They looked over at their companion, holding his gaze for what seemed like an eternity, and the companion didn't look away, as if he needed to prove he wasn’t scared in the least about where he was.
"You don't know her as I do," the killer said."You have no idea why this must be done.This will make the world a better place, even if they won't see it for a long time.That will be the burden I’ll carry.They won't ever know it was me who brought the change to the world, unless…"
A wicked grin spread across the killer’s face.
"Perhaps the change will come, and if they ever slip back into mediocrity and ineptitude, I’ll show them that it wasn’t her after all, but someone else.Someone they overlooked.They won't know what to think.They’ll only know that she wasn’t able to figure it out.Perhaps she will right at the end, but by that time, it’ll be too late."
The killer reached over to the desk and picked up a clear bag, holding it up for their companion to view.
"This will help me now.I didn't see it at the time, but I understood it could be important, so I took it to muddy the waters.Instead, it will become a stepping stone.It will lay the foundation for what comes next.Do you see that?"
The companion looked at the clear bag and its contents.It was hard to decipher if he knew what it meant and who it belonged to, even though the killer had spelled it out for him.There had been some resistance in the killer’s mind when they had taken him, but the ineptitude that he displayed made it easy to want to kill him.
"You don't have a clue about anything, do you?"the killer asked."You had an entire career consulting with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, but you don't see what’s right in front of you.You might be the biggest criminal of them all.You worked to help them for decades, but did you ever do that, or did you bluff your way through it?No one will mourn your death.How does that make you feel?"
The companion grunted again.That was all they were able to do.
The killer placed the plastic bag back on the desk, then switched off the TV.There was nothing on there at the moment worth viewing.They talked to expert after expert, but no one had a clue who the killer was or why they were killing.They all made guesses, but they were all as inept as each other.
Go ahead and make your guesses that will ultimately be shown to be wrong.I don't kill to create fear but to right the wrongs of the past, starting with my own.Yes, I’m not immune to making mistakes.If only…Perhaps I’m fooling myself.
"It doesn’t matter," the killer said as they rose from the desk."The wheels are in motion now, and they won't ever find me.I know I’m doing the right thing."
They walked over to the companion who was tied up in the chair, a tight gag in his mouth so he could only grunt.The killer checked the ropes and zip ties keeping Kenneth Sterling in his chair were still tight.The killer didn't worry about Kenneth escaping but about getting out of his bindings enough to be able to make noise.The killer had neighbors, but they weren’t extremely close.Still, they couldn’t take any chances.
"Good," the killer said."And don’t worry, this will all be over soon.We don't have long to go.In less than forty-eight hours, they’ll find my best present for them."The killer leaned close and whispered in Sterling’s ear."Another dead body."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Two days later, Alison and Special Agent Hartley were called to Washington, D.C., where another body had been found.Another death, another copy-cat staging, and another batch of photographs.
"She still won't give me a name," Hartley complained."Two and a half days in custody, and she refuses to give me the name of her contact in the force or from the FBI or wherever else she’s getting her information from.She knows she’s going to jail, and it’s not a short sentence.Does she really think that we can just give in and tell her she can go free when we’re about to view our fifth dead body in this case?"
"I don't know what she’s thinking," Alison said."She obviously wants a trial, and while she’s been pretty stoic about what she wants to do next, I have it on good authority that her lawyer is pressuring her to give you the name.I know she wants to protect her source so she can get more information in the future for her podcast, but she’s not going to have that if she’s convicted of obstruction of justice."
"I thought that Angela Wu’s contact might come forward once they heard what’s going on," Hartley said."Seems like they’re just fine with someone going to jail because of the information they supplied them."
"It’s not only that," Alison said."They get in trouble also for supplying the information."
"And that’s on them," Hartley said.She took the off-ramp as they reached the city."I know that information is passed to the press on a regular basis, but most of it is innocuous.This is different.We’re dealing with a serial killer, and someone is passing information that has the possibility to derail the case.And we don't know what the contact told them.We only have what was said on the podcast before it was cut off, and Wu won't divulge anything."
"It’s awful," Alison admitted."Do you let someone go to jail for what is essentially breaking the law, or do you confess and lose your job and go to jail yourself?At least we were able to get in touch with the two members of her podcast team to confirm Wu’s alibi, and if this murder is connected, then Wu has the perfect alibi.She was in custody when it happened."
"Sterling wasn’t," Hartley said as she took another corner."We still don't know where he is, but it’s been two days without being able to get in contact with him.That’s definitely suspicious, right?"
"Yeah, it is," Alison admitted."And he does fit the profile.He must be bitter with how he was treated by the FBI and other local agencies.He was brought on to cases and let go of them quickly in some cases.I’ve talked to some other people, and they’ve confirmed what Dr.Carver told me.With the simpler cases, he did fine, but he struggled with the deeper cases.There must be a lot of pent-up frustration.And he was forced into early retirement."
"So, we clear Wu, but hope she comes to her senses after some more time in custody when she realizes that she’s going to jail.There’s no backing down from this from our side.Either she goes to jail to protect someone who’s breaking the law, or she helps us convict the person who’s more in the wrong."
"I don't want to get into the psychology of loyalty and how she might not believe there’s a chance of her going to jail because that possibility is so far removed from her regular life.I really hope she comes to her senses because if she goes to trial, she will be convicted."
"Okay, we forget about Wu for the present and let someone else deal with her for now," Hartley said."In the meantime, we treat Sterling as our main suspect.His cabin has been located, but there’s no evidence that he or anyone else has been there in some time.He also hasn’t returned home.The search of his house uncovered nothing except the museum pamphlet.We’re in contact with the museum to discover if he used a credit card there or to spot him on any of the cameras in the areas where the more valuable exhibits were on display."
Alison nodded."It makes sense that he would go there before targeting Maria Chen to scope out the building beforehand.If we get him on camera, then it confirms it to me.It can't be a random chance that he would travel across state lines to go to a museum where someone was then killed, only to disappear soon after."
"This must be the place," Hartley commented.
Alison looked ahead to see the flashing lights of police vehicles out front of the derelict warehouse on the edge of the city.When Hartley pulled up behind the farthest vehicle from the warehouse, a uniformed officer approached, holding his hand up for them not to go any further, even though the special agent had turned off the vehicle by then.
