CHAPTER 10
Monday morning, and another case to solve, Rachel and Marcus were whisked off to Austin for an investigation into a multiple murder that had occurred, and Bailey and John were caught up in the ongoing prostitution murders investigations, so it wasn't till Tuesday afternoon that Rachel was actually back in her office, staring blankly at her computer screen, able to process the information she had collected.
She had been feeling very differing emotions since talking with Sam and Grace – she was almost at the point of admitting to herself that she felt a strong attraction for John Grant, after dancing with him on Saturday night, she couldn't let go of the memory of being held in his arms. She was truly scared; she had never allowed herself the freedom of caring very much about other people, outside her immediately family.
Impatiently she shook her head, trying to physically change her thoughts, and bring them back to the investigation in hand, when Bailey stuck his head in her door, and asked her to join the team in the control room.
John was pacing up and down, as was his wont in times of stress, and Marcus was lounging back in his chair, watching with a smile on his face.
"Poor Johnny is agitated," he said to Bailey as he and Rachel came down the stairs. "He thinks you are going to make him go and hang out in that brothel."
Bailey smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Well one of you is going to have to," he said, "unless we can come up with a reasonable suspect within the next couple of days. But luckily Rachel believes she has something on this murder in Austin, so we can focus on that for the moment, and John you can stop wearing out the carpet and sit down."
John flopped into the nearest vacant chair, and moodily rested his elbows on the table, glowering at Marcus, but not saying anything. Rachel handed a disk to George, and proceeded to take everyone step by step through what she and Marcus had discovered so far, and what her gut instinct was telling her about the murders.
John and Marcus were then dispatched to Austin, and were able to arrest the suspect, who eventually broke down and confessed, and so another of their cases was bought to a satisfactory conclusion.
Back in the control center on Wednesday morning, and Bailey was thrilled with the speed in which they had solved several of their cases, and very complimentary to the team, and especially to Rachel. He took the time to congratulate the team on their recent success, and letting them know their hard work was appreciated, as well as scoring them all brownie points with Head Office.
"Now, as far as these prostitute murders – we have had four so far, three most definitely connected to Lisa Kent, the whole thing revolves around her. I have put a couple of people on surveillance around her brothel, but I think I'd like to get someone inside, if possible as well."
Rachel stood up and began walking towards the big screen. "I first thought that the murderer was killing girls to threaten Lisa Kent," she said, indicating the four young women's faces that were highlighted on the screen. "But now – I think that he is using these murders' as a kind of courtship."
George raised his eyebrows, and Marcus shrugged his shoulders, and gave a grim laugh.
"That's one present a girl isn't going to forget," he muttered. John looked sideways at him, and also laughed.
"I know it sounds strange," said Rachel, ignoring the men's reactions. "But these murders are definitely linked to her, one way or the other. I think I'll go back and talk with her again, Bailey – there are a few more areas I'd like to explore."
Marcus looked back at John, a grin on his face. "Are you taking Johnny with you again?" he asked. "Can I come and watch him being embarrassed this time?"
John narrowed his eyes at the others, and gave a sniff of disapproval. George grinned and Bailey smiled a little and leant forward.
"You go with Rachel and John this time Marcus. Maybe Miss Kent will find you as attractive. I have multiple reports to write, or I'd come along and join the fun."
John heaved a long-suffering sigh, and stood up, grabbing his suit jacket from the back of his chair. "I am so glad that I am a source of amusement for you all. - I'll wait in the car," he said, as he followed the other two agents up the steps towards the elevator.
Marcus, who was driving, maneuvered the car into an empty space behind a carpenter's van, which was parked in front of the brothel.
"A little bit obvious," he said, indicating the van. "I thought our boys would be slightly more subtle."
"I don't think it's our surveillance team," said John, climbing out of the passenger side of the car, and walking around behind the van. "Maybe, and here's a scary thought, it's actually a workman's van! Maybe the workman is inside, utilizing the services."
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," said Rachel. "Maybe the workman is across the road, building an extension, or putting in a new office bench or something. You know, actually working at this time of the day."
"Or not," said John, as a heavily built man, dressed in jeans and a short sleeved top, with a workman's tool belt around his waist, emerged from the brothel, and made his way past them to the van.
"He still could be working," said Rachel, "fixing up something inside."
"Yeah," said Marcus, "I bet I know what he's been fixing up, all right."
John laughed, and Rachel cast both men a look of dislike. "I hope Lisa Kent puts you both in your place," she muttered, as they climbed the steps to the door.
There was no one behind the one way mirror this time, and Lisa Kent was wearing jeans and a bright pink sweater, the casual outfit made her look much younger and softer than the leather outfit of the dominatrix. She smiled at Rachel and indicated that they should all take a seat. John immediately sat in the single chair nearest the door, and after a moment Marcus sat in another single chair, leaving Rachel to sit on the sofa.
"I hope you have got some good news for me," she said sitting down next to Rachel on the plush sofa.
"We have a couple of agents doing a 24 hour surveillance on this property," said Rachel, "And there are a couple of things I'd like to clarify, if possible."
"Anything," replied the brothel owner, her eyes sliding past Rachel, and locking onto John's. "Anything at all," and she smiled at him, watching him drop his eyes, and color creep into his cheeks.
"Have you received any gifts or any sort of unusual attention from anyone lately?" asked Rachel. "Is there anyone special in your life at the moment? Or more particularly, anyone who would like to be special in your life?"
Lisa Kent frowned a little, and looked back at Rachel. "This isn't about me," she said. "I don't know who is killing those girls. Why would you ask me a question like that?"
Rachel leaned forward. "Well I do think it's about you," she said emphatically.
"I think whoever is murdering those girls, is doing it for your sake, - no don't get angry, I don't mean at your say so, I mean, he's doing it as a twisted sort of courtship – to get your attention, to win your approval or your love."
Lisa Kent sat back and frowned at Rachel. "I'm not sure I understand you," she said slowly. "What a disgusting thing for anyone to do. I don't know of anyone – "she broke off suddenly, looking pensive.
"What?" asked Marcus, leaning forward.
"It's nothing really, - quite silly but Billy often – no it couldn't be him, he's such a sweetie in his own way –"
John, Marcus and Rachel all leaned forward expectantly. "What?" said Marcus again.
"Well there is this patron – he's been coming to me for a few years now – Billy the Kid – his real name is William something – let me think, William Rutherford, but we always call him Billy the Kid. He has a bad case of infatuation for me, but he's really very sweet, not violent at all."
Marcus scribbled frantically in his notebook. "We may go and have a chat with this person," he said, "Can you think of anyone else?"
"No," replied Lisa Kent. "I don't even think you should go and talk to Billy. I don't understand why you think this is connected to me." All her bravado and swagger had now disappeared; she huddled in her chair, looking distressed. The security guard, Davis, walked into the room and frowned at the FBI agents.
"Are these people upsetting you, Miss Kent?" he asked. "Do you want me to remove them?" and he glared at Rachel, as he spoke. Marcus raised an eyebrow, as if to challenge the security guard, but Rachel rose to her feet.
"If you could come down to the Federal building, Miss Kent, we would like to go over some things with you there."
Lisa Kent huddled further into the sofa. "Why would you want me to come with you?" she asked, bewildered. "I haven't done anything wrong. I don't know what you want me to tell you."
Rachel sighed and took a step towards her, and the burly security guard then took a step towards Rachel. Both Marcus and John stood up, the situation becoming suddenly tense.
"I don't suspect you of anything," Rachel explained. "But I think you do know more than you think, unconsciously. Each of the women killed either worked for you, or used to work for you. The one's that were still working for you, were both about to leave, and move on. In the killer's eyes, they were abandoning you – setting up in opposition of you. He's killing to protect you, to protect your business. Please come with us. We can talk in more detail back at the office. Marcus and John will go and talk to William Rutherford, but we will need a few more names as well."
Davis snorted and walked around to stand in front of his employer. "She don't go with you unless she wants to," he said bluntly.
John bit his bottom lip reflectively, and then walked over to stand next to Rachel.
"If Agent Burke wants to question Miss Kent, I think you'd better step aside, and let her," he said flatly. The big man sneered at John, and laughed looking at him up and down, in an insolent manner.
"You gunna make me?" he sneered. "You might get your pretty clothes dirty!"
John smiled softly, and his eyes darkened, he suddenly looked dangerous.
Marcus loomed up on the other side of him, flashing his badge once again.
"Come on man," he said. "We are all on the same side here. We are trying to get to the bottom of this."
Lisa Kent seemed to shake herself out of her frozen state, and stood up swiftly.
"Of course, I'm sorry. Davis, thank you for your championing of me, but these people are trying to solve these horrible murders, not damage or injure me in anyway. Of course I'll come with you." She turned to Rachel, and smiled.
"Can I sit in the back of the car with you?" she asked John, once again mistress of the situation.
John raised an eyebrow, and turned to leave, following Lisa Kent to the door. She turned back towards him, and smiled in an apologetic manner.
"I'm sorry about Davis," she said. "He gets very protective toward me."
John stopped suddenly and Rachel, who was behind him, bumped into him.
"What the…" she said, then Lisa's words sunk in, and she spun around, looking at the security guard, who glared belligerently back at her.
John looked at the guard and back at Rachel. "Well?" he said, "Shall we take him in for questioning too?"
Rachel shook her head slowly. "No," she said "Not now."
John raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Protective towards her – isn't that what we are looking for?"
"Yes, but never mind now," she said, and putting her hands in John's back, gave him a little push. "Well, get going," she muttered to him.
"You don't want to question him?" he asked with a nod of his head, in the security guard's direction.
"Not at the moment," she said, and kept pushing at John, till he followed Lisa Kent and Marcus out to the car. "I will get George to do a more thorough check on the computer first."
"Of all the people I don't understand," John muttered, so only Rachel could hear, "You are at the top of the list."
She smiled sweetly up at him. "Well, thank goodness for that," she murmured back to him. "I don't think I want to be so shallow as to be understood by you."
He spun around, and she followed his broad shoulders out of the building, and could tell, by the stiffness in his back exactly how offended he was by her remark.
They all piled into the car, and Rachel very quickly got into the front passenger seat, making sure that John had no choice but to sit next to Lisa Kent in the back.
The whole way back to headquarters, she could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of her head.
Back in her office, with Bailey sitting in, she began questioning Lisa Kent again, taking her back over the past weeks, almost moment by moment, trying to find a thread that she could run with. It was an exhausting and long process, and both she and Lisa were emotionally drained by the time she was ready to drive Lisa back to the brothel.
Bailey told Marcus to accompany them, as John was busy chasing down information on another case. Rachel glanced over as she escorted Lisa to the elevator, and frowned at the sight of Donna and John sitting together and laughing. Donna was her friend but seeing her constantly leaning over John somehow set her teeth on edge.
Lisa's eyes followed Rachel's gaze and she turned to her and smiled.
"Looks like lover boy over there has all the females fawning over him," she said. Rachel stiffened, and gave a disparaging sniff.
"Not all the females," she said abruptly.
Lisa looked at her from under downcast eyelashes, and smiled again.