CHAPTER SEVEN
Alison was back in her small office in the California Bureau of Investigations building.
It was an office that served multiple purposes and accommodated various people when needed, but when Alison was consulting on a case, it became her own.
When she’d first used the office, it was relatively sparse with only a desk and an office chair.
Now, there was a bookshelf, a small filing cabinet, and a three-foot potted plant that suggested Derek had been the one to organize the additional furnishings, as it matched the one in his office.
It wasn’t much, and she didn't need the decoration, but the additions made it feel more like a workspace than an afterthought.
After visiting the second crime scene, Alison had gone home to get some rest and recharge, arriving back at the CBI building the next morning.
She had case files for both victims out on her desk as she went through them with a fine-tooth comb, looking for any connections in their personal or professional lives.
The one detail she was waiting to hear back about who Sarah Livingstone testified against. She had the court records from the file, but some of the information had been redacted, which meant the crime or criminal had to be dealt with sensitively for some reason.
Derek had put some pressure on the powers that be to release the name.
Alison picked up her coffee and took a large drink of it before going back to the files. Before she could begin reading, a shadow entered the room, and she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up to see Derek standing in the doorway.
"Do you have the name?" she asked.
"Not yet," he admitted. "Forty-eight hours is almost up, and we’re still not sure what to do with Franklin Howard. He did try to assault a police officer, so we can keep him on that, but his lawyer will argue that he didn't know the two people chasing him were police officers."
"How long do we have with him?" Alison asked.
"About eight hours."
"We got confirmation of the time of death from the medical examiner, and he couldn’t have killed Sarah. To me, this makes it unlikely he killed Margaret. We’re looking for one killer. His alibi?"
"He still claims he was in the pub that night, but we haven’t been able to confirm that. We have nothing to prove he’s innocent and nothing to prove he’s guilty."
"Do you think we should hold him longer?" Alison asked.
"I’d like to lock him up for something, but the assault on an officer charge won't stick, and we don't have him on evading arrest either. If you’re sure he’s not the killer, then we cut him loose when our time runs out, but keep an eye on him."
"All right," Alison said.
"Anything from the files?" Derek asked.
"Not yet, but I still have a lot to go through."
"The killer has bypassed two advanced security systems," Derek said. "I don't like that you went home alone last night. If you’re right, and the killer’s out to get you, then you’re in danger. Does he kill and then come after you? Are you the final target?"
"Maybe. I don't know," Alison admitted. "All I know is that both women testified against convicted criminals, convicted because of their testimonies, and I coached both women. Maybe we get a third body that conflicts with that, and I’m wrong, but that’s all we have to work with right now. Whoever it is, I think they feel wronged, but it’s not only that. This feels like something bigger, like they’ve been around people who think the same way, or they’ve seen others suffer with what they believe to be wrongs.
It would make sense for it to be someone who was previously incarcerated and got to talk with others who were also incarcerated. "
"Calvin Reynolds?" Derek asked.
"It could be," Alison replied. "He wants revenge on Margaret, and he connects with people in prison who also want revenge. Maybe he orders the hit on Margaret and has someone he was in prison with do it, or maybe someone in prison heard his story and decided to take justice into their own hands when they were released. That’s why we must get the name of the second criminal convicted by the testimony of a dead woman.
If we can link the two, we get closer to the truth. "
"As soon as we get the name, I’ll get it straight to you," Derek said.
"Thank you, and thank you for brightening up this place." Alison turned and flicked one of the large leaves gently.
"I thought you might be back, so I had them bring in some of that stuff."
Alison smiled.
Derek slapped the doorway softly a couple of times before leaving.
Alison dove back into the two case files. Sarah was a victim advocate, and if she ever crossed paths with Margaret, that would give another strong link between the two women, but so far, she’d not been able to find a time and place where they could have crossed paths.
"Hey," Derek said, back at the door.
Alison looked up and then at the clock to make sure a massive amount of time hadn’t passed since he had last been there. It was less than three minutes.
"Gordon Boson," he said. "That’s the name of the guy she testified against. It was a sensitive trial as he’s also a police informant, though that wasn’t connected to the violent crime case in any way, but they couldn't have his name out in the world, or someone might believe he was testifying against them and come after him. He’s in prison under a different name.
Casper Douglas. And, get this, he’s in the same prison as Calvin Reynolds. "
"That is interesting," Alison said. "So, he has a woman testify against him, put him away, and we have the extra layer of him being a police informant, which might have given him the illusion of immunity. Do you know how long he’s been in prison?"
"Almost two years," Derek said. "And I confirmed with the security company.
It was around the time of the trial that Sarah had the security system installed in her home, so she must have been in the same boat as Margaret.
I can arrange for us to go down to the prison and interview both of them.
If either is connected, maybe we get something by playing them against each other. "
"Yeah, that might be an idea. Let me make a call first. I know a guy who used to work at the prison as a warden, and he left about six months ago to pursue a career as a court bailiff. Maybe he knows something."
"All right, let me know if you find anything."
Derek gave the doorway another couple of taps, then went on his way.
Alison didn't have Joey Billings’s number in her phone, so she had to look it up.
A weight was being piled on her as she searched for information, almost like someone was pulling a weighted bag over her head.
She knew it wasn’t her fault that a killer was out there, but if he was targeting women because of her, then she had a duty to stop them before they killed more.
It might be personal for the killer, and that made it personal for Alison, too.
I will catch you. If it’s the last thing I ever do, I’ll stop you from killing innocent women.
Alison found Joey’s number in the system and dialed it. It rang for a long time before he finally answered it.
"Hello?"
"Joey. Hi, it’s Alison Payne," Alison said.
"Alison, how are ya? It’s been a long time since I heard your voice."
"It has," Alison said. "I’m doing fine. How are you, Joey?"
"Oh, great," he said. "Really great."
"How’s the bailiff life working out for you?" Alison asked.
"It’s the best decision I've ever made, Alison. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. I get to work with a lot of the same criminals, but only one at a time. Much more manageable that way, not that I couldn’t always take care of myself."
"I remember," Alison said with a smile. "The stories I heard about you, Joey. I mean, most of them came directly from you, but you know."
Joey laughed, the booming sound making Alison take her ear from the phone for a moment and laugh along with him.
"Listen, I need a favor from you," Alison said once they both stopped laughing. "Well, more information than a favor."
"Anything, Alison. What do you need?"
"When you are a prison guard, do you remember a man by the name Calvin Reynolds?"
"Yeah, I remember him. He was a little—well, you get the gist. Let’s just say he was not very nice."
"And Casper Douglas?" Alison continued.
"He was much the same," Joey replied. "If I remember correctly, they were thick as thieves in that place."
"Just the two of them, or were they part of a gang? A group?"
"Mainly just the two of them, but they did associate with a few of the other hardened criminals in there. We’d often have to wait for them to be alone to escort them back to their cells or wherever else.
They weren’t violent often, but it bubbled under the surface.
We had the weapons and power, but they were cornered rats, and they did lash out at a few of the guards. Never me, but I was careful."
"Did you ever get the sense they were planning anything while doing time together?" Alison asked. "Was there anyone they were friendly with who was released not long ago?"
"I don't know about not long ago," Joey replied. "Since I left that place, I haven’t really kept in touch with anyone. If you want to know if they were up to no good, then that would have gone through Jason Weber."
"Jason Weber," Alison confirmed.
"Yeah."
"Do you know what he was in for?" Alison asked.
"No, no, he wasn’t a prisoner. He was one of the guards.
As corrupt as they come. I stayed away from him, but the stories I heard!
Anyway, he was fired not long before I left, and they made up something about cutbacks and a poor performance review, but it was whatever he was up to with the inmates.
The prison didn't want the negative attention, especially with the budget being set.
A prison guard being one of the worst criminals in the joint is not great for the prison. "
"Do you know what Weber is up to now?" Alison asked.
"The last I heard, he was working as a security consultant. He and a few of his friends started a company that took a look at the security measures of commercial properties and businesses and made recommendations on upgrades."
So, you know security systems and how to bypass them as needed? And you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty by the sounds of it.
"Anything else you can tell me about him?" Alison asked.
"If you’re going to go talk to him, which I presume you are, don't go and do it alone."
"I won’t," Alison said. "Thank you for the information, Joey, and take care of yourself."
"You, too," he replied. "I mean that, Alison."
She said her goodbyes to him, then left the office to find Derek. If Calvin and Casper had both associated with James Weber while in prison, then that was another link. Weber was a man who understood security systems and had no trouble breaking the law, from what she’d heard.
Is there a chance he had a debt to the two men, and this was repaying it? Would he kill more of the women who testified against the men in that prison?
"I’ve been thinking," Derek said as soon as she reached him. "We need a list of all the women you coached to testify in court. It’s a long list, I know, but we need to start working our way through it to warn them they might be in danger."
"Okay," Alison said. "Before that, we need to find James Weber. He might be our killer, and we need to find this killer before he kills again because I’m certain he will.