No Ordinary Killer (17 page)

 
“Our killer is
progressing. He’s becoming more aggressive and daring,” Dallas said.

“How long after the alarm did you guys head down
here?” Maxwell asked.

“Couple of minutes, that’s why we think this was done
before the fire alarm was pulled.”

“He anticipated you would think bomb and call the squad
in. That’s interesting.”

“Weaver refused to open it and left the room as soon
as he could,” Dallas said.

“True, but you weren’t there the first time he opened
that box. He rolled those bloody eyeballs into his hand and nearly had a heart
attack. He dropped them on the floor and vomited all over himself. I’d say he
had a good reason for not wanting a repeat performance. I don’t think he was
leaving, rather was going to watch from a safe distance. Besides, I’m the one
who sent him running out of that room to call the bomb squad.” Cooper didn’t
like the narrowing odds.

“Consider this. It doesn’t have to be one of our team.
We are surrounded by windows. Half the time we have the door open because it
gets too damn hot in that room. We enter information in the database and anyone
in this building has access with a password. We could be watched close or from
afar. I agree we have a leak and we have a killer among us … I’m just saying I
don’t think it’s one of our team.” Arnott leaned over and picked up a piece of
paper between his thumb nail and pen. “Get a glove on and look at this, would
ya.”

Maxwell reached over and held the receipt in his latex
palm. “I’ll be damned! It’s a near perfect blood imprinted sneaker. Whoever did
this didn’t realize he stepped on some of the blood evidence and gave us a very
nice impression. Great work, Arnott.”

“This information goes nowhere,” Dallas said.

Cooper reached in his pocket and withdrew a plastic
evidence bag. “We need to check the entire paper for fingerprints. Run the footprint
through the computer database. I want to know what brand sneakers these are and
I want to know everything about the blood while we’re at it. Dallas, you and I
are taking this evidence to Missoula right now.”

“Good idea. Instead of going across McDonald Pass, I
think you should go to Helena across Rogers Pass. It’s longer but unexpected,”
Maxwell said. “I’ll wait here for the lab people and help minimize the damage.”

“You got a point, thanks,” Cooper glanced at Arnott.
“The rest of the team is yours. Pull together everything we have so far from
this recent crime scene. Fill them in on what’s happened here.”

“Where do I tell them you two went?”

“We went back to the Giant Springs crime scene to get
some fresh, uncompromised evidence.”

“I suppose that means when I’m done here in the lab,
I’d better high-tail it to Giant Springs and get some evidence to back that
up,” Maxwell said.

“You’re right. Might be a good idea to mark second
sample on everything you collect. Check with Weaver, see if he’s contacted Megan
with that list of questions he had for her. Oh, would you let Captain
Gulchinski know what’s going on?”

“Affirmative on all requests. Now get out of here
before the lab closes. I wouldn’t want to have to explain why the two of you
had to stay overnight.”

Cooper laughed and headed for the door. “You’re
suddenly awfully quiet,” he said to Dallas. She walked step by step alongside
him. “Something other than the obvious bothering you?”

“Maybe we should have told them about the pen. They
could have kept an eye out in case this asshole is brassy enough to use it in
front of them.”

“Damn, forgot about it. Want to go back?”

“No, I think we’ve wasted enough time. We need to keep
our eyes open and be alert as to what’s happening around us. If we’re being
followed, we’ll want to know right away.”

“My truck is over here.” Cooper led the way.

“I don’t think we should take your truck. Swing over
to the Sherriff’s Department, we’ll take an unmarked four-wheel drive and I’ll
call dispatch once we’re on the road.”

“That’s a great idea. But, if we’re being watched, it
might not make a difference.”

“Yes, but if we’re being followed by a GPS bug, then
it would. I’m just saying we have a better chance to go undetected—“

“I’m not arguing. It’s a good idea. And once we’re on
the road, you can tell me what the hell’s bothering you.” Cooper didn’t miss
Dallas’s jaw tighten. She knew something and wasn’t sharing.

Thirty minutes of silence stretched the limit of
Cooper’s patience. “What gives?”

“How well do you know your brother-in-law’s partner?”

“Weaver’s a good guy. A bit of a know-it-all, but he’s
a—“

“Good guy. Now think about him objectively. Without
breaching my investigation, I find him a bit fishy.”

“Fishy?”

“You know, suspicious, strange, questionable, devious,
shady—“

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Not in the least.”

Cooper pressed his feet into the floorboard while
Dallas swerved around a semi, taking the inside track and hugging the cement
divider closer than he liked. “Weaver and Sparks have been partners for a good
five years.”

“About the same amount of years as you and Arnott, if
I’m not mistaken.”

“So?”

“So nothing. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Like what?”

“Cooper, get your head out of your ass and be
objective. I’m asking for your help, and that’s not something that comes easy
or that I do very often.”

“Sorry. Well, I’m not sure what we’re after here, but
let me think about this for a while.” He didn’t expect her to answer, and she
didn’t. What could she possibly know or want to know about Weaver. He liked the
ladies, that was no secret. He was a bit loud and outspoken. That didn’t make
him a killer. He … “Maybe—”

“Maybe what?”

“Oh, didn’t realize I said that out loud. I was
thinking … and—“

“And?”

“Well, Weaver seems to … he steers clear of my
sister.”

“What do you mean by steers clear?”

“Just that. Whenever we have a get-together and invite
Candy and Josh, well Weaver never shows up. Once Megan had too much to drink …
she often had too much to drink, but at a party she asked Candy why Weaver
never showed-up when she was around. I was pissed Megan asked and so was Josh.”

“What did Candy answer?”

“That’s it. I don’t think she’s comfortable knowing he
hasn’t forgiven her … for telling dad what happened all those years ago.”

“I guess that makes sense. How does Sparks feel about
that?”

“He doesn’t know what happened to Weaver … we haven’t
and won’t tell anyone. Sparks likes having Weaver for a partner. He’s good at
what he does and always has his back. As for not socializing, I think Dennis
likes it that way. Not all partners are best friends.”

“Is Weaver’s mother … adoptive mother … alive? Maybe
he has an issue with his birth parents.”

“Aunt Linda is in a nursing home. She had a stroke
shortly after my mother died. As I’ve mentioned, they were close.”

“Does Weaver visit her?”

“I think it’s too hard for Weaver to see her the way
she is. Tina, Tucker and I make a point to visit her now and then. I know Candy
does, too. Mom would have wanted us to be there for her. Aunt Linda had a sad
life, if you ask me.”

“Do Sparks and Weaver socialize without Candy?”

“What exactly are you asking me, Dallas?”

“Simple, do they often stop at a bar for a couple of
beers after work and shoot the breeze? Do you join them for beers sometime?”

“I suppose sometimes … what exactly do you want to
know?”

“Just searching. Wasn’t Weaver heading out of the
meeting room when that package arrived for Arnott?”

“Can’t say I noticed. I was concentrating on the box.”

“What about Sparks?”

“Stop talking in circles, Dallas. What do you want to
know about Dennis?”

“You friends?”

“Yes, we’re friends.”

“Brothers?”

“What the f—“

“Come on. Play fifty questions with me.”

“Okay. Yes and no.”

“So you’re brothers through marriage, not exactly
otherwise?”

“You might say that. We were getting close and then
the first big murder took place. Arnott and I got put on lead and Sparks and
Weaver were put on the team, but all the credit went to Arnott and me. That
didn’t set with either of them. The second big murder made things worse and by
the time we finished solving the third case … well … Arnott and I moved up the
ranks and Sparks and Weaver didn’t. It was wrong and I pointed that out to
Captain Gulchinski. It wasn’t up to me.”

“Who put you and Arnott up for promotion?”

“Gulchinski, I think.”

“Any reason why the whole team wasn’t promoted?”

“Gulchinski didn’t feel it was a team effort.”

“Do you know why?”

“I asked him. He said he observed the cases, gave
direction, and made the decision they were solved by Arnott and me. Now it
looks like we were wrong and sent three men to prison for something they didn’t
do. The evidence was strong in each case. Now it appears these murders are
somehow connected.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not so sure they
are tied together.”

“I think they are … look at all the similarities.”

“Hear me out. What if they were three separate murders
committed by three separate perps … but with one mentor or doer? You and Arnott
were young, anxious and gullible. Maybe you got the right victim at the time,
but the killer has now slanted that evidence to look otherwise. Maybe … just
maybe … the victim manipulated these men into doing the actual killings. He
waits for the jury to convict them. Now he masterfully guides Megan into
writing that book. It’s all a plan to settle a score with you.”

“Whoa, that’s quite a theory. That would mean the
killer has been planning this out for a long time. It would also mean it has to
be someone I know.”

“Exactly.”

Cooper shook his
head. “It can’t be this complicated. I don’t have any enemies. Someone who has
wanted to kill me—“

“No, not kill you,
Cooper. This perp wants you to pay. He wants to destroy you. He wants you to be
penalized. I’d say he wants you to lose everything that you value.”

“So Tina and Tucker are in danger, too?” He glanced at
the speedometer and noticed she was going almost eighty-five.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I would say no. I think
the perp wants you to lose your right to be their father. That will hurt you
more.”

“But who? What could I have possibly done to piss
someone off this much? I don’t have any enemies. I know I’ve put some guys in
prison, but they deserved it. I think we should review all my cases over the
past five years and—“

“This is personal.”

“What are you saying? Someone in my family? Come on. I
don’t even think Megan could hate me that much.”

“Could she be gullible enough to be lured or
manipulated by someone without realizing the bigger picture or ramifications?”

“No fury like a woman scorned?”

“Something like that.”

“I suppose it’s possible, but I don’t think she hated
me until I caught her cheating and wouldn’t take her back.”

“So that means the perp realizes he wants to get even
with you and is using her for his purpose. Maybe if we find out who she was
sleeping with, we might find our killer.”

“You think he’s our man? Did he lure her into his bed
to hurt me?”

“Possibly. But don’t think
your
Megan is an innocent here. She still took the bait and cheated
on you. That still doesn’t change. She still wrote that book because she knew
of your aspirations and goals. No way is she a naïve victim.”

“She’s not
my
Megan. I have no intention of forgetting what her cheating did to me … and to
Tina and Tucker. But, I also can’t forget she is the mother of my children. If
she is being manipulated by this madman, then she is in serious trouble and she
most likely doesn’t even know it.”

“You might be right. Would she believe you if you—“

“You’re joking, right? You’ve met Megan. You really
think she’d believe a word I said? She’d most likely laugh at me, then say she
hopes the perp succeeds.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try and have a talk with
her.”

“I’ll give it some serious consideration. You’d better
slow down or you’ll get a ticket before we get there.” Cooper stretched his
legs, then swallowed hard. Could Megan be cold enough to help someone destroy
or even kill him? Maybe he didn’t want to know.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Megan reached over and grabbed her cell phone. Just
once she’d like to wake when she wanted to. And that wasn’t now.

“Megan, you there?”

“Sort of. I was writing until three this morning. What
do you want, Jessica?”

“You’re hotter than JLo’s latest single. I want your
first three chapters. We’re going to do an early promotion.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that. We’re going to release your next book in
segments. We’ll pause at a cliff-hanger so the reader is dying for the next
chapters. It’ll be great publicity and something new.”

“Who the hell thought of this hair-brained idea?”

“Try the owner of your publishing house.”

“He have any idea the pressure he’s putting me under?
Maybe if I had the entire book finished that might work. But I’m just getting
started. Sometimes I need to go back and foreshadow things, or maybe I’ll go
back and tighten my writing. I can’t just stop the writing and polish my first
three chapters and then pick up where I left off. I just don’t work that way.”

“That’s the beauty of this plan. You won’t have to
polish a thing. We’re going to do that for you. You can keep right on writing
and we’ll do all the rest.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Would an additional advance of fifty-thousand change
your mind?”

Megan sat up and leaned against the pillows. “You’re
going to pay me eighty-thousand above and beyond my original contract. This
thing flops and I don’t owe you a penny back. The money is mine to keep.”

“Done deal.”

“You know you’re crazy, right?”

“I’m telling you,
Megan, the public is craving your next book. Might I ask what the new title is?

“
Physical Evidence
, if you must know.”

“Hmm, I like it, but since
Malicious Intent
had such a nice ring, maybe this next one should
be named something like
Deadly Intent
.
We’ll follow it up with
Murderous Intent
.
My God, I love it.”

“Well I don’t.” How could she explain the title wasn’t
her idea? That she was being blackmailed into writing this damn book. “It’s
Physical Evidence
or I’m not going along
with the new release schedule. Which is what exactly?”

“You do get testy when you’re writing, don’t you?
Okay, we’ll go with
Physical Evidence
.
You send me the first three or more chapters. Make the reader squirm in their
seat for the next page. We’ll let that sell out for a month, then release the
next three or four chapters. We’ll shoot for four releases before the book is
finished.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. We are not doing four
releases.”

“Well, what do you suggest, Megan?”

“There are three murder scenes in this book, just like
in the first. I suggest we have three releases. We’ll keep the reader guessing;
there are three murders – the work of a serial killer … or was each murder the
handiwork of a separate killer? They won’t find out until the summation
chapter.”

“Megan, you’re a genius! I love it. Email me what you
have.”

“No, I’ll email you the first murder. We’ll see if you
like it and then we’ll talk. I’m telling you right now, Jessica, I’m stressing.
You better not let me down.”

“You know me, Megan. I’m your biggest fan. We are all
going to capitalize on our good fortune. It’s not your fault that serial
killers do horrible things to their victims. Ummm—“

“What?”

“You have the … ummm … details for three more murders
or are you making them up?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“That’s not fair. It’s an honest question, Megan. If
Mr. Stilles asks me, I want to have the answers.”

“And what answer are you hoping for, Jessica?”

“I know it sounds bizarre—even pathetic on my part,
but I’m hoping you have three more real homicides in your pocket. I can’t help
but hope they’re more graphic and detailed than ever. It’s selling, Megan. We
are giving the public what it wants. Knowing a crime scene truly happened …
well it’s more stimulating. It’s horrifying, but exciting in a way. Fiction is
fiction—but a scene that truly happened is involving. It’s like
Helter Skelter
. The shock value is what
we’re selling.”

“Well, I’m having second thoughts. You aren’t the one
who has to appear in front of a camera with Kari Winslow firing questions at
you.”

“She’s just jealous you’re a gorgeous, successful
woman. You can tell she was eating up the details of
Malicious Intent
. You wouldn’t have been a guest if you weren’t
interesting. What you need to do now is top those murders. Give the public all
the gory details.”

“Be careful what you ask for.”

“Don’t be careful, Megan. Give it all you’ve got. We
want this ride to last.”

“Aren’t you afraid we’ll crash and burn before we
cross the finish line? This whole thing is scaring the hell out of me. I can’t
stop now—even if I wanted to.”

“Don’t know why you would want to stop now. Just think
of how rich you’re going to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if we were offered a
movie deal on
M
alicious Intent
.
So now do you see the value of getting
Physical
Evidence
out there as soon as possible?”

A slight knock on the door bolted Megan from the
pillows. “Listen, I have to go. I think room service is here with my
breakfast.”

“Send me those chapters within the hour.”

“When that check arrives into my bank account, I’ll
send the first segment.”

“You got it.”

Megan tossed the phone on the bed and hastily headed
for the door. The sheer, black teddy barely covered her bare bottom. Hand on
the doorknob, she eased the door open—no one stood waiting to get in.

* * *

“Thanks for taking over driving. My wrist was really
getting sore.”

“You should have said something sooner. You’ve been
awfully quiet. You might as well tell me what’s on your mind, because you know
I’ll get it out of you soon or later.”

Dallas stretched her legs and leaned her head back
before glancing at Cooper. “Think you know me already?”

“Would it surprise you to know it feels like I’ve
known you my whole life? Forgetting your crusty side, you feel comfortable.”

“Oh, comfortable is it? You must be living in another
world, Cooper Reynolds. There is nothing comfortable about me.”

“Once this is all over, I hope you’ll give me a chance
to prove you wrong.”

“I’m investigating you, Cooper. That kind of talk
could be misconstrued as sexual in nature. It could be misleading or an attempt
to misdirect. You might consider keeping comments like that to yourself … until
this thing is over.” She studied the side mirror as she spoke.

“I’m going to say this just one more time. I did not
give Megan Reynolds case information. I will also add that I wasn’t hitting on
you, just merely making a statement of intent.”

Dallas giggled and enjoyed his spontaneous laugh. “If
we get serious for a moment, have you given any thought to who might want to
discredit you?”

“Working on it.”

“Forget cases you’ve solved or not solved. Forget
everyone at the station. Dig deep.”

“Deep?”

“Deep, Cooper. Think about when you were growing up.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Good, then that means there might be something there
that merits our attention.”

“Do you want to
offer some possibilities?”

“Not really.”

“So, you’re going to be difficult.”

“Okay, you ask me
a question and I’ll answer. In return, I get to ask you a question and you will
have to answer.”

“Quid pro quo,
like Silence of the Lamb? Sure, but I promise I don’t have any stories that
will choke one up like crying baby lambs. I’ll start by asking why you’ve never
thought it important enough to tell me Paul Weaver is your cousin?”

“You have my file. I’m sure you read about that
connection a long time ago. His mother and mine are sisters.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“You’re kidding,
right? How should I feel?” Cooper gripped the steering wheel and straightened
his back.

 
“I sense a bit of tension between the two of
you.”

“Not really. Well, sort of. Actually, when we were
young kids, Candy, Paul and I were almost inseparable. We had a lot in common.
Our moms were sisters and they loved being together. So we spent a lot of time
playing … the three of us.”

“There’s a
but
in this equation, isn’t there?”

“His dad was … abusive.”

“You know I need to know details.”

“Is it true that your father is a Texas rancher who
owns half of Dallas? He is worth a fortune and has pretty much disowned you.”

“True.” Dallas swallowed hard. “I need to know the
details.”

“I was ten and we all went camping. We knew Paul was
afraid of his dad, which wasn’t all that weird to Candy and me, since our dad
was a cop and strict, and we were kinda scared of him, too. But we loved him
and wanted to be around him when he was in a good mood. Paul did everything,
even hide, to stay out of his dad’s way.”

“There has to be more to this. What aren’t you telling
me?”

“I’m getting to that. We all went camping. We were ten
and the three of us were going to share our own tent. The first day things were
great. That night … I woke … I thought it was because I had to pee. I got up
and went to the bushes behind our tent. That’s when I saw … them.”

Dallas waited for Cooper to continue.

“Paul’s dad was … he was … he had Paul bent over a
fallen tree and … was fucking him. I wasn’t sure what he was doing at the time,
but I knew it was bad. Paul’s face was wet with tears and his grunts were of
pain, not pleasure. I wanted to run away, but my feet were frozen to the
ground. I stood there for what seemed like an hour, unable to move.”

Cooper cleared his throat. “That’s when Uncle John saw
me. I tried to run, but he caught me and dragged me back to the log. Paul
couldn’t look me in the eyes. I wanted to say I was sorry. I just stood there
looking at the ground, shaking. Uncle John told me if I said one word about
what I saw, he would do the same to me and Candy. I understood why Paul was
afraid of his dad.”

“You’ve remained quiet all this time?”

“No, that’s probably what I should have done.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“Things were never the same between Paul, Candy and
me. I think he was so ashamed. We never talked about it. I didn’t tell Candy at
first, but when she kept asking me why Paul didn’t want to play with us
anymore, I had to tell her. Six months later, she told my dad.”

“She did the right thing.”

“Our world changed after that night. Candy was
sleeping, but I heard loud voices in my dad’s office. I inched my way down the
stairs and listened. Uncle John was in the hospital from a beating my dad gave
him. Aunt Linda was crying and swearing she didn’t know Uncle John was hurting
Paul. She pleaded with my dad not take Paul away from her. She promised she
would leave Uncle John, but she didn’t want my dad to file child abuse charges
against him. She didn’t want Paul to have to go through the humiliation of a
trial. So they agreed my dad wouldn’t charge Uncle John with assault and my dad
wouldn’t file child abuse charges against Uncle John.”

“Good Lord, that must have been horrible. Did Linda
divorce John?”

“They got a divorce and Aunt Linda seemed so happy. At
first Paul was quiet and distant. Candy worked hard to get him to understand we
had his back and weren’t going to ever tell anyone. We were family. My dad
became Paul’s father figure. Sometimes Candy and I were jealous that dad gave
Paul more attention than us. We never said anything because we hated what Uncle
John did.”

“Why does Paul steer clear of Candy now?”

“When we were twelve, Paul found out Candy was the one
who told our dad about Uncle John. All that time he thought it was me. I don’t
know why that bothered him so much, but it did. Things have never been the same
between them since.”

“What happened to his father?”

“After the divorce he moved back to Minnesota. About
two years later he was accused of raping an eleven-year-old boy. Once the
charges were made, several other boys came forward. When it was all said and
done, he faced charges of killing a nine-year-old boy. Uncle John admitted the
kid fought him, and his death was an accident. He got a life sentence at Lino
Lakes. Paul never talks about him. We’re as good as we’ve ever been. I think
we’re good.”

“Does Sparks know about this?”

“Why? There’s no reason to tell him. Candy and I
promised Paul we wouldn’t tell anyone, and we haven’t. Only reason I’m telling
you is because you have access to finding this out anyway. You are bound by
confidentiality not to tell anyone. There’s no problem here.”