with plans to develop Starsdale. Jade and Justin discover that, sometimes, love is a free-fall; the only choice you have is to go along for the ride.
Romance is not the only thing in store for Justin and Jade. Will an ordinary business trip turn deadly, ending their chance for happiness? Lives balance precariously as Mother Nature unleashes an unexpected storm, threatening to change relationships in Starsdale forever.
Psychological Thrillers
Casanova Killer
An SSCD Crime Thriller
Catching the eye of a delusional serial killer known as the Casanova Killer signals the end for certain beautiful young women of San Francisco. True to his name, Casanova offers the women a taste of romance and unparalleled adoration before sending them to a bloody death.
The FBI Special Serial Crimes Division, SSCD, sets a trap for the killer with one of their own as bait. Agent Jerry Forbes pairs with Interpol’s Ethan Barnes to capture Casanova before another woman falls prey to his charms.
Jerry and Ethan soon discover that pretending to be lovers may be more dangerous than catching a killer. Follow their story from the moment they set up house to the abrupt end that Jerry does not see coming.
Is it love or certain death?
The Littles
An SSCD Crime Thriller
The mountains of rural Georgia will never be the same after a series of vicious murders rock the area to its core. Not only does the killer target children, his gruesome murders are designed to inflict the ultimate agony upon their parents and to instill extreme terror within the small communities.
An SSCD team, part of the FBI’s Special Serial Crimes Division, accepts the case and the conditional Governor’s liaison, a prosecutor with more baggage than anyone realizes. Travel with them over the hills of the mystical Blue Ridge Mountains as they hunt the psychopath stalking the innocent. Can they capture him before he strikes again? Will he turn the tables and ensnare one of their own in his devious trap?
This psychological thriller delves into the mind of a deranged serial killer as it follows the twists and turns of an SSCD manhunt. Action packed and filled with suspense, The Littles takes readers on a thrill ride they will not soon forget.
Bayou Butcher
An SSCD Crime Thriller
Haunting memories of an imperfect childhood shadow Agent Jeri Forbes, a unit leader in the FBI’s prestigious Special Serial Crimes Division, as she stalks the man responsible for slaughtering families along a sleepy Louisiana bayou. Jeri soon learns that the man her team hunts is the puppet of a much more insidious serial killer intent on a personal quest to destroy Jeri’s life and that of her lost love, Ethan Barnes.
Follow this fast-paced thriller through the swamps of the Louisiana low-country as Jeri and her team match wits against a brilliant master of destruction and his all-too-willing protégé.
Anson
An SSCD Crime Thriller
The twisted reign of a deranged serial killer threatens the low-country of South Carolina. Amid sweet magnolias, giant live oaks and ocean breezes, he stalks the heart of a close-knit family circle, seeking vengeance for his dead brother.
FBI agent Jeri Forbes and Interpol’s Ethan Barnes are all too familiar with the madman’s mission of terror. Together, they tracked him through the bayous of Louisiana, barely escaping with their lives.
As Anson brings the game to Charleston, Jeri and Ethan team up with old friends in an effort to catch the killer. Old friends become new targets for Anson’s revenge; no one is safe from retribution.
NOVELLA:
Trapped in Spaulding Manor
A Haunting Tale of Love Never Lost
Elizabeth and Mortimer Spaulding never imagined spending such a short time in their dream home, Spaulding Manor. More than a century after losing her beloved husband, Elizabeth still searches for Mortie through the stately hallways of the antique Victorian.
Delia Foster loves the old mansion, but has no inclination towards the level of commitment the house demands. She also knows that it will take a special person to embrace the home’s peculiarities, including the very vocal ghost of the original owner. Devlin Foxe has little tolerance for ghost stories, even if the storyteller makes his blood run hot.
One fateful night in Spaulding Manor gives Devlin cause to reevaluate his beliefs and Delia reason to rethink her solitary life.
Casanova Killer, An SSCD Crime Thriller Page 20
