AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We need to figure out what the number one on the back of the page means,” Alex said.
“I agree,” Logan said. “Maybe it doesn’t indicate other victims. But at this point, I think we should assume it has significance to our UNSUB or it wouldn’t be there.”
“As terrible as this sounds,” Alex said, “another death would help us figure out what’s going on. But right now our job is to help you find a way to get out in front of this guy. A second death just isn’t acceptable.”
“If you want information about the early days, you could contact Evan Bayne,” Kaely said. “He worked with John Davis in the beginning, when the BAU began. Of course, back then it was called the Behavioral Science Unit. Davis was the one who coined the term serial killer.”
“I understand the two had a falling out in the early nineties—thirty years ago,” Alex said. “Davis stayed with the FBI, but Bayne left after only ten years of service as an analyst. He started writing books before Davis, although Davis’s books were more popular. Sold a lot more than Bayne’s.”
“Do you know what happened between them?” Gorman asked.
Logan shook his head. “They never talked about what their disagreement was about publicly. Eventually, they appeared to put the past behind them. Both showed up at some of the same crime conventions, like the one Davis was attending here. I don’t think they were ever friends again, though.”
He frowned and looked over at Alex. “Wait. Wasn’t there some kind of lawsuit a few years ago?”
“Yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” Alex said. “Davis said Bayne wrote about a case in one of his books, giving himself credit for helping find an UNSUB because his profile was so accurate. But the case was really Davis’s. If I remember right, the suit was settled out of court.”
“Actually, Bayne would make a good suspect,” Kaely said with a smile. “But he’s in his seventies too, and he has his own life. I’m sure his books were profitable enough to make the lawsuit not much more than a bump in the road.”
“You could talk to some people who worked with Bayne,” Logan said. “We’ll give you a list. Again, not sure you’ll find anything helpful there, but it won’t hurt to rule him out. I just think your UNSUB will be someone more contemporary.”
“So we should look for someone in his past or someone in his life now?” Julie said. “You’re casting a pretty wide net.” There wasn’t any irritation in her tone. She was simply stating a fact.
“You’re right,” Logan said. “We can’t tell you much yet. Let us go over the information you’ve compiled. We’ll work the profile and do the best we can to narrow your search.”
“If you dig up anything else that might help us, please let us know,” Kaely said. “Is the Davis autopsy completed?”
“Yes,” Gorman said. “We’re expecting the report this afternoon.”
“We need that,” Logan said, “along with all your crime-scene notes. What you’ve gathered from witnesses. From family ... Basically, everything you know, we want to know.”
“Of course. We’re at your disposal, and so are our resources,” Gorman said. “We appreciate you being available to help us. I thought because of Mr. Davis’s profession, you would be the best people to give us what we need to find this guy.” He raised an eyebrow. “I assume it’s a guy?”
“Probably,” Alex said. “But again, we need time to work the profile.”
“Can you send a copy of that video to our Cyber Crimes Unit?” Logan asked. “I’d like to see if they can remove the voice distortion. Maybe they can produce the actual voice. You may need to match it against any suspects.”
“Sure,” the chief said.
“One thing to keep in mind,” Logan added, “is that the numeral one on the back of the page might not mean anything. The UNSUB may have put it there just to elicit a response. To frighten you.”
“Trust me,” Gorman said. “If this is the perp’s only victim, no one will be happier than me. But that number bothers me. A lot.”
“We may have figured out how our UNSUB was able to watch Mr. Davis,” Julie said.
Everyone waited expectantly. Thinking that Davis wasn’t actually being watched had made his death seem even more tragic and unnecessary.
“Someone at the convention noticed a drone outside the hotel the night Mr. Davis died. We’re wondering if it was there to surveil him.”
“I don’t know,” Cooper said. Logan had been wondering why he hadn’t spoken yet. He was happy to know the man could talk. “Drones are getting pretty popular. Everyone and their dog has one. It might have had nothing to do with Davis.”
“Drone or not, since the video of Mrs. Davis was prerecorded in Houston, the perp could have been in Bethesda Saturday night,” Gorman said. “The phone is at your lab in Quantico. Maybe they can also figure out when the video was recorded.”
“That won’t be hard,” Logan said. “My guess is it wasn’t too old. It had to look recent enough to fool Davis.”
The door to the room opened slowly, and Monty stepped inside. When everyone at the table looked his way, he gave them a sheepish grin. “I’m really sorry. I stopped off to see my grandmother, but when I got ready to leave, my car wouldn’t start. She called a friend of hers, who came over and got it going. Cleaned the contacts on my battery. It’s running like a charm now.”
“We’ve barely started,” Julie said with a welcoming smile.
