Sudden Death

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jack checked his perimeter and was satisfied that no one had been out here since he left two days ago. San Diego seemed so far away-the confrontation with his father, seeing his family again. Even his call last night to Dillon that brought the two feds into his world seemed long ago.

While some people went with high-tech security measures, Jack was old school. A string in the doorway, seemingly random props that weren’t so random to see if anyone had rifled through his stuff. And a good old-fashioned safe, no computers to store important documents.

He brought out several bottles of water and beer to the table and watched Megan Elliott carefully. When she’d walked into the jail and announced herself as FBI, he had almost laughed-it seemed so Hollywood. While he hadn’t liked the three-to-one odds, he was at his best when using his wits, and the three idiots Carlos had sicced on him would have been dispatched without the one-woman cavalry.

He touched his tender nose. Swollen, not broken. So he’d missed one or two well-aimed punches; the bastard broke a finger because he didn’t know how to throw a punch in the first place, well worth the bruising Jack had.

The bridge in his mouth had been knocked loose, and he’d have to go see someone to fix it, unless he could convince Padre to pull out his old field kit. Padre could fix damn near anything, organic or mechanical.

The senior agent was angry and worried, and at first Jack thought there was something going on between Vigo and Megan, even with the fifteen-year, give or take, age difference. But he quickly ascertained that Agent Vigo was protective of Agent Elliott like a father would be to a daughter. Good.

Not good. Jack had no time to dally with a fed. Frankly, he hadn’t had time for a personal life in years, and he didn’t care to start up with someone who played too close to the rule book he’d tossed twenty years ago. Most feds followed those damn rules as if they were a sacred text. Otherwise, they walked, or ran, away, like his brother’s girlfriend.

Megan Elliot was something else. She’d been damn scared when she walked in and saw the fight. All female cop-hip-hugging slacks and tailored blazer, her badge flashing, pinned to her slender waist. Long, long legs … tight ass … perfect tits. How the woman could look so damn sexy in clothes that concealed all that incredible, silky skin he didn’t know.

Though scared and facing an unknown situation, she held her ground, exuding confidence and control. Taking charge. She’d told Padre to stand back. Jack smiled. Lieutenant Frank Cardenas, Delta Force. “Stand back, Father!”

Her unexpected arrival had given him a few precious seconds to recover from the knife attack and had tipped the scales in his favor. A good gunner could do that, and she’d hit Jorge in the wrist without hesitation when he lunged with the knife.

God, he liked a woman who could shoot.

Beauty and brawn. What a combination.

He went to the bathroom to wash out the cuts that Blondie had tried to clean in the Jeep with her torn blouse and water. He wished she’d have gone lower than his abs with her soft hands …

The antiseptic wash burned enough to send all thoughts of the sexy fed and her roaming fingers from his mind.

“I’ll do it.”

Padre stepped into the bathroom and bandaged the cut. “Why’d you let him get so close?”

“Three against one.”

“You’re getting old, Jack.”

“I didn’t see you stepping up to the plate.”

“I would have if I thought you were in real danger.”

“Having my throat sliced and my nose whacked isn’t enough?”

“It’s a shallow cut, and your nose isn’t broken. What’s going on with Perez? Did he let Carlos take over?”

“Hell if I know, but I can’t worry about the drug trade or Perez or Carlos when Scout’s killer is out there.”

“What’s going on here? Serial killer? It doesn’t make sense. How did Scout get on his radar?”

“I don’t know. The feds may have the law on their side, but that’s not going to help them if a soldier has gone off the deep end.”

“You think one of ours did this?” Padre asked, shaking his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t know the other victims, but we need to find out how they connect to Scout. Because they do.” Jack lowered his voice. “We find out what’s been going on, then deal with it ourselves.”

“Then why’d you call your brother for help?”

“Because he’s the only one I could get information from about this so-called serial killer. Dillon thinks Vigo walks on water or something. Don’t know anything about the woman, but I’ll find out.”

Jack made it a point of knowing everything about the people he worked with. Even when he planned on ditching them.

The FBI wouldn’t be able to do squat about who killed Scout. They had strict rules, and all it took was one idiot and an entire conviction could be thrown out. They needed evidence, they needed to build a case, and while Jack believed in the system in principle, it didn’t always work. He’d make sure the system worked this time. No one would get away with killing Scout, or the others.

As a soldier for his country, Jack had fought on the front lines for the rights of criminals as well as victims. Fighting for a country he believed in never used to bother him because he was a patriot first. Even with all its problems, it was still the best damn country in the world.

But because what was broke couldn’t be easily fixed, Jack preferred his new approach: taking jobs where there was a clear bad guy, where he could make a difference- and he had the authority to do what was needed to protect the innocent.

And he was damn good at it.

After Padre patched up his neck and Jack took care of the minor cuts, he went back to his living area-kitchen, dining, and living all in one, with a bedroom and bath off to the side, and a loft upstairs where he preferred to sleep. Simple and functional.

Blondie had cleaned up well, he noted, using his kitchen sink. She’d taken off her blazer and her blouse, revealing a little creamy camisole that was too modest to be considered underwear, but sexy nonetheless, hinting at curves and peaks without showing anything. She’d taken her hair down from the twisty knot, and while she’d pinned the sides back, he was surprised at the length. Straight, very blond, and so silky it shimmered under the lights.

She caught him staring, and instead of blushing or averting her eyes she said, “If my attire bothers you, I’ll put on my blouse, but considering it’s wet-I washed out the blood before it stained-it might end up bothering you more.”

“Nothing you wear, or don’t wear, would bother me, Blondie.”

“Megan,” she said.

“Where are you from, Megan?” Padre asked.

“California. Sacramento.”

“Sacramento?” Jack raised a brow. “You’re a long way from home. I thought feds stayed in their own territory. Is this akin to doctors making house calls?”

“I had the third victim, but he was snatched from me by the military police. Because I have a familiarity with this case, and I have a background working serial murders, I was brought in to liaise with the individual FBI offices and the local police in order to collect evidence and track these killers.”

“Well, that’s-” He paused. “Killers?”

She nodded. “Two.”

“How do you know that?”

“Evidence. Should we start at the beginning, or are you just going to ask me questions?”

Testy. And tired. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. Agent Vigo put a cup of coffee in front of her and a bowl of Frosted Flakes with milk. “You don’t have a lot of food,” Vigo said.

“I’m rarely home.”

“You didn’t have to-” Megan began.

Vigo interrupted. “Just eat. You were given a decent jolt, you need to keep your strength up. Considering we skipped dinner when Dillon called, this is probably your first meal since last night.”

“I had something at the airport this morning,” she grumbled, but ate the cereal. She smiled. “I haven’t had Frosted Flakes since I was a kid.”

Jack felt mildly uncomfortable having his provisions teased. He strode over to the coffeepot, where Vigo had made a very strong brew. He poured a cup, added sugar, and drank.

Vigo asked Padre, “How far are we from town? Twenty minutes?”

“More or less. Why?”

“We need to get a room. While Meg fills you in, I’ll call for reservations.”

“I don’t know that you’re going to find a room in town; there’s only one motel I could even half-recommend. I’d offer the rectory, but it has only one guest room.”

“You’re all staying here tonight,” Jack said. “It’s not safe in town, though Perez is going to realize he made a huge mistake messing with the feds. I don’t know if he let Carlos bring in his thugs, or whether Carlos is just getting cocky. Did you really call in the Rangers?” he asked Megan.

“Damn straight. Did you really break into the victim’s house?”

“He didn’t catch me breaking into anything,” Jack evaded.

She said, “What did he catch you doing?”

“Walking on the grounds. He assumed I was going to break in.”

“But you did enter,” she said. “Before he got there. Why?”

He winked again.

Megan didn’t know what to make of Jack Kincaid. He was unlike anyone she’d dealt with. More arrogant than her brother, which was quite the feat, but just as loyal. He needed to be in charge, she saw, and had probably been a leader in the military, though Hans said Jack had been enlisted not a career officer. Started with the Army Rangers, moved to Special Operations, then the elite Delta Force. He’d been honorably discharged ten years ago, but still trained with the Reserves. And he was a soldier for hire, something Megan knew a bit about through her brother’s friendship with J. T. Caruso.

Hans said, “Okay, what’s said in this room stays here. We’re not here to arrest you, but I have to know that you’re going to tell us the truth. These killers are targeting specific men-and so far, all known victims served in the U.S. Army. Two, at least, have been Delta Force trained. Not easy men to kill.”

Megan pulled out a thick folder from her briefcase, opened it. Turned the first photograph around. “Duane Johnson, served in the U.S. Army, rank corporal, 1986 to 2006. According to his friends, he was Delta, but we don’t have military confirmation on that.”

“You may or may not get it,” Jack said.

She nodded. “I figured. I’m trusting his friends at this point, at least to the extent that we need to come up with a victimology and suspect profile. Johnson is likely the first victim, though there is some question on that. We’re looking into a fatal home robbery in Florida as well-it may or may not be connected.

“Johnson was killed two months ago in Austin, Texas, hamstrung in his garage when he came home from closing his restaurant. No suspects, no prints, no DNA, no witnesses. Trace evidence is at the Texas State lab, but so far nothing has popped. They’ve agreed to send the trace to Quantico. Las Vegas agreed as well, and our scientists will work on connecting the evidence to the same person or persons.

“Johnson was tortured prior to his execution-style murder.” She showed the crime scene photo of Johnson with the bullet to the head. “The coroner believes he was pierced with acupuncture-style needles, and although he can’t say for certain, he believes that the locations were chosen to cause intense pain by stimulating specific nerves. There were one hundred nineteen known punctures on his skin, though there may have been more. These types of very small holes heal quickly and are also easy to miss in an exam.”

She slid over the next photo. “Dennis Perry, 1995 to 2005. Both men were stationed out of Fort Bragg for all or part of their enlistment. We have confirmed that Duane Johnson was Delta-as best we can because the military hasn’t been forthcoming with information- and I suspect that Perry was as well. Las Vegas is our next stop. Same M.O.: hamstrung when he was entering his apartment, then tortured. He had something stuffed in his mouth, most likely to prevent him from calling out or screaming. There was a note on the report that some puncture wounds were from possible drug use. A low level of barbiturates were found in Perry’s system, but no mention of multiple acupuncture-type markings. Doesn’t mean they weren’t there, but I don’t know that after this long we’ll be able to determine anything. Still, he was hamstrung, tortured in some manner, and had a broken nose. Then he was shot in the back of the head like Johnson. FBI ballistics now has the evidence, and we should get a confirmation in a day or so whether the bullets came from the same gun.

“Finally.” She opened a second folder. Much thinner, mostly handwritten notes-hers. She showed the few pictures that she’d taken with her cell phone. “George Price. Homeless veteran in Sacramento. Early Monday morning, I got a call from Sac P.D. about a murder that matched an FBI hot sheet connecting the Johnson-Perry homicides. I run the Violent Crimes Squad, so I went to the scene.

“Price’s murder had the same M.O.: hamstrung, but he was homeless and attacked in an alley late Sunday night. Downtown Sacramento rolls up the sidewalks at night, and after midnight on Sunday, no one is out. At least no one with honorable intentions. Price was carried-this is how we know there were at least two people involved-into a parking garage, where we believe he was tortured in a similar manner to Johnson and Perry.”

“Carried? How did you figure that?” Jack asked.

“From the drops of blood. They were consistent with the victim being carried by two people,” Megan said. “The size and spacing of blood evidence, plus the scrapes on his bare feet, indicated that he’d been picked up by the armpits and carried.

“It’s a theory,” she added, backtracking a bit. “But it’s supported by the evidence we have.”

“I’m not questioning your theory,” Jack said. “Just curious how you came to the conclusion.”

Megan nodded, but wasn’t sure exactly what anyone was thinking. Was she wrong about the two killers? Had she read the evidence incorrectly? Been swept away by Simone Charles’s confidence? Saw what Simone saw, and nothing else?

Hans spoke. “There is at least one key difference. Price was AWOL since 2004, wanted for the attempted murder of his commanding officer. When we ran his I.D., CID came down on us hard. Took the body and evidence.”

“You have the photos.”

Megan shrugged. “I saw something and the photographer had moved on.”

Jack raised an eyebrow, and Megan ignored him. She said, “I learned through a friend with contacts at CID that Price didn’t die from the head shot. He had a heart attack. Either the killers knew he was dead, and shot him to make his murder identical in M.O. to the others- meaning that they want us to know they are choosing these victims, laying down bread crumbs so to speak- or it was overkill. They had to do it because they are obsessive-compulsive. Complete the cycle, execute the plan to the letter.”

Hans nodded. “I think the shooter had to follow through, the exact same way. He couldn’t do anything but.”

Megan shook her head. “I think the shooter did it because he wants us to know that Price connects to Perry and Johnson. And now your friend.”

“Why?” Hans said. “It’s classic OCD behavior. The killer had to perform according to the script. Like you said, execute the plan to the letter.”

“Yeah, but … the dog tags.” She looked at Hans, then turned to Jack. “The killers sent part of Price’s identification plate to my attention. They want to make damn sure that we know Price is part of the puzzle. It’s a message, and when we figure out the code we’ll know who did it.”

“And Scout was just another victim.”

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Megan said. Jack was staring at her, and the pain of his friend’s death hit her in her heart. Jack Kincaid was more than an arrogant soldier, he was also a compassionate soul who’d lost someone close to him.

“Father?”

When Hans spoke, Megan and Jack both averted their eyes and turned to Father Francis. He looked stricken.

Jack questioned, “Padre?”

Megan raised her eyes at the concern in Jack’s word. “Father Francis, what’s wrong? Do you know any of these men?”

He looked from Megan to Jack. “I knew all of them.”