Richard Hale - Frozen Past

The year was not a good one for Jaxon. Victoria either. Just the mention of it brought the temperature down in the cabin a few degrees. Nobody said a word for the rest of the flight.

They arrived at the local sheriff’s office and met with the detective who had handled the case back in 2001. His name was Vernon Scoggins. Jaxon disliked him immediately. He was bald, overweight, and wore sneakers with his suit. He chewed tobacco and chose to spit the juice into an empty Zephyrhills water bottle he carried around with him. Jaxon swore if the son-of-a-bitch spilled one drop on him, he would break his leg. Victoria seemed to like him.

Holt had discussed the information they had obtained through the web-cam’s manufacturer with Scoggins and his chief, so they knew what the three of them were there for. Scoggins told them the address associated with the computer I.P. address was in a section of town known for its extracurricular activity, mainly prostitution. The house was currently under surveillance, and per the FBI’s instructions, no one was to interfere with anyone entering or leaving the premises. So far the place had been quiet as a tomb.

Public records showed a deed recorded under the name of Walter Peacock. Contacting the owner had been relatively easy, but the information he provided on his renter proved useless. The tenant, William Smith, paid in cash every six months through the mail and the only contact information he had provided listed a name and address which did not exist. William Smith apparently did not want to be bothered. Mr. Peacock could not remember ever meeting the tenant. Scoggins said the man sounded drunk on the phone.

Scoggins told them the neighbors had very little information about the man except to say he usually showed up late at night and was very white.

“White?” Victoria asked.

“Yes,” Scoggins said. “You know-pale-albino-I don’t know. One guy told me he’s only ever seen him from a distance and his face was very white.”

Jaxon and Sally shared a look.

“What?” Victoria said looking back and forth between the two.

“Our perp looks to be wearing a white Halloween mask on the two surveillance videos we have of him,” Jaxon said. “At first I thought he was albino, but Sally said it was probably a mask. I think she’s right.”

“Could be our guy, right?” Scoggins said.

No one answered.

“The plan is to wait until he shows up,” Victoria said, “and then move in. If he doesn’t show, we get the warrant to search the place. Right now, we sit tight and wait.”

“Great,” Jaxon said. “Can we at least join the surveillance team?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t want anybody spooking this guy. We wait for the call.”

Three hours had passed and everyone was on edge. Jaxon noticed Sally was on her third cup of coffee and Victoria was sucking down Diet Pepsis like they were going out of style. Jaxon kept busy with a crossword puzzle.

Victoria walked over and sat next to Jaxon. “You know, you haven’t said more than five words to me the last six hours.”

“Actually, I said seventeen.”

She smiled. “That bad, huh?”

“Torture,” but he didn’t smile. He was in no mood for playful banter with his ex-wife.

“So, how is Reverb?” She asked.

“Old and nearly dead.”

“I miss him.”

He looked up from the puzzle and searched her face. She hadn’t so much as asked about the dog in ten years. Reverb had only been two years old at the time of Michael’s death and he distinctly remembered a time before that when she said the dog had to go. The only reason he eventually stayed was because Michael adored him. She couldn’t break his heart, but she was angry at Jaxon for weeks because he went behind her back and brought the dog home without consulting her.

She was smiling and he wondered if she genuinely meant what she said. Probably not.

“I thought you hated him,” he said, turning back to the puzzle. “You’ve never come to see him.”

“It’s not for lack of trying. I can’t even get you to return my calls much less answer the door.”

“You’ve knocked on the door?”

“Three times.”

“Wow-three times in ten years. You must have wanted to see him pretty bad.”

“I’ve wanted to see you,” she said.

He looked her in the eye, expecting her to look away, but she held his gaze with a strange look on her face. One he hadn’t seen in a long time. It brought back a flood of memories; times that had been good, but now seemed bitter in the light of the florescent lamps. He didn’t know what to make of this conversation and hoped it would end soon.

“Me. The dog. We’ve both been there. I’ve never heard you knock.”

“Maybe you weren’t listening,” she said, cocking her head slightly and giving him the little grin that used to drive him crazy. Now, it was just pissing him off.

“What? Is there supposed to be some deep meaning in there? Because I’ve missed it. What is it, Vick? What do you want?” His voice had grown louder and he saw Sally look up and Scoggins staring.

“Apparently you’re still deaf,” she said, getting up. “I’ll try pounding on the door next time.”

“You do that.” And she walked away.

The radio crackled to life. “We’ve got a visitor.”

Time to move.

Luke and John were hunched over his desk watching the blip creep up the street behind Luke’s house. Ellie was sitting on the bed and Jimmy was standing looking out the window. Luke’s room faced the rear of the house and even though there were quite a few trees in the backyard, you could still see headlights if a car drove into the cul-de-sac behind them.

“I got lights!” Jimmy said.

“That’s him,” Luke said. “Is he stopped?”

“Yeah-the lights just went out.” Jimmy stepped back away from the window and looked at the computer. Luke pointed to the blip that was now stationary on the map.

“Alright, remember,” Luke said, “this is just for verification. We don’t want him to see us. John, set up the three way call with me and Jimmy. When we’re in position, Ellie, you send the Facebook message and we’ll see what he does. Come on Jimmy.”

Luke and Jimmy left the room and Luke’s phone vibrated first. He had the earpiece in and he said, “Got ya’ John.”

“Roger,” John said, and put Luke on hold. When the three way was set up, they were all linked, and Luke and Jimmy went out the back door, splitting up. Luke went to the back of his fence slipping through the hole between it and the hedge, and snuck around the tennis courts to a spot he could easily see the car, yet remain hidden. The night was moonless, and the darkness, oppressive. Luke shivered in his spot despite the warm, humid air.

Jimmy went in the opposite direction, hid in the neighbor’s backyard and watched from around their fence. When he was in place he said, “I can see the car. He’s still inside.”

“Yep, he hasn’t moved,” John said.

“I got him too,” Luke said. “I can’t make out his face but I see his silhouette. Tell Ellie to send the message.”

What Luke hoped for was that the killer owned a smart phone. When Ellie sent him the message on Facebook, he should get some kind of notification. At least if he was as meticulous as Luke thought he was. Then they would watch and see if he would use the phone while they observed him. Visual confirmation was their only option at this point. They did not want to alert him to the fact they knew his cell phone number.

A few minutes went by, and Luke asked, “Did she send it?”

“Yeah,” John said. “Give it a minute.”

Luke’s legs were starting to cramp from the position he was in, and he shifted a little trying to get comfortable. A soft glow of light showed inside the car and Luke could see him bring what must be a phone up to his face. Luke was shocked at what he saw. The man was completely white. His face, hair, and lips looked to be the shade of vanilla yogurt. He wasn’t even sure if he had any hair.