Page 13 of Dark Angel
In the short time that Styles had known Beth, she’d impressed him with her analytical mind. From the first moment she set eyes on the whiteboard in the office, he could almost see the wheels turning in her head. He’d always considered himself to be a good detective and he had solved his share of cases, but she seemed to come to the table from different angles. As she’d specialized in cybercrime, he found her insight interesting and a surprise. Her undercover experience, which meant she could turn her hand to just about anything, was another bonus. During his time in law enforcement he’d spoken to many behavioral analysts, and they all had their own ideas of how a psychopath thought, but Beth’s untrained conclusions were perceptive. Perhaps her time delving into the dark web and seeing the dregs of society in the raw had given her an edge a behavioral analyst could only wish for. He took in her almost blank expression and sighed. As she obviously needed time to think, he moved around the clearing looking for other small trails that headed in the direction of the fire road. After following a few narrow animal tracks, he turned back.
“Did you find anything?” A flash of annoyance moved across Beth’s face. “I believe those tracks are way too narrow for him to lead a child through, and if he carried her, you would notice damage to the vegetation and maybe some strands of hair caught on the pine trees. There’s none evident.”
One thing’s for darn sure, Beth Katz didn’t hold back on her opinion. If he didn’t know better, he’d assume she didn’t have a filter, but Quantico trained agents in people skills. He wondered if her experience in Helena had caused her unsocial attitude problem. “This isn’t my first case, Beth, and you’re not speaking to a rookie.” He straightened and stared at her. “I was doing my job by checking any possible trails the killer could have taken. We both know that psychopaths figure they can outsmart us, so why would he take the most obvious route out of the forest?”
“If you want my opinion, he went that way.” Beth indicated toward a narrow pathway on her right. “He has a little girl, who thinks he is all that, so he needs to keep her happy to get her out of the forest and into his vehicle without making a noise. That trail follows a path of wildflowers. It’s nonthreatening unlike the others that go into darkness. That one in particular has less of a canopy than the others and rays of sunlight stream through in long beams. It’s almost magical.”
Surprised she hadn’t bitten back at his comment, he nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. Have you come up with any ideas about why he’s killing one and taking one?”
“Only the obvious.” Beth gave him a long considering look. “You have to remember that people like him would probably regard the two kids differently. He’s chosen one to murder. The types of girls on your whiteboard are similar in appearance. The ones we don’t find are all different. What does that say to you?”
Styles held up both hands. “You lost me back at the one he chooses to murder. Why do you think they are always blonde?” He rubbed the scar on his chin, annoyed at the way it tingled when he became agitated. “Why has he suddenly changed his MO to two girls and why is he only murdering one of them? What is he doing with the other one and why can’t we find a body?”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about while you’ve been wasting time.” Beth’s lips curled up at the corners in an almost mocking smile. “The blonde represents the trigger that started the killing in the first instance. Why he is taking two kids now has me stumped. I can only give you an example of what I think it might be.” She met his gaze. “In simple terms, people are like objects to psychopathic killers. They are only useful to them while they are serving a purpose. He has been grooming these kids for a time, so they will come to him when he asks them. The reason he kills the blonde one we’ve already discussed. She is the excuse to behave the way he does.” She blew out a long breath and eyed him with apprehension in her gaze. “Have you ever gone into a bakery and purchased something you want to eat now and something you want to save for later?”
Absorbing all the information as fast as his brain would allow him, Styles pushed his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, hasn’t everyone?”
“Okay, so now you understand.” Beth slowly removed her gloves and rolled them into a ball before pushing them into her pocket. “So, you enjoy the first cake, dump the wrapping in the garbage, and never think about it again.”
Styles swallowed the rising bile. “Sure, but what about the second cake?”
“The first one would be your favorite, because everyone eats their favorite cake first, right?” Beth’s eyes bored into him. “The second might just be used to satisfy a lingering hunger… or what else would make you purchase a second cake?”
Not wanting to consider another option, Styles looked away. The implications of his next words could change the entire outcome of the investigation. Incredulous be stared back at her. “You don’t think he’s taking her to share her with a friend, do you?”
“You asked for my opinion, and that’s my thoughts.” Beth stared toward the last track leading from the clearing. “None of the second girls who are missing have ever been found. There could be a number of reasons why this has happened. For instance, he’s killed and buried them, or they’re being kept as sex slaves but not by the killer. He’s too smart to keep them around, so he likely passes them on to a pedophile ring.”
Shaking his head, Styles straightened and looked at her. “He can’t have killed them. We’ve never found the bodies of the missing second girl. Why could you even consider he’s murdering both of them?”
“You know as well as I do that there are many different ways to dispose of a body.” Beth removed the tie from her hair and refastened it. “The second girl is never blonde and so she doesn’t offer an excuse for his behavior. He has no reason to exhibit her. For all we know, he could have them all buried in the crawl space under his house.” She stared at the pathway. “I bet you dinner we’ll find a shoe along this trail. It’s his way of telling us he’s taken the other girl with him. It’s him leaving us a little clue. It’s all part of the ‘catch me if you can’ game.”
THIRTEEN
Beth led the way through the forest, although it was difficult to examine the ground due to the beams of sunlight casting zebra stripes along the trail. The forest had a damp smell to it of leaf mold intermingled with the fragrance of wildflowers. Even with the shafts of sunlight brushing her face as she walked, the cold breeze from the mountains was ever present. Through the trees, she caught glimpses of the snowcapped mountain ranges. If it hadn’t been for the breeze, she would never have noticed the pink ribbon caught on the branch of a pine tree. She dragged an evidence bag from her pocket and used it to snag the ribbon. Holding the ribbon up in triumph as Styles walked toward her, she smiled at him. “I told you they came this way.”
“Good find. For a computer geek, you sure know a ton about psychopathic behavior.” Styles examined the ribbon. “That sure fits the description we have of the missing girl.” He barked a laugh. “Now if we find a shoe, I’m gonna think your psychic.”
As the trail opened up into the fire road, Beth hadn’t taken two steps when she spotted the shoe. “There it is. He’s not only left it behind for us to find but he’s placed it on this tree stump so we can’t miss it.” She stared into the distance picturing a truck driving away.Game on.
“Well, I’ll be. I’ll take a couple of shots of the shoe and then we can bag it.” Styles pulled out his phone. “I can’t see any footprints or even a sign that there’s been a vehicle in this area. Why don’t you check over there, along the edge of the road? The soil on that side looks a little softer.”
Beth searched up and down walking some ways up the track toward the highway but found no signs of a vehicle. She headed back to see Styles coming back from the opposite direction. “There’s nothing at this end of the road. Did you have any luck?”
“Nope.” He stared into the sky and then back at her. “I hear a chopper. We’d better be heading back. I checked out the ME when he was first recommended to me. Did you know he flew a medevac chopper in Afghanistan? Instead of resuming his practice as a GP, when he left the service he studied forensic science, obtained all the qualifications necessary to become a medical examiner. All the while caring for his wife and three young children.”
Beth looked at him. “Yeah, I heard something about his wife dying of cancer. The people I worked with in Helena mentioned he wanted to get away from the memories in Texas and moved to Black Rock Falls. He has certainly made his name there. Now he is in high demand all over.”
“Yeah, apparently the Helena office isn’t too happy with him for headhunting Dr. Norrell Larson, their top forensic anthropologist, for his team. He converted an entire wing of his building for her to use.”
Following him back along the path, Beth continually scanned the forest for more clues. “Yeah, well I guess he wants the best team around him he can get. She is one of the best. It seems to me the sheriff of Black Rock Falls is lucky to have his team and the Snakeskin Gully field office as backup.”
“I’d never have expected to be working a serial killer case from Rattlesnake Creek. This case in particular is mind-blowing. I mean, who the heck is this guy? No clues, zip, and now he brings his nasty games right to our doorstep.” Styles walked backward looking at her and cocked one eyebrow. “I always say a ray of sunshine appears when you least expect it. I’ve gained a partner, who seems to know her way around a murder scene, and now we have access to Wolfe’s team.”
Amused, Beth snorted. “Trust me, I’m no ray of sunshine.”
“It’s just as well.” Styles turned back and his shoulders hunched a little, but he kept walking. “You figured it was tough in the big city. Trust me, that was a cakewalk to what you’ll encounter here.”
The smell of death increased as they headed closer to the crime scene. As they entered the clearing, Beth’s attention moved over the three people surrounding the body. She recognized Wolfe by his white-blond hair. The small young woman beside him was a mirror image in hair color and had the same slate-gray eyes. This had to be his daughter and medical examiner in training, Emily Wolfe. She’d met his assistant, Colt Webber, a badge-holding deputy from Black Rock Falls, at the last murder scene she attended in Helena, prior to her coming to Rattlesnake Creek. She walked over to him and introduced him to Styles. “My second kid murder in a row. I’m surprised we were called to deal with this case. Usually, they use the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team.”
