Okie dokie, I felt really bad leaving you all with such a short chapter so here is the next one.
And if you have the time, please review. I love hearing from you all. It helps to motivate me and it tells me what I am doing right or wrong.
Enjoy!
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They hadn't lasted long. Not as long as he would have liked anyway. Maybe he had to refine his technique. He certainly wanted to make it last. But he just couldn't help himself.
The power he felt. Never in his life had he felt so strong, so in control.
It was probably the adrenaline rush that made him sloppy. But it didn't matter, there would be more. More to fill the quota.
Looking around he saw the ignorant world pass him by. None the wiser that they had just passed a man who had ended the life of two people.
He didn't see himself as a murderer per se. More of a justice seeker. Not like those bastard cops. They were the real killers. Flashing their badges, thinking it gave them a licence to do whatever they wanted.
Laughter caught his attention. Looking over he saw what he presumed was a newly wedded couple. Both sporting wedding bands. Eyes only for each other. Not a care to what was going on around them.
It made him sick. How dare they? Do they even know what it means to really love?
Make that ultimate sacrifice?
He might just have to test their loyalties out.
Looks like he has someone new to practice on after all.
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Tuesday morning and the office couldn't be any quieter. It had been a relatively slow few weeks. Not that the officers were complaining. In fact 'no news was good news' as the old adage went.
Lisbon was in her office, Cho was searching the net, Rigsby was searching the fridge, Van Pelt was checking the weather report and Jane, well Jane was bored.
That was never a good thing in the eyes of his colleagues. It left his brain to wonder and think of new and fantastical ways to bug them.
But one target of his had always been his favourite. Such an easy mark most of the time, yet surprised him constantly none the less. Very contradicting. He loved it.
"Stand up"
"Sorry?" Van Pelt turned in her chair to see Jane standing over her. A boyish grin gracing his features.
"Stand up." Jane repeated looking at her expectantly.
Not knowing where this was going, a look of confusion spread across her face, and after a few seconds of deliberation she rose from her chair.
Maybe he was going to show her another trick.
"Hmm..." Jane studied her for a few moments, turned and walked away.
OK, maybe not.
As he reached his destination, the couch, he sat down and pulled out his puzzle book. Immersing himself in it. Acting as if nothing had been said at all.
Grace looked over at Rigsby who, having come back from his expedition with a sandwich, had watched the entire exchange.
He shrugged back as if to say 'It's Jane, do you expect any sense?'
She lowered herself slowly back into her chair, perplexed, wondering if she should ask Jane what was going on.
Curiosity got the better of her.
"Uh Jane? What was that all about?"
"Hmm?" He looked up as if noticing her for the first time. "Oh I was just checking something."
"Checking what?"
Jane smiled with the innocence of a new born, his soft curls falling to the side as he tilted his head. But before he could form a response, if he was at all going to respond, Lisbon stepped out of her office, strode across the bullpen and into the middle of her team.
"We got a case. Double homicide. Bodies were found last night under a pier in the Bay City area by a couple of passers by. A Caucasian male and a Caucasian female, both with lacerations to their upper backs and wrists and what the coroner said looks like severe hypothermia." She paused as she looked at each of them "There was also a message left behind."
"For who? The family?" Wayne Rigsby queried.
"No. For us." Lisbon received four curious looks. "The message said 'For every year that was taken away, so will a life. Justice will be served. Catch me if you can.' "
Jane stood up and walked closer to the messy circle the group had unwittingly formed.
"Do you have a copy of the note? Maybe I can get something from the hand writing."
"That might be a bit difficult." Lisbon watched Jane's brow wrinkle "The message was cut into the bodies with what may have been a scalpel or other sharp tool. Worst thing is that it looks like it was done while they were still alive."
She got the responses she expected. Van Pelt's hand covered her mouth, gasping in disgust. Rigsby looked away. Cho's frown deepened while Jane's eyebrows rose as he uttered a simple "Oh"
After the brief silence Lisbon continued. "Here's what we know. Jake and Jennifer Carson, aged 28 and 25 respectively. They were a recently married couple living in downtown L.A. Husband worked as a car salesman and the wife was a florist. They were reported missing four days ago by the wife's sister Amy. She was supposed to meet her for lunch but Jennifer never showed. After various calls to both their home and workplaces, she got worried and contacted the police."
Lisbon started to hand out copies of the crime scene photos.
"Both had taken a pretty severe beating. First half of the message was on the husband's back, the rest on the wife's. Rope burns around their wrists and feet, suggesting they were tied up, and their bodies showing the effects of hypothermia. Seeing as it's summer time, that would suggest a freezer of some kind rather than washed up from shore."
The team slowly flicked through the photos, seeing that the commentary Lisbon was giving them was only a brief summary. It looked so much worse. Bruises piled upon each other suggesting the torture started from day one. What the couple were forced to endure, they would never really know. Just the terrible after effects.
Jane took two steps over to Grace's desk and motioned to the corner where there was a lone cup of coffee sitting there. His intent was clear. He wanted to sit.
Grace made a show of looking at the spare desk not five feet away before reaching over and moving the offending cup. All Jane could offer was a smile. Or was that a smirk?
As he took his place on the corner of the desk, he lifted up the photo containing the message. Back to business mode.
"Obviously our guy has a distaste for cops. Someone in his past, or family even, was either taken to prison or killed by a cop. He could also be talking about himself. He may have been sent to prison wrongfully and he is angry."
"Why a he?" Lisbon put out to the room. She knew why but wanted to make sure her agents were on the same page.
Rigsby spoke up "Mr Carson is a big man, looks over six feet, quite a solid body. To overpower him and the wife, our unsub has to have a bit of strength himself."
Cho decided to add on to that. "Also the carvings in the back suggest a male. Females aren't known to express their anger that way. Usually it's a note or recording left behind. This guy is malicious."
Jane nodded then continued.
"Our guy is issuing a challenge. He wants the attention. 'Catch me if you can'. Quite a bold statement. Suggesting he is over confident. He will keep flaunting more bodies until he is caught. Or until he runs out of years to which he is referring"
Rigsby looked up from his thoughtful pose.
"That's good though right? It means he might get cocky and make mistakes."
"Au contraire my dear man. If he thinks he is getting justice for lost years, he doesn't want to mess it up. He wants us to pay the full sentence with death. Rubbing it in our faces. No this guy is smart. He'll play his cards right."
"OK" Teresa Lisbon took back the floor. "Cho, you go to the car dealer where Mr Carson worked. Rigsby, you go to the wife's work. Van Pelt I want you to pull up any surveillance tapes that were in the area of the dump site while Jane and I go visit the sister."
That was followed by a chorus of 'Yes boss' and 'On it boss'.
It looked like their Tuesday was no longer quiet.
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"Thank you for meeting with us."
Agent Lisbon was the first to enter the apartment of Amy Butler. Jane not too far behind. Nodding his head at Amy in a consoling way, he moved around the room taking in everything he could.
Family photos adorned the walls. Pictures of Jennifer - Jenny as Amy said she preferred- were everywhere suggesting they were close.
No sign of a man living here so she was single. Rooms were spick and span but Jane thought it more due to the obsessive cleaning spree to take her thoughts from her sister than what was the norm. In fact she was still restacking magazines as they were talking.
The apartment complex was deceiving. From the outside it didn't look too flash, but inside it was well designed. Spacious even. Everything was brand new, from utilities to fixtures which suggested money.
As Lisbon continued to question her about when and where she and her sister were supposed to meet, Jane monitored. Watching for dilated pupils, sweaty palms, fidgeting. All the classic signs of a guilty conscience. None were present. Just pure distress over losing a loved one. He could sympathise. Obviously she had nothing to do with the murder.
"Do you know if your sister was having an affair? Seeing anyone on the side?"
"Jane" Lisbon admonished
Jane kept staring at Amy, waiting for the response. He didn't have to wait long.
"Of course not. How could you ask that? They were the happiest couple I have ever seen. Never doing anything without the other one present." Amy protested, tears in her eyes, voice wavering.
"I'm sorry, had to make sure. Do you know of any knew friends? Anyone come into their lives recently?"
"Uhh… No, not that I know of. They kept to a close circle of friends."
"You mentioned before that they did everything together. What kind of things?"
Amy smiled as if remembering fond memories. "Yeah, they really were a match for each other. Had the same interests you know? Horse back riding, rowing, bike tours." she started to laugh to herself and shook her head. "They even had the same fear of heights. Crazy. They went to a group about it. That was where they started rock climbing. It was supposed to help them with their fears. Facing it head on as it where."
"When did they start the rock climbing group?" Lisbon asked
"Oh just recently. Maybe a week ago. In fact they were going to a session the morning I was supposed to meet Jenny."
Lisbon and Jane looked at each other. Bingo. A lead.
They asked a few more basic questions then left their contact card in case Amy remembered anything else. In turn they grabbed the address to the rock climbing centre.
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The car ride over was spent mostly in silence save for Jane reading out directions.
Lisbon liked it when Jane was quiet. It didn't happen often so when it did she tried to enjoy it.
"Did you know on average, one in twenty three people have an irrational fear?"
So, silent time was over.
She knew where he was going with this. He was trying to bring back the subject of fears. Trying to wheedle out what her fears were. Well Ha! She didn't have any.
Let's see him try to create a fear out of thin air for her.
"Oh Really?" She really ought to stop encouraging him.
Happy that he had an audience, he continued.
"Yes, In fact there are approximately 6.3 million Americans that have a specific fear at any one time. Whether it be heights, fear of flying, closed spaces… quite an epidemic." Jane turned his head from the map to fully study her face. "So do you have a fear?"
Smiling, ready for the question Lisbon simply said "Nope"
"No, no you don't." Jane frowned
Ha!
"But you did"
Damn
"Now what was it that Agent Teresa Lisbon feared?"
Resigned to the fact that if she didn't tell him, he would most likely keep poking around until he found what he wanted anyway. And probably bring up some other things she wanted kept hidden. The stubborn, persistent man. Though she had to admit, good qualities to have in this line of work. Plus he was giving her the look. The one where if he did it long enough you would spill everything.
"When I was little, my friends and I used to go down to this secluded lake. It was beautiful. Green, lush grass, crystal clear water with the perfectly positioned tree that you could dive off from. My best friend Sara, decided to jump from the highest branch she could reach. None of us had ever dared to go that high before. But she was brave. Braver than all of us. We all cheered her on from the ground." Lisbon paused, a faraway look in her eyes. It didn't take long before she continued.
"She didn't even scream when she jumped. In fact she was laughing. Made a huge splash. We were all clapping, waiting for her to surface to ask how it felt."
"She never came back up did she?" Jane's voice whispered
"We all thought she was playing a joke on us at first. But time went on and we got worried." Her eyes started to water but she held it back enough. She didn't want to drive them off the road.
"I jumped in around the same place Sara did. Tried to look everywhere for her. I could hear the other girls screaming, some had ran off to get help. I went under one more time and I saw her. Her hair was tangled up in a branch that must of fallen in ages ago. She wasn't moving."
Lisbon took a deep breath to fight back emotions she thought she had gotten over.
"I tried to get her free, but the branches wouldn't let go. I don't know how long it took, but next thing I knew, one of the fathers had jumped in and managed to get her loose. It was too late."
Another breath. "From that day on I didn't go near the water."
"What changed that?" Jane prompted gently. He didn't mean to dredge up such memories but couldn't help himself. Every little bit he learned about her past, let him closer to knowing the real Teresa.
More composed now, she answered. "It was a case a few years back. We found one of the victims in the bay. I was the closest so I had to jump in. I didn't think about it, just did it. She was still alive. She's now a mother of three."
Lisbon smiled and so too did Jane. Some things in life worked out.
That story had taken them the rest of the way to their destination. Luke's Indoor Rock climbing.
Quite a busy place for the size of it. Many posters lined the walls claiming to be the best in the state run by qualified experts.
One of these experts that they were headed to was the manager.
After showing the photo and divulging the names of Mr. and Mrs. Carson, they were pointed in the direction of a Jake Warner. Apparently he was the one listed in the books as the instructor who was meant to be assigned to them on the day of their disappearance.
Jane sized him up as they walked over to him. A man of average height and average build. Someone who looked like they spent a lot of years climbing. A few scars along the arms and legs, no doubt from climbing accidents. His light hair was pulled back into a pony tail of sorts. It reached the top of his shoulders
Jane stopped short and looked around the complex. "I'm going to look around for a bit, I'll meet you back at the car."
"OK, don't get into any trouble now."
"Me? Trouble? Nahhh…" Jane smiled innocently before aiming towards the back wall. Making a show of going to the rest room, then turning at the last minute into the staff locker room by its side.
Lisbon shook her head and continued to her destination.
"Mr Warner. Agent Lisbon CBI." She flashed her badge "I'd like to ask you a few questions"
Jake looked over in surprise. An agent from the CBI wanted to talk to him? But he agreed and walked over with Lisbon to a more secluded area away from prying eyes.
"Mr. Warner, four days ago you had an appointment with a Mr. and Mrs. Carson. 10 am. Did they show?"
"Uhh… y-yes they did." Apparently Mr Warner had a stutter. "I-I met w-w-with them at-t 10. S-s-such a love-ovely couple"
Lisbon managed to find out that the Carson's finished their session and Jake hadn't seen them after that. Mrs. Carson however had given Jake her card to where she worked. He was after a bouquet of flowers to take to the hospital where he visited his mother for the rest of the day.
Lisbon got the name of the hospital just so she could check on his alibi.
She thanked him for his time and headed back to the managers office where she collected a copy of the security tapes, meeting Jane along the way. Apparently he turned up nothing of interest in his side quest.
"Find anything interesting from our Mr. Warner?"
Lisbon relayed the conversation as they headed to the car.
"So Mr. Warner stutters. Did you know that some cases stuttering can become more obvious the more pressure they are under? In fact some people are around others that are inflicted with stuttering and wouldn't even know it."
"Is there anything you don't know about?" Lisbon asked rhetorically but Jane being Jane, answered.
"Carpentry." He looked thoughtful. "Don't know much about carpentry."
Lisbon shook her head but smiled in spite of herself.
Jane liked it when she smiled. It made her look more carefree. He always aimed to get at least one smile a day. Today he was on a roll.
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Not far from the office, Lisbon's cell began to ring.
"Lisbon" she put it on speakerphone to keep her hands free.
"Boss" It was Cho "You'll want to come see this. We've just been sent a package. No return address. We think it's from our guy."
"What's in it?"
"A tape."
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