Chapter 20
Maverick
Lunging toward the phone, I caught it on the fourth ring. “Maverick Callahan.”
“You’re out of breath, Agent Callahan. Perhaps it’s because you’ve been spending too much time with your buddies, hiding your sorrows in a bottle of booze.”
“Who the fuck is this?” I moved around my desk, paying close attention to every sound.
“Don’t play coy with me, Agent Callahan. You’ve wanted to talk to me. I’ve granted your wish.”
I laughed on purpose and motioned to my assistant, pointing toward the phone as soon as I did.
She’d capture the call so hopefully we’d gather the location of where the motherfucker was hiding.
“Ah, yes. Just another pathetic little man.” Still chuckling, I paced my office, trying to act as if his call didn’t bother me in the least.
I’d known I was getting to him, digging under his skin as often as possible by use of the media. He’d finally taken the bait. Twelve girls had been taken and I’d reached the end of my rope. Twelve young souls kidnapped while walking to school or with their friends at a movie theater.
“I don’t have long to talk, Agent, but I did want you to know I have my eye on another girl. She’s beautiful. Absolutely perfect. And all because of you. You remind me of myself. We could have been good friends in another life.”
“We’re nothing alike.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve seen you in action.
You’re very methodical. I admire both your dedication and your organizational skills.
When you found the first few girls, you barely reacted.
While everyone else was crying or getting sick, you remained stoic. You were admiring my work. Admit it.”
“Admiring your work?” The fucking press had been allowed to get too close to the case. Goddamn it. I glanced at my former partner who was standing in the doorway. Word had already gotten around, half the office standing in wait. No one had been able to get a scrap of evidence on the killer.
Not a hair follicle. No saliva. No skin cells under fingernails. The recovered body parts had been subjected to extreme elements including excessive heat and submersion in the Everglades swamps and had been feasted on by various predators.
One had even been recovered from inside a python, hence the nickname of the killer.
I’d gotten the closest, determined to bring him down.
“Keep him on the line, Mav,” my former partner Carrie whispered. The case had been too much for her. Nodding, I peered down at Max, my canine companion. His ears were perked up, the pup already sensitive to my change in behavior.
“It’s alright to admit it, Agent. I won’t hold it against you.” The killer burst into laughter, the sound echoing in my eardrums.
I gripped the edge of my desk, my body swaying as I stared at the bulletin board covering an entire wall. Faces of the victims. Information. Last sightings. Notes on why they’d been taken. Points of interest.
Sticky notes.
Scraps of paper.
All written hurriedly.
Smiles.
Laughter.
Light in their eyes.
Death.
Death…
Something snapped inside.
Another girl. I was losing. He was winning. While I’d worked very hard to keep my emotions in check, rage erupted, the bastard pushing every button. “Listen, you motherfucking piece of trash. I will find you and when I do, there won’t be enough of you left to stand trial. Do you hear me?”
“Tsk. Tsk. Proof of how much we’re alike. I’ll be in touch.”
Jerking up, I took gasping breaths as his voice slowly faded.
“Fuck. Fuck…” I ran my fingers through my hair as images slowly began to fade. A dream. A goddamn dream. That’s all it had been.
What the fuck? After blinking, I cocked my head. What the hell was that sound? My fucking phone. With a hard exhale, I leaned over, snagging it in my fingers.
In the pitch black of the room, my screen was lit up with the words that immediately boiled my blood.
Unknown caller.
Had the damn dream been a premonition? Why not fuck with whoever was on the other end of the line. “Agent Maverick Callahan.” Immediately, I hit record.
“You thought you could get under my skin.”
“Evidently, I did.” I turned on the light and almost immediately, Alexia was awake.
When her eyes opened wide, I placed my finger across my lips.
“What’s wrong, Samuel? Oh, wait. Samuel is behind bars awaiting execution.
Tsk. Tsk. You truly sank to a new low convincing your own brother to take the fall for you. ”
Throwing back the covers, the last thing I wanted was to be lying in bed while talking to a fucking monster. I reached for my weapon by instinct. It felt as if the motherfucker was in the room beside me. The exact same sensations I’d had all those years ago.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The same hint of fissures in his armor as in his brother’s.
“I think I do. In fact, whatever you promised your brother didn’t include his death. He was shocked to learn of the upcoming execution date. I would have thought with all those visits you had with him you would have been decent enough, man enough to tell him the truth.”
“And what’s that?”
“That you sacrificed him to kill again. What happens next time? Or are you planning on staying a model citizen?”
He sighed. “You have no understanding of my family. None. I suggest you spend the time you’re using to spin out of control to try to find the new missing girls.”
Girls. As in plural.
Alexia’s phone buzzed, which caught both our attention. She shifted across the bed to grab it.
“I think I understand completely. You believe you’re the superior brother and deserve to enjoy living your life. I am curious. What did your brother ever do to you?”
“Do you remember the woman you stalked, Agent Callahan? Come to think of it. Wasn’t she your partner? That’s right. She was. I take it she wasn’t very happy about using her as a scapegoat.”
My blood turned to ice. He was all chirpy laughter when I didn’t respond right away.
“Fuck off.” Great. Now he knew he’d gotten to me.
Yes, I’d used Carrie to try to follow in his footsteps.
She’d been furious when she’d found out, accusing me of assorted terrible things.
She’d even tried to have me kicked off the case.
“Yes, I knew exactly what you were doing. You were pretending to be me, playing a role to try and flush me out. But you failed. Didn’t you?
And why? Because you hungered to carry it through.
You longed to wrap the chloroform-soaked cloth around her mouth.
You stood outside her door and considered it. Didn’t you?”
My skin began to crawl.
I’d talked to the son of a bitch twice before.
It had turned the tide for a case that had haunted me for months.
He’d shown signs of cracking by making the phone call.
I’d almost kept him on the line long enough to secure his location.
He’d tried his best to hide his lair, rerouting the signal from one country to another.
He was without a doubt the most intelligent, cunning criminal I’d ever encountered. The man had all but managed to sign his death warrant. Had it not been for his twisted hunger and dangerous proclivities, his brother’s execution would allow him to continue with his killing spree.
I’d all but had him in the crosshairs all those years ago. Then I’d lost my cool. And why? Because in a way he’d been right. I’d been fascinated by his methods and his abilities to go undetected. I’d been so in tune to the madman that I’d lost my sense of perspective.
I’d written down the steps that he’d taken, the lack of sleep and substance creating a perfect storm where my desire to get inside the mind of a madman had almost catapulted me into destroying both my career and my life.
If Carrie had told my boss about the stalking, my actions would have been grounds for termination.
Now he was repaying the favor, trying to rattle me.
“I think you’re feeling guilty for dragging your brother into your nightmare.”
“He is none of your concern. He’s very happy to be protecting his family. But you were a naughty boy going to see him. I will give you credit. I did not expect that you’d do that.”
“He is very much my concern since you allowed him to become a sacrifice. You have me curious as to the number of other women you’ve tortured.”
His heavy breathing was an indication I was correct. “I do enjoy my work.”
Alexia slapped her hand across her mouth, her eyes wild with terror. With her entire body shaking, she moved around the end of the bed toward me.
“Yes, and I do as well. You know what I think? Now, I’m beginning to think you’re nothing like Samuel.
Here’s the thing. You allowed him to take all the glory.
I can’t believe you did that. You were so eager for me to hunt you down.
You craved your fifteen minutes of fame and I was prepared to give it to you.
What happened? Did you chicken out? Bwak. Bwak. Bwak.”
When I squawked like a chicken, I could tell I’d gotten under his skin. If there was one thing most serial killers craved, it was notoriety.
“You’re learning to play the game, Agent, but too little too late.
” He’d regained complete control, his voice almost soothing in the cadence.
“But you’ll see. If you haven’t already.
Take care, Agent Callahan. I’m certain I’ll read about myself in the pages of one of your upcoming books.
What a shame we won’t have an opportunity to meet. ”
The line went dead and as soon as the echo of his voice faded from my mind, Alexia’s soft moan pulled at the ugliness of yet what I believed to be another failure. She held out her phone, the text she’d received including art.
“Maverick,” she whispered as she gripped my arm.
“Fuck.”
“Another woman was taken. What are we going to do? What are we going to do?”
The room was filled with a quiet that I hadn’t known existed.