Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (12 page)

“
My wife can
’
t help you. You see she passed away six month
s
ago. She finally gave up.
”

John could see the depth of the man
’
s pain in his eyes.
“
I
’
m sorry…I didn
’
t know.
”

The old man simply nodded.
“
So what do you need from me?
”

If only John knew the answer. He had no idea what to ask. It occurred to him the old man
’
s description of his wife
’
s death
was
odd.
“
What did you mean she finally gave up
?”

The question clearly surprised Frank Daniels.
“
My wife
’
s health had been failing for years. She finally gave up.
”

“
Was it…
”
How was the best way to ask the man how his wife had passed?

“
Her kidneys, the doctors tell me, among other things. They finally gave out on her.
”

John
glanced
over at Rick. His partner
,
who had been busily scribbling notes
,
glanced up at the latest piece of information.
“Your wife had kidney problems?
Did your daughter suffer from the same illness?
”

Rick
’
s question
didn’t add up
to John. It was even more perplexing for the old man.
“
Yes, to a much greater extent.
How did you know?"

"Just a hunch, I guess." Rick told him.

Daniels accepted his answer without questioning it. "
Janice had to have a kidney transplant when she was twelve. Since that time, well, she was able to live a normal life for the most part, with the exception of having to take daily medication. A small price to pay for being whole again.
”

He knew what Rick was thinking.
“
Can you think of anything else that might seem out of the ordinary? Anything at all
,”
h
is partner asked.

The old man took a moment to consider the question.
“
Janice was getting married in eight months. But then you knew that.
”

John nodded. They
’
d checked the fiancé out thoroughly for any possible connection to the others. There hadn
’
t been one. He
’
d been cleared early
on
.

John got to his feet. They needed to check on the other victims. It might be a long shot, but at the moment he
’
d take it. It was the only new piece of evidence they
’
d come across.
“
Yes sir. Thank you for your time, Mr. Daniels.
We’ll show ourselves out.
As soon as we have anything at all I
’
ll pass it along to you.
”

Once they were in the car, John ran with Rick
’
s line of thought.
“
We need to check on the other victims
’
medical history. See if they
ha
d any medical treatment around the same time as Janice Daniels.
”

His partner
’
s question wasn
’
t any great surprise.
“
How
’
d that piece of information get overlooked in the first investigation?
”

“
I guess the ME didn
’
t think it was important, maybe. In other words, I don
’
t know.
”

He started the
car’s
engine while Rick continued voicing doubts.
“
You know this is a long shot, don
’
t you? I mean even if Janice Daniels and Belinda Cardwell, or any of the other victims did have a transplant, the odds of all of them having th
e
same
medical history is slim. And what about Anna Sorenson
?
How does she fit in
?”

John dismissed Rick
’
s argument, although he
’
d wondered the same himself.
“
I don
’
t know and I don
’
t care at this point. Dammit, this is something. Hell, it
’
s all we got.
”

Rick nodded.
“
Yeah, it
’
s something new and it
’
s more than we had yesterday. The question is, what about the other victims. We
’
ll never get their medical records pulled in time.
”

John knew how impossible it would be to get their hands on confidential medi
c
al records. They
’
d be buried in red tape for days. They didn
’
t have that much time to spare. He
’
d talk to Anna in private when she arrived in D.C.
“
We
’
ll need to talk to the relatives. Belinda Cardwell
’
s parents are both dead, but she has a brother living in
Richmond
. Feel up to it?
” Johns didn't wait for Rick's answer. He didn't need to. He knew his partner had his back no matter what.

Barry Cardwell had been Belinda
’
s older brother by two years. At the time of her death, they
’
d shared an apartment together.

John
called ahead to tell the man they needed to ask him a few questions about Belinda
’
s health. He could tell from the length of time it took him to answer the question, Barry Cardwell considered
it
odd. It was just as clear he knew the truth. Not that it was any great surprise. The news had been all over the radio and the papers. It would probably hit the national news by evening.

Cardwell was waiting for them when they arrived at his home. He
’
d since moved from the apartment he and Belinda shared to a smaller complex across town.

“
I won
’
t waste your time, Mr. Cardwell. Obviously, you
’
ve
seen
the news, so I
’
ll be brief. We
’
ve discovered some new evidence that I think may help us identify the
true
killer.
”

Barry Cardwell would be just shy of thirty. His sandy blond hair was cut short in typical military fashion. Cardwell had just returned from a tour of duty in
Iraq
a few months before Belinda
’
s murder.

“
Come inside. You know I never did believe that Peterson creep was capable of being a serial killer. He just didn
’
t appear all that bright, in my opinion.
”

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight
’
s twenty-twenty, John had to agree.
“
You may be right.
”

“
You said you needed to ask some questions about Belinda
’
s health? What sort of questions?
”

The man didn
’
t ask them to sit. John didn
’
t mind. He just wanted to get to the facts and get out of there. Losing someone as violently as Barry
ha
d
lost his sister left its mark on
those left behind. He knew all about those types of emotional wounds. He wore the same scars thanks to Aaron
’
s death.

“
There
’
s no easy way to ask this, so I
’
ll just say it. I need to know if your sister had any type of
organ
transplant
in her lifetime
.
”

Cardwell could have seen a ghost.
The man
’
s expression told John he
’
d hit pay dirt.
“
Transplant? How did you know about that?
What's this got to do with Lin's death?”

Thank you, God,
John breathed
in
a silent prayer while glancing Rick
’
s way. Relief was etched all over his partner
’
s face. They had something tangible. Finally, they had something to build on.

“
One of the other victims had a transplant as well and we believe there may have been more. We
’
re looking into a possible connection.
”

Cardwell accepted his explanation with a nod.
“
I see. Yeah,
Lin
had a cornea transplant when she was just a kid. It
’
s be
en
almost
twenty years
ago
now.
”

“
Really? Was that here in
Richmond
?
”

Barry glanced from John to his partner. “
Yes,
that right. A
t
Richmond
Memorial.
”

“
And do you remember the year.
”

“
I should. It was my fourteenth birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday. Does that help?
”

“
Yes, tremendously. You
’
ve been a great deal of help, Mr. Cardwell.
”

Barry Cardwell
’
s gaze shifted between the two agent
s once more
.
“
Good. You
’
ll let me know if anything comes of this. I want to be able to go to my sister
’
s grave and tell her we caught the bastard
who
did this thing to her.
”

“
I will. The second we know anything I
’
ll let you know,
”
John assured him.

Once they were outside the building, John called
Ryan,
one of the agents working the case.
“
Get a court order to pull the medical records for Janice Daniels and Belinda Cardwell
.
H
ell
,
get the records of all the RCK victims. I want to know everything about their medical conditions, whatever you can find, and I want to know it today. Do whatever you have to do, I don
’
t care who you piss off. Just make it happen.
”

Chapter Eight

Last night had been the worst. He’d broken bones last night. He’d showed her the future and it was just as bleak and barren as she’d believed. In some odd way, it was liberating as well. With the introduction of his latest means of torture, all of her previous choices disappeared. It hadn’t hurt all that much, the serrated edge of the blade tore at her flesh in the beginning, but surprisingly there wasn’t the expected pain.

Maybe it was all in her head. She’d managed to disappear in her mind when he’d hurt her in the past. Last night was no different.

Today, as she sat on the park bench, her face turned upward to the sun’s warmth, she’d unwittingly come to a decision. She took out pen and paper from her purse then glanced fearfully around. Time was slipping away. He’d be home soon. She jotted the note as quickly as possible, her writing almost i
llegible
through the pain because he’d broken her hand.

Not that it mattered. There wasn’t much he could do to her now. And it was only a matter of time.