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5
He carefully pored through the pages of Dark Minds, looking for just the right sentences. The words he needed to display his superiority to Davis. It should be easier, but Davis droned on and on about his accomplishments, making it challenging to find just what he wanted. But with effort, he finally uncovered what he was looking for.
After laying out two photocopied pages in front of him, with his choices highlighted, he turned them over and wrote the numeral 3 on one and 4 on the other. The numeral 2 was already where it needed to be—of course. He smiled. He’d outwit every single one of his victims—all six of them—and the members of the FBI’s elite BAU too. He’d prove that no one was capable of stopping him. No one.
“I hope Chief Gorman doesn’t really plan to run this case by his gut,” Monty said when the door closed behind the detectives.
Kaely shrugged. “I know what he’s talking about. An almost sixth sense we develop after a while. I think he’s right. This case is certainly troubling.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.
“If Davis was killed for retribution, what could he have done lately that would cause someone to create such an elaborate way to murder him? He doesn’t work cases anymore. Like we said, anyone he helped put away is either dead or still in prison. This has to be something more recent. How ridiculous is it that he spends years working to put violent, sadistic criminals away and stays safe, but he speaks at some conventions, writes some books, and now he’s killed in this weird way?”
Everyone was silent. Alex turned Kaely’s comment over in her mind. “Maybe this is a family member of someone he helped send to prison? I can’t answer your question about why someone like that would wait so long, but maybe for some reason our UNSUB had no choice.”
“I think someone with a relative in prison should be considered,” Monty said.
“Look, it’s not our job to be investigators,” Logan said, his tone rather sharp. “We have to concentrate on what we’re here to do. Let the police search for suspects. We need to go through all the files, look at the crime-scene photos and ME’s report, and study the victimology before we draw any conclusions.”
Alex had noticed a slight change in Logan. Was it because he was the lead agent? Yet she’d been on other missions when he was lead, and he’d never acted this way. She watched as his jaw tightened when he looked at Kaely. Was he intimidated by her? If so, Alex was surprised. She’d never seen him affected by anyone like this. He was usually a model of professionalism.
“You’re right,” Alex said, “but there’s nothing wrong with bouncing possibilities off each other before we do that.”
Logan frowned at her, but she decided to ignore him.
Monty looked back and forth between Alex and Logan before saying, “I’m just trying to understand what the UNSUB wants. Any ideas?”
“John Davis wrote a lot of books,” Kaely said. “Maybe someone he mentioned, even briefly, holds a grudge. Feels slighted. The UNSUB could be angry that he wasn’t more than a side note. Not as important as the killers who commanded more attention.”
“Wouldn’t hurt to check out spouses or children of people mentioned in Dark Minds,” Monty said.
“But again, everything in those books happened a long time ago,” Logan said. “This doesn’t seem like something associated with the past.”
Kaely shrugged. “Maybe. I’m with the chief, though. This will be a tough one. Davis was well-known, knew a lot of people, and helped send a lot of criminals to prison. This may be akin to finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.”
Alex could see Logan was irritated. He was the agent in charge, but Kaely seemed to be taking over.
“I see a problem with your premise about someone mentioned in his books,” Logan said, directing his remark to Kaely.
“Oh?” she said.
“Davis was careful not to write about anyone who might get out of prison someday,” he said. “He knew his family could be in danger if he did.”
“You’re right, Logan,” Alex said. “He mentioned that several times in his books. Nor did he give the real names of people who were accessories to crimes—criminals connected to the violent killers he wrote about. Sometimes he simply called them suspects. But even though he didn’t name everyone, it wouldn’t be hard for people to figure out who he was writing about. His friends and family would also know about it. Then there are public records, trial transcripts, and news articles.”
The door opened, and an officer walked in, holding several files under her arm and a tray with coffee cups. Logan stood and took the tray. He put it in the middle of the table and turned back to take the files, but the officer had already handed them to Kaely. “A lot of this is in our data files,” she said, “but I read that you like to look at hard copies of reports, so we copied everything. I think you’ll find what you need here.” She was obviously starstruck with Kaely Quinn.
Kaely’s cheeks reddened as she took the files. To her credit, she just smiled at the officer and thanked her. The officer offered everyone at the table a quick smile before leaving the room.
“I’m so sorry,” Kaely said after the door closed. “That was inappropriate. If you’d rather, I’ll ask for access to the data files.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Alex said. “Personally, I like hard copies better myself. And don’t feel bad about the officer’s reaction. We realize you’re somewhat of a celebrity.”
“I’m not,” she said quickly. “A celebrity is someone who’s tried to acquire fame. I never wanted it. Being known as the daughter of a serial killer isn’t something anyone chases after. It’s thrust upon you.”
“Regardless,” Alex said, “this will be better. Especially with the four of us working together.”
Alex glanced at Monty, who didn’t seem to care one way or the other. Logan just nodded and said, “It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll bring Monty up-to-date while you two start going through the files. Now, let’s get started, okay?”
While Alex and Kaely began working through the case notes and reports, Alex noticed Logan seemed more relaxed. He was a fair man who would give Kaely a chance. They needed to forget egos and help stop a dangerous killer before he struck again.
