14
As Adam sipped coffee in his favorite all-night diner, he reflected on the fifth sacrifice. He’d chosen a different spot, but he’d had no choice. The train yards were being closely watched now.
The older man destined to be offered had fought back like he was twenty. Adam had been surprised, but of course he prevailed.
He wasn’t worried about putting himself or his family in danger. The prophecy said the demon who unleashed judgment on the world would be protected, as would those he held close. Besides, he planned to take Sally and the children someplace safe. He’d saved quite a bit of money, and he had his eye on a place in Switzerland. No extradition treaty with the U.S., and the chalet he’d found was far enough away to keep them separated from those infected. He could still watch the results of his achievement on TV. It would be perfect.
He was usually very careful during the ritual, but the man’s struggles resulted in blood on Adam’s coat. It wasn’t a problem, just an inconvenience. Unfortunately, he’d accidently smeared some of the blood from his gloves on the steering wheel of the car.
After the sacrifice, he’d pulled into the alley behind a butcher shop in a strip mall. No one was around. He’d tossed his coat and gloves into a dumpster filled with the remnants of raw meat the place threw out every day. The blood on his belongings would mix with the blood on the meat, so it was the perfect place to get rid of them. He glanced at his watch. The dumpster would be emptied in about an hour, and the evidence of his deed would be gone for good.
Before he left there, he’d removed a clean coat from the trunk of the car. When he got home, he’d clean the steering wheel with bleach. No sense taking chances. He was certain the police knew his name by now, but he didn’t need to give them his DNA. Even though he never worried about the police tracking him, he was careful. And if they ever did question him, they wouldn’t learn anything. Not only was he much smarter than everyone else but he was also convinced the Master would ensure he was left alone to carry out his divine purpose.
He took a bite of his scrambled eggs as a man entered the diner to drop off several copies of the local newspaper. He smiled to himself. Today’s issue should be interesting.
Mike had notified his SAC about the situation at the hospital and then left right after faxing Alex’s sketch to the command post from the hospital administrator’s office. They’d use facial recognition to try to identify him.
When police detectives arrived to find Nettie dead instead of conscious for questioning, they called in the chief, who ordered his team to close all the entrances and exits to the hospital. They let in only emergency personnel and relatives of those patients in critical condition. They searched every nook and cranny, but they didn’t find anyone who didn’t belong. And no one on the night shift in the ICU remembered seeing the man in Alex’s drawing except the young nurse.
“We’ve done all we can,” Chief Rogers told them. “He’s not here now, but we’ve put out an APB on him. We’d rather have a photo, though. Hopefully, we’ll get something soon.”
“Good,” Logan said. “We need to question him. We don’t know if he had anything to do with Nettie Travers’s death, but he may still have important information.”
“Understood.” The chief turned and left. Slowly, all the police cruisers and unmarked vehicles began to pull away from the hospital. People were entering and exiting now. Some people had been upset about being kept in or out of the building, but most seemed to understand—although they had questions. Law enforcement was instructed to say that a wanted criminal might have been spotted inside the building but that it wasn’t confirmed. This seemed to mollify almost everyone except the news media that surrounded the chief as soon as he walked outside.
“I guess we’d better call Keith,” Logan told Alex after they’d watched the flow for a few minutes. “Hopefully, we can get out of here within the next hour or two.”
“I want to know what’s going on at the CP. If they’ve found Walker yet.”
“So do I. Let’s call in.”
Logan had just taken his phone from his pocket when it rang. He looked at his caller ID. Harrison. He quickly showed Alex the phone’s screen and then answered.
“Logan, what’s going on there?” Harrison asked. “I’m sorry to hear about Mrs. Travers.”
“We think someone from the Circle might have killed her. It’s wild that the one man Alex saw at one of her aunt’s Circle meetings could be involved in all this, but there it is.”
“You’re right. Chief Rogers wonders if the Circle is involved too. Listen, we already got a hit on that sketch of Alex’s through our facial recognition software. The man we’re looking for is Jimmy Gedrose. He used to be with the Wichita PD.”
Logan’s mouth dropped open. “He was in law enforcement?”
“Yes. Money went missing from a big drug bust on his watch. The other officers involved swore all the money was there when they turned it over to Gedrose. The story was leaked to the media. They never could prove anything, though, so the charges were dropped. But most everyone on the force was convinced he’d done it. That was thirty years ago. Seems he was pretty angry about being kicked off the force.”
“This guy was part of the Circle,” Logan said. “Maybe that incident decades ago is what threw him their way.”
“Could be.”
Logan looked at Alex, who was watching him closely. “We’re on our way back to the hotel,” he said. “We can be at the airport in an hour.”
“No. I want you to stay in Wichita,” Harrison said. “The weather’s pretty bad here. I’m not even sure Keith can take off, but I don’t want to chance it either way. I need you two to keep working, see what you can come up with on Adam Walker. I’m sending you what little we have on him. See what jumps out at you. Get your thoughts back to me as soon as possible. Monty has done what he can here, but Alex has more experience with this cult. We’ve run Walker through everything, including dark-web sites to see if he’s expressed his odd beliefs online. We’ve also checked to see if he tried to buy equipment or biological weapons somewhere. We’ve researched phone records and done deep searches on the people he worked with at the lab.”
He took a deep breath. “Nothing so far. It’s like he was living in the shadows. We really need your help. I want to know what he’s planning next. It might be the only way we can stop him.”
“All right,” Logan said. “Has someone informed Keith?”
“I’ll take care of that next. Look, I need you to work closely with the local police too.”
“Okay. Did you tell Chief Rogers we’re staying?”
“Yes. He’s a good man, and he’s more than willing to have the help. They’re also dealing with an influx of drugs tainted with Fentanyl. Two people have died so far, and several more have been hospitalized.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Logan said. “When we get back to the hotel, we’ll get to work.”
“I’ve got to go, but have you seen the local paper there?”
Logan frowned at Alex. “The local paper? No. It’s pretty early here.”
“Read it when you can,” Harrison said. “I’m sure they picked up a story from Kansas City.” Then without a good-bye, he hung up.
Logan looked at Alex, who was still staring at him with a worried look.
Logan told her about Jimmy Gedrose and Harrison’s instructions.
“But whatever we can come up with should be presented to the team at the CP in person,” Alex said.
Logan shrugged. “I know, but we’re not in charge.”
“We’ll just have to do the best we can. What was that about the local paper?”
“My guess is there’s already been a fifth killing. After that, the Train Man needs only one more before he unleashes that virus, right? Let’s head over to the hotel. They should have papers in the lobby. If not, we’ll just check online. We also need to tell the hotel we’re staying.”
“What about Keith?”
“Harrison’s taking care of that. I guess we’re stranded here for a while.”
“I hope the WPD makes finding this Gedrose guy a priority.”
“I’m sure they’ll do the best they can, but they’re overloaded with some kind of Fentanyl-laced drugs that are killing people.”
Alex sighed. “Too many of those cases. The bad guys never take a day off, do they?”
“I guess not. We’d better get going.”
They went out to their rental car and drove to the hotel—slowly. The streets were slick, and the snow kept coming. Logan finally pulled up in front of the building that housed the hotel’s office. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
Inside, a young man walked up to the counter, and Logan asked about extending their stay a few more days. Thankfully, they had vacancies, and they wouldn’t have to change rooms.
“Can we get some extra coffee?” Logan asked. The clerk grabbed several packets from under the counter and put them in a plastic bag. “I couldn’t get by on one cup a day either,” he said with a smile. Logan thanked him and then asked about a local newspaper.
“They’re over there. Help yourself.” The guy pointed toward a long, thin, dark wood table against the far wall. It also held a coffee maker. Thankful for some immediate hot coffee, Logan poured a cup, then grabbed a newspaper.
The front-page headline stopped him cold: Killer Calling Himself the Train Man Sends Letter to Kansas City Journal.