“Did you happen to get a look at them?”
Gil’s normally charming smile took on a predatory air. “I did better than that,” he said as he pulled a single picture from his inside jacket pocket.
Jake took it and studied it. “Once again, it’s from a distance. Hey Tash, you got that magnifying glass in your desk still?” Tasha dug through her desk and handed him the glass. “You know, this appears to be a similar angle as the last one.”
“So what does that mean? And how can you even tell?” Tasha asked.
Gil took the photo and looked for himself. “What? Can’t you tell?” Tasha shook her head no, “Huh, really? It seems pretty obvious to me. Well, what it means is, what are the odds that there is a hill or a house or a rock outcropping or whatever that’s exactly the same height at both crime scenes?”
“I would imagine it would be almost impossible.”
“So let’s go take another look at both of those crime scenes,” Jake suggested. “Maybe we can pick something up, or at least get inspiration of some kind.”
“I’ll drive,” Gil said, walking out the door without waiting for the others.
####
“This is the sight,” Gil said as he paced around the crime scene of the second victim. He knelt down and looked out. “The picture would have to have been taken from a height of, oh, about as high as that branch there on that tree across the street.”
Jake mimicked his posture to look for himself. “Yeah, about. But,” he stood, “he wouldn’t be on the street because the crime scene investigators would have had the street blocked.”
“Unless the photographer is the killer,” suggested Avery.
Gil gave a slow nod of agreement. “Those pictures looked as if the police hadn’t arrived yet. He could have committed the crime, taken the pictures and left before anyone even knew what had taken place.”
“What if he was in a house?” Tasha suggested.
“No good,” Gil shook his head, “there wasn’t a house across from the third crime scene, just a parking lot.”
Jake stood. “Maybe that’s the key. C’mon Tash, we’re going for a little walk.”
The two walked across the street, walking first one way for half a block, crossed the street and came back up the other side before rejoining the other two. “What about a vehicle?”
Tasha looked confused. “For what?”
“To get up high enough to take the picture,” Jake suggested.
“Like a big truck?”
Gil shook his head. “There were no big trucks, not on the street.”
“Okay, let’s get the proper direction. About the height of this tree branch you said, Gil?”
Gil looked first at the tree then towards the crime scene. “Yep. But,” he was interrupted as Tasha began to climb the tree. “What are you doing?”
“Turns out I’ve always been good at climbing trees.” She slid her behind along the branch then shook her head. “He didn’t take the photo from here. It would put him too high up.”
Jake began walking the dirt driveway next to the tree, on towards the garage that sat back at the rear of the property and separate from the house. About half the distance between the garage and the street, Jake stopped. “Oil spot.”
Gil stooped down and rubbed his finger through the dirt, looked towards the garage then up to the house. The front door of the house opened.
An elderly woman called out from behind a closed and no doubt locked screen. “Can I help you folks? This is private property you know.”
Avery began to approach, but Gil waved him off. “Ma’am, I’m with the police department.” He showed her his badge and the woman visibly relaxed. “Do you have a vehicle?”
“No, detective, I haven’t had a car since my eye sight went.”
“Do you have a friend or family member that drives you?”
“My son does.”
“Does he pick you up here at the door or on the street or…”
“Oh, no, he drives down to the garage, by the back door. There aren’t as many steps for me to maneuver back there. Plus it’s covered, you know, in case of rain.”
“Thank you ma’am, that’s all I need. Hope we didn’t frighten you,” he smiled and she shook her head muttering about cops bothering old ladies when there was a killer on the loose.
Avery scratched his head. “What are you thinkin partner?”
“I’m thinkin, that if you had a vehicle parked right about here, and if you stood on the back of a bumper or pickup bed or a seat even, it would put you up about the right height to take an incredible snapshot of a gory killing.”
Avery took a sample of the oil and dirt, placing the sample into a small evidence bag. “We might be able to use this.”
“Tasha, you got the scent?”
“Yep. We off to the third crime scent?”
“You bet.”
Chapter 25
At the third crime scene they found many, many oil spots dotting the parking lot, but Jake and Tasha narrowed down the correct spot. “Same vehicle was here.” Jake muttered as he dabbed his finger into the stain. He was deep in thought as he rubbed the oil between his fingers and smelling at it.
Avery took a sample as well. “The samples will give us evidence that a single person was present at both scenes. All this scent detection that you and Jake are doing is great, but we still have to have hard evidence,” he explained to Tasha.
“Okay, now what?” Tasha asked. “We’ve got a vehicle that has been in both locations, and the person in that vehicle more than likely took the pictures. How will that help us find the killer?”
Gil was thoughtful, “Pictures were taken before the body was found. We have the statements from the citizens who found the bodies, so they are accounted for. So, the photographer either knows the killer or is the killer.”
Avery, Gil and Tasha began to migrate towards Gil’s car but Jake remained near the parking spot where they had located the oil spot. Tasha looked over at him and hollered out, “Jake, you coming?”
Jake stood slowly, wiping the oil on the leg of his jeans. “Yeah.”
They were headed back to Jake’s office, Tasha in the back seat with Jake. “What are you thinking boss?”
“I’m thinking, where’s the motive?”
Avery turned in the front seat to speak. “So far, nothing has been found that link any of the victims together, other than they all got caught late at night by themselves next to an overgrown area. Two males, one female. None were poor nor effluent, just regular people with regular jobs that did regular things.”
“Why were they out at night?” Tasha asked.
“Lets see, the first victim was jogging before heading into work, the second was walking home from work because his car broke down on the road and the third was looking for her dog that had gotten out of her yard.”
“Whoever did this wasn’t looking for any particular victim, any victim would do,” Gil finished. “A hunter of convenience I guess.”
“I need a map,” Jake said. “I’ve got to get a look at this.”
They were quiet while they traveled through the busy streets. When they reached Jake’s office, they all got out and filed quietly into the office. Anna was waiting for them there.
“Any messages Mom?” Tasha asked.
“Dah, only two, they are here,” Anna said as she passed the slips of paper to Tasha. “And one visitor, but he would not leave name. I did not like him, he give to me the big creeps, make my hair stand up on neck.”
“Great, can’t wait for him to come back,” Tasha said as she walked in front of the desk, then stopped suddenly. “How long ago?”
“Oh, I say hour ago. What is the matter Natasha?”
Tasha looked up at Jake. “Richard Roberts, he’s been here.”
“You remember his smell? You were still under the magic the first time you met him, so you wouldn’t have had any of your abilities.”
“But his col
ogne, it was cheap and he wore too much of it. You don’t need super senses to pick up on something like that.”
“Dah, he did smell like that.”
“And I smell it, right here.” Tasha stood just in front of the doorway.
Jake stood next to Tasha. “Ah, I smell it. Good catch. And what’s more, I’ve smelled this before.”
“Yeah, when he was here last.”
“No, it’s so faint that I could be wrong. Avery, who’s on duty at the morgue?”
“Jenkins is now. Why, did you smell this scent on one or all of the victims?”
“I can’t be sure, but it’s possible, which is why I’d like to check.”
####
It was ten that night before Jake got the call that he could come in and see the body again. Dr. Dawson let them in as usual, leading the way to the examination room.
“How can you do this day after day Doc?” Tasha asked. “I get nauseated every time I come down here.”
“Some of us are more sensitive than others I guess. That, plus I’ve had years of practice. But don’t get me wrong, these last three bodies have been worse than the usual. And it’s okay to be squeamish. It shows you are not hard.”
“Whatever you say,” Tasha said with a thin smile.
“Alright Tasha. You remember the smell better than I do. Any trace at all?”
Tasha calmed herself, but didn’t look at the body, more like she sensed it. She ran through the obvious smells, the blood, dirt, clothing, and plant debris. Down to the scent of the man; grease, like a cook might smell like. Soap, hair gel, engine smells. “This is the man who walked home from work? The one with the car trouble.”
Dr. Dawson nodded.
She closed her eyes again and tried to sift through the myriad smells. The blades, those were now distinct in her mind. Leather, but not from the victim. Okay, now she was getting to the smells of the killer. “The killer’s scents are more removed from the victim’s, almost like a ghost hanging over the body,” she mused.
Jake nodded slightly. “That’s a good way to put it, actually. So, anything?”
“Don’t rush me.” She concentrated again, toning everything out as she focused her efforts to detect the scents from the body.
Jake was incredibly silent, as he was doing the same as she.
“I think I have a clothes scent, French fries. Uhg, the killer needs better deodorant,” She stopped opened her eyes to see Jake looking directly at her. He’d smelled it too. Tasha gulped. “It’s the cologne. Oh my,” she couldn’t finish, as the bile had swelled up into her throat.
Dr. Dawson was attentive enough to see she was about to vomit, and turned Tasha away from the body and towards a trashcan. Tasha threw up into it.
Dawson looked at Jake then back to Tasha. Jake pulled her hair out of her face and let her empty her stomach then gave her a tissue to wipe her mouth with. “So, I take it by her reaction that she’s come into contact with our killer?”
Jake nodded, his face grim. “He’s been stalking her.”
Dawson’s face fell. “I’ll take care of her. You call Henry.”
Chapter 26
Tasha was seated in Jake’s basement apartment, drinking something hot, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Her mother was next to her, wrapping a blanket around her. “I’m not sick Momma,” she finally said. It had been the first words in an hour.
Jake, Gil, Avery and finally Henry and Burly were seated about the massive leather sectional that filled Jake’s living space.
“Natasha, you have shock. It is serious business,” her mother was trying to explain.
“No, I’m okay. I mean, yes I’m a little upset, but I’ve just been thinking.”
“What about, Natasha?” Lord Henry Winston III was watching her with his alert, blue eyes.
“First, I’m wondering why Roberts would be killing people, but it’s not the why but the how that’s got my wheels really turning.”
“He’s wanting it to look like an animal attack,” Henry offered.
“No, he told the paper it was a werewolf attack,” corrected Gil. “He’s a monster hunter looking for a monster remember.”
“Right, so do you suppose,” Tasha started but Jake cut her off.
“He’s emulating a werewolf.”
“But what does that have to do with me?”
“Well, we’ve been worried that he was looking for me,” Jake said, “but he’s been following you. We know you are the one he wants.”
“Why the killings then? Just so he can blame Tasha?” Avery asked. “That doesn’t make sense. There’s no evidence. And he’s got to know that a mob isn’t going to get at her if she has a pack anywhere close.”
“Don’t forget that he’s delusional,” reminded Gil. “He wants to draw out his prey, which is Tasha. If he thinks that she thinks that one of her pack is loco and killing for fun, then she’s got to investigate sometime.”
“Drawing her out,” Henry considered.
“Its working; I have been investigating, though for entirely different reasons.”
“Hell of a training session, eh Tash?” Gil smiled.
“This is all good, but what are we going to do? I cannot sit still and let want-to-be bounty hunter kill by baby.” Anna was pacing.
“But how does he know we’ve been investigating?” Jake asked. “I haven’t seen him, or anyone else for that matter, when we’ve been on those crime scenes.”
“Magic,” Avery suggested. “You know there are location spells that almost any idiot can use, given the right circumstances.”
Tasha nodded. “Most likely,”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “What you mean, Natasha?”
“I’ve felt this pull, not always, but that little tingling I’ve told you about. It’s with me almost all of the time now. I thought it was your magic, Momma, but you said it couldn’t be.”
“No, it is not my magic,” Anna sighed sadly.
“Well, there we go then,” Henry said gravely. “I wish you would have said something about this sooner, Natasha.”
“I didn’t think it was anything.”
“But how did he get to you?” Avery asked. “I mean, you’ve got to have something of his and he has to have something of yours.”
“Tasha, did he take anything from you at all when he was here that first time? A pen, a business card, anything that you would have touched?”
Tasha shook her head slowly. “No, I didn’t even shake his hand.”
Avery was shaking his head as well. “No, it would have to be something personal, a simple business card wouldn’t do. It’s hers, but its not private, not exclusive you know?”
“Then it’s not his magic you are feeling, Natasha,” Henry said as he stood, clasping his hands behind him and walking to stand in front of the gas fireplace. “So, how else can he know that you are in on this investigation?”
Gil leaned his head back into the softness of the sofa he sat on. “Well, it could be deduction. Anyone watching the news could have seen Avery or me, and drawn conclusions from there,” he offered.
“Alright, I’ll accept that,” Henry agreed. “Anything else?”
“Hidden cameras around the crime scene?” Anna suggested.
“No, there have been none,” Gil said with confidence. “We checked after the second murder and those pictures started showing up. No hidden cameras.”
“But, official pictures were taken by the Department, right?” Jake asked.
Avery and Gil nodded. Avery answered, “Always. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that perhaps you can look at those pictures and see if Richards is there, say, in disguise, I don’t know. Maybe that’s how he’s aware of who’s helping you investigate? No, that doesn’t work either. We never show up until after everyone is gone.”
“And we’ve not been followed,” reminded Tasha.
“Let’s not worry about the how he knows for now,” Burly broke
into their deliberations. “Let’s just work on the assumption that he does know that you two are working this case, no matter how unofficial. We cannot discount anything, yet what we need to do is concentrate on protecting our own. We know he’s fixed on Tasha. We know he’s either the killer or with the killer.”
“Right, I still haven’t adjusted. He doesn’t have to be the actual killer, just along for the ride,” Avery said as he sat back.
“But we detected Richards’ scent on the body,” Tasha argued.
Jake shook his head. “All he needed to do would be to touch the body and that would be enough to leave his scent, however faint. Some of what we detected could have been someone else as well.”
“Well, that makes a little more sense.” Gill commented.
“How do you mean, Gil?” asked Henry.
“This guy Richards, I believe I’ve said before, is an idiot. He’d almost have to have an accomplice, or be an accomplice, whatever. Tasha, you said you feel the pull of magic. Well, if he’s using magic, and I mean actual factual magic not Internet magic, then someone else has to be helping him.”
“Could he have gotten hold of some real magic, by accident I mean?” Jake offered.
“Not likely,” Avery said. “This guy is no good, and everyone knows it. There’s no way that any of the magic shops are going to give him anything real. I know all of them: Even the shady ones, you know those that would sell their grandmother for a buck? They would not sell him anything more powerful than a mood ring, for fear that he’d use anything they’d sell him against them.”
Burly pursed his lips and thought for a moment. “Alright, so magic may or may not be back on the table. We need to make allowances for a collaborator who may be, in all likelihood, more dangerous than Mr. Richards.” Burly sighed. “It would appear that we have all manner of unknowns to contend with.”
“Okay,” Jake sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. “We need a plan,” Jake absently reached for his cup, which was empty. Anna took it from him and left to fill it before Jake could protest.
“Does anyone have one?” Henry asked in general.
“Not yet. Well, none that I like anyway,” groused Gil.
“Same here,” agreed Henry. Burly grunted his agreement.
“Well I have one,” Tasha said.
Avery sighed as if he already knew what her plan was and hated it.
“If Roberts wants me, then we should use me as bait and trap him.”