Suffer (5 page)

DARKNESS WAS CREEPING OVER THE city as two black vans stopped in front of the rundown home of Gregory Kirsk. Ten heavily armed sheriff’s deputies moving like shadows took their positions around the perimeter of the house. A third van stopped and four more deputies in full body armor exited the vehicle and snaked up the walkway to the front door. Two of the men grabbed each side of a battering ram as another announced their intent. “Sheriff’s department! Search warrant!”

Knocking the door off its hinges, the men entered, illuminating the dark house with tactical flashlights mounted on the ends of their automatic rifles. Less than twenty seconds later, every room in the home was cleared. Kirsk was nowhere to be found.

The men began a more extensive search, looking in any crevice that could hide a human being. When they confirmed no one was inside, Joel and Carol requested they remount the front door and move to a concealed position two blocks away in an abandoned apartment complex. If Kirsk was on his way home and saw all the activity, he would disappear into the night.

Using flashlights to focus their attention on small areas, they began their search for evidence related to the crimes. It didn’t take them long to find it. He had converted a small space in the back of the house into his planning room. The walls were covered with photos of the Freemans, their home in Miami, and the vacation villa on Sugarloaf Key. A table in the corner had maps of the Key and detailed notes outlining their every move over the past three months.

“I think this falls under premeditation,” said Joel. “He’s even got copies of their emails.”

“Do you see anything that looks like a map with an ‘X’ showing us where he is now?” asked Carol.

“Maybe,” replied Joel. “I do have a map showing routes in and out of Sugarloaf with some points circled.”

“We need to figure out what those points are,” said Carol. “Let’s get forensics in here to photograph everything. We can go over them back at the office. We’ll leave SWAT here in case he decides to come home.”

“This guy planned out every detail,” said Joel, staring at the maps.

“What’s your point?”

“This much planning and you leave a fingerprint on a fork and skin under the victims fingernails? Doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Figuring out what he did when he got there isn’t our priority,” said Carol. “He’s obviously our killer. We’ll let the shrinks work on what he was thinking.”

“Do you want to let Grey know we have a primary suspect?” asked Joel.

“Not yet.”

“We told him we’d keep him in the loop,” said Joel.

“And we will,” replied Carol. “But I didn’t say when. If Grey has a name, he’s going to go looking for him.”

“You really think he’d go after him?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

*****

It had been twenty four hours since Stan and Grey had their conversation in the elevator lobby. The federal agent was pleased Kate’s father held up his end of the agreement. When he returned later in the day, he made his apologies and kept his word to stay by Paul’s side. He even convinced Paul to check into the hotel to get a shower and change of clothes. When Stan went into the minibar to fix them a drink, Paul fell onto the bed and didn’t wake up for over ten hours. Grey was relieved he found some peace.

They were all assembled back in the waiting room when Dr. Singer surprised them with a visit. At first sight of him, Grey thought the worst. A disarming smile on the doctor’s face let him know she was still fighting.

“I just finished going over the results of Kate’s last round of testing,” said Dr. Singer. “There’s still no sign of internal bleeding, and her vitals are getting a little stronger. But I have to caution you, the improvement is minimal. The fact that she’s continuing to improve at all is nothing short of amazing.”

“None of us have seen her,” said Maggie. “Is there any chance we can go in for just a minute? I need to touch my baby’s hand. That’s all I want.”

“Mrs. Coleman, I need you to listen to me,” said Dr. Singer. “All of you need to listen. This is going to be a very long battle with no guarantees for the next few weeks, perhaps months. The pace of any improvements is going to be very slow for Kate and all of you. I’m not telling any of you to leave today and wait for our call, but this waiting room is going to become small and uncomfortable.”

“We know,” said Stan. “But you’re right, we’re not going anywhere for a while. Our place is with our daughter until she’s stronger. And she will get stronger. You don’t know our Kate like we do.”

“We have rooms across the street at the hotel,” said Abby. “We can visit in shifts. We’ll be fine, Dr. Singer. So can we see her?”

“No more than two at a time and no longer than five minutes,” said Dr. Singer. “I’ll send a nurse to escort you in and out. Whatever she says goes. Okay?”

“Yes, of course,” said Maggie, unable to hide her excitement.

“There is extensive facial damage and her eyes are covered,” continued Dr. Singer. “She is discolored and swollen from her injuries. You need to be prepared to see her in that condition.”

Maggie didn’t hear anything the doctor said after he had given her permission to see her daughter.

Grey looked at her beaming smile and knew it would be wiped off her face as soon as she walked into Kate’s room. The image of her being tied to the bedposts covered in blood would be the one burned into his memory. Regardless if she managed to survive and sought the best plastic surgeons in the world, he’d never forget. And he knew Paul wouldn’t either.

Grey thought about saying something, anything, to help prepare her before she went inside. But in the ten minutes it took for the nurse to come out, nothing seemed adequate. He felt sorry for her when she grabbed Stan’s hand and disappeared behind the ICU doors. He knew the reason Dr. Singer limited the visit to five minutes wasn’t because Kate needed the rest. He did it to limit the level of exposure to something her family would need time to digest. Their daughter’s familiar beautiful face was gone.

“I want to apologize for what I said to you earlier,” said Abby, taking Grey’s thoughts away from her parents. “You just happened to be the closest target for a misguided anger. I know you’d be out there with them hunting that animal if you could.”

“I know you and your parents aren’t my biggest fans,” said Grey. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why I’m not out there looking for him either. I think some of it has to do with staying as close to Kate and Paul as possible so nothing else bad happens. In spite of what you may believe, I love Caleb and Kate like they were my own.”

“Do you think he’d try to come here?” asked Abby with a hint of fear in her voice.

“I don’t, but I’m not willing to risk it,” replied Grey. “The bottom line is, she’s a witness. If he knows she survived and could identify him, he might want to change that.”

“So that’s the reason you’re here,” said Abby. “You’re protecting them.”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“I do know you love them, Grey. I really am sorry.”

“Abby, he hurt her bad,” said Grey. “She lost an eye, but that may not be the worst of it. You have to prepare yourself before you go in there. And you’re going to have to prepare yourself to deal with your parents when they come out. They have no idea what he did, but they’re finding out right now. The attack was brutal. If they didn’t tell you she was your sister, you wouldn’t recognize her.”

“Will you go in with me?” asked Abby in an unfamiliar tone.

“Of course.”

They both turned as the ICU doors opened. Stan and the nurse were helping Maggie walk. Abby and Grey rushed to their side. They sat Maggie in the chair and Stan took the one beside her. He never let go of her hand. The nurse had a pained look when she spoke to Grey.

“I think that should be the only visit today,” she said.

“I’m a friend of the family, and I’m also with the FBI. I found her at the scene and know what to expect. Her sister needs to see her. I’ll be going in with her if that’s okay with you. Just for a minute, please. We’ll make this the last visit today.”

She hesitated, but agreed to walk them back to Kate. Grey had known Abby for almost half of his life. It was the first time she had ever reached out to hold his hand. She gripped it as they walked through the same ominous doors that had just changed her parents’ lives forever.

They stopped a few steps away from Kate’s room. “Whenever you’re ready,” said Grey. Abby took a deep breath and turned the corner. Pain shot through his fingers when she put her eyes on Kate.

Most of her face was concealed by bandages, but the areas exposed were discolored and swollen. Her hair was still matted with blood, and small tubes used to drain her wounds were attached to her face like tentacles. More tubes bringing fluid and blood into her body were attached to her arms and neck. Kate was covered with sheets, making it impossible for Abby to see what Grey knew was underneath.

Abby released her grip and moved in closer to her sister. Grey stood silent in the doorway, watching her. She looked down at Kate’s purple, swollen hand and took it in hers with care. “I’m not afraid,” whispered Abby. “Because I know you wouldn’t be. I still see your beautiful face. That monster could never take that from you. Mom and Dad are scared right now, but they’ll be okay. All you have to do is get better, Kate. Paul and I will be here waiting for you when you come back. Just please come back to us. We love you so much.”

Abby lowered her head and cried as if she didn’t want Kate to hear. Grey had never thought of Abby as being strong. She grew up in a privileged home and escaped most of the hardships of a young adult trying to find their way in the world. Watching her at her sister’s side, he couldn’t help but think of her as brave.

She kissed her hand and walked passed him out into the hallway. Grey stared at Kate for a moment and made a silent deal with her. He promised he’d look after her husband and family if she promised to heal and honor Abby’s request to come back to them. He turned to leave the room and saw Abby standing a few feet away. The look on her face was unsettling.

“I don’t care what it takes,” said Abby, moving in closer to him. “I don’t give a shit about who has to invite you to get involved. You just find a way and then you go find that bastard. And when you do, I pray to God you make him pay for what he did to her.”

GREY STOPPED BY THE BREAK room in the Atlanta Field Office to fill his coffee mug before making an appearance. He leaned against the counter and thought about what Abby had told him five days earlier in front of Kate’s room. He wanted to hunt down the murderer and make him pay, but he knew that’s not how his world worked. While taking a sip, he struggled to maintain the fine line between revenge and justice. Neither seemed adequate enough.

Abby would never understand his world. He could try to explain why getting involved would hurt the investigation more than it would help; he could try to explain he wasn’t a renegade cop ready to crack heads and kick in doors looking for the killer; he could try to explain there were rules they had to follow that the bad guys didn’t. Any explanation other than agreeing to exact revenge would fall on deaf ears.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” asked Hank Fuller, Grey’s longtime friend and senior agent on his team at the Bureau.

“Good to see you, too,” replied Grey, coming out of his trance.

“Don’t get girly on me,” said Hank. “We weren’t expecting you back so soon. I’ll give you a hug later, but how’s your friend?”

“He’s a fucking zombie,” said Grey. “He just sits in a chair in the waiting room and stares out the window. The only time he talks or moves is to tell us he’s going to the hotel across the street to get cleaned up. He’s a mess, Hank.”

“So why are you back?”

“I need to talk to the boss and get caught up on our caseload,” said Grey. “They haven’t released Caleb’s body, so it may be a week or so before the funeral. I just needed to focus on something else for a few days. It’s not like I can do anything to help down there.”

“Help the investigation?” asked Hank.

“Yeah, but his family is having a tough time with that. They look at me like I’m a piece of shit for not hitting the streets like Dirty Harry.”

“Of course you can’t,” said Hank. “Rules are rules, my man. It’s what separates us from them, and before you tell me that’s bullshit, I already know. What they don’t know is Perkins would have your ass sent to Alaska if you injected yourself in the case. Especially after that asshole sheriff specifically requested we
don’t
get involved.”

“Nice speech.”

“Don’t be a jackass,” said Hank.

“Is the boss in?” asked Grey.

“When isn’t he in?”

Grey and Hank walked into the “boiler room” where several other agents were busy at their cubicles in the large open space. Everyone stopped what they were doing to greet their supervisor. After a few moments of catching them up to speed on the details, Grey entered his office alone and closed the door behind him. He drew the blinds on the glass walls separating himself from the eyes of his team. He couldn’t remember the last time the blinds were drawn. He took a seat behind his desk and picked up the phone.

“Hey, Evan, it’s Grey.”

“
I take it you’re at the office?”

“
Yes. How is he?
”

“The same.”

“And Kate?”

“They did a few more tests on her this morning. The docs came out and said there’s a slight improvement, but her brain function is minimal. They didn’t come out and say it, but I know they’re trying to prepare Abby and her parents. She’s not going to come out of that coma, Grey. And if she does, she won’t be the Kate we remember anymore.”

“Prepare them for what?”

“Taking her off life support.”

“Jesus Christ, Evan!”

“You’re surprised?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to pull the plug on her? Paul hasn’t even buried Caleb yet, and they’re talking about killing his wife? You have to talk to Abby, Evan. I’m not kidding. If they let Kate go, Paul is going with her and you know that.”

“Okay, okay. But I can’t control what the docs say to them.”

“Yes, you can. The next time you see them you tell them that, Evan. You tell them to ease up on the family until after the funeral.”

“Hey, buddy, you’re the one that took off. Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I’m not an idiot, but I’m also not family. They make the decisions, not me, and you don’t either.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right, but it’s just too much for Paul to handle right now. He needs more time, and we have to figure out a way to give it to him. I’ll be heading back down in a few days. Any word on when they’re moving Caleb?”

“Probably tomorrow, but they won’t have him ready for a few days. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of things here. Can you get back by Friday?”

“Yeah, sure thing,” said Grey, ending the call. A few seconds later there was a knock on his door. Grey opened it to see his boss, Frank Perkins.

“Everything okay?” asked Perkins.

“I wish I could say yes,” answered Grey. “I was about to come up and see you. They don’t think Kate is gonna come out of her coma, and if she does, she’s going to be a vegetable. They’re already talking about taking her off life support.”

“Before they bury their son?”

“I’m glad somebody else understands how screwed up that is. Paul is already on the edge. That’ll send him over in a heartbeat.”

“Listen, Grey. I understand why you wanted to come back, but it isn’t necessary. Hank has been doing a decent job filling your shoes since you left for vacation. I think he likes the idea of being in charge. I’m okay with him doing that for a little while longer. You don’t need to be here. You need to be with your friend.”

Grey rubbed his temples and returned to his chair. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling while Perkins took the chair across from him. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good,” said Grey, bringing his eyes forward. “We’re never the helpless ones. We solve the problems, but there’s nothing I can do for him. My hands are tied on the case, and I have no idea what to say to him anymore. What do you say to a man who’s experienced what he has? How do you convince him life is worth living anymore? His son was murdered, and his wife will be dead soon. How do you recover from that?”

“You don’t,” said Perkins. “And there isn’t a damn thing you or anyone else can do. You’re a spectator, son. As much as I wish you weren’t, you are. That’s not a familiar place for you, and it’s tearing you up. I can see it in your face. That’s why you need to take some time off and deal with this head on.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”

“You and I both know there’s an unnatural progression in these types of cases,” said Perkins. “You need to be down there for him when they bury Caleb; you need to be there when Kate slips away; and you need to be there when Paul has to put the pieces back together and go home. After that, you need to get back to your life. And if you’re not there for him when those things happen, you’ll always regret it.”

Grey took a moment before he spoke. “Okay.”

“I’ll go ahead and put you in for a month of leave,” added Perkins. “If you need more time, don’t hesitate to ask. Focus on him and get this place out of your mind for a bit. There will be plenty of bad guys left when you get back – unless Hank puts them all away.”

“He’s too fat to get them all,” said Grey. “Thanks, boss.”

“Don’t mention it. But for my own peace of mind, I’m going to remind you again, no cowboy shit down there. Let the Florida investigators do their job.”

*****

Carol and Joel of the IFS ducked under the yellow tape stretched across three parking spaces. A grey Ford LTD with tinted windows was parked in front of a motel located a few miles north of Homestead. The used police vehicle auctioned to the public still had the spotlight attached to the driver’s door. They walked past the car to the open hotel room with two uniformed officers standing inside.

“Morning, troopers,” greeted Carol. “Smells like you’ve got a ripe one in here.”

“Very,” replied the young trooper. “I’m guessing he’s been dead a week. He’s in the bathroom.”

Carol peeked into the filthy bathroom to see a man slumped over on the toilet. He had a needle sticking out of the underside of his left arm. A thick rubber band was tied around his bicep just above the elbow. The rest of the heroin kit was sitting on the rim of the sink. With her gloved hand, she lifted his head to make a positive ID. She confirmed to Joel it was Gregory Kirsk.

“He must have drove straight here from Sugarloaf,” said Joel.

“More than likely he made a stop or two to sell some of Kate’s jewelry and pick up the heroin,” added Carol. “We need to check every pawn shop between here and the crime scene. Did you guys touch anything?” she asked one of the troopers.

“Not a thing. We had a feeling it was your guy from the picture you put on the wire. His neck tattoo gave him up pretty quick. We didn’t feel it necessary to start CPR.”

“Good call,” laughed Carol. “Although it would’ve been nice to see him fry.”

“Saved the taxpayers a ton of money,” said Joel. “Is the car out front his?”

“Yep,” said the trooper. “Registered to him as of four months ago, but we haven’t looked inside.”

“Great work, you two,” said Carol. “Could you guys knock on a few doors and find out what kind of neighbor our fine Mr. Kirsk was?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the troopers as they headed out of the room.

Carol and Joel followed them out to take a closer look at the car. She opened the driver side door and saw blood stains on the steering wheel, dashboard, and front seats. Joel opened the rear passenger door and discovered a bloodstained Florida state trooper’s uniform balled up on the floorboard. When he popped the trunk, he found a gun belt, a large knife, and a Taser gun. All the items were smeared with blood.

“Joel,” called out Carol. “Take a look at this.”

He walked from behind the car to see Carol standing by the front passenger’s door. As he stepped closer, he heard the tinny sound of a music box playing “Over the Rainbow.” Carol stepped aside to let Joel lean in and get a better view of the contents of the box. Inside were Kate and Caleb’s missing fingers.