A Killer's Watch (7 page)

“Yes, it’s easy, if you know how. No lights flash, no bells
go off, nothing happens to indicate that someone is watching,” Anna
oversimplified the point, somewhat. But she got her meaning across.

“That’s incredible, how did we not know this?” Jeri looked
at Ethan. “How is this not common knowledge?”

“I don’t know, it should be. I knew that hackers could take
over a computer, you knew it, too. But I always thought that the camera light
would go on, if someone tried to use it. I didn’t realize that it was so
stealthy.”

“There’s an easy fix,” Anna interrupted. “Cover the camera
with a piece of electrical tape, or something dark. Problem solved.”

“People can only solve the problem if they’re aware that it
exists,” Jeri told her. “The killer could have been watching Allison, and
Shelby, too, for God knows how long, without them even knowing it.”

“Chances are, if he watched them, then he may have published
the feed to the web,” Ethan spoke into the phone. “Anna, keep searching for
facial recognition, see if the killer has a server set up with other live
feeds. If he’s sharing, then maybe we can pinpoint his next victim.”

“Will do, Boss. But I can’t make any promises. Finding
Shelby and Allison was a lucky fluke. Searching the dark web isn’t like
searching the internet we all know and love.”

“Do your best, Anna,” Ethan told her.

“Anna, don’t hang up,” Jeri intervened, then started pacing
again as she spoke. “Monique and Chloe found that the perp paid the escort
services using iGold. What if the killer is following Anson’s lead, in more
ways than one? What if he’s selling access to the videos, and the live feeds?
What better way to process the payments, than through an anonymous money
source?”

“I’m still working on isolating the accounts he used,” Anna
answered. “Their firewalls are massive, getting through is proving next to
impossible. Without access to the accounts, we’ll never know the identity of
the account owners. If he’s selling video views, he probably
is
using iGold.
It’s more protected than some banks I know.”

“So, that’s a dead end,” Jeri stopped pacing.

“For the moment, I’m still trying to break through.”

“Thanks, Anna. Let us know the minute you find anything.”

“Of course, later.”

“I’m calling Dylan,” Ethan told them, standing. “Two
computer guru’s working on all of this is better than one.”

“Good idea,” Jeri answered, her eyes following him as he
slipped into the bedroom.

“It seems like most of the information we need is only
available through digital means,” Chloe spoke up. “What can we do, besides sit
and wait for Anna to get a hit on something?”

“Computers make our job easier, but they’re not a substitute
for instinct. Allison felt that she was being watched, turns out, she probably
was. We’d never think to search for his feeds, if not for speaking with Sandy,”
Jeri reminded her. “For now, we continue to focus on the list of convicted
pedophiles in the triangulated area, but we don’t stop there. We search for
properties that have a bunker or some place that fits the rooms in the videos.”

“Primarily, private homes with basements or storm shelters,”
Monique nodded.

“We target the triangulated area first, but we don’t
restrict our focus to the pedophiles. It’s very possible that this guy has
never been arrested, or even been a suspect.” Jeri walked quickly to her
tablet. “We’ll split up the counties and pull property records to make our
list. For now, if the home sits on less than an acre, eliminate it. He’ll need
space to move the bodies, undetected. Anything sitting in a neighborhood, on a
small lot, will not work.”

“That’s still going to be quite a list, most of the homes
around here are farms, with lots of land,” Chloe answered, getting comfortable
with her tablet.

“Not all of them will have a basement, or a storm cellar,”
Jeri answered, dividing up the task. “I’m sending links to each of you for the
property search. Set the parameters to single family properties, in excess of
two acres. Chloe’s right, we’ll go smaller if necessary, but I imagine that
we’ll have ample possibilities as it is.”

“Search for properties near water. Dylan heard water
dripping in the background on Allison’s video. Since it hasn’t rained here for
at least a week, the water dripping could be from the underground water table,
or a nearby water source,” Ethan added, coming back into the room.

“That narrows it down some,” Jeri nodded. “But we need a
better profile. Searching these properties will take weeks.”

“We can run the owners against the DMV database, eliminate
all who are not Caucasian, or female.” Ethan suggested.

“That should help some, but it’s still not enough. I need to
focus on our killer, try to get a sense of him, more than just his skin color,”
Jeri scrolled through the list of properties on her tablet.

“I’ll take over here, you go and work on the profile,” Ethan
held out his hand for her tablet.

“Okay, I’ll be in the bedroom.” Jeri stood, knowing that she
would have to analyze the videos to learn as much as possible about the killer.
She hated the prospect.

Graham pulled the truck to the side of the road,
approximately half a mile from Aubrey’s home. It was as close as he’d come yet
to drop a body, and he could barely contain his excitement at being so near his
one true love.

Raising the metal cover above the truck bed, he opened the
tailgate, then slid Shelby to the edge. Picking up the body, wrapped in
plastic, he rolled her onto the ground, before tossing the plastic back in the
truck. She landed face down in the ditch, but that didn’t matter to Graham.

Feeling exhilarated, he quickly closed the gate, and the
cover, hopped back in the cab, and drove away. Thoughts of Aubrey’s shock, upon
hearing that a body was placed so close to her home, thrilled him. Maybe she
would even be the one to find it! She took her brats to school every day, they
could very well spot Shelby’s body in the morning.

“What a lovely way to start the day,” Graham laughed,
imagining Aubrey’s distress if one of her precious children was exposed to such
a thing.

As he drove along the darkened road, he pictured Aubrey’s
face. Would she realize that the girl was a tribute to her? Would she know that
she was ultimately responsible for the young woman’s death?

“She’ll know before it’s over,” he said aloud, his thoughts
turning to Allison. The heater he’d purchased rode on the seat beside him. Now
that he realized the efficiency of having two girls at once, he decided to
speed up the timetable and take another one.

There was no reason to do away with the girls so quickly.
Why not enjoy them for as long as possible. He could give them water, no one
would need know about that. Feeding them presented a problem, then the issue of
waste came into play, something he had no desire to deal with, in any form. The
human body could survive with no food for several weeks, so he could at least
keep them that long, for entertainment purposes.

My viewers will enjoy having more than one girl at a time to
watch. I can also increase the subscription fees, for two. The thought pleased
him enormously, not that he needed the money. Still, increasing his wealth
through such a simple operation was a no brainer. “I need another bed, and
another camera,” he said to the empty cab. “I can get set up in the morning,
then take another one tomorrow afternoon.” Forgetting about his promise to meet
his viewers in the morning, he scanned through the possible four girls
remaining on his watch list. Two of them rode the bus home, but only one of
them came home to an empty house.

Could he dare kidnap the girl from her home? Should he risk
it?

“I’m ready,” he said aloud, smiling. “Without a doubt.”

~~~

“Another body was found this morning, in Clevestone. It has
to be Shelby Torrent,” Ethan told Jeri as she emerged from the shower. “We’ll
head over when you’re ready.”

“Ten minutes,” Jeri answered, quickly toweling off. “He
didn’t waste any time,” she commented, throwing on her clothes. “Where in
Clevestone?”

“Same as the others, side of a road leading to a few farms.
Nothing different, that I know of.”

“He has to know that the authorities will tie Shelby to the
prostitutes, will know they’ve got a serial operating in the area. Something in
Clevestone is important enough to him that it doesn’t matter.”

“I called Nate, he’s on it. We should have access to
anything we need, legally. If the locals call in the FBI, they’ll refer them to
us.”

“That makes things easier, I suppose.” Jeri picked up a
brush, ran it through her hair. “I feel like we should be the ones to tell
Shelby’s mother. We promised her that we’d help, I don’t want her to think we
dropped the case, just because Shelby died.”

“We can call her this afternoon, if you like. After she’s
been notified. Our time is better spent trying to find Allison, before the same
thing happens to her.” Ethan came to stand behind her, his reflection somber in
the mirror.

“You’re right,” Jeri sighed. “I’d like to give Monique and
Chloe the profile, before we leave. It will help them narrow down the property
search list.”

“Sure thing, I’ll let them know we’ll be dropping by on our
way out,” Ethan gave Jeri a squeeze, before leaving her to finish.

~~~

“We’re looking for a white male, early to mid-thirties, with
money. I was able to isolate one of his shoes in part of Allison’s live video,
and they’re made of high grade Italian leather. Very pricey.” Jeri met both
women’s eyes before continuing. “The jacket he was wearing last night, when he
paid Allison a visit, also appeared to be custom, not something you would find
on the department store rack.”

“So, he can afford fine things, how does that help us find
him?” Chloe asked.

“For one thing, estates, or properties with high-end homes,
go straight to the top of our list. Our boy is not your average farmer, working
the land. He may own a farm, but he doesn’t get his hands dirty, not that way.
He’s very particular about his tools, almost to the point of being OCD. His
kill room reminded me of one of Anson’s, stainless steel table, bright lights,
cutting implements laid out precisely on a tray. It’s as if he’s following
Anson’s play book; that he’s not thinking for himself at all.”

“Do you think he’s diagnosed as OCD? Could that help us
narrow down the list?” Monique asked.

“I’m not saying that he’s absolutely OCD, just that he’s
meticulous, and very controlled. His hand never shook when he cut Shelby. And
the monologue to his viewers was charismatic, conversational, and upbeat,
totally out of sync with his actions.”

“The way he described his technique, when he was killing
her, reminded me of a chef on one of those cooking shows,” Chloe shuddered.

“Exactly, he has no remorse, whatsoever, which isn’t
surprising, but he is also quite charming as he caters to his audience. Typical
sociopathic behavior,” Jeri confirmed.

“So, he’s probably popular, has an active social life?”
Chloe asked, trying to understand the dichotomy.

“Possibly, but I doubt it. He can turn on the charm at will,
but he’s not interested in personal associations. He plays a role in his real
life, one that keeps the status quo, but he lies as easily as he breathes. Any
mistakes he makes are never his fault, someone else is always to blame. But his
intelligence, and high charisma, help him skate through.”

“Do you think he’s married, has a family?”

“Hard to say, it’s easier for these guys to be loners, but
having a family is not out of the question. The fact that he is wealthy may
give him a higher profile.”

“It also makes it easier for him to hide,” Ethan added.

“True,” Jeri nodded. “Based on his timeline thus far, we
only have a short window to find Allison, before he kills her. Monique, you and
Chloe revise the lists we made last night, focusing on properties with homes
valued at five
-
hundred thousand and above. We
may be starting low, but I don’t want him slipping through the cracks.”

“Sure, then we start searching, one by one?” Monique asked.

“Yes, Ethan and I will join in, as soon as we make sure that
the body they found this morning is Shelby.”

“What do we say to the homeowners? This is different from checking
up on convicted pedophiles. These people don’t have to let us in, right?”

“No, but if they refuse, that moves them to the top of our
list. Use your EJB ID’s, explain that you’re working with the FBI to help solve
the murders. Tell them we’re doing a house by house search of basements and
cellars. By allowing us to check out the space, they are eliminated from
further investigation.” Ethan stood, preparing to leave.

“Whatever you do, stay together. Never search alone, or out
of sight of each other. If you get a feeling that something’s not right, get
out of there. We don’t need heroes, remember that.” Jeri’s voice was stern.

“Okay, clear enough,” Chloe nodded. “Will you let us know if
it’s Shelby?”

“Of course. Be safe.”

~~~

Allison awoke from a fitful sleep, but she couldn’t tell if
it was day or night. The room was marginally warmer, thanks to the space heater
the man had placed in the corner, several hours ago.

Or was it minutes?

Days?

No
, she thought, it couldn’t be
days, she would know if she’d been here for days, wouldn’t she?

Every muscle in her body ached with the need to move, but
the bonds were as tight as ever. Her stomach growled with hunger, and her mouth
felt as dry as a desert.

But food and drink were the last things on her mind.