CHAPTER THREE
Faith and David sat on a bench sixty yards up the path from the trees.
Luna sat on Faith’s right, David on her left.
Turk sat next to Luna, both dogs watching while others played with their owners in the field across from them.
These owners and dogs didn’t know about the dead woman who had only just left the trees two hundred feet down the path.
They enjoyed the bright sunshine and afternoon warmth that only a couple hours ago had so captivated Turk and his humans.
For the fifteen minutes or so after Faith left the crime scene, the people who had gathered nearby came to ask her what she had seen. She kept the details scarce, only saying that she’d found someone deceased and the police were investigating.
She did ask if they’d seen anyone suspicious around the park. No one had. Several had pointed out that most of the focus was on the dogs, not the people. The owners were just accessories, Faith’s words, not theirs.
It was true, though. A few months ago, Turk had actually played with a killer at a dog park, and Faith had paid the man no more attention than to note that Turk liked him.
When she saw his photograph in connection to a series of violent murders in Arlington and Washington, D.C.
, she didn’t even recognize him at first.
That bothered her. Aside from the obvious fear that everyone she talked to could be a serial killer and she wouldn’t know it, there was the knowledge that killers here could hide in plain sight.
No one would notice them, only their dogs.
It was like seeing zookeepers. They were there, but no one actually paid attention to them.
They were at the zoo to see animals. This killer could have been stalking Iris for weeks, and no one would have noticed, not even her.
Not if he was walking his dog like anyone else.
“Hey,” David said, nudging her softly. “You did the right thing.”
Faith smiled wanly. “I mean, you’d have to be a pretty messed up person not to call the police if you saw a dead body.”
“Unless you were Faith Bold, FBI investigator extraordinaire. Then you’d just be yourself. But it’s good that you didn’t. This wasn’t your case, and it would have been wrong for you to jump in and take over just because you could have.”
Faith nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s the conclusion I came to.”
He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek. She appreciated the thought, but she kind of wished he wouldn’t try to comfort her right now.
So, she surprised herself when she began spilling her soul to him. “It reminded me of Trammell.”
“The Donkey Killer? Why?”
Faith chuckled morosely. “I don’t know. This killer’s nothing like Trammell. The victim wasn’t beaten or tortured. She wasn’t staged. He didn’t leave a note or message behind. He lured her somewhere, but not to a lair or anything. Hell, he was even careful not to hurt Luna too much.”
Luna pricked her ear up slightly, and Faith winced. “I think I was just affected by the dog. She’s clearly suffering a lot, and it reminded me of Turk when I first met him.”
“Right.”
“I told you that his first partner was killed, right? Jack Preston. Hell of an agent, and someone I looked up to a lot. He was working with Turk, and Trammell ambushed them. He split both of their skulls open with an axe. Turk barely survived, Jack didn’t.
That was the same day he kidnapped me and tortured me. ”
“Hmm.”
Faith frowned at David. He was looking vacantly out across the field, clearly tuning her out.
Her blood started to boil. He’d been distracted earlier too, but this was a little different.
She was talking about the most traumatic event of her life, and he was the one who showed concern in the first place.
She opened her mouth to snap at him but stopped when Luna’s ears perked up again. Luna got to her feet and trotted down the path toward Sergeant Meyers, or rather the man accompanying Sergeant Meyers.
The man squatted down and wrapped Luna in a bear hug. “Hey, girl,” he said. “Hey, Luna. Hey, sweetheart.”
He exchanged a few more terms of endearment as he held Luna close. Tears streamed from his cheeks, and Faith knew who he was now.
“This is Aaron Caldwell,” Sergeant Meyers said. “Iris’s son. He’s going to take Luna home.”
Aaron stood up and offered his hand to Faith.
He was in his late thirties, about five-four and maybe one hundred forty pounds.
Faith glanced at his shoes as she returned the handshake.
Size eight. Far smaller than the boot prints in the trees.
She was already pretty sure that none of Iris’s family had killed her, but she was relieved to see that belief supported here.
“I understand you were the one to find Mom’s… to find Mom,” he said.
“Luna led me to her,” Faith replied. “She’s a good dog.”
Luna lowered her head and whined. She wasn’t in the mood to hear about how good a dog she was right now.
“Yeah, she is,” Aaron said, getting low and hugging Luna again.
Faith imagined they were going to be leaning on each other for a while, especially because she saw no wedding ring on Aaron’s finger. “Did you notice a change in your mother’s behavior recently?” she asked.
David frowned at Faith, and her lips hardened a little. Yeah, I wouldn’t look so disapproving right now, buddy.
Meyers didn’t seem offended at all by Faith’s questioning. In fact, he looked relieved. It was one less thing for him to do before he could pass this case along to someone else and step away from the bad feelings it caused.
“No,” Aaron said. “No, I just saw her yesterday. Like… literally yesterday.”
He stood again and put his hands on the top of his head. “No, she was her usual happy, perky self. She was always such a positive person. I’m sure you hear that a lot, but she was.”
Actually, many of the victims Faith investigated weren’t described as particularly positive people. They often had some darkness in their lives that proved to have considerable bearing on their murder.
That wasn’t always true, of course. Sometimes killers killed for reasons that had nothing to do with their victims. “What about someone new in her life? Did she mention any new friends? New neighbors or coworkers? New lovers?”
Aaron laughed briefly. “Definitely not lovers. We lost Dad about two years ago. Mom recovered well, but she’s not interested in dating anyone else. Wasn’t interested in dating anyone else. God.”
He wiped his mouth with one hand and sighed irritably. Now that he was pushing through the denial stage of grief, anger was taking its place. “Who the hell kills an old woman walking her dog? Like… how fucked up do you have to be?” He glanced at Faith. “Sorry. Pardon my language.”
"No need to apologize for cursing," Faith said. "I've seen and heard a lot worse. So, no one knew? No one who made her feel uncomfortable?"
“No, no one knew. Not that she told me about, anyway.”
Faith lifted an eyebrow. “Would she tell you if she met anyone who made her feel uncomfortable?”
“I don’t know. She’s never said anything about it before. I feel like she would, though. I mean, if someone was being really psychopathic, I feel like she’d mention that.”
If she knew, anyway, most of the killers Faith investigated happened to be clearly insane, but she knew that the majority of murderers weren't or didn't appear to be in their daily lives.
Trammell was known as a polite, gentlemanly farmer, a little shy and a little slow, but definitely not a murderer.
His copycat, Franklin West, ran a successful therapy practice for years before his obsession with Faith caused his self-control to fray.
Ted Bundy was particularly well-known for being charming and likable.
Then again, Iris hadn’t mentioned anyone knew in a positive light either.
And the clinical, almost professional nature of this killing suggested that there was nothing personal at all behind it.
Someone had lured Iris into the trees, shot her point-blank in the forehead, and beat her dog for no apparent reason.
That was the key. No apparent reason. Whether Iris was a target or a victim of opportunity, there was a reason for her death. There was always a reason.
“Oh God,” Aaron moaned. “Does Katie know?”
Meyers answered that. “We haven’t called your sister yet, no. The coroner’s office is currently performing—they haven’t released your mother’s body to the morgue yet. Once there, we’ll need someone to formally identify her.”
“Call me,” Aaron said immediately. “Don’t call Katie. Oh God. She’s going to be devastated. She and Mom were so close, closer even than I was with her. She’s going to be crushed. Oh God, and the kids.”
Faith put a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Take Luna home. Don’t worry about what happens next.
It’s all going to work itself out. You need time to grieve, not to stress about all of the next steps.
You’ll get through this. So will your sister.
So will Luna. This is the worst thing that could have happened to any of you, but you’ll get through it. ”
Aaron nodded. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. It’s just hard to think that way right now.”
Faith and Turk shared a grim look. That was another way they could relate to their victims. Grief lingered.
It softened, but it didn’t disappear. The scars left on Faith’s mind by Jethro Trammell and Franklin West had faded to the point where they were barely visible, but they were still there.
Every so often, like today, Faith would feel a twinge of pain at the sight of those scars and remember the pain she felt when they were inflicted.
“Thank you,” Aaron said. “For being a good person.”
He smiled at Faith, and Faith managed one in return.
She squeezed his shoulder a final time, then let her arm fall to her side.
Meyers smiled wanly at her, then led the grieving son and his new dog away.
Luna looked over her shoulder at Turk and barked once, a soft, dejected sound that brought a fresh lump to Faith’s throat.
Turk moaned softly as the trio walked away. Faith watched them leave, sharing in their grief, until David put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
Anger flashed through her at his touch. She remembered why she was mad at him now. She shrugged free and marched past him, taking the long way around to the parking lot where her Crown Victoria waited.
David followed her, frowning in hurt and confusion.
She offered him no explanation at first, but she knew from personal experience that shutting him out wouldn’t solve anything, so after a minute, she said, “Hey, I know I’ve told you about Trammell and Jack a bunch of times already, but if I’m opening up about something important to me, can you please not tune me out? ”
David blinked. Then he flushed red and looked down at his feet. “Yeah. I’m sorry. You’re right, that was messed up.”
“Yeah, just a little.”
She was glad she’d gotten that out of her system. Her anger was softening already. “What’s going on with you anyway?” she asked. “You’ve been distracted ever since we boarded the flight back home.”
He sighed heavily. “It’s nothing. You’ve got enough on your mind. It’s just work.”
Faith had a suspicion that David wasn’t telling the whole truth, but she kept it to herself. She really did have a lot on her mind. David would have to work through his own emotions just like she was.
She looked over her shoulder when they turned onto the path that would loop back to the parking lot. Aaron, Luna, and Sergeant Meyers were gone. Iris was gone even further away. The case was now firmly behind her.
Somehow, she doubted it would stay there.