One Step Ahead

Unexpected Developments

      "Which pretty much wipes out any hope we may have had that he's not one of us," Sanger sighed. "Shit! I knew it was a long shot, but I was still hoping that we might be wrong."

      "We all were, Garrett," Bledsoe commiserated. "Having somebody like this on the streets endangering the public is bad enough, but finding out that the lowlife sonofabitch has been hiding behind a badge to get by with it is completely intolerable!"

      "And that's where Agent Pruitt comes in," MacDevitt reminded them. "She's informed me that she has put together a profile based on the evidence that we have available, so I'd like for everyone to listen to her conclusions, and think about who it might fit, and who it eliminates."

      Striding to the center of the room, Yesenia Pruitt began by stating, "What I'm about to say is based on the evidence and witness reports I've been given to examine, so there is a certain margin for error built in, but I'm fairly confident that it can be helpful. First of all, I believe that he most likely suffers from a certain degree of delusional thought, along with high levels of both narcissism and feelings of victimization. He's attempting to exact either justice or revenge for some perceived wrong, whether it's real or imaginary, and is fully convinced that he is well within his rights to do so, even though he is fully aware that his actions conflict with common societal values. He harbors a significant amount of rage, but knows how to hide it when he wishes, and most likely appears to be rather charming and sociable, or at least somewhat calm and laid-back."

      "He obviously possesses a great deal of strength, and is most likely athletic, and witnesses have remarked on his size. But he's not just a common thug, he exhibits a high degree of intelligence, and I feel that he's most likely had a certain amount of higher education, possibly even a degree."

      "But the biggest problems lie with the fact that he's not only intelligent, but he seems to be quite tenacious in his pursuit of his goals," she informed them solemnly. "He's shown that he's quite determined to harm both Mr. Purdy and Ms. Malveaux, and unconcerned about whoever might get in the way, so until he's caught, they're both still in danger, because I guarantee you that he'll be doing whatever he can think of to track them down. That, I'm absolutely certain of."

      "Garrett, have you heard anything from either of them?" MacDevitt inquired. 

      "No, I haven't. I requested that the person I spoke with ask one of them to call me, but they haven't, so I'm not sure if he hasn't spoken to them yet, or if they just decided not to call."

      The chief opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, the office door flew open and they all turned to see a uniformed officer standing in the doorway, visibly flustered.

      "Chief, I'm sorry to interrupt, but something weird is going on, and I thought that you might want to hear about it. I'm not completely sure, but it sounds like it could have something to do with..." He allowed the sentence to trail off, glancing uncertainly behind him, before turning back to gaze nervously at the group.

      "Well, come in and tell us what you've got, Officer Dunlap," MacDevitt responded. The officer moved away from the door slightly, and everyone was surprised when he allowed a middle-aged woman to precede him into the office. The woman was obviously distraught, and the chief said "Good morning, ma'am. Is there something that we can help you with today?"

      "I certainly hope so, since nobody else seems to know what they're doing around here," she retorted. "I'm hoping that maybe one of you can tell me what you've done with my sister, since nobody seems to be able to find her."

      "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you have me at a disadvantage. First of all, may I ask your name? And secondly, why do you think that we would know where your sister is?"

      The woman blew a lock of her mousy brown hair out of her face and said, "My name is Mary Anne Peck, and I was informed that my sister was arrested several days ago, but she hasn't had a bail hearing, and no one I've talked to claims to have any idea of where you're keeping her."

      "Who gave you this information, ma'am?" Sanger queried.

      "My niece said that she went out Thursday night, and was supposed to be back in a couple of hours, but she never came back, even though she knew they were getting evicted on Friday and she needed to finish packing up her stuff. We've been looking for her for the last few days, and yesterday morning we ran across someone who said that he saw her being cuffed and put into an unmarked car during that big rainstorm. I knew that we couldn't get anything done on a Sunday, so I came down first thing this morning to get her, but your desk person claims that you don't have her."

      "What is your sister's name, Ms. Peck?" MacDevitt asked as he picked up his phone.

      "Her name is Dorothea Susan Lowell, but she usually goes by Dolly. And she may have given our maiden name, which is Petronski."

      "Officer Dunlap, will you escort Ms. Peck back to the reception area while I make some calls, please?" he requested. "And have Nadia bring her something to drink while she waits. I'll be out soon to let you know what I find out."

      As soon as the door had closed, he called the intake desk and inquired about any arrests on the fifth, and then called the court clerk to verify that no bail hearing had been held which might have somehow not been entered into the record. After receiving a negative reply from her as well, he hung up the phone and dropped his face into his hands.

      "Well, it looks like he might be at it again," he announced. "Or at least that's how we're going to handle the matter. Better to overreact and be wrong than to be dismissive and let him get away with this again." He glanced around the room and began barking orders. "Dean, I want you to get in touch with Nancy Underwood and have her schedule a press conference, ASAP. We're going to run with this, maybe it'll fluster him enough to make him slip up. Garrett, you and Eloise take Captain Manning and Agent Pruitt back with you and let them start meeting with the other task force members, while the two of you start trying to whittle down our list of suspects to the ones who fit with the profile, and report back to me when you finish. And I, unfortunately, will be in here, explaining to that poor woman that her sister has most likely been abducted by a serial killer."

      As they all filed out of the room, Eloise Han turned to her superior and muttered, "Okay, I've decided now."

      "Decided what, El?"

      "Decided on what we talked about the last time we were in here. I'd much rather be you than him right now."

      "Right now, I'd rather be almost anyone than the chief," he replied. "But considering that we're getting ready to try to figure out if one of our friends may be a murdering psychopath, that's subject to change."