Two hours later, Matt and Derek left Laurens County satisfied they had learned all they could from those involved in the case. Their next stop would be Clark County. Although it had been two years since Amanda had been found, they hoped to interview friends or anyone who had went to school with her. Later they would head to her hometown not far from the college and talk with her family.
The brothers discussed what they had learned in great detail as they drove. Derek agreed with Matt that Amanda Johnson was not the first victim of TGT. There were more bodies either not yet found and identified or not yet connected to this killer. Matt had his office working on this bit of information.
As the men pulled into Clark County, they decided to stop for lunch before heading to the college. Derek called his wife to check in with her as Matt placed their order.
"Hello," Amber answered her cell.
"Hey, Sweetheart. How are you and the baby," Derek asked.
Amber smiled. "The baby and I are just fine. How is it going with you?"
Derek filled Amber in on what they had learned leaving out some of the more gruesome details. Often, her knowledge as a nurse had been insightful on some of their more recent cases.
"Sounds like this guy has some sort of medical knowledge if he is careful not to let the girl bleed out too soon," Amber stated.
"That's kind of what we were thinking," Derek replied. "That or he has been practicing for a long time."
Amber shuddered to think what he might be practicing on. Derek and Amber continued to talk as the men waited for their food. He told her loved her, asked her to please be careful, and hung up just as the waitress sat their plates in front of them.
Amber knew he was just concerned about her safety and she didn't blame him after what she had been through with her stalker and what he saw on a daily basis. She was always more cautious now than she had ever been before and Derek had taught her self-defense and had bought her a tiny hand gun. Yes, she was much more careful.
♥ Chapter 3 ♥
He had finished with his latest pretty and was now on the hunt for the next one. He had so enjoyed the last. She screamed so well for him. He had gotten every last scream from her he could get before finally ending it. After awhile they were no longer any fun. Yes, time to get a new one after he dumped the one he had just finished with. And he already had the new pretty picked out. In just a few days he would go and get her.
~
Matt and Derek continued their investigation into TGT's victims. The second victim, as far as they knew, was twenty-four year old Hannah Bates. She had been taken from Twiggs County, Georgia, and was later dumped in Long County. As with the first body, Hannah had simply been dumped in a ditch on the side of the road for anyone to discover.
Matt noted this as it was another piece of the puzzle to the killer's mind set. When he was done with the torture and the kill, he was finished. There was no trying to hide the body, or trying to cover up the gruesomeness of his crimes. And he probably thought he was invincible and would never get caught.
After several days of driving and hours of investigation, Matt and Derek drove back to Atlanta with the information they had gathered. Matt had learned TGT's type. He seemed to go after women with dark brown or black hair and almost all of his victims had brown eyes. They were all between the ages of twenty and twenty-four. All had been tortured in the exact same way and the exact same pattern starting with the feet and moving up the body. All had a heart carved into their right ankle.
Matt and Derek spent two more days pouring over the evidence before presenting a profile and updating the Governor on what they had found. The men issued a press release detailing the type of women TGT liked to pick up and urged all women to never go out alone.
The crime lab was retesting every piece of evidence collected in each of these cases to see if there were any common threads that stood out. Anything that could tell them who this guy was, where he lived, or where he was taking these woman.
~
Kristin was missing her family. She made arrangements with another doctor to be on call for her patients and had Mary change the message on their answering machine to reflect this change. She let the girls know where she was going as she always did just in case something were to happen and she was unable to get back. After locking up the office at noon on Friday, Kristin grabbed her bags and hit the interstate.
She called her parents to let them know she was coming for a visit. Her mother was so excited and began rapidly planning a family get together. Before Kristin could complete the drive she had heard from her mother three times and both sisters at least once. Her mother even had her dad call to check on her progress. They treated her as if she didn't know her way home and were worried about her driving such a long way.
Kristin just rolled her eyes at each new call and refrained from reminding them just how old she was and how long she had been driving. She just wanted to listen to the radio and enjoy the drive, but the calls kept coming.
The next time the phone rang, Kristin answered a little shortly.
"Do you know I am more likely to have an accident talking on the phone to one of my crazy family members while driving, than I am if I just drive home undistracted," she snapped.
"Well, nice to talk to you too," a sexy Texas drawl sounded over the phone.
"Jim," Kristin cried. "How are you?" Jim was her favorite brother-in-law. He was married to her oldest sister and was always great fun to be around.
"A little stung, but I reckon I'll make it alright. How's my little sis," Jim asked.
"Frustrated, did mom put you up to calling me to see where I am. I swear she thinks someone has to be on the phone with me the entire way home. I shouldn't have called her and told her I was coming," Kristin griped.
Jim chuckled. "Well, she's cooking ribs, Kristin, and you know I can't resist your momma's ribs. She threatened me. I had to call or no ribs."
Kristin smiled. That sounded just exactly like something her mother would do. "I'm sorry for biting your head off. Mom's ribs are definitely a big deal. But you tell mom if someone else calls me before my car pulls in that driveway, I will turn around at the next exit and head back home."
"Will do, Kristin. Be careful," Jim said as he hung up the phone. Kristin could hear the noise in the background while she had been talking to her brother-in-law and knew everyone was at her parent's house but her. She was getting closer and they would all just have to wait. She turned the radio up and ignored the next call that came in.
Pulling into her parent's driveway less than an hour later, Kristin breathed a sigh of relief. She had been driving for five hours straight. She was tired, hungry, and needed to use the bathroom.
She should have known that was unlikely to happen any time soon. First she had to hug all of her nieces and nephews. Then she had to talk to her sisters and their husbands. Finally, after a quick conversation with her parents, she made it to the privacy of the bathroom.
After washing up Kristin joined the rest of the family in her parent's large living room. It was a noisy affair as it often was when her family got together. The youngest of the grandchildren, dark headed, two year old Jillian, crawled into her lap and laid her head on her chest. Kristin had always been the favorite aunt of all the children because she would get in the floor and play with them. She played anything from tea and princesses to football and baseball. The children loved it when Aunt Kristin came to visit.
The family sat and talked in the living room for about fifteen minutes before Kristin's mom ushered them to the dining room table. After the family settled in, her dad said Grace and they all began eating. Her mother could cook so well that not a word was spoken the first few minutes of the meal. Kristin enjoyed these times with her family.
"So, Kristin, how's your practice going," her oldest sister Nicole asked, breaking the silence.
"Really well, Kristin replied. She told her sister about s
ome of the patients she was treating and everyone enjoyed the story of little Johnny and his game of cops and robbers that earned him three stitches. The children were laughing at Kristin's imitation of Johnny's lisp.
Both of Kristin's sisters had the same black hair and light brown eyes she did. Nicole, the oldest of the three girls, was married to Jim and had two daughters of her own. Her middle sister, Amy was married to Greg and had one girl and two boys. The boys had been a welcome addition in a household full of girls. The children ranged in age from two years old to fifteen years old.
After dinner, Kristin went outside with the children for a friendly game of football. The husbands joined the game and the wives sat on the porch cheering them on. This was Kristin's favorite time with her family.
Kristin stayed the weekend with her parents then headed back home Sunday afternoon to get ready for the work week. She was exhausted from her trip, playing with the children, and dealing with her mother's not so subtle hints about finding a husband. When she got home, she took a long, hot shower and climbed in bed early. She slept soundly until the alarm clock went off the next morning.
At the end of the week, Kristin was finishing up in her office from the day's patients she had seen. She was making notes and going over her files to make sure she hadn't forgotten to document something. She was often the last person in her office and would be the one to lock up before going home. Since today was Friday, she wanted to make sure she was done for the week before heading home for the weekend.
When she finished her task, she drove home and went into her apartment. Looking around in her refrigerator she found it bare. She closed the door and decided to walk down to the local convenience store for something to eat. They had sliced pizza and nachos and she could grab a Mountain Dew. Besides, she needed some form of exercise if she was going to eat that type of junk.
Kristin put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and some running shoes. Locking her apartment door behind her, she placed her keys in her purse and started a quick paced walk toward the little store about two blocks from where she lived.
Kristin never made it to the store. As she was walking, Kristin had put in her earphones and was listening to music. Just as she was walking past a white cargo van with a painting logo on the side, someone slipped a black bag over her face. Before she could think to scream, Kristin smelled something sweet covering her nose. She fainted just as she was tossed into the back of the van.
~
Matt was in his office staring at the pictures of the eight bodies they had discovered so far when Derek came in.
"Just got a call from Henry County. Got another body," Derek said grimly.
Matt sighed, grabbed his coat and his keys and headed out the door. Derek followed relaying all of the details from the phone call. There was no doubt in anyone's mind it belonged to The Georgia Terror.
Matt drove in silence at first. Henry County was just two counties over from where they were in Atlanta. His mind was spinning fast. One of the discoveries his brother had noticed during the investigation was when a body was dumped in one county, the next girl was typically picked up not more than a couple of counties from the dump site. If TGT had not already taken his next victim, they could issue a press release targeted at the surrounding counties to be extra careful. Matt shared this news with his brother.
"I'll make the call," Derek said although both men knew this would bring on a slew of reporters.
"Thanks," Matt replied.
This case was eating at him. He had never let one affect him like this one did. They dealt with sick, disturbing people on a daily basis. He looked at hundreds of ghastly images of victims and innocent children. He had learned not to let it get to him. But for some reason, this case was different. This one was personal. This perpetrator was using his state as his personal hunting grounds.
Derek could feel the tension radiating off Matt. The brothers had always been close so Derek was aware how badly this case was bothering Matt. He spent more than twice the amount of time on this case each day as he did the others on his desk. Granted none were as pressing as this case was, but that was still unusual for his brother.
In less than an hour, the brothers were walking the scene of the latest body dump. Matt and Derek interviewed as many of the deputies as they could, trying to get first impressions and as much detail as possible. They asked to have all the evidence shipped back to Atlanta so it could be evaluated with the evidence from the other bodies.
Matt then turned his focus to the coroner. The body had already been moved by the time the brothers had arrived, so Matt drove the short distance to the coroner's office.
Matt introduced himself and Derek to the local coroner, a female in her mid forties. "Nice to meet you, gentlemen," she said as she shook hands with the two FBI agents.
Evelyn Lawson had been the Henry County coroner for five years and although nothing big ever happened in Henry County, she took her job very seriously. She led the men to the body and gave them a rundown off her preliminary findings.
"I haven't began the autopsy, gentlemen. You're welcome to stay and watch or come back when I have more news," she stated.
"I think we will grab some lunch and meet back with you within the hour. Will that give you enough time," Matt asked.
"That should be sufficient. If you're unfamiliar with the area, there's a great little dinner just down the street. It's within walking distance," Evelyn replied.
"Thanks, we'll give it a try." Matt shook Evelyn's hand and left the autopsy room.
"Did you notice anything about that body," Matt asked his brother when they had stepped outside.
"Yeah, I did," Derek sighed.
"He's progressing. She must have done exactly as he needed her too."
"She was a lot more cut up than the others. He's getting better at his technique. It looks like he was able to draw this one out longer than the others," Derek observed.
"We'll know more when Evelyn is finished with her findings."
The men walked to the diner Evelyn had mentioned and found a booth. Looking at a menu, Derek ordered the meatloaf and Matt chose the country fried pork chop. They continued to discuss the case as they waited for the waitress to return with their meal.
"I just don't know how this guy is simply taking these women off the street with no witnesses or signs of abduction. He's taken three since the media has been all over this," Matt said.
"You would think the women in Georgia would not be going out alone anymore. We need more public awareness of what this guy is capable of and what he is looking for."
"I know," Matt sighed. "I just don't think it's enough though. Some of these young girls don't listen to the news. They're not paying attention to the world around them."
"You're right. It's the age. He has picked a perfect target," Derek replied.
The waitress came back to their table with two steaming plates of meat and vegetables and laid it down in front of the men. She also placed a basket of cornbread on the table for them to share.
"Are you boys the two FBI agents in town looking at that dead body they found just down the road," she asked after setting the food down.
"We are," Matt answered.
"Well, I'll be. Ain't nothin' like that ever happened round here before. Is it one of that Georgia Terror's girls," she asked excitedly.
"Looks like it," Derek answered. "But we're not allowed to talk about the case."
The waitress looked a little disappointed but told them to let her know if they needed anything. Matt shook his head as she walked away.
"I realize no one here knows this girl, but I believe that's the reaction of most of Georgia when the media tells the story. It isn't someone they know so it's a novelty. It's a shame," Matt said disgusted.
"Most of these people don't see the reality that we see," Derek said. "They didn't see that young girl all carved up. This is probably the most excitement this littl
e county has seen in years."
"I know. I shouldn't judge so harshly. But I think this is another reason he's still finding victims. The age, yes, because young girls don't pay as much attention to today's news stories if it doesn't deal directly with their life. The kids today have the attitude that it's happening somewhere else to someone else. They just don't realize this maniac could come to their town or city at anytime and take them right off the street." Matt stopped talking and began eating.
The men ate in silence for a few minutes and let the emotions and thoughts swirl through their heads. Eventually, Derek changed the topic and they began talking about other things besides the case.
When they finished eating, Matt paid the bill and left a tip on the table for the inquisitive waitress. The two walked slowly back to the coroner's office to see how far she had gotten with the body. Walking inside, the men braced themselves for the sight and sounds they were about to encounter. However, true to her word, Evelyn had the body finished and ready for her report.
"I have not seen the other bodies personally, gentlemen, but I have been following the news stories. I was aware this may happen sooner or later so I've been trying to prepare for this eventuality. From my findings, I believe this girl may have been tortured longer than the other victims.
"It looks as if he started at the feet, same as the others. And here is the heart that has been linked to TGT," Evelyn said as she pointed to the ankle of the latest victim.
"I'm not sure if he did this before but it looks as if he may have done his normal routine twice on this one before allowing her to finally die. See the feet," she asked as she pointed.
Derek and Matt leaned in closer and took a look.
"It looks as if there are two sets of markings," Derek observed.
"Yes, the first cuts were made about three months ago, allowed to heal and then made again about a month ago. The same with the legs and on up the body. The heart was the only part of the ritual not repeated," the coroner stated.