Wasilla, Alaska
Around noon the following day, there was still no word from Annie, and Stone was getting antsy. So, after emailing her his notes, he decided to give her a call. Simply to tell her they’d been sent. Nothing else. If she should offer her insights into the case so far, he wouldn’t stop her. She’d added her number to his phone the night before; he found it and hit send.
“Annie Thomas.”
“Hey Annie, it’s Stone. If you check your inbox, you should find my notes.”
“Thanks, Stone. That’s very generous of you.”
He was taken aback. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re the one doing me the favor.”
“Oh.” She was quiet. “What I meant was, people ask for assistance, then are less than forthcoming with the information needed. You make it easy, that’s all.”
“It’s the least I can do.” Patsy slipped a note in front of him. Another body found. “What the hell?”
“What’s going on?” Annie’s startled voice came back at him.
“Sorry, Annie. I was just told another body has been found. Just a second.” He glanced up at Patsy. “Where?”
“Wolf Creek. Dave’s there now. Said to tell you it looks like it could be related to the girl you found at Draper’s Pond.”
“Seriously?” Then to himself he muttered, “Shit.”
“What? Tell me,” Annie urged.
“Looks like I’m coming your way. Another body has been discovered. Dave thinks it’s the same killer.”
“Out here?” Annie’s surprise was evident.
“Patsy said Wolf Creek.”
“As in the town, or the actual creek?”
“Can’t tell for sure, but by the directions, I’d say the creek itself. Feel like a field trip?”
“Hell, yeah. Do you mind picking me up?”
“Be there in forty-five.” He hung up. Patsy hadn’t moved. He glanced up and noticed her face set in worry lines. “Is there something else?”
“I just got off the phone with my daughter. She hasn’t been able to get in touch with Glenna, my granddaughter, since she left Christmas night. She goes to college at the University of Alaska over in Anchorage. She had to get back for work the next day at Starbucks. My daughter spoke with her roommate and she hasn’t seen her.”
Stone stood and hugged the older woman. “Don’t panic just yet. It’s only been roughly thirty-six hours. There could be a logical explanation. Maybe she had car trouble or lost her cell phone.”
She gazed up at him. “Maybe.” But she didn’t sound convinced.
He didn’t blame her, it was a lame excuse, but he didn’t want to alarm the woman. “Tell you what, do you have a recent snapshot of the girl? I’ll take it with me.”
“Thank you.” She rushed back to her desk and snatched her purse from a drawer. Her wallet came out, then she handed the likeness to Stone.
“This is her high school graduation picture, it’s only two years old. She hasn’t changed much.”
He stared down at the smiling face that held such hope for the future and prayed she was all right. He stored the photo in his chest pocket.
He kissed the top of Patsy’s head. “I’ve got to go. Keep your chin up. You’re probably worrying for nothing.” He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door.
He was a bit late picking up Annie. As he pulled up in front of the cabin, the door flew open. She locked it before she raced to the truck. As she climbed up into the cab, she said, “Have you learned anything else?”
He put his arm up on the back of the seat and turned his body so he could watch while he backed up. “And ruin the surprise?” He changed gears and took off deeper into the woods.
She watched as he skirted trees. “Where exactly are we going?”
“A few more miles north.”
A trickle of fear sent a shiver down Annie’s spine. Someone had been watching her last night. Was it the killer? She’d searched the ground around the cabin this morning, but it had snowed again while she slept.
If there were footprints, they were gone now. She’d covered the carcass under a pile of clean snow. The ground was too hard to bury it, and she couldn’t stand seeing it laying there in front of the cabin.
“I read your notes while I was waiting for you. Ms. Tanaka appears to exhibit narcissistic tendencies, which means she would have an inflated sense of self worth, be paranoid, impatient, and easy to anger when she didn’t get her way. If that’s her only psychopathy, she would tend to strike first and think later. Because of the sexual component, we know a man is involved. He may be her accomplice.”
“Her only psychopathy?”
“In this case I mean mental disorder. The term has come under fire. But the symptoms of narcissists are similar to that of a psychopath, just on a much grander scale. Some believe the terms are interchangeable, like that of the sociopath and psychopath.”
“And what do you believe?”
“I’ve read a lot on the subjects and I believe there is a difference between the two, being that the psychopath is the most dangerous of them all. They are either unable or unwilling to control their impulses or to delay gratification. They use their rage to control people and manipulate them into submission.
“Psychopaths also lack empathy, but many are also sadistic. They take great pleasure in inflicting pain. At times they find it humorous. They can’t form personal relationships, even twisted ones like those sustained by a narcissist.”
“I believe your brother Wyatt said they were just plain evil. They enjoy torturing, maiming, and murder. So do you think this woman could be the one directing the killer to his victims?”
“The manner in which the victim was killed suggests planning. The fact that no evidence was found in or around the body suggests someone with a high IQ. It’s very possible this woman is a malignant narcissist which would make her both. Malignant narcissism is the key area in the study of mass murder, sexual, and serial murder.”
They arrived at the scene. Stone parked between a four wheeler and a police issue SUV. “Of course, I haven’t interviewed her myself, nor am I qualified to diagnose a person. I’m strictly going by your observations.”
She opened her door and slid out.
He walked around the front of the SUV to where she stood. “In other words, don’t quote you.”
“Exactly.”
They trudged through the snow toward the edge of the frozen river where the action was. It wasn’t until they were right up on the scene that they were able to see the victim.
“Holy shit,” Stone said.
The two of them stared at the abomination before them. After his exclamation, another word was not uttered. Standing in the middle of the frozen creek was a naked woman. From head to ankles, the ice had been carved away from her body to better view her features, but her feet remained in a block of ice. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes were closed, but her mouth was wide open.
The contradiction disturbing.
“What does this tell you about our perp?” he asked.
“Because of the difference in the posing, I’d say there’s something special about her. Almost as if he felt remorse.”
“Do you still think Tanaka could be involved?”
“She might be selecting and luring the victims. She may even be the driving force, the brains, but these two couldn’t be lovers. He can’t have a normal sex life. He’s wired differently. They could have a strong bond as in siblings or cousins, maybe even friends.
“There would have to be a great deal of trust between them. Maybe a shared traumatic experience, whether it be together or apart. Perhaps growing up in the same household where they were both abused. That would do it. I’ll investigate her background.”
Stone pulled a photograph from his shirt pocket, then glanced back at the victim. A giant sigh escaped. “Kip.” He called to the rookie. “Do me a favor and call Patsy back at the precinct. Tell her the victim is not her granddaughter. Got that?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks,” Stone answered.
“What’s that all about?” Annie asked.
“Poor Patsy, her granddaughter has gone MIA. When the call came in about a second murder she panicked.”
“Her granddaughter’s missing?”
“She’s a college student from UAA. She spent Christmas with her parents in Palmer, but left that night for Anchorage. They haven’t been able to get in touch with her since.”
Grim thoughts filled her head. “Have they filed a report?”
“Because she’s over eighteen and a college student, Anchorage PD has to wait the requisite forty-eight hours. Under the circumstances, I think I’ll give them a call.”
“A lot could happen to a girl driving alone at night.”
“I didn’t want to freak Patsy out, but that’s what I was thinking. Now it looks like we have a serial killer too.”
She stared at the victim. “I have to agree with you.”
“It could be some time before someone gets here from the ME’s office, but I don’t suppose we’ll be able to get a clear TOD on this victim since she’s frozen,” Stone said.
“No. Hopefully after she’s identified, we’ll be able to get some sort of timeline. Because of the remoteness of this site, there’s no way to know how long she’s been out here. She could have been murdered several months before Monroe, or just last night.
“That’s why I’m afraid we won’t be able to map this UNSUB’S killing cycle. Another problem is that Alaska is larger than most countries, but the population is less than the city of San Francisco, so it makes for a lot of uncharted wilderness. There could be more than a dozen women out there waiting to be discovered.”
“Or, he could be storing them up in his own personal walk-in freezer. I don’t think it’s a coincidence this vic was found one day after the last girl,” Stone said.
Annie glanced over at him. “I don’t either. He wouldn’t need a freezer at this time of year, a shed would do. Unless he’s been hoarding his victims for years and for some reason has decided it’s time to share them with the world.”
“An eight-by-ten foot shed stacked to the ceiling with corpses is a grisly thought.”
“Yes, but possible. You’re right, this UNSUB has killed before the Monroe woman. He’s good. For one thing, he deposited her body during a storm so he’d leave no tracks.”
“With thousands of miles of uninhabited wilderness, we may never find this sick fuck,” Stone said.
“True.”
His head turned toward her with whip speed. “I think this is the first time I didn’t want a woman to agree with me.”
“Sorry. Would you prefer I lied?”
He hesitated before answering. “No. It’s just the thought of working this investigation till I’m old and grey scares the hell out of me. They say there’s always one case that haunts you till your dying day. I don’t want this to be the one.”
Stone enjoyed spending time with Annie, but he’d prefer to do it without a rising body count.
She laughed. “I’m just busting your balls.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“My pleasure,” she answered sweetly.
He noted the twinkle in her sky blue eyes and the overall joviality of her expression. He wished he could take a picture. Never before had he been jealous of his friend. In fact, he’d always wished him nothing but good things.
However, right now, the idea of Matt being the recipient of this woman’s love, her passion, made him feel almost angry. It didn’t matter that he was gone, that actually made things worse. It’s impossible to compete with a ghost.
“What?” Delight tinged the word.
Her voice broke his reverie and he realized he’d been staring. “Nothing.” The word came out clipped. He broke eye contact and cleared his throat. “Did you get a chance to search VICAP last night?”
Her smile disappeared. “Uh, yeah.”
He knew the change in her demeanor was his fault, but he wasn’t sure how to correct it. If she had any idea he was lusting after her, she might erect walls around herself and cut him out completely. He mentally slapped himself and concentrated on lifting his voice so as to sound more nonchalant. “And?” The word came out an octave higher than intended. He hoped she didn’t notice.
“Well…” She squinted at him. “I didn’t think the information was viable, but now–”
He interrupted her. “You found a similar MO?”
“Without viewing the autopsy report, I can’t say definitively, but the similarities are too close to ignore. The problem is that the case was closed. They found their UNSUB.”
“Could this be a copycat?”
“It’s possible. The killer could have been incarcerated with someone with whom he shared the details of his crimes. He could be communicating somehow with a fan on the outside, or he originally had an accomplice. But finding another person with the same psychopathy for having sex with dead frozen women has got to be a million to one long shot.”
“Let’s hope it’s more like a billion to one.” He couldn’t believe there was even one person in the world that sick, but the idea there was more was the stuff of nightmares.
“I hate to say it, but the fact that it’s documented at all suggests there are more people than you and I can imagine that share the same proclivity.”
He shook his head as if that would erase the image from his mind. Nope, that didn’t work.
“Now there was a case where a serial killer swore up and down he was not guilty. He was denied a retrial due to lack of new evidence, so he and his lawyer concocted a plan. The lawyer murdered a couple of women with the exact MO. The idea behind it was not only to prove his client was innocent, but to turn around and file a multi-million dollar lawsuit for false imprisonment.”
“Wait, didn’t your brother consult on that case?” What the hell was the name of that guy?
“Yes. If it weren’t for Wyatt, their plan might have come to fruition. He’d heard about the case and something just didn’t sit right with him. He went to the Deputy Director of the Bureau and asked to see the files. After studying them, he found a flaw. The agents went back and took another look–”
“The Butcher of Baton Rouge!” Stone interrupted.
She chuckled. “Yes, the very one.”
The ME trudged through the snow toward them.
Stone waved. “Hey, Walt. So we meet again.”
“A rare occurrence so soon, indeed.” Walt ducked under the yellow tape and closed the gap between them. “It does appear your killer has struck again.” He eyed Annie.
“Dr. Walt Palmer, I’d like you to meet Special Agent Annie Thomas. Annie, Dr. Palmer, the Chief Medical Examiner.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Palmer.” Annie stuck out her hand.
“Call me, Walt.” After shaking her hand, he turned to Stone. “I wasn’t aware of the FBI’s involvement in this case.”
“Actually, Annie’s a family friend. She’s in Alaska for…on vacation. She works for the Behavioral Analyst Unit as a profiler and I asked her to consult.”
“I’m not an actual profiler yet. I’m still in training.” She made a face. “Was in training.”
The doctor looked at her skeptically. “Was? As in, you no longer work for the FBI?” He turned to Stone and frowned.
“Actually I’m on sabbatical,” she said, quickly.
His face turned into a scowl.
“Death in the family.” She added.
Stone leaned in. “She was Matt Locklear’s fiancé.”
“Oh?” Then the doctor’s eyes went wide. “Oh. My condolences, dear.” Stone had called Walt personally to take care of his dear friend. He’d seen the carnage firsthand.
“Thank you,” Annie said, softly.
“I guess we should make it official.” All eyes turned toward Stone in question. “I mean, put in a formal request for you to be on this investigation. I could use you, I mean, if you don’t mind. Your insights are invaluable.”
She nodded. “Actually, that’s a good idea. It will make all the resources of the bureau available to us. And when this goes to trial, I’d be a more credible witness.”
Stone relaxed and inhaled deeply. He’d feared she would refuse, or worse, tell him she had decided to go home.
“Great. I’ll talk to my captain the moment I get back to the station. She already knows I’ve asked for your insight on the case, but now that we know the killer’s a multiple offender, it seals the deal.”