Coldest Degree
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye or CSI: Miami!
Chapter Nine
"H, it's Lisa Rippner," Calleigh said, entering his office where he was still staring at the pile of papers in front of him. She handed him the latest printout from DNA.
"The front seat blood?"
"Yes."
"In which car?"
"Eric and I processed both cars and sent the blood from the second car to DNA. So far it looks like it was the same in both. Lisa Rippner witnessed both body dumps."
"Which means that she's still out there and that's she's next on the killer's list."
His cell phone rang. He answered it. "Caine."
"H, there's been a third murder. Another woman. This one's been shot," Eric Delko said.
"I'll be right there. Meet me at the Hummer." He hung up. "Calleigh, let's go."
Horatio pulled the Hummer over beside the third location, a busy shopping mall. The yellow crime scene tape had already been strung up around the parked car. He could see the nearly-headless woman positioned in the front seat before he made it beside the car.
Peering inside the car, he spotted the same pools of blood in the front passenger seat as always, plus the now familiar length of rope. There were also pools of blood in the backseat that he was willing to bet belonged to the woman now awkwardly slumped in the driver's seat.
Horatio could see the strands of short red hair. She was the third of the serial.
She was bruised and cut in attention to the bullet wound to the head. The now familiar 'J' was carved into her forearm. She was also a Jane Doe.
"Three women and three different CODs. Now how does that happen?" Horatio asked his team as they joined him beside the body.
"Three different killers?" Eric suggested, shrugging slightly.
"No, the MO is too similar. It's almost like the killer is perfecting his game before he makes the final kill," Calleigh said, then looked at Horatio, who nodded.
"Exactly. Lisa Rippner was always the target."
"So we've got bleeding to death, strangulation, and bullet to the brain," Eric listed. "Are we missing any common, painful CODs?"
"No," Calleigh said sadly.
"Which means Lisa Rippner is next, right, H?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
Horatio's cell phone rang and he answered it with a curt "Caine."
"I think I've got him," Ryan Wolfe announced happily. "Jonathan Weiss, 40, arrested for conspiracy based on a tip from Jackson Rippner. He was the group hitman and he got out early for good behavior."
"When?" Horatio inquired.
"About two weeks before Lisa Rippner disappeared."
"Long enough for him to stalk his prey," Horatio muttered. "Last known address?"
"4080 Breezeway Drive," Ryan recited, most likely after glancing down at the paper he had in front of him."
"Let's go before he finishes her off. If he's true to form than she's already been suffering since he captured her. Chances are she doesn't have much time left. I want you and three squad cars to meet us there."
"You got it, H.," Ryan said and then broke the connection.
"Calleigh, Ryan, we've got to go," he called, turning to his busy team. "Wolfe found a location. We've only got one shot to bring Lisa Rippner home alive."
Jackson Rippner picked the back door's lock after disabling the security system. He was surprised that Weiss would have picked such a taunting place. He had known about the failed Keefe job and had spent almost three years cursing Jackson in prison.
"4080," he whispered. "Change the room to suite 4080…"
Why didn't I see it before? Why did I think we were safe? I made too many enemies and I neglected to keep an eye on them. If I had been more careful, then I would have been there to protect Lisa from him. He stalked for two weeks before making his move. He followed my wife and killed her!
He slipped inside the pitch-black house and tightened his grip on the KA-Bar. It had taken him too long to discover the connection between Matt Ridge and Jonathan Weiss. Ridge was a sniveling coward, but he too had been let out after being convicted on one of his tips. Trying to track down the others without hacking into the police files had been near impossible.
He had turned to newspapers and worked backwards from a week before Lisa's disappearance. When he had seen Weiss' name pop up as a parolee, then he knew exactly who had killed his beloved Lisa. Tracking down his location had deemed a problem, but now it was time for vengeance. Lisa would be avenged.
I'm sorry sweetheart. I hope you forgive me…
There was a dim light shinning under a door crack near the kitchen. Jackson pressed his ear against the door and listened.
He could hear a woman's muffled whimpers and Weiss' voice.
"Scared now, huh? Don't worry, it'll all be over soon," Weiss was teasing.
Anger boiled inside Jackson. Weiss was already moving on to his next victim. Killing Lisa had only fueled the murderer inside the hitman. Now, he would continue killing and taunt Jackson for not acting sooner.
Jackson carefully pried the door open and descended the stairs. His blue eyes slowly began to adjust to the dim, dank basement—the underground torture chamber where his Lisa had been killed.
A muffled cry caused him to swing his head to the right, where he could see a quivering, blood-covered form bound to a chair. Matted, red-brown hair was falling into the woman's face. A pair of tear-filled green eyes met his gaze and he froze.
"Leese?" he whispered and he suddenly heard her scream.
A sharp pain in the back of his head caused him to tumble down the rest of the stairs and into the darkness.
Author's Notes:
I think I smoothed out most of the rushed bits. If I didn't, please let me know and I'll fix it again.