Thank you all for the continued support and reviews! This next part gets a bit creepy; consider yourself warned.
Side note to reviewer M: Yeah, Sue was pretty overwhelmed and not thinking very logically during that chapter, right? More on that later.
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Chapter 12
Grace Covenant University
Reston, VA
September 6
Tara methodically packed up computer equipment to take back to the office, using the activity to keep her mind occupied. If she could focus on checklists and inventories, she didn't have to think about what had happened less than an hour ago just a short distance away from where she stood. If she let her thoughts wander, she would remember the anguish on Jack's face as he held Sue in his arms, pleading for help. There had been so much blood...
She gave a firm shake of her head and returned to her work. Sue had been taken to the hospital. There wouldn't be any word on her condition for awhile. Worrying wasn't going to change anything. All she could do was pray that her friends would be okay, pray that this terrible evening hadn't asked too much of them.
The profilers had suggested that Joshua Evans would be coming off of an adrenaline high immediately after the attack; it might be a good time to get a statement from him. Tomlinson had decided to take the first crack at him before they even left the scene. They had secured a room in the library, and Myles had been invited to sit in. Tara was glad she didn't have to go. She was quite happy to work in her own field; she didn't need the kind of nightmares that came from listening to a serial killer brag about his prowess.
"Agent Williams, I have a favor to ask of you."
Tara looked up as Tomlinson entered the surveillance van. Myles followed close behind, his face furious. "I just want to go on the record stating that I think this is a bad idea," he said, scowling.
Tomlinson nodded a tad forcefully, as if this were part of a conversation they had already had. "It will be noted, Leland." He turned back to Tara. "I was wondering if you could talk to Evans."
Tara looked at him in disbelief. "You want me to interrogate him?" That wasn't her usual role on her own team, much less for a completely different division.
"We don't have to call it that, if it makes you uncomfortable. He's not opening up to us. We thought if he was approached by a woman, he might break down. I know this isn't your area of expertise, but you're the only female agent on site."
Tara's face grew slightly pale, and Myles burst in hurriedly. "I really don't think this is necessary. I'm sure we can get someone else."
"Hold on," Tara said. "What is it that you want me to do, exactly?"
"Just try to get him to tell you why he did it," Tomlinson answered. "We're not lacking in physical evidence, but a confession never hurts. Besides, any insight we can gain helps us be that much smarter the next time. You don't have to stay in there the whole time. Just find out what you can and leave when it gets to be too much for you."
"You don't have to do this," Myles said gruffly.
Tara thought of all those bright young women, dead. Then she thought about the stillness of Sue's body, and how the look on Jack's face would haunt her forever. She took a deep breath. "Tell me what I need to do."
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Damascus Library
Grace Covenant University
Reston, VA
September 6
"Mr. Evans? My name is Tara. I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes." She wasn't exactly sure how she walked to the table with her legs shaking so badly. She reached for a chair and gratefully sat.
"So they sent in a woman now, did they?" Joshua Evans shrugged. "It makes no difference to me. I'm still not saying anything."
Tara looked at him for a long second before speaking. "They have all the physical evidence they need, you know. Keeping quiet at this point isn't going to help."
"So I should talk just to make the shrinks happy?" he scoffed.
"No, I think you should talk because you want to," she replied.
That got his attention. "You think I want to talk?"
Tara thought for a moment, and then changed course slightly. "I'm a computer expert, Mr. Evans. I don't usually talk to suspects in this area, so I have no idea what you want. All I know is computers. Sometimes I'll be working on a project, and it will go just right. When that happens, I don't just tell people I got it. Sometimes I'll go into this long, winding description of how I solved the problem. My coworkers have to remind me to get to the point. See, for me it's not just about the end result. It's about the process I took to get there."
Joshua held her gaze. "And you think I want to talk about the long, winding process."
Tara's stomach was so tight she was surprised she hadn't thrown up. She swore to herself that when this was over she would go back to her own work and never, ever do this again. Still, she refused to back down. "You don't just want to talk about it. You need to."
His eyes sharpened on her face for one awful moment, and then he laughed. "Okay, Miss Tara-the-Computer-Expert. Let me tell you about my sister."
His laugh had made Tara's stomach hurt even more, but she forced herself to relax. "Angela?"
His brow lifted. "You know about her, do you? Well, you don't know everything."
"So tell me."
He sighed, and a dreamy, child-like expression slowly filtered into his eyes. "Angela was exactly that; she was my angel. She was the most beautiful, perfect baby sister anyone could have asked for, and I loved her from the moment my parents brought her home from the hospital. She was so sweet and good, and she had such faith. She was taking classes at a school a lot like this one, you know. She was going to move here and share an apartment with me when she graduated."
Seeing his face darken, Tara softly prompted him. "What happened?"
His eyes flashed. "Matthew Parker, that's what happened."
"Your sister's husband?"
The rage that covered his face was immediate and terrifying, "She should never have married him! She met him her senior year, and they married as soon as she graduated. So instead of moving in with me, she settled in to play housewife for him. And then..." his voice trailed off.
"She died in childbirth," Tara said.
He looked up at her, angry. "If you already know everything, why are you asking me?"
"I'm sorry; I'll just listen," Tara answered. "I don't know everything, Mr. Evans. I want you to tell me."
"Call me Josh. Angela did."
It took everything she had to get the name out. "Josh, tell me what happened with Angela."
He stared down at the floor. "She died, that's all. My sister died. I found them both...my pretty angel, and that tiny, perfect baby." His voice broke just a little at that. "Our parents had died in a plane crash a few years back, and suddenly I was alone. And I was angry. I was just so desperately angry with everyone. I didn't start killing right away, you know. I just let all that hatred build for a long time, knowing that I would be able to make something wonderful out of it when the time was right."
He paused, but Tara had learned her lesson. She waited. Finally, he continued. "Linda Martin was the first. She was the most like Angela, you see. She looked like her, she was a senior, and she had a boyfriend. They were going to marry as soon as she graduated. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I guess I thought I was saving her. If I could stop her before it went too far, before she committed to him, then I was rescuing her from her own destruction. I was giving her something better." He glanced at Tara. "Do you want me to tell you about her? And the others?"
Tara didn't. She really didn't. She knew that she could stop now, and Agent Tomlinson would take over. She wanted to leave this room, leave this heartbreak and sickness far behind her, and never return. But she was afraid that if she left he would stop talking. And so she nodded. "Tell me about them all, Josh."
He began to talk. It lasted for over an hour. Tara sat as still as she could, listening...trying not to listen. When he finished, she asked him one final question. "Why did you begin to break the pattern? None of the later girls was as good a match as Linda had been. Jessica Bartell was a sophomore; Melanie Stewart didn't go to school here. Sue Davenport…" She had to stop for a second to regain her composure. "Sue is deaf. Why the variation, Josh?"
He glanced at her face, and in that fleeting look she saw that the angry little boy was gone. In his place was a master of the game, one who had found his calling and embraced it. He smiled at her now, and it was not a nice smile. "It didn't matter so much as it went on. Linda was a way of expressing my frustration. After her, the killings became even more personal."
"You began to enjoy it," Tara said.
He nodded. "Very much. There's nothing like that last moment, when they're trying so hard to live. In the end, I killed them because I loved hearing them scream."
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Damascus Library
Grace Covenant University
Reston, VA
September 6
When Tara stepped out into the hall she saw Myles waiting for her, concern evident on his features. She didn't have the strength to take another step and just stood there, weeping. Myles watched her for a few awkward moments and then pulled her into his arms. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed.
Myles stroked his hand over her hair. "Shh...you did fine. You were brilliant."
"Oh Myles," Tara's voice was muffled against his shirt. "Think of all those women, so young and full of hope. Oh, God...Sue."
"Shh," Myles hushed her again. He continued to hold her as she cried. Finally he handed her his handkerchief. "I'll take you home."
She shook her head. "No. I want to go to the hospital."
"I already spoke to Jack. Sue's in surgery and won't be out for several hours. You can go in the morning; right now you need to sleep."
She was embarrassed to say it, especially to him, but fear won out. "Myles...I don't want to be alone right now."
He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair. "You won't be alone; I'm not leaving you."
Ever.