Virginia Vaughan - Killer Insight

He was giving her a way out of her posturing. Once again, she owed him. “You’re right. I really should focus my attention on the cases. If I’m going to identify this killer, the clues will be in those files.”

Bryce drove Lucy to the B&B where Mrs. Ferguson, an elderly lady with a lot of spunk and a big smile, greeted them at the door and gushed over Lucy.

“I heard what happened. How terrible for you, Lucy. Are you okay, dear?”

“Thank you, Mrs. Ferguson. I’m fine. Thank you for packing me some clothes. I also got your flowers last night. Sadly, the police had to confiscate all of them.”

“What on earth for?”

Bryce set down her bag by the staircase. “It was a precaution. Someone sent Lucy a threatening message using flowers.”

“How strange,” the woman stated. “Two police officers brought by some boxes for you. They said they were files you requested. I had them leave them down here in the dining room. You’re welcome to use the table if you need the room to go through them.”

Lucy looked over and saw six boxes sitting in the corner of the dining room. The table would provide her more room, but she didn’t think anyone would care for graphic images of murdered women lying around. “That’s kind of you, Mrs. Ferguson, but some of the images may be disturbing. You don’t want them displayed in here.”

“Well, it’s only you and me here. I don’t have any other guests right now, and I promise not to look. There’s also a den in the back of the house. It has doors so you can close off the room. You’re welcome to use that if you’d rather.”

Lucy thanked her again and finally agreed to use the back room. With Bryce’s help, she unloaded the files from their boxes, stacked them into appropriate piles and taped up photos of the victims, turning nearly one entire wall into an evidence wall.

She stared at the images of the victims. Her body ached from the attack and she wasn’t at her best, but she had work to do and she was anxious to get to it.

She had a killer to catch.

Bryce helped Lucy unload the files, then spent the next several hours going through each case. The photos of the murdered women made his stomach roll. The thought that anyone could inflict such violence on another person angered and disgusted him. Yes, he’d seen violence. He’d even participated in it when necessary, but the face-to-face destruction of another person sickened him.

And to think his brother was being accused of these crimes.

“The last three victims all share the same modus operandi. They were all abducted, missing for several days, then found with their throats slashed.” Lucy picked up the photo of Jessica Nelson, the first victim, and his brother Clint’s girlfriend at the time of her disappearance. “Jessica’s case is different. It took place nearly two years before the next victim, and her body was never found.”

“You don’t think it’s related?”

“Physically, it’s impossible to link it to the other victims because she was never found. Her car is missing while the others were on foot when they were abducted, including myself, or else their car was found abandoned. I’ll have to profile the victims to see if there’s any overlap of their lives. I may be able to link them that way.”

Lucy scanned through Jessica’s case. “According to the report, she left Clint’s house in her car headed home around 1:00 a.m. but never made it. Her body was never found, and neither was her car or any of her personal belongings.” She glanced at Bryce. “Did you know her?”

“I did, although I wasn’t around when she went missing. I was working overseas at the time.”

“What was their relationship like?”

“Stormy. They fought a lot.” Bryce knew his brother had loved Jessica and couldn’t imagine him ever hurting her, but their relationship had never been a healthy one. Jealousy, drugs and alcohol had made for a bad mix between them.

“In the report, Clint says no one could confirm she really left that night. He was living alone at the time.”

“Yes, he was.”

“Where was Meghan? Where was she staying?”

“With her mother. That was before she died.”

Lucy gasped. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you were widowed.”

Her sympathy was appreciated but unnecessary. “Actually, we never married. We dated in high school, then I joined the military. I only learned years later that Bridgette had given birth to Meghan and hadn’t told me. I spent the next several years fighting for my rights in court just to see her.”

“She kept Meghan from you?”

It had been a difficult time in his life, a time when he’d believed everyone and everything was against him. “She did. My family wasn’t exactly known to be upstanding members of the community. Bridgette and her parents fought to keep Meghan from me. In fact, if Cassidy hadn’t written to me telling me about her, I might not have ever known I had a daughter.”

“Cassidy? That was your friend at the hospital?”

“Yes. We grew up together before her folks moved out of town when she was ten. She came back to live with her grandparents and finish high school, and we became friends again. She was probably the only friend I had growing up.” He didn’t know why he was opening up to Lucy this way. He had friends in the military who never knew about his struggles. He was used to keeping things to himself, but something about Lucy made him want to open up and know that he wouldn’t be judged.

“We didn’t have an easy childhood and, I’m sorry to say, I got into a lot of trouble growing up. After my dad died, my mom worked three jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, but that also meant she wasn’t around much.”

“That sounds like a lonely way to live.”

“I guess it’s true what they say about negative attention being better than no attention. I made sure I received plenty of negative attention. Clint followed every move I made...except when it came to joining the military. He wanted nothing to do with it. Instead, he got into drugs and stealing cars and ended up spending three years in prison, all while I was overseas.”

She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Well, it looks like you’re doing well enough now. Meghan is a wonderful girl, and I’m sure that’s your influence. You said her mother died?”

“She died in a car crash three years ago. After that, I was able to get sole custody and I worked out a deal with her grandparents. She would stay with them while I was on assignment, and they wouldn’t interfere any longer with my relationship with my daughter. It’s worked out well so far. Only, I’m not sure what will happen now. I don’t know if I’m going back overseas.”

“Because of your brother?”

“No. I’ve been working covert security overseas. A few months ago, my unit was involved in a rescue mission of an American embassy. We were ordered to stand down, but we went in anyway.”

“I heard about that incident. According to the news, you’re all heroes.”

“Well, according to the federal government, we disobeyed orders. Especially now that there’s been so much media coverage about it, I doubt the agency will be offering me another contract assignment.” He surprised himself sharing so much with her. Usually, he was closemouthed about his life and his feelings, but something about Lucy engendered trust in him.

He shook his head, trying to remember that she was part of the government and therefore part of the problem. He’d been burned too many times before, and besides, her hand on his was just a little too appealing to him.