Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (2 page)

“
John? You ready?
”
He turned
to his partner
.
The sun had just begun to fade on the horizon.
It was obvious Rick had been asking that question for a while. John didn
’
t acknowledge the
other
unasked questions written in his partner
’
s solemn expression. Instead, he yanked the door open with more than necessary force.

“
Yeah?
”
The duty officer, an overweight fifty-something, whose girth barely allowed him to squeeze the buttons on his shirt into place, spared them an intimidating look before
he
return
ed
to
watching reruns of
Judge Judy on TV.

“
Agent Delaney, Agent Garner. FBI.
”
The flash of their Bureau
-
issued IDs managed to pry the officer
’
s attention from Judge Judy
’
s current case. It only took a moment for the officer to recognize John. Once the
Rock
Creek
Park
murders hit the press
es
, John
’
s face and story had been plastered all over the national news and even a few celebrity rags. He could only imagine the headlines this latest development would bring.

The man passed a couple of fat fingers over his receding hairline.
“
Yes sir. What can I do for you?
”
Under different circumstances, the officer
’
s about-face behavior would have been amusing, but John
ha
d lost his sense of humor when the
note arrived and the final
victim
’
s body
screamed the truth
.

“
We need to speak with George Peterson. Have him brought up for interview.
”

Officer Frank Barrera glanced at his watch.
“
He
’
ll be
sleeping
right now
—”

“
I don
’
t care if he
’
s taking a shit, get him up here.
”

Officer Barrera
’
s opinion
of
John
’
s rebuke was clear, but he did as he was told and grabbed the phone, turned away and passed his anger on to the hump on the other end.
“
Get Peterson brought up front. Now.
”
He slammed the receiver down with more force than necessary then went back to
watching
his program.

Barrera
’
s phone shrilled and he yanked the receiver to his ear.
“
Yeah? Okay.
”
Barrera took his time conveying the message. A deliberate attempt at getting back at John.
“
He
’
s ready. I
’
ll need you to sign in and hand over your weapons.
”

John smug expression barely passed for a smile. Barrera
appeared
pleased when he deposited his Glock into the tray along with Rick
’
s. Barrera snatched the weapons up, removed a bulging key ring from his overworked belt, and unlocked the weapons cabinet.

Ordering the FBI around probably came as close to being a real cop as the man had gotten in his career.

“
This way.
”
Barrera buzzed the barred door open and headed down the long corridor without waiting to see if the two of them would follow.

Barrera stopped in front of the first door and peered into the window. With a satisfied w
ag
of his head, he took the key ring off again and unlocked the door then turned to John.
“
He
’
s cuffed to the table so he shouldn
’
t give you any problems. I
’
ll have to lock up. When you
’
re ready, knock and Officer Schultz here will let you out.
”
He motioned to the young officer who leaned his lanky frame against the opposite wall. Officer Schultz gave them a couple of fingers salute.

They
stepped inside the bleak cubicle that reeked of unwashed flesh and squashed hope. They waited until the door had been relocked and Barrera
’
s mass was in motion before facing the man handcuffed to the table.

His time in federal prison hadn
’
t done Peterson any favors. He
appeared
at least ten years older than his twenty-eight years and he wore his physical scars like
medals
. Peterson
ha
d barely been incarcerated more than a week before someone tried to win a name for themselves by killing the Rock Creek
s
erial killer. They
’
d buried a shank an inch beneath Peterson
’
s right eye, taking away its sight. There were other scars as well. Peterson certainly hadn
’
t been a choirboy, but it was the emotional demons warring with the man
’
s sanity that were the most disturbing.

The left corner of Peterson
’
s mouth inched upwards in what could only be described as a maniacal leer. It confirmed all of John
’
s fears.
“
Figured it out
,
did ya?
”
Peterson made a noise like a growl.

In an instant, John
’
s world crumbled around him.
“
Dammit.
”
This man might be responsible for killing a federal agent, and deserving of his cell in federal prison, but he wasn
’
t the Rock Creek killer.
And he had nothing to do with the two recent murders that eerily mirrored the RC killer's MO.

It took Rick another half a click to catch up, his sharp gaze beating a path from John
’
s to the man seated at the table.
“
Why the hell did you confess to a crime you didn
’
t commit?
”

Peterson tossed Rick a disinterested look.
“
New partner, Delaney?
”
A deliberate dig that John had no intention of responding to.

“
Answer the question, Peterson. Why
’
d you confess to Cheryl Larsen
’
s murder? Janice Daniels and Belinda Cardwell
’
s? You didn
’
t do any of them.
”

Peterson
’
s answer was a bored lift of his shoulders. He was playing with them. John
’
s patience stretched a little closer to the breaking point.

H
e
smacked the table hard
with his hand
, garnering a startled jump from inmate 6752335.
“
Answer. The. Damn. Question.
”

“
Why do you think? I was going to prison anyway, thanks to your partner. What
’
d I have to lose? I figured I might as well make a name for myself. Get some of the glory if I was gonna spend the time for doing your partner.
”

The introduction of Aaron into the conversation threatened to snap the last bit of control John was clinging to.
“
What are you talking about?
”

“
Your partner, the illustrious Aaron Sorenson.
”

“
Leave him out of this, you son-of-a-bitch. You were seen at Cheryl Larsen
’
s apartment complex the night she disappeared. You were stalking her. She
’
d reported you to the police. You were the last person to see her alive
—”

“
Except for the real killer, you mean.
”
Peterson confirmed without blinking an eye.
“
I
’
d say he was the last one to see that bitch alive, wouldn
’
t you?
”

* * * * *

“
T
his place is
about as
close to
haven
as it gets. You think Ed would miss me if I decided to stay here, oh
,
say, forever?
”
Her sister
Bev glanced out at the churning
silver waters of the Gulf of Mexico
as the sun slipped further in the sky.

Pensacola
Beach
was
about as far removed from the D.C. hell
Anna Sorenson
remembered as a nightmare
was
from reality.

I
n the year
that
had past since Aaron's death, i
t
hadn't been
far enough to forget the memories of that night. That day life as
Anna
knew it stopped. Another chapter came to an abrupt end. Two weeks later, the final part of
her
once
-
promising world collapsed around
her
.

“
Are you okay?
”
h
er sister asked. There was something in Bev’s tone. Had been all day
.
Worry. Fear. Some premonition.

Anna
struggled to keep her composure.
“
Yes. Yes, I
’
m fine. Why wouldn
’
t I be?
”

“I don't know.”
Bev
tried to keep her tone nonchalant but
didn’t quite pull it off
.

“
Nothing
's wrong
. I just need
ed
a vacation from Ed.
”
Whenever Bev resorted to lying about her husband,
Anna
knew
her sister was worried.

They'd spent a
glorious day wandering around the gift shops along the
beach, skipping
lunch in order to indulge
themselves
at Sandy Beaches
. SB was
an expensive restaurant made famous for its fresh Gulf Coast seafood caught daily by the local fishermen.

“
Now this is
delicious
.
”
Bev took a bite of homemade Key Lime pie and closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
Anna
had to smile. Having Bev with
her
today was like having a favorite warm blanket wrapped around
her
on a cold, rainy day. Letting
her
go
would
n
’t
be easy.
Anna had
begun to dread the moment already.

Hiding that regret from
Bev
was impossible.
“
It
’
s been a great day.
”

Bev put down her fork and reached for
Anna's
hand
,
squeezing it.
“
I miss having you close, Anna. I worry.
”

Anna
patted
Bev's
hand and tried to come up with some reassurances.
“
I know you do, but I
’
m okay. I
’
ll be fine.
”
It only
it
was
true
.
Anna hadn't been able to tell her big sister about the months of hell she'd endured, or the change in her marital status before a killer had taken Aaron's life. 

“
Feel up to a walk along the beach before we turn in?
”
Bev
’
s question shook
Anna
from
her
musings. Tonight there wasn
’
t a cloud in the sky. The moon hung low above the water. There were dozens of people milling around.