Heartbeats of a Killer

by Michael Merson

  “Coward! You are such a little boy, afraid to confront them. I really don’t know how I put up with you.”

  Jeramiah did not reply to his father this time. He just climbed into the SUV and drove out of the parking lot. Once he reached the road, his father started again, but Jeramiah just turned on the radio and listened to the music as it echoed through the speakers.

  Chapter 17

  Wednesday, July 4th

  Axel came into the office and sat at his desk. On top of his computer was a female doll dressed in a commando outfit holding a microphone. He looked at the doll and started laughing.

  “Well, it’s nice to see that on some mornings you get here early,” Axel said as he heard Gary’s laughter coming from the next cubicle.

  “Are you talking to me, Detective Frost?”

  “No. I’m talking to myself,” Axel announced as he looked up and saw Gary peering over the wall once again.

  “Hey, nice doll. Who gave you that?” Gary asked as if he didn’t know.

  “Axel, are you here yet?”

  Axel looked out of his cubicle while still holding the doll in his hand. He saw Lt. Wilson, who was walking over to him.

  “Yeah, he’s here, but he’s busy playing with his doll,” Gary said from the confines of his cubicle.

  Axel, realizing that he was still holding the doll, quickly opened his desk drawer and put it inside, out of sight.

  “What happened to your car last night?” Wilson asked.

  “Did something happen to your car last night?” Gary asked as he stood up from his desk and looked at Axel.

  “Outside the restaurant last night someone damaged the door. The words ‘I’M WATCHING’ were scratched into the paint. They sent Officer Thomas out, and he took photos of it and completed the report," Axel explained.

  “No one saw anyone around it?” Gary asked curiously.

  “Nope.”

  “It was on the blotter this morning, and that’s where I read about it,” Wilson added.

  “Do you think it had anything to do with this case?” Gary asked.

  “I don’t know right now. It could’ve just been some dumb-ass kid walking through the parking lot. I mean the car was parked in the back away from the street and the entrance.”

  “Well until we know what’s going on, watch your six when you’re at home, and you watch each other’s six at work. From now on, I want the two of you going on all interviews and tracking down all witnesses and suspects together. If something is going to happen, I want you there watching out for one another,” Wilson ordered as he walked back to his office.

  “Axel, what do you really think?” Gary asked.

  “I think it’s a good possibility that someone wants me to know they are watching me. Maybe it’s someone involved in this case, or maybe it’s someone who knows Amanda, and they're just jealous.”

  “Are you thinking it’s an old boyfriend?” Gary asked as he looked at Axel with a raised eyebrow.

  “I don’t know, but maybe I should ask her if there are any ex-boyfriends still in her life.”

  “Well, wouldn’t that suggest that you’re in her life? Wow! Did the two of you have that good of a time last night?” Gary asked with a smirk, quickly changing the subject.

  “Hey, are you guys busy over here?” DJ asked as he walked up to the two detectives with a yearbook in his hand.

  “Here’s the yearbook you requested and here are some of the people who knew Tammy Johnson and went to school with her. I also checked with the principal who told me that while Tammy was there at school, she never got into any trouble. She was a star athlete and had good grades,” DJ explained.

  “Thanks for the information,” Axel said.

  “Have you guys gotten anything new on the case or is there anything I can track down for you?” DJ asked.

  Axel took the book from DJ and placed it on his desk.

  “Well DJ, if you could talk to some of the people on the list and see if any of them hung out with Tammy the week of the murder that would help.”

  “Yeah, I could do that for you.”

  “Not many people want to track down possible witnesses. When we solve this case, I’ll have to buy you a steak dinner,” Axel said.

  “Axel look at me. A steak dinner could be costly for you. I have a ferocious appetite,” DJ said jokingly.

  “It’ll be worth it if you can get any leads that would help solve this case.”

  DJ shook his head in understanding and then walked out of the office. Axel looked over at Gary who was shaking his head as he held the doll that he retrieved from inside Axel’s desk.

  “We haven’t finished our conversation about Miss Commando and you. Mostly, I just want the details about last night. Was it her place or yours where the deed was done?”

  “Neither. We had dinner, conversation, and I walked her to her car.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yes.”

  Axel walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. Gary shook his head and walked back over to his cubicle.

  “You’re a loser. She goes commando, and I’m thinking that you’ll never find out,” Gary said under his breath, but loud enough for Axel to hear.

  ***

  Jaxson sat in his hotel room comparing his profile to the one the bureau had sent over. For the most part, he agreed with it, but things were missing that he felt should have been mentioned. He knew that his theory would stun the community and the police department.

  He was concerned about being there without permission from the bureau, without an invitation from the police department, and he knew that his profile could change the entire investigation. If he were right, he would be congratulated, but if he was wrong, his career was over.

  But what does the ‘X’ represent? Did you put that on yourself?

  Jaxson was deep in thought when he finally heard the phone ringing, and he answered it.

  “Hello?” Jaxson said, greeting the unknown caller.

  “Hello to you. How’s work going?” Brandi asked.

  “So far, nothing exciting. How’s it going with your sister?” Jaxson answered and smiled at hearing his new friend’s voice.

  “Good. I was calling to see if…” Brandi said but then stopped before finishing.

  “If what?” He asked

  “If you’re going to be getting any time off while you’re here?”

  “Maybe. Why?” Jaxson asked.

  “I don’t know. I thought maybe we could take the train up to the top of Pikes Peak together this weekend and you could tell me more about those passenger seats,” Brandi explained.

  “You know, I would love to, but let me see how things work out here first. I can let you know. Is that okay?” Jaxson asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Great. I’ll call you later,” Jaxson added.

  Chapter 18

  Time in the office was spent with both detectives reading over forensic reports and dictating continuation reports that would be typed later by the division secretaries. They looked over field reports conducted by beat cops who had stopped suspicious cars or people leaving or coming into or out of the areas of the murders.

  Axel was placing one of the old case binders back on the shelf when something slipped out of the binder onto the floor. The something that slipped out was a 5x7 photo of Emily Long. She was one of PPK’s victims. She had gone shopping in the afternoon on Thursday, March 18, and was missing for over a week. Her beaten and battered body was later found by hikers just off a trail in the National Forest. Axel stood there looking down at the photo of the beautiful young girl as he recalled the case.

  Emily Long’s Story

  Thursday, March 18

  3:30 PM

  Emily walked through the mall very quickly and without hesitation. She was on a mission to find one more bikini for her family’s trip to Florida over Spring Break. Emily had spent every day for the last few weeks searching online and browsing stores from Colorado Springs to Denver loo
king for the bikinis that she felt that she needed for the trip. She had made all the right choices thus far, and she knew each one would bring Austin to his knees, but at the same time, she had to make sure she wouldn’t cause her father to have a heart attack. Afterall it took all of February to get her father to say yes to Austin coming along on their family vacation.

  Emily had liked Austin from the first day of high school when she saw him in homeroom. She thought that he was tall, athletic, and charming, which were all the right qualities that a high school girl like, Emily, looked for in a guy. But, unfortunately for Emily, Austin always seemed to be busy with football or baseball. He never seemed to have time for her, or any other girl for that matter, until the start of their senior year in August of last year. As usual, Emily and Austin had homeroom together. But this year was different Emily caught Austin staring at her from across the room almost every morning. A short time later, he started following her on all her social media accounts. And occasionally Austin made comments about an outfit that she was wearing that she had posted online. Sometimes he even commented or liked a funny video that she had posted. But still, Austin never approached her to ask her out until October when he surprised her at cheerleading practice. He, along with some of his friends, showed up wearing tuxedos from the 70’s and began serenading her to one of the famous love songs from that era. The boys sang, danced, and then ended their routine with a banner that read, EMILY PLEASE GO WITH ME TO THE HOMECOMING DANCE.

  Austin stood there, holding a bouquet of white roses and waited nervously until she said yes. Emily smiled as the memory crossed her mind while she held a skimpy red bikini that she had just found. It was something that her father would never approve of her wearing. She started to put it back on the rack but then she remembered that her parents were going to spend time with some old friends during one day of the trip. That’s when she and Austin were going to be alone at the beach house.

  Maybe dad wouldn’t approve, but Austin would! Emily thought to herself as she made her way over to the register with the final bathing suit selection in hand.

  He saw Emily from the time she entered the mall. He then followed her from a safe distance as she walked from store to store. He had always been drawn to her. When he was working, he would go out of his way to follow her when she came to the mall. He’d even saw her at the football games cheering for her high school team on Friday nights. Emily was the prize above all others. She was the very type that ignored him, made fun of him, and talked about him behind his back when he was in high school. Girls like her never understood a guy like him. Suddenly it all came back to him.

  “Jeramiah, why do you wear hunting clothes to school? Jeramiah, why do you smell like an animal? Jeramiah, do you live in a cave? Jeramiah, why do you have bruises on your body all the time?”

  Jeramiah became angry as he recalled the memories from the past.

  “Jeramiah. Don’t be a pussy and let this one getaway. Follow her. Then take her. You deserve her just like the others.” Jeramiah listened as he heard his father’s voice say it over and over again in his head.

  “I know I deserve her. I deserve her and so much more than what I was given.” Jeramiah said out loud.

  “Don’t you take that tone with me! I made you a man! Now stop acting like a pussy and get your shit together. Think of how you’re going to get her.”

  “Yes, Father,” Jeramiah answered.

  ***

  Emily made her way to the parking lot, found her car, and quickly got inside. A heavy wet spring snow had started to fall across the Front Range. She turned the car on, activated the windshield wipers, and then turned the heat up. She sat there and waited for the car to warm up and the windows to clear before heading out onto the road. She took the time to look through her many shopping bags at her new clothes. She sat there with the red bikini in hand, smiling as she thought about how she would surprise Austin. After a few minutes, she checked the mirrors and her make-up before backing out. She wanted to make sure that she looked perfect as she had dinner plans with Austin at his house and she was expected to be there by five-thirty.

  “Maybe I’ll give him a peak of this new bikini as a little hint of what’s to come next week in Florida.” She thought to herself as she left the parking lot and made her way to the interstate. She drove down the interstate for about five minutes and then turned off onto the Fillmore Street exit. There she waited at the light, and that’s when she saw him pull up next to her. She looked over and saw that he was motioning for her to roll her window down.

  “You have a flat tire.” The man yelled and pointed at the rear of her car.

  “Oh.” She answered.

  “Pull into that parking lot up ahead and let’s see if we can fix it.” The man yelled and smiled.

  “Okay,” Emily replied. She recognized the man, and although she had always thought that he was odd, she wasn’t afraid of him. She drove the car forward when the light changed and then turned right into the parking lot of a convenience store that was no longer in business. As she maneuvered the car under the old gas station canopy, she didn’t feel the car lean to one side, nor did it drive as if there was a flat. She finally came to a stop under the canopy out of the snow behind the gas pumps that were still in place.

  Emily got out and walked to the back of her car and looked at her driver’s side rear tire. She didn’t see anything that would lead her to believe that it was flat. She then walked up and looked at her front tire just as he got out of his car and walked over to the passenger side of her car.

  “It’s this one over here.” He said as he looked over the roof of her car while pointing down to the passenger’s side rear tire.

  “Oh. I was wondering because I didn’t see anything over here on this side,” Emily replied as she casually walked over to the passenger side of the car. When she got to the rear of the car, she bent down and looked at the tire.

  Jeramiah was ready, and he quickly looked around for any witnesses. When Emily bent down, she provided him with his opportunity. He pulled out his blackjack from behind his back and swung it down onto the back of Emily’s head. She fell to the ground and did not move. The blow from the lead-filled leather weapon had done its job.

  Jeramiah looked around the area once more before going over and opening the passenger backdoor of his car. He then walked back over to Emily and tied her hands and arms behind her back. The ankles were then bound and drawn up toward her hands in the small of her back. He then took a rag and tied it over her mouth. Finally, he carried her over to his car and shoved her into the floorboard of the backseat. When he was satisfied that she wasn’t going anywhere, he shut the car door and looked around the area once more. He then casually walked back to her car, opened the passenger door, reached inside, and pulled out the red bikini.

  “Nice!” Jeramiah said as he held the tiny bikini up in the air. “I think we’ll go back to my place and enjoy this together,” Jeramiah said out loud and then walked back to his car.

  Chapter 19

  Present Day

  Axel was still looking at the photo of Emily when he heard Gary walking over to him. Axel took the photo and placed it back into the binder from where it had dropped.

  “You want to come over and watch the game at my house tonight?” Gary asked as he walked around the corner of the cubicle.

  “No. I think I’ll just watch the game at my house, but thanks for the invitation, Mr. Portland.”

  “It'll do you good. Carol can make some nachos, and we can have a few beers and maybe forget about this place and this case for a little while.”

  “Gary, thanks for the offer and I normally would accept the invitation, but I really can’t make it tonight.”

  “Look, I know I don’t have a big screen like you, but my thirty-two inch will do fine.”

  “It’s nothing like that. I just want to watch the game at my house and eat my homemade pizza.”

  “Are you making the pizza?” Gary asked, knowing that his part
ner never made his ‘homemade world-famous pizza’ to eat alone.

  Axel just looked away with a smile and shook his head.

  “You son-of-a…, you got a date, don’t you? I bet it’s with Commando, and you weren’t even going to tell me.” Gary said as he bent down close to Axel’s face.

  “Yes, I’ve got a date!” Axel replied as he put his pens back into his drawer.

  He stood up and then walked past Gary toward the elevator. Gary was speechless as he watched his friend bypass him smugly.

  “Why wouldn’t you tell me, your best friend?” Gary demanded to know as he moved toward the elevator behind Axel.

  Axel didn’t respond. He stood and waited for the elevator doors to open with a smile on his face. He enjoyed keeping Gary in suspense. Gary moved close to him and waited for an answer. As the doors opened, Axel looked at Gary but still did not say anything. The two walked inside, and Axel pressed the button for the first floor.

  “If a man plays with dolls at work, I don’t see the point of having an adult conversation with him,” Axel explained with a grin.

  “You’re not calling me a child, now are you?”

  The doors opened, and they both exited into the hallway and walked toward the doors leading to the parking garage. The two men then casually made their way to the cars. Gary kept looking over at Axel waiting for an answer.

  “I know you’re screwing with me Axel, and payback is a bitch!” Gary said as he closed his car door and drove away.

  Axel laughed as he watched Gary leave the parking garage. He knew the two of them would have a good time tomorrow when they met up again. Axel also knew that Gary would not allow him to get away with anything. He wondered what Gary would have planned for him in the morning.

  Axel made his way through the downtown traffic quickly and turned onto the highway heading west. His speed was only about five miles more than the posted speed limit, but still, other commuters passed him when the left westbound lane was clear. He turned into the parking lot of the grocery store and quickly went inside as the rain began to fall from the threatening purple clouds above him. As he entered the store, he stopped and wondered if Denver was getting any of the downpour.