Page 22 of Shadow Angel
Contemplating Jo’s assessment of the killer, she removed the lids from the containers and lined them up for Jo to fill. “In my experience, most serial killers work within a comfort zone. This kind of throws that theory out of the window.”
“Not necessarily.” Jo fed pods into the machine. “This might be his comfort zone for now. He most likely has others spread all over. Remember that these guys are smart and he would figure the cops wouldn’t return to the scene anytime soon.” She filled one Thermos and screwed on the lid before standing it on the counter beside Beth. “I imagine he’s been watching and knew when you took away the body. You live in a mountainous area, so it would be easy enough to find a plateau and keep watch. He probably headed out the moment he noticed the sheriff leaving town or the FBI chopper.”
Beth nodded and piled energy bars into three plastic carry bags. She already had a good idea of why he was reusing the cabin. “As Wolfe has determined, he returned a number of times to visit the corpse. I figure he couldn’t give up Cassie Burnham and when we took her away, he replaced her immediately. That cabin has become his Shangri-la. It must fit perfectly into one of his fantasies. Wolfe mentioned at the crime scene that he’d taken a lock of hair as a trophy. I figure his fantasy involves a woman with long hair. If this latest one is another stripper, then knowing what triggers him will help narrow the search for suspects.”
“I agree. We should include sex workers in our search for similar crimes. The amount of makeup and the posing screams sex worker to me.” Jo smiled at her. “You have a good handle on profiling. What’s your specialty?”
Packing two Thermoses in each bag, she turned to meet Jo’s gaze. The woman had a penetrating stare that reminded her of Wolfe. He had a way of seeing straight through people and she could almost feel Jo dissecting her psyche. “Cybercrime, but I’ve always been interested in profiling, especially serial killers. Psychopaths are both varied and interesting with their possible multiple psychoses. We can never really tell what we’re dealing with.”
“Oh, cybercrime. How interesting. You’d get along with Bobby Kalo.” Jo took the bag Beth offered her. “We recruited him when he was a young kid. He’d gotten into trouble hacking the Pentagon. He’s super smart, and although he has a few problems keeping within the law at times, he’s worth his weight in gold.”
Recalling the name, Beth left the bags on the table and pulled on her coat. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. He’s good.”But not as good as me.
TWENTY-FOUR
Styles entered the coordinates from Beth’s phone and then took the chopper high into the air, taking the lead back to Rattlesnake Creek. He glanced at Beth. “How did you get along with Jo Wells?”
“To be honest, I’m a little in awe of her.” Beth poured coffee into two to-go cups and rested one in the cup holder for him. She ripped open an energy bar and rested it on the console. “Eat something. We won’t be stopping for hours and after processing another crime scene we’ll be exhausted. I don’t want you falling asleep flying this thing.”
Surprised by her concern, he smiled at her. “You care? This is a side of you I like. I figured you’d tear me a new one after I invited Jo and Carter into our case without discussing it with you first.”
“We discussed calling Jo last night over dinner. I don’t mind having them to consult with occasionally, but I figure we can handle this one alone. Don’t you?” Beth opened an energy bar and took a bite. “And making sure you stay awake is self-preservation.” She smiled at him. “Unless you plan to teach me how to fly this thing anytime soon.”
Considering her request, Styles shrugged. “I can teach you in our downtime once you get the required license. That’s if you have any downtime once you start messing around with that cabin.”
“Probably not.” Beth sipped her coffee. “When I’m done. I’m planning on doing some landscape painting. There is so much incredible scenery and, like fishing, painting can be very relaxing, no rushing around. I’ll use the cabin as a base and chill out for a couple of days at a time between cases.” She shot him a glance. “Unless you’re planning on hanging around the office?”
Laughing, Styles shook his head. “Nope, I’ll have my phone with me if anything happens.” He shrugged. “We do have the money for a receptionist in our budget or an assistant. The bureau will arrange someone with the clearance to work with us. Then when we’re away or taking some owed downtime, they can run the office in our absence.” He flicked her a glance. “There are two empty apartments on the second floor they could use.”
“You’ve never mentioned them before.” Beth turned in her seat to stare at him. “I figured the second floor was locked and filled with eyes-only files. The elevator goes right past it.”
Styles nodded. “Yeah, it doesn’t have lighting. I turned everything off and programed the elevator to bypass it. It’s the same footprint as our floor.”
“Ah, I see.” Beth thought for a beat and then shrugged. “I guess they could sort out the domestic nonsense that Ryder comes to you for assistance with all the time. I figure a secretary/management assistant would be very useful. We get calls all day from stupid people—they could handle them, our budget, and deal with emergencies. I think it’s a good idea and I guess if we don’t get along with them, they’ll be reassigned.”
After scanning the area and sending a murder of crows settled on the cabin roof scattering like buckshot, Styles dropped the chopper down as close to the front door as possible. Ryder’s cruiser was parked way out in the middle of the open area on the dry dirt, and it started heading toward them as he landed. “Okay, I’ll put in a request.” He powered down the engine and looked at her. “Don’t hold your breath. It’s difficult getting anyone out here. If we do, be prepared to make changes because they might not appreciate the way we skirt the rules. Allowing an outsider to join us might upset the applecart.”
“On second thoughts, hold that request.” Beth cleared her throat. “I figure we can handle the office alone.” She grabbed a forensics kit from behind her seat. “I’m suiting up before we go near the cabin this time.”
In a cloud of dust and noise, Carter and then Wolfe dropped down from the sky. Styles waited for the dust to settle and then climbed out. He suited up and wiped a large dollop of mentholated salve under his nose. He stood beside Beth and waited for the teams to arrive. As they headed toward him, they looked like a swarm of aliens all dressed in blue from head to foot and wearing face shields. He turned to Beth. “Maybe I’ll take the front door this time.”
“Good idea.” Beth fell into step beside him as they walked slowly toward the cabin.
Crows circled above in a great cloud of black. It seemed that even the choppers wouldn’t deter them from a potential meal. It was déjà vu all over again. They all stood back as Wolfe pushed open the front door and peered inside. Carter and Jo went around back after explaining that Jo wanted to get the full impact of the scene. He looked at Beth. “Is she for real?”
“Yeah, she likes to immerse herself in the killer and get inside their head to imagine what they’re thinking.” Beth shrugged. “Seems to me, it’s kinda obvious.” She turned to Ryder, who’d come to her side. “Any clue to who the victim is?”
“Yeah, a maybe at least.” Ryder frowned behind his mask. “When I found the body, I called you and while I waited I called every saloon with a gentlemen’s club in four counties and asked if any of their girls hadn’t showed for work. Seems that Vicki Strauss didn’t show Tuesday night. She’s an exotic dancer who works at the Silver Nugget Saloon and lives on Riversedge. I called Sheriff Caleb Addams out of Serenity to do a welfare check on Vicki Strauss. Her neighbor informed him that every Tuesday she takes her garbage to the landfill and always takes her neighbor’s recyclable as well, but she hasn’t seen her return. He went and checked out the landfill and found her vehicle. No sign of Vicki.” He indicated toward the cabin. “She has long blonde hair, slight build… just like the victim.”
Running the cases through his mind, Styles turned to Beth. “He’s widened his comfort zone.”
“Maybe.” Beth’s eyes narrowed over the top of her mask. “Jo has the same theory as you. She also figures he stashed bodies all over. If he’s collecting women from different counties, he’s moving through his comfort zone. We have three towns in close proximity. All have gentlemen’s clubs. What’s the bet, he’ll hit Rainbow next?”
TWENTY-FIVE
The decomposition of a body has its own distinct smell and it made Beth gag. Human or animal, the stench is the same and acts as a deterrent for the majority of carnivores coming close by, in a warning the remains are not fit for consumption. The built-in warning is ever present for most people, obviously not for the killer of Vicki Strauss. If the woman had been seen on Tuesday morning, the body was fresher than the previous victim, which would indicate that they had disturbed the killer midway through his fantasy. The medical examiner had found evidence to prove that the killer had returned at least three times to visit the last victim. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled a warning. Someone was watching her. Beth moved to the door and scanned the immediate area. As the lowlands bordered the forest, the only clear view would be from above. She tugged on Styles’ arm and beckoned him outside. “This guy likes to come back and visit the bodies, so right now he would be angry with us. Someone like him would be keeping a close eye on his victim. He regards her as his property to do with as he wishes.”
“He wouldn’t be sitting around waiting all day for someone to show.” Styles stood hands on hips and scanned the area. “He wouldn’t be able to walk this far from town, and I didn’t see any vehicles apart from Ryder’s in the vicinity.”
