Chapter 9
Nine
“I’m so sorry,” Erin said again. “Please let me clean that up.”
Kaely shook her head. “You sit still and drink your coffee. A little water and the garbage disposal will do the work.” She smiled at Erin. “Good thing I set our plates on the counter. I usually rinse them and put them in the sink before placing them in the dishwasher.”
Erin laughed lightly as she sat at the table, holding onto her cup as if it could somehow calm her.
Kaely had seen this reaction before. Anyone in law enforcement understood a visceral reaction to the kind of evil in those photos.
But this was different. Writing about death was one thing.
Seeing your words lived out in reality was something else.
Kaely rinsed the sink and then briefly turned on the garbage disposal.
When she finished, it was as if her friend hadn’t just been violently ill.
It appeared that everything was back to normal, but Kaely knew two things.
Erin had been traumatized by those photos.
And it would be a while before she made baked spaghetti again.
She went back to the table, pulled her chair next to Erin’s, and gently took her hand.
“Again, this isn’t on you, Erin,” she said gently.
“This is on the psychopath who is doing this. We need to use our talents, our experience, and our God-given ability to understand this guy so we can stop him. You have to remember that we’re the good guys.
We’re on the side of the angels. This killer is spurred on by something dark.
By the devil himself.” She searched Erin’s face, trying to interpret her expression, but she was attempting to be stoic.
However, her breathing was too fast, and she was blinking more than normal.
Signs of stress. “If it’s too much, I’ll understand and so will Nick.
You can stay here, chill out, and head home whenever you’re ready.
Remember, the state police can’t force you to talk to them.
You’re not charged with any crime. This is voluntary. ”
“There are top-notch people working this case,” Nick said, concern written on his face.
Even as she and Nick tried to reassure her, Kaely was convinced that Erin wouldn’t leave.
She would stay and fight. That’s who she was.
Still, Kaely couldn’t help but be concerned about the wounds in her friend’s soul.
They were deep. And now this. “Listen to me,” she said.
“If he hadn’t used your book, he would have picked someone else’s. ”
Erin took a big, shuddering breath. It was at that moment that Kaely’s expectation was confirmed. Erin had no plans to run from this.
“Let’s go over those photos again,” Erin said, her voice shaking slightly. “I need to see them. I can’t let this twisted piece of humanity beat me down. He’s got to be stopped.”
Nick got up and picked up the file that he’d shoved the pictures into after Erin’s initial reaction to them. Then he sat down and opened it again.
As he did that, a part of Kaely wished she’d never contacted Erin about the murders.
But if the killings had made it into the media before Kaely had a chance to break the news to Erin, it would have blindsided her, and that was something Kaely couldn’t allow.
Besides, if she hadn’t called her, the police would have.
And that would have been worse. Kaely felt compelled to keep Erin safe.
She took a deep breath as Erin pulled the photos out again. She laid them side by side.
“The killer abducted a woman from a parking lot late at night,” Nick said gently. “He took her to a lake, cut her throat, tied a concrete block around her ankles, then tossed her into the water with only the top of her head showing.”
“How would he have known how deep the water was?” Erin asked.
“That wouldn’t have been hard. The spot where she was found was near a dock. He could have measured it. Even jumped in himself to see how deep it was, just like the killer in your book. Although the police interviewed all kinds of people who frequented the lake, no one reported seeing him.”
“Sure,” Erin said. “Why would they? He was careful.” She stared at Nick for a moment before saying, “Was this an area of the lake where swimming was allowed?”
He shook his head. “No, there’s a roped-off area on the other side of the lake for swimming. Fishing was allowed, though.”
“How long had she been in the water when they found her?”
“The medical examiner determined that death occurred approximately ten hours before a park employee discovered the body. That means she went in the water around nine at night.”
“Where did this occur?”
“At Lunga Park, in Quantico,” Nick said.
“It’s only open to active and retired members of the military and their families.
There’s no real reason to suspect any of the members, although they haven’t been ruled out.
Investigators are also checking out workers connected with the park, although, again, there doesn’t seem to be anyone involved with the other murders.
Some fencing that surrounds the park was under repair.
Someone could have come in through there. It wouldn’t have been difficult.”
“I don’t feel like this guy used this lake because it was convenient,” Erin said. “This was planned down to the last detail.”
“So, you think he knew about the repairs ahead of time? Used this lake because he could access it without being caught?”
“I do,” Erin said. “Is the park closed at night?”
“Yeah. It closes at eight o’clock and opens at six in the morning.”
“He could have put the body there to throw off the police and the FBI. With the fence making the park accessible, maybe he thinks investigators will believe he’s not connected to the park.”
“That’s true,” Nick said. “Like I said, they’re working that angle as well.”
Kaely noticed Erin’s fingers tremble as she studied the pictures. “Who was she?” she asked finally.
Nick hesitated a moment before saying, “A waitress at a small coffee shop not far from here. Sophie Rogers. Single. Her only immediate family were her mother and her sister.”
Erin didn’t respond. Nick had just made the victim a real person, but that couldn’t be helped. She and Nick both knew that Erin would ask.
“So, all the victims have been female,” Erin said. Kaely knew her brain was working, going over everything. “He hates women. Sees them only as the means to an end.” She looked up from the pictures. “Similarities between the victims?”
“All single.” Nick frowned. “None of them had two living parents. The first victim lost her parents a few years ago in a house fire. The second victim had a father but no mother. I realize that’s not so odd in today’s society, but the analysts at the BAU are looking that over to see if it’s part of the UNSUB’s signature.
Even though he’s copying murders from novels, they believe, and so do I, that his own proclivities have to be bleeding through somehow.
But frankly, in my opinion, the family connection appears to be coincidence.
” He pointed at the picture of Sophie lying on the ground after she was taken from the water.
“You can’t tell it by looking since her hair is wet, but all the victims were blonde. ”
“That could be important,” Erin said slowly.
Kaely looked at her closely. “You seem hesitant. Why?”
Erin sighed. “I have no idea,” she said. “You know that feeling? The one where you sense something is right in front of your eyes but you can’t see it?”
Kaely nodded. “You feel that way?”
“Yeah, but I can’t explain it. I wish I could.” She pulled the photo of the poem closer and stared at it for a moment. “This one’s different,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Nick asked.
Erin looked up at him. “All the other poems are written about killing the victim. But this one says her life will lie in tatters. How can someone’s life lie in tatters if they’re dead?”
Kaely frowned. She didn’t want to discourage her friend, but she felt she might be reaching. “Maybe he just needed something to rhyme with matters?”
“Maybe.”
Erin didn’t sound convinced.
Deciding that Erin had been through enough for one night, Kaely gathered up the pictures and put them back in the folder.
“Look, let’s take a break from this for a while.
” She clasped her hands in front of her.
“This killer is different. Unusual. But the analysts at the BAU are the best. And they have us. We’ll find him. ”
“We will,” Nick said, smiling at Erin. “I have no doubt.”
“I hope you’re right,” Erin said. “The one thing I’m sure of is that this guy isn’t finished. Someone else is going to die if he isn’t stopped.”