“I’m good, thank you. Maria and I are taking a little vacation.” He paused. “I talked to Phillip.”
“I know.”
He sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to do about him. I’m so worried for him, and I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. He told me not to trust the FBI, but he said I should talk to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you’d talked to him when I’d visited?”
“Because I hadn’t. He surprised us with a visit after you left. And of course, I told him about it. I had nothing to hide.” He sounded defensive.
“What did Phillip want?”
“He told us he was doing what he was meant to. He talked about justice. About what really happened to his parents.” Kyle swore. “How could the FBI not tell us that? They hushed it all up! No wonder Phillip is going crazy.”
“Kyle, please. I’m just learning about this with you. Can you step me through what he told you?”
“I don’t know why I should. You’ll just sweep it under the rug like your buddies did.”
She gave him a moment to process. Kyle Lito seemed like an intelligent man. He wanted the truth as much as she did.
He sighed. “Phillip showed up the day after you did. He looked good. He’d put on weight, had color in his cheeks, a spark in his eyes I haven’t seen in forever. And then he told us about people stealing his parents’ organs and about the Harvester case that made the news years ago. Apparently, those criminals killed Adam and Lena.NotAnton Kaminski.
“Phillip found out a few months ago. I’m not sure how, but it gave him purpose. A reason to get out of the funk he’d been in.” Kyle paused. “Only the truth didn’t do him any favors.” In a whisper, he confessed, “He told me hekilledpeople. Is that true? Because a lot of what he said sounded frantic. He kept talking about someone who gives him orders now. I can’t tell if he’s hearing voices or is actually involved in some conspiracy. But I haven’t seen anything about a serial killer targeting doctors and nurses in Seattle. So what’s really going on?”
“Phillip killed six people. Two doctors, two nurses, and two EMTs. There were ten people involved in the Harvester killings, and your nephew has four more on his list. But these people areall innocent of those murders. They’re symbols, stand-ins, for those who did the actual crimes.”
“Dear God.”
“I’ve met and talked to Phillip twice now. He says he’s on a mission, that he’s Justice with a capital J. I want to stop him before he kills more innocent people. But I don’t know where to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?”
“No, but I’d tell you if I did. His parents would never have wanted this.” Kyle was crying. She could hear it. “And Maria… This will hurt her so much. We love that boy. This isn’t him.”
“I’m sorry, but it is.”
“No, I mean, well, yes. It is him. But this is not the man his parents raised. Their deaths broke him. He sounded so clear and smart, like he used to be. The intelligent young man on his way to becoming a doctor. Killing people isn’t what he’s all about. I think someone might be using him.”
“That’s if he’s not hearing voices.”
“I hope not. Because Phillip has always excelled at whatever he does. College, the Army. He sailed through his training to become a medic. And he’s a crack shot. An expert marksman like his mother and aunt.” Kyle blew out a breath. “My wife’s family liked to hunt. Phillip’s handled firearms since he was a young boy. If he wants to kill again, he will.”
“Which is why we need to stop him. Please, if there’s anything you can tell me, anything at all that will help…”
“I wish I could. I’m talking to you because Phillip thought you’d help. Not like the others who buried the truth.” His anger was justifiable. Jane felt it as well. “I honestly don’t know. But I can tell you this. He’s set on this mission to avenge his parents. He won’t let you find him before he’s got his targets in sight. Phillip is a lot of things, but he’s not a quitter. And when he aims at a target, he doesn’t miss.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Jane spentWednesday much as she had Tuesday, looking through what they knew to find something they didn’t. The only good thing, if she could call it that, going on in her life was that Hal and Joe had gonesomewhereto take care ofsomethingand would be back in a few days. So she had a temporary reprieve from that horrible video game she’d tried on Sunday.
Hal had said no complaining, but she really didn’t enjoy the first-person shooter game where she had to kill fairies for blood gold and then run campaigns to destroy entire bloodlines. A fairylandCall of Dutythat would probably make a ton of money but that left a bad taste in her mouth.
Killing for the sake of killing didn’t appeal to her. Making the guilty pay for their crimes, through a justice system developed by a civilized society, did. Law and order made sense to her. So she empathized with Phillip Keiser for not getting the justice for his parents that they were due.
But taking that rage and pain out on innocent people who had done nothing more than share a similar occupation with the guilty? That was wrong.
Raine could blather about shades of gray all day long, but Jane contented herself with being very clear about black andwhite, good and bad. Phillip needed to be found, and those four potential future victims saved.
Rapp grabbed Gina and headed for her desk. “We think we have Phillip Keiser. SWAT is en route as well. But this could turn into a real nightmare.”
Gina looked grim. “UW Medical Northwest. A patrol car spotted a man matching his description in the parking lot.”
