Faith turned to Jessica, who was walking over while the two uniforms escorted a downcast Carl away from the scene.“He’s clean?”Faith asked.
“Oh yeah.I suppose to be sure, I need to look at the security footage first, but it’s definitely not him.Anyway, those officers are going to drive him to the hospital, so if something comes up, we’ll call them.”
“Let’s go look at the footage,” Faith said.“I’ll trust your judgment about Carl, but I want to see if we caught anything on camera that can tell us who we’re looking for.”
“You don’t think it’s Trevor Walsh?”
“I think it might be, but it wouldn’t hurt to have evidence.”
Buckley joined the two women as they headed inside the building to review security footage.Faith left Turk outside to keep looking for clues.
"The security room is the second door on the left, according to Carl," Jessica said."He usually spends the night in there reading."
“Not watching the cameras?”
“No.He’s pretty broken up about that.”
Faith’s lips thinned, but before she judged Carl, she would see if the cameras revealed anything.
They didn’t.Faith saw Michael pull his Ford Explorer into the parking lot, park near the outdoor lot, and get out.They saw him walk around the corner, and then they saw nothing until Carl walked out, flanked by two concerned staff members.The three of them looked around the corner, and Faith saw the two other staff members jump back, screaming.A second later, Carl staggered backwards, his hand over his mouth.
Faith stopped the footage.“Okay, so we have a good view of the front of the place but not of the side.”
Jessica thrust her chin toward the other cameras.“We have the back doors and the interior too.I was watching the lobby camera and the hallway.I don’t see Carl leaving before Matthew’s death or returning after, so I think we can rule him out.”
“Not to be that guy,” Buckley interrupted, “but tick tock on the Walsh thing.Why don’t you let my guys look through the footage and let you know if we find anything while you go talk to our suspect?”“That’s a good idea,” Faith said.“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The two women started out of the door, and Buckley asked, “Hey, what do you think the deal with the note is?I mean, besides the fact that he hated the guy.”
“He’s still trying to justify his actions,” Faith answered.“He wants people to know that he’s doing a good thing.These people deserved to die.”
“You think maybe he feels guilty?This is how he justifies it to himself?”
Faith shook her head.“He shocked this guy to death in broad daylight a few yards away from being in full view of a police station.He doesn’t feel guilty.He’s showing off.”
“You think that’s why he switched to the taser instead of the spike?He wanted something more shocking?”
“It’s possible,” Faith said.“I think he’s also getting angrier, or letting more of his anger show.Killing Garrett made him feel good.It made him feel powerful.Now he’s enjoying that power and letting himself use a little more of it.”
Buckley shook his head.“Well, I sure hope he doesn’t decide to escalate even further.Good luck, agents.”
“You too.”
They headed back outside.Turk met them at the door, head lowered in frustration.Faith reached down and scratched him behind his ear, then headed for their rental.
“He probably didn’t suffer,” Jessica said as Faith put the car in gear.“That much current, he was probably gone before he realized what was happening.”
Faith glanced at her partner.Her face was pale and tinged with green.It occurred to Faith that this was probably the worst dead body Jessica had ever seen, even worse than the killer who slit his victim’s throats and exsanguinated them.
“He probably didn’t,” Faith replied.
That might be true in the physical sense, but Faith had a feeling Matthew had suffered emotionally before he died.A killer who hated his victims as much as this one did would want them to suffer.
What had gone through Matthew’s mind when he saw the killer?Did he know that this was going to be the moment he died, or did the killer warn him what was about to happen?Had he listened to Matthew beg, or was that instant of realization enough for him?
And who was the note for?That was the pertinent question.The killer was talking to someone.Law enforcement, yes, the world in general, maybe, but not just that.Someone specific was supposed to see it.This was a message intended for someone.If they figured out who he was talking to, then they might figure out who was talking.
