Corporal Ervin Charles took one more photograph of the Subaru, then tapped his earpiece.“Charles to Colonel Chastain.”
The colonel’s smooth baritone replied instantly, “Go ahead, Charles.”
“Dr.Friedman is heading home.Should I pursue?”
“Negative,” Chastain replied.“Send me the photographs.I’ll prepare a message for him.”
Charles frowned slightly.The last message hadn’t worked.He doubted this message would work either.“Perhaps that message should be delivered in person, sir.”
“Thank you for your concern, Corporal,” Chastain said, a slight edge to his voice.“Carry out your orders.”
Charles knew better than to argue with that.“Of course, sir.”
He closed the connection and sent the photographs to the colonel.He had several high-resolution images of the doctor spying on the base using his brand-new camera.He had images with the license plate and clear images of Dr.Friedman’s face.Essentially, he had proof of espionage that could get the good doctor life in prison if they threw a good enough lawyer at the case.
Charles doubted it would make it to court.Chastain was being cautious for some reason, but Charles didn’t imagine he would be cautious for much longer.Right now, Dr.Friedman was an annoyance.Give him enough leeway, and he would become a threat.
That was something they absolutely couldn’t handle.
Charles tore down his camera and carefully placed it back into its case.He stowed it in the saddlebags of his Harley Davidson Road Glide motorcycle, then started the motor and headed toward the barracks.He didn’t approve of Chastain’s caution, but the man had earned every ounce of his reputation.Charles was certain that he would protect their project.
And he was equally certain that Dr.Friedman’s days on this Earth were numbered.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Faith stared at the body of Brandon Harris and forced herself to control her breathing.He was covered with a sheet now, but when they arrived, they had found him staring sightlessly up at the moonlight filtering through the clouds, just as Iris Caldwell had stared silently up at the daylight streaming through the trees.A single red hole was placed exactly where the other holes had been placed, directly between his eyes.
Well, Mark Patterson had been shot in the back of the head.He had been lucky enough not to see what was coming for him.Not so Brandon.His lips were pulled back in a grimace of fear, and scuff marks on the concrete near his body told Faith he had skidded to a halt when he saw whatever, or rather whoever, had jumped out from behind the trees to kill him.
His fiancée, Carly, was weeping outside of the police cordon, struggling weakly to escape Jessica’s grasp.She had called in the murder, having become concerned when Brandon didn’t answer his phone an hour after leaving the apartment they shared to go on a quick run.He didn’t usually run this late, so she was worried when he didn’t come home.The agents had arrived to see her collapsed by the body, brushing Brandon’s hair back softly and pleading with him to wake up.
“He was so happy,” she told them.“He… He said… it was the best day of his life.”
And of course, the killer couldn’t have that.No one could be happy when he wasn’t happy.So hours after believing he had saved the world from a vicious killer, he had lost his life to the real killer.
Faith looked back down at his body and fought to felt her hands close into fists.Why had he come back here?Why the hell did he have to go out again?Did he absolutely need to relive his moment?He couldn’t have just enjoyed it at home where he was safe?
The trees behind Faith where the killer had almost certainly lurked while he waited for his quarry to arrive rustled.Turk trotted up onto the path, dipping his head and snorting irritably.He hadn’t found anything helpful.
Faith took a deep breath and released it slowly.She looked over at Jessica and saw her depositing Carly into the arms of a Stafford County Sheriff’s Deputy.The deputy looked over her shoulder at Faith with an expression that all law enforcement officers knew well.Dealing with the loved ones who survived their murdered family or friends was the worst part of the job.
It was made all the worse knowing that Brandon had met his fate at the hands of the real killer only a few hours after accosting the false one.
“He’s mocking us,” Jessica said.“He picked Brandon specifically.The others might have been just because they were happy, but he killed Brandon to show off.He wanted to show us that he could get away with it.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Faith said.“It’s possible, but it doesn’t have to be that.He was all over the news talking about how glad he was to stop the killer and how happy he was that everyone was safe now.”
“So this is revenge?Getting Brandon back for thinking he caught him?”
“Or just killing him because his happiness was being broadcast to everyone meanwhile our killer is a pathetic goddamned loser who has to take his anger out on innocent people because he can’t handle his own emotional problems.”
Turk nudged Faith.She looked down and saw him gazing up at her with compassion.She crouched down and pulled him close, breathing deeply until her heart rate slowed.When her anger had faded to a dull ache in the back of her head, she stood again.
“He couldn’t have known Brandon was going to come back here at this exact time in this exact spot.It’s possible he planned to lie in wait until he saw Brandon again, but I don’t think so.Iris Caldwell always took her walk in the morning.Mark Patterson opened the gates and checked the toys at Stafford Courthouse Dog Park every morning before the gate opened.Rebecca Hartley ran in the late afternoon.Brandon ran during the middle of the day.If the killer was targeting him specifically, he would have shown up tomorrow at lunchtime.“
She sighed.“I think Brandon was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.I think the killer was out looking for anyone happy, and Brandon happened to be here.”
“He wasn’t out looking for anyone,” Jessica insisted.“He kills people who are happy.Iris was retired and had a loving family who she saw all the time and great friends who cared deeply for her.Mark Patterson had a career he valued and a dog that meant the world to him.Every picture on his social media shows him smiling.Brandon was the happiest person in Stafford County today.Maybe he didn’t think Brandon would be there tonight, but he was definitely going after Brandon.”
