Chapter 23

Too wrapped up

 

“There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s attuned to your emotions. You’re wound tighter than a banjo,” Joel said.

“He’s right you know,” Mandy added. “Ninety percent of human communication is nonverbal. Sally is astute; she senses a change in your body language. Research shows that canines can detect cardiac episodes and are able to alert their owners before it happens. It was originally thought it was because they could detect a change in electromagnetic waves; however, that’s not the case. It boils down to smell. Humans give off an odor as a result of chemicals being released into our bloodstream before an episode or when we’re anxious. You need to dial it back. She can smell you.”

“How the hell can I dial it back when the unsub more than likely works with Meadow. She is in a building with a woman that not only tried to kill her but has successfully butchered fifteen other women.”

“You will because that’s what Meadow needs,” Mike told me.

Fuck, he was right. Meadow needed me to be clear minded. I had to focus, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was Meadow on the ground in a filthy alley, bleeding.

“Here are the names.” Kristy trotted into the room holding up a stack of papers. She’d been working double time over the last few hours trying to narrow down names. Once the list was manageable, we’d hand it over to Lance and let his department take the lead. However, with our resources and Kristy, we’d be faster at tightening a suspect pool. “Also, I was thinking. You had me searching for newsworthy events on the seventh and twentieth. If the bodies are found in the early morning hours on those days wouldn’t she be hunting the day before? The trauma would’ve been on the sixth and the nineteenth, right? I’m cross-referencing these names with police reports and hospital visits. I’ll have the results in about a half hour.”

“Fucking hell. Kristy’s right.” Joel slammed his palms flat on the table. “We missed it.”

Kristy handed me the list; there was still at least fifty names of single women with no children between the ages of thirty and forty. I quickly scanned the list, and my eyes landed on a name.

Clumsy idiot.

Shit! I fumbled my cell out of my pocket trying to hurry and connect a call to Meadow. I had to warn her. She had to leave her office, now. The call connected and went to voicemail on the first ring - her phone was off. My stomach churned, and fear threatened to choke me. Mother fucker! How’d I miss it?

“I know who it is. Sally come!”

I didn’t wait to see if anyone was following me. I had to get to Meadow. It was almost five; she’d be leaving the office any minute.

By the time I’d opened the back door of the government-issued Suburban and allowed Sally to jump in, Mike had rounded the hood and was getting into the driver’s seat, and Joel slid in next to Sally, both men ready to have my back without explanation.

“Talk to us,” Joel demanded as Mike pulled out of the parking lot.

“Beth Stevens, thirty-five, she is a systems manager. Remember Meadow’s session with Mandy? Meadow said she’d felt uncomfortable when the woman she was talking to called the bartender a clumsy idiot when he’d spilled a drink? My first date with Meadow, Beth showed up at Meadow’s. She said she was there to apologize, that’s not important, but when she turned to leave the pizza guy was behind her. She bumped him and called him a clumsy idiot.”

“That’s a stretch. A lot of people say that,” Joel noted.

“Right. Then I was thinking about the next day; I went to pick Meadow up for lunch. She snagged her purse on her desk and the strap broke. Beth chastised her about buying cheap purses. Suggested she get a high-quality Coach bag, like she had,” I added.

“I’m tracking, I remember the women talking about purses, but I have to say, you’re still reaching a little. The two of those put together make her a strong suspect, but…” Mike trailed off.

“Beth is also a systems manager at Fusion; she’d have access to the company’s cloud database. Meadow told me she was a computer genius. She’d have the access and the knowledge to erase the security footage. I know it’s her.” Sally barked, reminding me of one more thing. “How many times have you heard Sally growl?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Mike asked.

“Just answer.”

“I guess once. When you first brought her into the office, and we were interviewing the father of a missing boy,” he answered.

“We thought it was because Sally was a puppy and not used to strangers,” I reminded them.

“But the father ended up being the offender and buried his son in the family’s backyard,” Joel finished. “Strong investigative work, Nick. I’m supposed to call Lance and have his swat team surround Fusion based on your gut and a dog.”

“Fuck, no. We’ll go in soft. Get Meadow out and ask Beth if she wouldn’t mind answering some questions. Mike, you take the lead, she’s a superficial bitch. You smile at her and give her attention; she’ll eat that shit up. Trust me.”

I dialed Meadow’s work number and still no answer. Not her cell, landline, or text messages. What the fuck.

We pulled into the parking lot, and every instinct I had was screaming something wasn’t right. After telling Sally to stay, Joel, Mike, and I exited the SUV and took off toward the building in a fast clip. I needed to see Meadow.

“Hey. Nick, right?” Meadow’s friend stopped us. “Rory. I met you a few weeks ago.”

“Yes. Hi Rory. Sorry to be rude but I’m in a hurry,” I told her.

“Well if you’re looking for Meadow her department left early today. She didn’t tell you?”

“No.” I looked around and spotted her car still parked in the front row. “Why would they get off early.”

“Funny story, Beth was fired today. She had such a meltdown; management asked her to leave and told her to come back after four to get her things. The entire department was allowed to leave early. I guess Mr. Klein didn’t want anyone around to witness another tantrum.”

“I gotta go. Joel, will you stay with Rory and get the details?”

I opened the double doors to the building and opted for the stairs, taking two at a time until we reached Meadow’s floor. I felt marginally better knowing that Beth had been asked to leave the building. However, that still didn’t explain where Meadow was. When Mike and I entered the reception area, it was empty. I headed to Meadow’s desk; her phone and purse were both on her desk.

Where the fuck was Meadow?

Without remorse, I picked up Meadow’s phone and started scrolling through her phone log. Missed calls from me, a call labeled mom, and more from me. Christ. Now was not the time for me to be thinking about Meadow’s lack of social circle but my heart broke. She’d isolated herself so deeply the only people she’s spoken to in the last week were her mother and me.

Her text messages were the same; me and her mother. No social media apps, but there was a secondary messaging app. I pulled it up and scrolled through a few messages from VV21. I assumed that was the Veronica Venus Meadow had told me about from her survivor’s group. Their last exchange was at 4:21; Meadow said she was headed to her car.

I pulled out my phone and called Kristy.

“I need you to work your magic,” I said without preamble. “I need everything you can find on Beth Stevens.”

“Anything else?” she asked.

I told her about the message board that Meadow belonged to and the handle Veronica Venus. The mystery woman was Meadow’s closest friend; I’d like to speak to her and see if she had any helpful information. While Kristy was tracking down the information I needed, I joined Mike in Beth’s office, picking up a paper coffee cup and tossing it in the trash on my way.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“No. No personal items, desk drawers are neat and organized. The computer is password protected so we’ll need a tech to come in to unlock it,” he answered and dumped the trash can over, spilling papers on the ground. He bent down spreading them out with a pencil. “Nothing here that I can tell, normal office trash, a receipt for a vanilla latte dated today, 4:03. Nothing that screams out at me as homicidal maniac.”

“A vanilla latte?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Mike used the pencil to point at the receipt. “Cash receipt.”

“Vanilla lattes are Meadow’s favorite. I threw a to-go cup away on my way in here. It was on the floor next to Meadow’s desk.”

“Fuck. She drugged her. We need to call Kilby and Lance.” Mike pulled his phone out to make the call. How could I have let this happen?

Within the hour Fusion Telecom was swarming with police. Adam Klein had been more than forthright when talking about Beth. Her attitude had worsened over the last four months, leading to her being fired. The time frame coincided with when the murders had started again. He’d also confirmed what we’d profiled. While he couldn’t give the exact dates, the rough estimation matched.

Five years ago, Beth’s husband divorced her. A year after her divorce she began a serious relationship with a man, Brian Astro. They’d been engaged until he ended it a few months ago. Both break-ups fit. While I was pleased that more pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place, we still didn’t have any idea of where Beth would take Meadow. A squad car had been sent to Beth’s to sit on her house, and one had been sent to Brain’s to pick him up for questioning.

I checked my watch and the noose around my neck tightened. Meadow had been with Beth for at least two hours. Two fucking hours in the hand of a depraved killer, they could be anywhere. Beth could’ve already butchered Meadow. I’d been so wrapped up in her I’d dropped the ball. Meadow’s death was on me.

Technical analysts from both the local PD and the FBI were combing over Fusion’s servers trying to recover the security footage that had been deleted. The cup had been rushed to the lab to be checked for the presence of ketamine. Unfortunately, there was no field test that would detect the drug, and we were in a holding pattern. No leads, no indication where they’d gone, nothing. I was useless standing in front of Meadow’s desk, completely impotent.

Mike rushed over and Sally, who’d been brought up from the car, sat next to me. Much like she’d done to Meadow when she sensed she needed protecting. Fuck, this was all my fault. Why hadn’t I seen it? My dog had a better instinct than me. She knew. Sally had met the woman one time and growled as she stood between Meadow and the treat. Which was more than I did. I’d missed every single fucking sign pointing at Beth.

“Kristy called. Lab tests came back, positive for ketamine. So far, they recovered security footage from six bars including Meadow’s attack. I know you don’t need me to say this, but you were right, it’s Beth. Brian is talking, and they broke up four months ago on the nineteenth. He was having an affair, and she found out about it.”

“Let me guess, a pretty young thing?”

“That’s what he said. His secretary, twenty-two. And the husband? He cheated too. Got his mistress knocked up, after years trying to have a baby with Beth with no luck. A police report was filed on the sixth. A domestic disturbance. She’d come unglued when he was trying to pack his stuff and leave.”

“Fuck!” I yelled, and Sally barked.

“One more thing. And you’re not gonna like this.”