TWENTY-NINE
Jerry had just finished his third cup of coffee and was thinking about lunch when the guy from the mail room dropped off the day’s stack of mail. Ever since the story came out about Kaely Quinn and St. Louis’s newest serial killer, he’d been inundated with letters. Most of them were from nuts who were sure they knew the identity of The Elephant, the public’s nickname for the killer. Jerry sent all of them to the police. They’d set up a hotline for tips and were going through all the mail received by the Journal.
Not that they needed more help. They were getting deluged by crazies too. Supposed psychics who had important details that the police desperately needed. Unfortunately, they had to investigate every tip that came in, just in case. Of course, he was pretty sure the old woman who was convinced her cat was psychically linked to the killer didn’t warrant a visit from the cops. Maybe someone from the psychiatric wing of the local hospital.
He leaned back in his comfortable new desk chair. Banner had moved him from the dark corner where his previous beat-up desk had been situated. Now he was sitting behind a brand new desk near the editor’s office. Life had gotten better, and he was enjoying it. He glanced back at John, who sat several rows behind him. John just happened to be looking his way, so Jerry gave him a big smile. John’s reaction was less than magnanimous and involved the middle finger of his right hand.
Jerry laughed to himself and removed the rubber band that held the mail together. As it spilled onto his desk, one envelope caught his eye. The block lettering used by the sender was familiar. Jerry felt his chest constrict. He coughed, trying to calm his breathing. Could it be from The Elephant? He got up and tried to look nonchalant as he strolled over to the area of hooks near the door to the newsroom where everyone hung their coats. He found his and reached inside his pocket to get his gloves. With his back turned to the rest of the room, he quickly stuck them into the pocket of his jeans. Then he walked back to his desk, hoping no one had noticed him. He gazed around the room, but everyone was busy working. He sat down and hunched over the envelope, trying to keep it from prying eyes.
He was aware that there would be lots of fingerprints on it already, but he pulled his gloves on anyway, then he grabbed a letter opener from his desk and slid it under the edge of the envelope. Once it was open he carefully removed the folded piece of paper inside, slowly opening it. Sure enough, the familiar print, written in thick black ink, confirmed his suspicions. Another letter from the killer.
Jerry took a deep breath and read the message:
Jessica Oliphant swinging in a park
Went so high she began to cry.
This little elephant called it a day.
He said good-bye and drifted away.
Dedicating this one to you, Jessica. How does it feel?
Jerry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He grabbed his cell phone and found Jacqueline Cross’s number at the FBI. When she answered, he quickly told her about the letter.
“Please don’t touch it,” Jacqueline said. “I’m sending someone from our Evidence Response Team over right away to pick it up.”
“Okay,” Jerry said. Of course, he planned to keep a copy, but he didn’t tell her that.
“Can you hold on a minute?” she asked.
“Sure.”
She put him on hold, probably arranging to have an agent retrieve the letter. After a couple of minutes, she was back.
“Now, can you read the message back to me, Jerry? I want to pass it along right away.”
Jerry slowly read each word until she had it down.
“Is there anything else?”
Jerry suddenly remembered that the letter containing the poem had a message for him on the back of the paper. He carefully turned it over but the back side was blank. “No, that’s it. Nothing else,” he said.
“Okay, thanks. Jerry, can you please hold this just a bit? It sounds like a very specific threat. Someone is probably in very real danger. Please. Let our agent in charge check out this message before you publish it. You could be saving a life.”
“I’ve got to notify my editor,” he said, “but I’ll wait until after you pick this up.”
“I’m asking for a day or two, Jerry. We need some time.”
Jerry sighed. He had too much at stake. Holding back the note wouldn’t work with his overall plan. He’d waited too long for this. “I’ll do the best I can,” he said, trying to sound as if he meant it. Which, of course, he didn’t.
“Thanks, Jerry.”
From the tone of her voice, he could tell she knew he had no intention of holding the story. But this was how the game was played. It wasn’t his fault.
He said good-bye and hung up. Then he switched to the camera on his phone and snapped several pictures of the letter. After he had several clear shots, he got a plastic bag from the bottom drawer of his desk, thankful he’d bought a box of gallon-sized storage bags just in case he heard from the killer again. He realized that a box of surgical gloves would be a good idea too and decided to buy some when he got off work. After resealing the original letter and envelope, he picked up the bag and hurried to Bannon’s office.
Kaely grabbed some of the pizza Ron ordered for lunch and joined Detective Jeff Armstrong at his desk. As they munched on pizza, Kaely gave him all the information she could in hopes it would help him find Jason. Jeff had tracked Jason from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, where he’d changed his name. He couldn’t find anything about him after that. Jeff called the police in Fort Collins and asked for their help. They agreed to go to the last address they had for Jason and interview neighbors to see if anyone knew where he’d gone. In the meantime, Jeff planned to search various databases, trying to find something that would help him locate Kaely’s brother. His job was made harder because Jason had stopped using his Social Security number.
“Probably got a number from someone who died,” Jeff said. “Employers often don’t check the National Death Index when they hire someone. They just accept the number and go on. We’re not going to find him that way.”
Kaely saw the rest of her team assembling at a small table in the front room. How was she going to work with Reinhardt? Beau and Lela were going to support him no matter what. She dreaded working with them.
Kaely was about to join them when Noah suddenly showed up at Jeff’s desk. “Meeting now,” he said gruffly.
“What’s going on?” Kaely asked.
He shook his head. “Not until everyone’s together.” Then he walked away.
Kaely’s body tensed. Something was wrong. Please, not another killing.
She got up and headed toward the big table with Jeff following behind her. It took only a couple of minutes for the team to gather. The silence in the room was evidence that everyone was worried the news would be bad. Every person who died before they could find and stop their UNSUB was a defeat for them. A person they’d let down. That never got easier.
“There’s been another message from the killer,” Noah said. “We’ve got someone from ERT on their way to the Journal to get the original note, but this is what it said.”
As he read the odd message, Kaely tried to figure out what it meant. A park? Again? She hadn’t seen that coming.
“He’s going back to Forest Park,” Reinhardt said with authority. “We need to get people there . . . now.”
“Kaely, what do you think?” Noah asked.
“I would be surprised if he went back to Forest Park. He doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who likes to repeat himself.”
“Nonsense,” Reinhardt said. He pointed at Noah. “We need to send some people out there right now.”
Noah scowled at Reinhardt, his lips thin and his eyes narrowed. Kaely was certain Reinhardt was wrong, but she didn’t want to argue with him in front of everyone. There was already too much tension.
Finally, Noah said, “Ron, let’s send some people to the park to check it out. But not everyone.”
“I can dispatch some additional people from our office,” Jeff said.
“Do that,” Noah said. “You know where the playgrounds are located?”
Jeff nodded. “Take my kids there all the time.”
Kaely stayed in her chair, surprised that Noah had so quickly agreed with Reinhardt.
“Ron, why don’t you give the detectives some instruction? Tell them what to look for. Donald, go with him. Offer any insight you think is important.” As Ron, Reinhardt, and Detective Armstrong got up and walked away, a few other people started to stand.
“Sit down,” Noah said in a low voice. “I haven’t dismissed anyone else.”
He waited until all three men were out of earshot. Then he turned to Kaely. “Okay, now tell me what you see in this note.” He handed her the piece of paper with the message.
Kaely felt her face grow hot as everyone at the table stared at her. It was pretty obvious Noah just wanted Reinhardt out of the way. She read the passage out loud. Slowly. “Jessica Oliphant swinging in a park. Went so high she began to cry. This little elephant called it a day. He said good-bye and drifted away. Dedicating this one to you, Jessica. How does it feel?”
She let the words run through her head several times, turning them over, looking for the meaning behind them. Finally, she said, “This isn’t about Forest Park. It’s personal. I’m swinging on the swings.” She looked at Noah. “I haven’t been on a swing since I was a kid in grade school.” Realization ran through her, making her tremble. “Park. I attended Parkview School in Des Moines.”
Noah made a strange noise, and Kaely turned to stare at him. He’d turned as white as a sheet. “Alex,” he choked out.
“Did you say Alex?” Kaely asked. Her heart leapt in her chest.
He nodded. “I spoke with him this morning. He told me he was going to meet a CI at Parkview School in North St. Louis.”
“What?” Kaely jumped to her feet. She felt sick. “We’ve got to get there right away.”
“Okay,” Noah said. “You’re with me.” He yelled out Ron’s name. He came running over.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“We have an agent in danger. Call SLMPD and ask them to send officers to the Parkview School in North St. Louis. Now. We also need backup from the office.”
Ron nodded. “Of course. Go.”
Kaely and Noah grabbed their coats and ran toward the back door. They jumped into their car just as Reinhardt and Armstrong pulled out. Noah ignored them and turned the car north. Kaely just prayed they would get there in time.