"Has the victim been alerted to the situation?"
Agent Forrester shook his head. "There were concerns that Dr Bennett would blow things if he knew."
"Guy's got a wife, two kids and a baby on the way." Danny leaned over the seat to hand a Mac a page from the dossier. "If I knew that I might have a freak stalking me, I'd run for the hills. Head for this lake house they've got."
"And right into the perfect place for a kidnapping." Mac nodded.
"All of our agents have age enhanced photos of Russell Stokes, with a variant spread for weight loss and gain, change in hair color, facial hair."
"Standard protocol. But what about plastic surgery."
"The money Stokes received from his parents life insurance policy was barely enough to fund an operation like this. The amount of surgery needed to change his appearance would have depleted it."
"Besides." Spencer added, snapping his phone shut. "If no one is really looking for you, it's overkill. Especially if you are smart enough to blend in."
"You have an idea?"
"I was just talking to Gideon. Wanted to run a thought by him before I brought it up."
"And?"
"He agrees that Stokes likely did NOT resort to surgery, but probably has changed his hair color, perhaps contacts on the eyes, added a beard. And he's likely finding a way to get close to the victims without them paying attention to him. "
"Such as?"
"St Louis police questioned the neighbors after Rachel Morgan was killed, no one could give a solid description but the mention of a landscaper came up several times. Man in his late 20s, brown hair, brown eyes, fit body. One woman said he was friendly, attentive to details and gave a fair price on all his work. The whole street used him to mow their grass, trim hedges, and so on."
"And he probably turned up a couple of weeks before she disappeared."
"Two months actually. A week before the murder he told one of the neighbors that his father had a heart attack and he was going out of town. He never came back. Chicago went to talk to Jason Parnell last night. He was Derek Landes partner. Parnell recognized a photograph of Stokes, this time with Blonde Hair and his real green eyes, plus a beard as a Neil Scott. They hired Scott as a painter. Said he was a great worker who just vanished one day. Then about two days later, Landes was killed."
"So this guy will find a way to not stand out. Get close, watch Bennett."
"It also means he could already be here. He may have known where Bennett was even before he killed Lucas Clark and Lisa Stansfield. Came here, got himself a vantage point and is just waiting for the perfect moment to strike."
"So what now?"
"We need to tell Bennett what is going on." Spencer said, his eyes looking out at the building where Bennett was teaching his sophomore class on Pre Civil War Literature. "And we need to get close to him without Stokes spotting us."
"Any ideas?"
Spencer turned to Danny. "Actually yes."
