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"That creates a clear link to all three of the victims. There's definitely jealousy and resentment involved on Nick's side as well as subtle information gathering."
“Has he made a habit of this?”
"Yes. He's made other threats to other people as well. And they have generally backed down. There's a level of nastiness in his attacks that goes way beyond what's acceptable," Cami observed.
"Let's get face to face with him," Connor decided.
"He lives about halfway between Caroline and Tracy," Cami said, doing another search. "Here's his address, if you need it."
"This man, I'm going to request back up. Ex-military, we need to take precautions."
Cami felt even more nervous now. They were going into the lair of a man who was potentially violent and seemed to have an armory of weapons stashed in his home.
Connor got on the radio and started speaking to the local cops. "Yes, it's urgent," he said. "We need to get there as soon as possible. There are clear threats being made. He's gone further in some comments. Talked about not getting on the wrong side of him or his knives and guns."
The radio crackled and Cami picked up that back up was on the way.
Connor got out of the car and opened his trunk and took out a well-worn kevlar vest. To Cami's surprise, he handed her one that was a smaller size and looked to be new.
"Put this on under your jacket. We're not taking any chances," he said.
It was the first time Cami had worn kevlar. She took off her jacket and put on the unfamiliar garment. It felt bulky and strange to her. It was scary to think that this jacket might have to stop a bullet if Nick came out with guns blazing.
Wearing this jacket accentuated the danger they were potentially heading into. She felt tense and on edge as she climbed back into the car and quickly fastened her seatbelt as Connor sped away, heading to Nick's address.
"We've got back up from the local cops, but we still need to be prepared for anything," Connor said. “He could try to intimidate us or even attack us. So stay close to me. And be careful what you say. I need to lead this dialogue."
"Okay," Cami said, feeling a twinge of nerves.
Here was Nick's street. It looked quiet and ordinary. The homes here weren't as fancy as the victims' houses were, Cami noted. It was a lower income area, for sure. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Nick had been jealous of his victims. They had what he didn't. Was that why he'd gone to spend time in their houses, Cami wondered. Had he wanted to live their lives, vicariously, before killing them out of sheer envy?
They got out of the car at the same time that another cop car pulled up outside. It was still drizzling, and a cold wind tugged at the peak of Cami's FBI cap. She felt glad for her kevlar suddenly—it was warm, as well as protective.
After speaking to the officers briefly, Connor led the way to Nick's house, which was a white fronted, single-story home. The window blinds were down, and there were two dead plants in planters outside the battered front door.
Cami watched as the two back up cops got into a strategic position a few yards away from the front door.
"I'm going to check this house out first.” Connor paced around, checking the windows, and Cami guessed that he was making sure that Nick Walker wasn't lying in wait, aiming a gun at them through the glass. The tension was starting to build.
"He's here. I can hear noise from inside," Connor muttered, giving her a nod of confirmation as he returned.
Now, Cami could hear the same. As she walked a few steps behind Connor, she could hear the blare of the television. So without a doubt, their suspect was home, but hopefully he was not yet aware that the FBI was on his doorstep.
Connor knocked on the door and waited a few moments for an answer.
"Mr. Walker?" Connor called out. “FBI here. We need to speak to you.”
Cami jumped as she heard a loud explosion from inside. Was it the TV or something else? She couldn't tell. But none of the window blinds had been raised, so he couldn't take a potshot at them. If he was coming out, it would be through the door.
Connor knocked again, harder this time.
Listening intently, Cami could hear the TV sound was turned down. So, without a doubt, Nick now knew that they were here.
What was he going to do? She glanced uneasily at the window, because she'd seen a blind twitch.
"Get the hell out of here," a deep voice came from inside.
And then Cami gasped, because she heard the distinctive noise of a pump shotgun slide being racked. That metallic crunch-crunch got the hairs on her arms standing up in response.
