Chapter Nine #2
“Yeah. He also said you can use one of the residential staff rooms for a while and you’ll get a budget for clothes and toiletries. Computer and phone will be provided for you.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Talbot looked like he might cry.
“How about you fetch Gunnar some pie?” Bryn suggested.
Talbot scampered over to the counter.
“Did Warden give you any trouble?” Bryn asked while Talbot was out of earshot.
“None. He thought it was a great idea. I think that man’s heart may be a lot softer than appearances suggest.”
“Emmett will be pleased to hear that.” Bryn grinned. “You know he has a huge crush.”
“I suspect our Emmett is more interested in a firm hand than a soft heart,” Gunnar said. “I’d bet good money that Warden is a Dom.”
“No one’s going to take that bet. It’s obvious. He could have it written on his forehead and it wouldn’t be any clearer.”
“Which might be why he has the urge to care for those that are more vulnerable than he is.”
Talbot returned with a massive slice of pie and placed it in front of Gunnar. “The lady serving guessed you were a wolf.”
Gunnar beamed and gave the server a wave. “That is a good woman right there.”
“I’m so excited,” Talbot said. “And kinda scared, but in a good way. You guys have work to do, right?”
“We do. Should have thought of that,” Gunnar said as he demolished his pie. “Gimme a moment.” He typed a message into his cell and a few seconds later got a response.
“Okay. Emmett is coming by to pick you up, Talbot. He’ll take you back to HQ, get you settled in and sort out some supplies for you, okay?”
“Sure. You’ll be back later, though, right?”
“Yeah, and we’ll come find you, but you’ll like Emmett. He’ll look after you. If you go wait in the lobby, he’ll come in.”
“How will I recognize him?”
“He’ll be wearing a checkered sweater-vest. Today’s was blue and yellow, I believe. He has a collection.” Gunnar chuckled. “Give him half an hour. Meanwhile, we need to get our butts upstairs to meet with Bell’s team.”
“You sure you don’t want more pie?” Bryn asked. “We could get some to go. It’s Bell’s dime.”
“I like the way you think.” Gunnar went over to talk to the lady he’d waved to before.
“You okay with this?” Bryn asked Talbot. “Things are moving pretty fast.”
“More than okay! I can’t believe how amazing you guys are being. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“In that case, we’ll see you later. You should come join me and Gunnar for dinner. I want him to make sliders tonight and if the two of us gang up on him, he won’t stand a chance.”
“If you’re sure you don’t want some, you know, alone time?”
Bryn’s face heated. “Oh, we’re not a couple. Work partners is all.” For now, leastways.
“Sorry! I thought… I don’t know. You guys seem so in tune with each other. My bad.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve not known each other very long but I guess we do fit well. Warden chose Gunnar for me… Seems he knew what he was doing, much as I hate to admit it.”
“Your boss sounds scary.”
“Your boss too now.” Bryn chuckled. “He’s not so bad. I’ve had worse.” So much worse.
Gunnar, box of pie in hand, was waiting. “Bell said he’d meet us outside the elevator one floor up.”
Bryn put his glasses back on before trailing Gunnar to the elevator. Once they were inside, he decided to poke the bear—or wolf, in this case.
“Talbot thought we were a couple,” he said, without preamble.
“Yeah? Cool.” Gunnar didn’t even flinch.
What the actual fuck? Bryn fidgeted. “You don’t mind?”
“Nope.”
“Oh.” That didn’t create the response I was expecting. “Why not?”
“You’re the one who can see the future. Look a bit harder.”
Bryn gaped. What? Why? When? His dick twitched.
Gunnar’s expression hadn’t changed. He exuded absolute confidence as if he hadn’t declared his intentions out loud and without consultation.
Bryn’s snark gene seemed to be taking a vacation because he had no idea what to say.
The elevator door slid open and Agent Bell was waiting.
Bryn had to switch his mind back to the case and he had no idea how he was going to get through the meeting.
“Hey, guys. All good?” Bell gestured at them to follow him. “I see you found the pie.”
“Yeah. It’s great pie and everything’s good.” Gunnar gave Bryn a knowing side-eye. “We’re all sorted with Talbot, so score one for the good guys.”
“I’ve got people setting up an operations room right now. We can meet in there.”
The room Bell led them to was a hive of activity but he called people to order and everyone found somewhere to sit, albeit on tables and cabinets as there weren’t enough chairs for everyone. Gunnar lounged against a wall while Bryn sat on a pile of equipment boxes.
“Everyone, meet Detective Gunnar Ericson of the GCR team and augur Bryn Ashton.” Bryn shrank down as all eyes turned to him.
“Yeah, yeah, count yourselves lucky we have access to their skills. Other agencies will be invading this place to get to them, so I want you keeping your mouths shut about their involvement, got it?”
There was a murmur of agreement.
“Okay, we are now certain that we have a serial killer operating in the Boston area. We’ll be following the usual protocols for dealing with the case.
For those of you who are new to this, or in need of a reminder, our taking over the case has been agreed with both local and state law enforcement.
This team will be the basis of our task force. ”
“Are we getting behavioral analysis support, boss?” one of the other agents piped up.
“Yes. The BAU will be putting together a profile based on the crime scene evidence and patterns. We will be studying the victims to understand why they were targeted. We’ll be bringing in all the information from the crime scene investigations that have already taken place.
” Bell scanned the room. “Agent Chang will be leading on data management and analysis and squeezing anything interesting out of VICAP. That’s the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, for those who may not be familiar. ”
Chang raised his hand in acknowledgment. “I want tight control on public and media engagement. We need to manage the flow of information. I don’t want this sensationalized or causing public panic, so no discussing the case outside of this room.”
Bryn glanced around at the group. He saw serious faces—committed, determined people.
“Before we get into it, I want to summarize the four known cases we have so far. You want to talk about the first one chronologically, Hernandez?”
A female agent in a dark blue pants suit, her hair in an immaculate bun, went to the front of the room.
“We believe victim one to be Eleanor Evans, known as Ellie, aged thirty-two. A homemaker with two preschoolers. No criminal record or dubious associates. Husband had a rock-solid alibi and was destroyed by his wife’s death.
We’ve worked out that she disappeared between one and three in the afternoon on her way to kindergarten to pick up the kids.
She was found three days later on the side of Silver Hill Road in Concord covered in petals.
She was pretty cut up, but autopsy found cause of death to be drowning. Any questions?”
“What kind of petals?”
Bryn didn’t see who asked the question.
“Red rose,” Hernandez responded.
“One of our confirmed links,” Bell added. “Victim two. That’s with you, Yoshida.”
Bryn eyed the craggy-faced agent, who looked to be pushing fifty. His expression said he’d seen it all and that nothing would shock him.
“Hunter Carshaw, graduate student at Harvard studying applied mathematics. Wealthy family. Dad’s firm builds super yachts out of Fort Lauderdale.
He was found six months after Eleanor Evans.
Cause of death was suffocation but he was also cut up premortem.
Found in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.
That’s where Lizzie Borden is buried. Might not be significant.
Red rose petals were found around the corpse.
This wasn’t picked up as significant because roses had been left on several nearby graves, so it was noted that the petals may have blown there.
” He paused. “No attempt to conceal the body.”
“Victim three was a Vietnamese male, Phan Minh Tuan, age twenty-two, who worked in a family restaurant,” Bell said.
“He was found in Parker Street Alley, near the intersection of Boylston and Tremont. It’s a narrow passageway that runs through the block between the two streets.
It’s often overlooked by pedestrians but connects various buildings in the area.
Our witness to the body dump, Talbot Dunne, had picked up a client at a club on Boylston and the guy took him to this alley for a private BJ.
“Tuan had been strangled but there were multiple non-lethal knife wounds to the lower torso and legs.” Bell clenched a fist. “And now we have victim four, Betty-Jo Jackson. Boston PD has handed this case over because rose petals were found around the body. However, what’s more interesting is that Betty-Jo was a cashier at Walmart where our augur got an unintentional read on someone with blood on their hands.
Someone who purchased lemon juice, which Detective Ericson smelled on Betty-Jo’s body.
I don’t believe in coincidences, people.
“So, we’re going to work up everything we know about the four victims. Look for connections. Trace their movements. Talk to their friends, colleagues and families. I want detailed research on every body dump location.” He paused. “Detective Ericson, you have anything to add?”
Gunnar straightened. “Yeah, we’ve already started to piece together footage from Walmart both in the store and in the parking lot and surrounding area.
Bryn has confirmed that the perp we’re looking for is a white male, stocky build, no more than five feet ten and we know he’s familiar with the security camera positioning in that Walmart.
I’ll get everything sent over from our office. ”
“Good.”
“He’s not going to stop,” Bryn said and the room went quiet. “He enjoys it. I most likely saw his strongest memory and there are a few details from that that can be included in the profile.”
“Excellent. Bryn also did a read on Talbot Dunne’s memory and the characteristics of the person he saw match the Walmart guy.”
Gunnar raised his hand. “Whoever killed Betty-Jo must have thought she’d seen something that might lead us to him. I don’t think she was a planned victim.”
Bell nodded. “Okay. Get to work people.” The noise resumed and Bell turned to Bryn and Gunnar. “I think you guys can leave now. We’ve got a lot of groundwork to do, but we’ll stay in close contact.”
“This feels real nasty,” Gunnar said.
“Yeah. We need to stop him and fast.” Bell shook Gunnar’s hand, then Bryn’s. “You or Talbot remember anything new, call me.”
“Sure.” Bryn surveyed the room and the four pictures now stuck to a board. “Let’s hope we get him before he kills again.”