Robert Waggoner - John - The Senior Killer

Brad after he picked up his glass and raised it to his boss said, “Let me show you something in the computer room before we have dinner.” Steve followed him through a beaded doorway into a room that looked like it was sanitized each day. Not a speck of dust anywhere. He marveled at Sujin and her attention to detail. Brad sat down in front of a twenty four inch screen and pulled up a map of California. Steve sat in what he knew as Sujin’s chair next to Brad while he made a copy of the map from the printer. After making a copy he overlaid the map with holes in each case where the killer had made a mark. Steve could see where Brad had drawn lines from point to point and clearly a letter had appeared. The letter “N” hit him between the eyes and Steve sat back and exclaimed,

My God it is so elementary and not one FBI person thought of doing this simple act?”

“Sometimes the simple things go right by as our educated minds are looking for deeper meanings when it is usually right in front of you. Of course you are spending the night with us and I will read your files after dinner. In the morning I will give you my report and Sujin’s too. Meanwhile as you know there are some videos to watch in the guest room and a phone to call home if you like. We, as you also know are not much in the entertainment mode around here and after dinner Sujin and I will take on the files. Now let’s go see what my Asian beauty has for dinner,” as he rose and led Steve up the stairs.

Once again Sujin had pleased the senses. The smell was enticing and the bowls of steaming noodles lay waiting for the sticks to grab hold. Steve was no slouch with chop sticks as having been the commanding officer in South Korea before he retired to civilian duty. He did himself proud slurping the noodles and marveled at the sweet sour taste of the cucumbers and other side dishes. Sujin after the small bowl of noodles brought out the gas cooker and marinated beef strips and veggies were cooked. Steve noticed the meat was mostly for his enjoyment as both Brad and Sujin were primarily vegetarians.

While the meat was cooking some small talk between the men occurred. Brad asked how his father was and Steve said, “Your father is well and sends his greetings and after your Sacramento meeting wants you to stop by his house in Palm Springs for a private meeting.”

Brad nodded and thought back about his strained relationship with his father. Even after all these years and being a full colonel his father still tried to tell him what to do. Brad new he meant well, but at times he couldn’t be in the same room with him. His mother, thank god, adjudicated the gatherings the best she could so in the end, the game was tied with no winner or loser.

Steve tried in vain to read Brad’s mind and even though he was a lawyer by trade he failed to really know this young man. For eight years he was his commanding officer and besides being a desk man, he tried to get out into the field as much as possible. However, he found out soon enough he was only in the way. Then five years ago the Secretary of the Navy called him into his office and that is when the operation to eliminate a terrorist camp unfolded. A five man team had been sent into the area led by a known sympathizer. This was a special team of Navy Seals with Brad leading the team. They were ambushed and two out of five were killed with Brad left finding his own way out of the mountains. He had ordered is men to evacuate and gave them cover fire as the helicopter took off without him.

Now he wondered what went through his mind as they sipped some refreshing tea oblivious to the raging storm outside. Sujin cleaned off the table and Steve said good night and gave Sujin his best bow. Brad smiled and led the way downstairs with Rocky bringing up the rear. They both heard Sujin call Rocky and he slowly turned and headed back the way he came. A few minutes later Sandy replaced Rocky as Steve laid his head down for a long sleep while his friend took the files into the computer room. Steve made a phone call to his wife and then turned the light out. He laid thinking about his last meeting in DC with his boss. He was instructed to have their team on the hunt yesterday. The president was taking so much heat from this wild killer and seniors across the nation were in a panic. Heart attacks and strokes were on the increase. Doctors were plagued with over crowed waiting rooms prescribing sleeping aids by the gross. Southern California and in Sacramento protests by seniors over the Senior Killer hit the media with a bang. The FBI in Los Angeles and elsewhere were overloaded with tips on unseen or suspected people who looked like what they thought a serial killer should look like. Of course no one knew what he/she looked like because of his disguises. Trying times to say the least as Steve drifted off to sleep in a soundless environment.

Steve woke up the next morning and looked at his watch. He’d always been an early riser, but today it was close to seven am and he felt a little guilty sleeping so long. He made his way to his bathroom and took a long hot shower. Shaving gear was present along with a new toothbrush. Exiting the shower and drying off he noticed his overnight bag sitting on a hotel type bag stand open for his ease of dressing. It wasn’t opened out of curiosity but hospitality from the orient. He quickly dressed and stuffed his soiled clothes away in a bag his wife always provided him and made his way upstairs to a new day. The first thing he noticed was the weather was still pretty much the same. Rain beat against the windows and Sujin was in the kitchen looking like she never left it from the night before. Rocky had replaced Sandy and was lying next to the wood stove with an eye on Steve. Steve shivered thinking about someone making a false move against Sujin. He shook the thought out of his mind as the door opened and a soaked Brad came in. He stripped down and said, “Good morning and did you rest well?”

“Never felt better as usual when I have the pleasure of sleeping under your roof. Tell me what does it feel like to run on the beach in a storm like we are having now?”

Brad laughed and said, “I can only say it makes me feel alive and damn glad I am.”

“I guess that makes two of us,” Steve replied with a grin that few had the privileged to see on his face. Sujin placed a mug of hot coffee on the old table next to the window. Steve moved towards it like a bee to a flower seeking the aroma and its delicate taste. She knew he liked his coffee in the morning like most Americans. Brad headed downstairs to take a shower as Rocky watched him go with one eye and the other on Steve as he sat at the table lifting his cup of hot freshly ground coffee. Steve didn’t wait for Brad to come while he drank his coffee and said to Sujin, “What do you make of this case Sujin?”

“Well,” she said in an Asian accent, “he or she makes good use of a disguise.”

Steve knew better than to discount what she said because it was obvious this killer was adept in using a disguise. He vowed to give that point more thought as Brad walked into the room looking like a college professor dressed in tan slacks, a pale yellow striped shirt and a dark brown silk tie. He carried his sport coat over his shoulder and hung it on the back of a chair sitting down and saying, “I heard Sujin say ‘disguise’ and in our opinion that is the key to this case.”

Sujin brought him a cup of herb tea and asked Steve if he would like some scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. Steve told her that would be lovely and she returned to the kitchen. About that time a high pitched sound went on along with the lights flashing on and off. Sandy had punched the button that someone was on the property. Sujin quickly scanned the screen next to the refer and announced it was her sister and left to open the door for her. Her sister was standing on the gravel drive waiting for permission to enter.