Speaking for the Dead Read online

  “We are going to take a look at both women’s employers, see if we can figure out how he was targeting them.”

  “That would be helpful.”

  “I thought so,” Moseby agreed.

  “Okay, it sounds like you have a handle on this.”

  “Any progress on who put the bomb on my car?” Lucy asked.

  “Not so far, but Ramirez and Morales are working it. I understand they hand carried some evidence to the lab so that it would go to the front of the line,” Stanley told her.

  “Hopefully they will find something. Neither one of them has even been around to talk to me yet,” French said.

  “They will be, Detective. Because they are going to want to know who you might have pissed off lately enough to blow you to smithereens.”

  “That could be a big list, Captain.”

  “I think it may be related to the Slasher case,” Moseby interjected.

  “Why?” Stanley and French both looked at him.

  “He killed the second woman to rattle us. I think he bombed her car for the same reason, to throw us off his trail. This guy is smart, Cap. He’s real damn smart. But he thinks he might be smarter than us, but he isn’t.”

  “You seem awfully sure of that.”

  “I am,” Moseby told him.

  “It does make sense,” Lucy agreed. Stanley looked at her for a long moment.

  “Okay, I’ll have them check it out. In the meantime, I want to know anytime either of you leaves the building. I want an unmarked following you in a backup position just to be on the safe side,” Stanley told them.

  “I can live with that,” Moseby agreed. He looked over at Lucy French. She gave a heavy sigh.

  “I guess I can too,” she agreed.

  “Good. Keep me in the loop,” Stanley said, standing and walking away.

  “You have any idea what the hell that was about?” Lucy looked at Moseby.

  “Yeah, the Captain is worried about you,” Moseby replied.

  “Just me?”

  “Just you. He’s also worried about every woman in the city right now because any single one of them could be a victim of this guy. He doesn’t think I might be,” Moseby told her.

  “Okay. I get the fact that because I am a woman that I could be a potential target for this motherfucker. But I don’t need to be protected, Garret. I’m a cop, first and foremost. I can handle any shit that comes my way.”

  “I know that, Lucy.”

  “I know you do,” Lucy said softly.

  “The Captain, he sees things differently. He has to look after all of us, if we like it or not. To him, we are his children, his family. So, he worries about us,” Moseby explained.

  “I get that. But I am a strong and independent woman, Garrett. I’m no shrinking violet. I want this motherfucker as bad as anyone.”

  “I get that,” Moseby told her.

  “I got something from the security cameras that cover the parking lot,” Detective Mario Ramirez said as he walked into the squad room. He was carrying a crystal DVD case.

  “Let’s see it!” Lucy was on her feet instantly.

  “Does it give us a good look at the guy?” Moseby asked, letting his tone caution his partner. Something was something, but it might not be enough to really help them.

  Ramirez was putting the DVD in a player hooked up to a TV in the squad room. “I just copied the part that shows the bomb being planted and the approach and his leaving,” Ramirez explained.

  “Hopefully that will be enough,” Lucy growled angrily.

  “The quality isn’t too great.”

  “Security camera footage never is,” Moseby told him so Ramirez wouldn’t feel too bad. The picture opened up with a view of the parking area. The three of them watched as a white male wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap walked up next to French’s car and then knelt down out of sight. He stayed out of sight for about two minutes, and then he stood up, looked around, and turned and walked away.

  “He’s headed south away from the station. Did you check area traffic cams yet?” Moseby asked.

  “Not yet, I figured you’d want to see this first,” Ramirez replied.

  “We appreciate that, Mario. I may know a guy that can enhance, bring up a face. Can we hang on to this?”

  “Yeah, I made two more copies.”

  “Good thinking. Good job Mario. At least now we know the guy we are looking for is a white male, around six feet tall, between 180 and 200 pounds. That’s more than we had before,” Moseby told him.

  “I’ll check those traffic cams and get back to you,” Ramirez told them and then he left the squad room.

  “So, that’s the bastard that tried to kill me,” Lucy said. She was still looking at the scene frozen on the screen.

  “It looks like it,” Moseby said softly.

  “But is he our rapist/killer?” Lucy asked.

  “I wish I had the answer to that,” he sighed.

  “This case is starting to get under my skin, Garrett. First two brutal rape and murders, then blowing up my car, this isn’t like anything we’ve ever worked before.”

  “No, it is isn’t. But we have to work it like any other case and hope this guy makes a mistake soon,” Moseby told her.

  “He hasn’t so far,” Lucy sighed.

  “I know that,” Moseby told her.

  Harry Dove had been keeping an eye on the police station from across the street. While the cops had been less than forthcoming with the press, he had the sense that something was going on over there. So he had staked the building out, hoping for a glimpse of Moseby or French. If they came out, he planned on following them in hopes of getting a story.

  Tara Sweet punched out and looked around for Carly Matthews. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted her friend hurry towards the time clock. She was anxious to run, but there was something about Douglas Carrington that she just didn’t trust. The news was full of the two women that had been raped and murdered. One of them had been a runner on the Suncoast Trail. Tara ran that trail sometimes and the whole thing freaked her out.

  Tonight, she was going to run the Al Lopez Park trails. Douglas Carrington was going to meet them there an hour after work. That would give her time to change and pick up Carly before heading to the park. Tara headed for home so she could change into her running gear. The sun was hot and she put her windows down before starting the car. She started the AC as well but drove for a good five minutes before putting the windows up and letting the AC cool the interior of her car.

  She was looking forward to the run, but not to Douglas Carrington’s company. She was wishing more and more that she had not accepted his invitation, even with Carly going along. She didn’t have his number to call and cancel. He hadn’t even offered it. She figured now that it was so she couldn’t cancel on him. Shit!

  He followed her out of the parking lot staying several car lengths behind her, all the way to her home. He parked down the street. He had running gear in a bag in the back seat, along with the tools that he normally used. He would change in the park, once that he knew where they were going. It wouldn’t be the first time he had changed clothes in his car, nor would it be the last. He smiled. Tonight. was going to be fun.

  He glanced over at the two Taser guns on the seat beside him. They would take the two girls out.

  He had already planned to plant the knife on Douglas Carrington after he took care of Tara and Carly. He wondered how Mr. Wonderful would take it when the cops scooped him up. He smiled at the thought.

  He could feel himself becoming aroused at the thought of killing Tara and Carly. The pressure against his pants was intense. He would find his release, but it would be once he had Tara and Carly at his mercy!

  Tara Sweet pulled into her drive and went inside. It didn’t take her long to change into her running clothes. She grabbed a towel and a couple of bottles of water before heading back out the door to her car. It took about fifteen minutes for her to drive to Carly’s place to pick her up.
r />   They arrived at the park right at 6pm. Douglas Carrington was waiting on them. The three of them stretched together. And then they took off on their run.

  He had pulled in behind them and waited for them to leave before disabling Tara’s car. The Tasers were in an elastic belt under the oversized tank top he was wearing. He would get them after Carrington was gone, then he would go to the man’s house and plant the knife that he would use on the two women. It would be perfect. He smiled.

  ‘

  Chapter Fourteen

  The night air was hot and muggy. Sweat was pouring freely from the three runners. The sun had gone down and dark shadows filled the park under the trees. They had only spotted one other runner and he had turned back long before reaching them. Tara was concentrating on her gait, just putting one foot in front of the other as was Carly. Only Doug seemed interested in trying to promote a conversation and his attempt had fallen so flat that he had finally given up and was concentrating on his breathing as he ran.

  Thunder rumbled in the night sky, hinting at a promise of rain before morning. Tara hoped that it would hit during the night and not add to the humidity in the morning. Night time storms usually brought in cooler air, something for which every Floridian was thankful for.

  Tara enjoyed the storms that his at night. They actually relaxed her and helped her sleep. She was feeling good and loose, the tension she had felt earlier had melted away during the course of the run. The three of them slowed as they returned to the parking area. They spent a few minutes walking and stretching to keep from cramping up.

  “Thanks for running with us, Doug,” Tara told him.

  “It was fun, but you two have got to learn how to talk and run at the same time,” he grinned back at her.

  “Maybe after we get to know you better,” Carly interjected.

  “Do you guys run together a lot?” he asked.

  “We do,” Tara said, not giving Carly a chance to deny it.

  “Hopefully we can do this again soon, then,” Doug grinned at them both. Then he headed for his car. Tara looked over at Carly.

  “Thank you for coming along. He was okay tonight, but I just don’t trust him,” Tara told her friend.

  “I know what you mean. He was giving off a pretty weird vibe. He didn’t like it when we showed up together,” Carly said as they walked towards Tara’s car. Doug had already pulled away and headed out of the park.

  “Hey, Tara, Carly, I didn’t know you ran here too,” a familiar voice said. Both women turned at the same time. Something hit them both in the chest and then everything went black!

  Everything had gone as planned. He had both of them. Oh, the fun he could have! He had a place to which he could take them, a place where he could hold onto them for a couple of days. This was a rare treat. Normally, he killed them quickly. But this being his first double, he wanted to take his time. He handcuffed them and gagged them and put them in his car and drove away to his secret space. He would be able to return and frame Doug Carrington at any time.’

  He was already scheduled to be off for the next two days. The joys of working in a call center. Days off in the middle of the week. Those days off would allow him to have some extra fun with both women. Of course, the cops would be looking for both of them soon since they were on different schedules from him. Doug was supposed to be off too, but he had heard him volunteer for overtime the next day, which made it all the easier.

  He was more than willing to let someone else take the blame while he continued to hunt. Hunting was fun. At times, the hunt was even more fun than the actual kill!

  “I need a break, Garrett,” Lucy sighed, stretching in her chair.

  “I know what you mean,” Moseby agreed. “Did Clemmons ever get us the information about where Sunny Cargill was employed?”

  “Not that I’ve seen. I would have figured one of her co-workers would have at least called in by now. Her name has been released to the public.”

  “It bothers me.”

  “It bothers me too. This whole damn case bothers me, Lucy. These two women died, and nobody has come forward for either of them. Has Society as a whole become that unfeeling and self-absorbed?” Moseby asked.

  “I wish I had an answer, Partner. I really do,” Lucy replied. At that moment, her desk phone started to ring. She scooped it up. “French,” she said.

  Moseby leaned back in his chair and observed his partner’s face as she listened to the person on the phone. “Okay, Thank you. We will be there first thing in the morning,” she said. After she replaced the receiver in the cradle she looked over at him.

  “Sunny Cargill’s employer. A place called TalkTech. That was her immediate supervisor, a guy named Greg Falcone. They will be expecting us first thing in the morning.”

  “He give you an address?” Moseby asked.

  “He did.”

  “Then I suggest we call it a night and go home and get some rest. I’ve got a feeling that tomorrow may turn out to be a long day.”

  He carried Tara in first and put her on the wooden table. Then he went out and retrieved Carly as well. Once he had them both inside, he secured them both to their individual tables. After that was done, he began to make his preparations for the fun he wanted to have. He had already covered the floor in plastic before bringing the tables in. He had used five-inch bolts to secure the rings for the handcuffs. He had stripped both women while they were unconscious and cut their Achilles' tendons. Even if they somehow managed to get loose, they would have to crawl to get away, because they would no longer be able to stand.

  He almost couldn’t wait for one of them to wake up and realize what had been done to them. He would do this slowly so that he could enjoy it. He wanted specifically to see Tara suffer. She was rude. So, he would kill Carly first. He wanted Tara to know that Carly had died simply because she had trusted Tara as her friend. All the better to torture Tara.

  He bent over her and kissed her on the lips. It was the first time. He was sure that it wouldn’t be the last. He would keep her alive until he was done with her. Then he would start on Tara.

  He wanted her to understand that Tara was the reason that she was here. The more she understood it, the better chance that they had of catching him at some point. This was not it yet. He was still free to commit whatever atrocities that he could manage to pull off!

  Lucy French had a bad headache. She had left the hospital too soon and it was catching up with her. So was the lack of sleep in the past 48 hours. She unlocked her apartment and went inside, locking the door behind her. She took off her blazer and kicked off her heels before padding across the thick shag carpet and stepping into the kitchen. The linoleum was cool against her bare feet as she walked to the refrigerator and removed a bottle of Merlot. She carried it to the table and sat it down before recovering a wine glass from the cupboard. She poured the glass full and replaced the wine in the fridge.

  Lucy carried the wine back out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She used a remote to turn on the stereo, selecting Art Pepper’s Winter Moon CD to listen too. She took a sip of wine as the first notes began to fill the room. Moseby had been right.

  The fact that nobody had come forward for either of the two dead women bothered her as well. The world, it seemed, had turned into a cold and impersonal place. The call that had come in just before they left; from Sunny Cargill’s employer seemed more like an afterthought than anything else.

  Lucy sipped some more wine as she leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her and relax her. She could feel the tension leeching its way out of her body. Lucy took a bigger drink of wine and felt the warmth spreading through her. Her muscles, tense from her day, started to relax. The cat she had rescued from the dead woman’s apartment jumped up onto the couch beside her and climbed into her lap. Lucy stroked his soft fur with her free hand and he began to purr.

  Why had the bomber targeted her car? Was it because of the slasher? Or was it because of a totally different case
? She hoped that Ramirez and Morales could figure that out. French drank some more wine and leaned back, closing her eyes. Before long, she was sound asleep.

  Garrett Moseby was driving around the city. His work day was over but he wasn’t ready to go home. Not with a killer loose in his city. Moseby felt that if he was rolling, he might well have a chance to catch the guy in the act. He hated the fact that a killer was making his department look bad. Two rape and murders in two days. Moseby took that personally.

  He would find out what was going on, one way or another. Garrett Moseby sighed as he drove. There was a killer out there somewhere. He had to find the guy because he knew that the man was about to kill again.

  Moseby felt guilty, not working the case. Downtime was something that could wait until the killer was behind bars. But the Captain had insisted that they shut it down for the night. But he couldn’t. Not completely. So here he was, driving around the city, trying to think of who he could talk to that might give him some lead on the sick son of a bitch that he was chasing…

  Even though both were tied down, he had still sliced their tendons. That way, even if they managed to get free, they would never be able to run away. He had sedated them both, but not before he had raped Carly and let her know that she had been taken simply because she was friends with Tara who had been rude to him. She had begged, pleaded for him to spare her. Begged him to stop what he was doing. Finally, her sobbing had become annoying so he had drugged her into silence. Tara, he had sedated as soon as soon as he had gotten her inside. He wanted to torture her, savor her fear as she listened to what he did to her friend Carly. He smiled wickedly at the thought. He had recorded his session with Carly. He would play it for Tara when she woke up.

  He would be able to watch her face as she listened, see how it tormented her knowing that her friend was going to die, and was dying because of her. He felt himself growing hard again. Yes, Tara was still unconscious, but that didn’t really matter. He climbed on the table and took her, entering her roughly. She was dry at first, but then her body responded, even with her out of it. He got his release, feeling it squirt deep inside her. Sweat dripped off his forehead as he climbed off her and went to sit in a chair where he could watch her. He took a bottle of water from the small fridge in the room and unscrewed the lip. He tilted to his lips and drank half of the twenty-ounce bottle in just a few gulps.