“I’ve asked Booker to go back through other towns and states and see if the same pattern can be found. These five from our town, they aren’t his first victims.”
“What makes you think that, Nova?”
“It’s too clean, pres. He’s mastered this and you don’t leave a crime scene without evidence unless you’re experienced,” I explain.
“And if you can discover his first abduction, you may be able to find out who the fucker is,” Riptide mumbles, understanding where my brain is going.
“Yes. From my experience, when somebody commits their first crime, they aren’t confident and leave traces of who they arebehind. They don’t know better… yet. It’ll be easier to follow that breadcrumb than his current ones,” I interpret. I hold several certifications. I’m a bondsman, a bounty hunter, and on the downlow—I’m a mercenary for hire. I’m morally gray and during times like this, I’m glad for it. When my dad came home from his time in the armed forces, he was a changed man according to my mother. His moral compass was murky, he saw shit that altered his entire outlook on life.
“We need to find a commonality between his first crime and this last one,” Riptide murmurs.
“Wanna job, pres?” I heartlessly laugh.
He barks out a laugh before growing quiet. After a while, he answers, “No, Nova. Got enough of them and don’t need another one added to my overfull plate. But with that said, I don’t mind sitting down with you and talking shit through.”
“Two heads are better than one,” I sigh, clamping my eyes shut. This motherfucker is on top of my list of perpetrators to locate and dismantle. He has to be stopped. “Who’s the girl that’s his current victim?”
“Governor MacDougal’s daughter,” he answers and my eyes snap open from shock. “Stella Eloise MacDougal.”
He’s never taken someone high-profile before. What’s up with that? Usually, it’s a house mom or college student he takes, they don’t get the sort of media coverage this one’s gonna get him. This one’s going to be splashed across the country. I knew that each time he took someone new, he disposed of his last one. We just have never found any bodies to confirm that. My gut is not the only thing saying that he’s gotten rid of them, either. Profilers have proven that with their investigations into serialoffenders. When one outlives their usefulness, and the thrill is no longer there, they kill their current captee and move on to another.
But I’m starting to wonder if it’s about the exhilaration or if there’s another purpose for grabbing these women. I’ll never uncover what that could be unless I find the piece of shit and ask him myself. Getting into these guys’ heads and understanding them isn’t as easy as one would think it’d be. None of them think the same way nor do they use the same tactics.
“You still with me, Nova?”
“Yeah, I’m just surprised. I don’t think he realized who he took, and once he figures that out, I’m worried she won’t last as long as the other ones,” I remark.
Riptide moans and I can picture him grabbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers while letting this sink in. “Then we can’t waste time. Do you need some manpower to back you up? Booker already assists you, but I know the brothers would too if you were to ask.”
“Couldn’t hurt. If you’re good with it then I wouldn’t say no to help, pres.”
“Would I have offered if I was against it, Nova? Swear to fuck, you guys don’t think nine-tenths of the time.”
“Give me some leeway here, pres. I’ve only had a few hours of sleep and I’m still coming out of the fog.”
“Fuck. Same but not because I just got back from a job but because I spent the night trying to wrangle Icer and Shade in. They got into a scuffle which turned into a brawl.”
“It’s because Shade is Icer’s mini-me,” I excuse. “They’re too much alike and it’s fucking scary.”
He snorts before saying, “But they make one helluva team.”
“A murderous one,” I tack on. “Who’s on Icer duty this week?”
“Indiana. He’s the only member Icer can tolerate for longer periods of time. Even that is hit or miss depending on Icer’s frame of mind.”
“Did you hit up that contact I gave you? Dr. Marsten has come up with a formula that’ll let Icer keep his wits but make him more pliable.”
“Has it been tested? FDA approved? I don’t want to give him anything that’ll fuck him up more than he already is, Nova.”
“It’s been tested by subjects that exhibit the same temperamental traits as Icer does, and it’s worked and cooled their moods. He’s not regulating it, it’ll be sold black market.”
“The reason for that is?” Riptide presses. There’s nothing more important to pres than his men. He’d lay down his life for them and wouldn’t willingly inject poison into them.
“His brother. He was born… wrong, for lack of a better word. It’s the entire reason he became a chemist. Marsten’s been working on the solution for years. It was only meant for his brother, but then he recognized that there were more people out there like him and decided to offer it as a solution for the times they go manic. But because the effects aren’t the same for everyone and there’s no way to add warnings to the drug, the administration would never approve it.”
“What are some of the side effects reported so far?” pres inquires.
“Mostly, drowsiness and loopiness,” I reply. “Nothing substantial like hallucinations or going off the rail on a murder spree. One report of personality switch.”
