Disclaimers see Chapter 1
Chapter 4:
When Danny stopped in the little parking area he noted the presence of a couple police vehicles and one officer was standing at the head of a little walkway. He started to get out only to have Agent Mitchell lay a restraining hand on his arm.
"I'd like you to wait here for a few minutes."
Danny pulled his arm away and stared at Mitchell barely disguising the fury in his voice, "Why is that. We've already been through this, we need to see the crime scene first hand and you have no right – "
"Actually, Agent Taylor," Mitchell's voice was even but firm and his eyes held a gleam that told Danny Mitchell carried the upper hand in this discussion. "I do have the right. I am the lead agent on these series of killings and, if I have to, I'll play that card and shut you and your entire team out of this investigation entirely. I'm not going to keep you and Agent Delgado from viewing the scene, but first I want to ask Agent Delgado a few questions before I do, so stay here and we'll head up to the scene in a few minutes."
Danny seethed but decided to comply for the moment. He watched as Mitchell exited the vehicle and went back and joined Elena in the other vehicle. Not surprisingly Agent Clark came and stood quietly beside the opened passenger door of his vehicle in essence daring Danny to make a phone call. Danny decided he'd wait, no doubt Jack would suspect these two were intent to make trouble for the team and probably already had Martin's apartment being searched quickly and quietly by Vivian and Sam before these to yahoos got there. He waited and watched while Mitchell began the same routine with Elena.
"Agent Delgado, a few minutes of your time before we head up to the crime scene." Mitchell said by way of greeting as he slid into the driver's seat. She turned to look at him and caught a glimpse of Danny's face in the other vehicle. She could easily read his anger and knew that Mitchell and he had not gotten along. She wasn't surprised; Mitchell had always been aloof and a bit condescending throughout the time their teams had been interacting.
"I just want to ask you a few questions regarding Agent Fitzgerald."
"All right."
"How long have you known Agent Fitzgerald?"
"Almost two years, more like a year and a half -- since I joined the team."
"All right. So you've known him the shortest amount of time of the whole team?"
"Correct." Great, Elena thought, this guy is brilliant, I joined the team last so of course I've known Martin the shortest amount compared to the others.
"Now, tell us, is Agent Fitzgerald a good agent?"
"Yes."
"Can you elaborate?" Mitchell encouraged her to speak a little more openly.
"What would you like to know?" Elena wasn't going to start speaking in generalities, if this man wanted to know something, he was going to have to ask.
"Is he thorough in his paperwork?" Agent Mitchell asked the question with just a trace of annoyance in his voice.
"Yes."
"Agent Delgado, I'm trying to get a sense of Agent Fitzgerald. Please, in your experience as an FBI agent, is Agent Fitzgerald someone you like working with?"
"Like, yes. Trust, yes. Have I learned from him, yes." Mitchell really was getting on her nerves. She knew he was taking the circumstantial evidence and developing his own theory on what had occurred and in his eyes, Martin was guilty but Elena knew him and knew it wasn't possible.
"Again, I'm just trying to get a sense --"
No, you're trying to wheedle something from me because I'm the newest on the team. There's nothing to wheedle, but you're still going to have to ask the questions. Elena thought barely listening to the rhetoric Mitchell was spewing.
"Agent Delgado, this can go rather quickly if you would just –"
"Why don't you ask me a straight and simple question, and I will answer it. Don't ask broad sweeping questions. We're wasting time here." Elena was frustrated, didn't this guy understand the clock was ticking!
"Fine." Mitchell tried to hide his displeasure at being directed by her but she caught it easily. "In reviewing some of the cases you and Agent Fitzgerald have worked I noticed that on at least one occasion you were involved in a case involving a missing girl."
"I'd say you're mistaken. Many of our cases involve missing children, girls and boys alike; there has been more than one."
"True, but this one in particular involved child pornography."
Unbidden the images came quickly to Elena's mind of the pictures and the websites. She remembered the case now, it was shortly after she joined the team and the case started with a missing adult male only to evolve into a search for a little girl who had been pimped out by her supposed guardian.
"Yes, I remember the case."
"Now, I understand that there were quite a few pictures of the girl and others in…let's just say illicit settings and inappropriate attire."
"You could say that."
"What I want to know is, did you notice Agent Fitzgerald having any particular fascination with the pictures or the web sites. Did he appear to study them a little too closely or want to keep revisiting the sites for additional research perhaps?"
"Absolutely not!" Elena was angry at the implication. "We were all horrified and tried to look at those sites or photos as little as possible and still complete our investigation."
"You have a daughter, don't you, Agent Delgado?" Agent Clark asked.
"You know that I do." Elena answered coldly.
Clark met her flashing eyes without flinching. "Would you want Agent Fitzgerald anywhere near your little girl?"
Elena took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. "Agent Fitzgerald is a colleague and a friend. I trust him with my life and I would and have trusted him with the life of my daughter and, if need be, I would do it again. I think we're done for now, Agent Mitchell, there's a crime scene we need to get to."
Without waiting for his reply, Elena left the vehicle and noted that Danny quickly left his and the two of them strode to the officer at the head of the little path, flashed their badges and without waiting headed to the duck pond to see what they could find.
7:30 a.m. Martin's apartment:
While Elena and Danny were tangling with Mitchell and Clark, Vivian and Sam entered Martin's apartment via the key Sam still carried. She looked at Vivian and blushed slightly. "I just never got around to giving it back."
Vivian smiled quietly and stood inside taking in the apartment. The living area was neat and organized. There was a couch, tv and stereo system, a bookshelf against the wall was filled with books both, fiction and nonfiction, paperback and hardcover. The drapes were pulled closed keeping the daylight out. There were several comfortable looking chairs and a desk that completed the room. The dining room was right next to the kitchen and there was plenty of evidence that Martin had been working out whatever was bothering him with the files.
Sam reached down and picked up the notepad that was covered with Martin's neat handwriting. There was a column on the left where dates, cities and names were neatly printed. Each date had the name of a city underneath and a woman's name underneath that. Sam recognized each of the names of the women who had been murdered over the past seven years from the files Mitchell and Clark had shared. The next column contained another list: Guys came to visit and rock climb near Rainier; Skiing trip, Golfing trip, moved to NYC guys came, golfing trip, scouting NYC, moved to NYC.
"Viv, Martin's got a list here for each of the murders that we have files for. He's listed events next to each date."
"Yeah, and I think I know what he figured out." Vivian was standing on the other side of the table and had been looking at the various calendars and day planners that Martin had scattered on the table.
"Look at this, Sam: February 2004, ski trip with the guys. It doesn't list any names just the dates and 'the guys. Here's another one, August 2001, Mt. Rainier, rock climbing with the guys. Again, no names and then July 2002, just moved to NYC, guys coming to celebrate."
"He's got another page of names, dates and places here." Sam looked at Vivian and the fear in her eyes was easily read. "There's a list of at least five other women that have been murdered. They were murdered in Sacramento and Chicago. He's scribbled a note about training seminars. I'd have to check with Jack, but I don't think Martin ever went to Chicago or Sacramento for any training."
"What if Martin figured out who the killer was and went to stop him." Vivian thought aloud.
Both agents shared a knowing look, Martin would do that, especially if he knew who it was or if he thought he knew.
"What we don't know is who that person is. All he's listed here are the dates and locations and the victims' names. I wonder why he didn't write down any names." Vivian continued to think aloud.
"Hmmm." Sam murmured mechanically. Sam's thoughts were on Martin. She knew there was no way he could be the killer. She shuddered involuntarily and closed her eyes against the pain she envisioned he had felt as he these lists came together and the awful truth had been revealed to him.
Vivian didn't notice Sam's distraction as her thoughts were also on her missing colleague. What had he felt as he discovered who the killer was and then gone off to confront him. She knew he had been torn between being a federal agent and a friend that had discovered a terrible, monstrous part of another friend. She understood why he hadn't called any of the others for help, how do you even start the conversation?
She held the calendar marking the year 2002 and flipped slowly through the pages and found the entry she knew she would find. July 12th, Jack Malone called and offered me the position on his team!!! It was circled in red. Vivian smiled sadly knowing that, if it were in Martin's character, he would have placed a huge smiley face in the box as well.
Hang on, Martin, we'll find you. We won't stop until we find you. Vivian sent the plea silently through her mind and hoped that wherever he was, he knew they were looking.
Small Park off Saw Mill River Parkway:
Mitchell and Clark followed behind Danny and Elena catching up to them just as they arrived at the little picnic area that looked over at the duck pond. The ducks were flocked on the far side of the pond and they were loudly letting everyone in earshot know they weren't happy having their space invaded by crime scene tape and officers with radios that blurted messages at intermittent intervals complete with static and occasional feedback.
Mitchell and Clark gave the area a perfunctory scan. They'd already been briefed by Lieutenant Cooper and a quick sketch had already been made of the site and the location of where each item had been found. Now only little cones were left identifying the location of the shoe and the badge. After a few minutes of noting the placement of the items and scanning the area for possible hiding places, Mitchell and Clark turned away and headed back to their car leaving Danny and Elena scowling in their wake.
"They do leave a lot to be desired for how they search for clues." Danny groused.
"They're used to sites with dead bodies long since abandoned and any clues for an immediate lead have also long since disappeared. We're used to looking for clues of what occurred in any given location. To us a site is a story; to them it's the end." Elena thoughtfully mused.
Danny gave her an appraising look. "You've come a long way, Agent Delgado. You've come a long way." He nudged her shoulder teasingly and then stood still and scanned the entire area.
"Danny, this looks like a spot where somebody was struggling with someone else." She walked over to the grassy area where there was a clear indication that something or someone had landed heavily. The grass was flattened and some of the twigs and small pieces of branches that typically fell to the ground were broken. Just beyond the area in the dirt were footprints that were scuffed and a couple of places looked as if something or someone had been dragged or perhaps was crawling.
Danny was frustrated by Mitchell's lack of diligence in scanning the scene fully and he motioned to the officer who was guarding the scene to tape of those areas as well. Elena and Danny followed the trail of broken branches, occasional scuff marks and flattened patches of grass about 50 feet where they came up to a small stone barrier.
Leaning over the little barrier Danny realized that it wasn't so much a barrier as just a natural formation and that on the other side was a drop that while it went easily 15 to 20 feet before it leveled off would be easily traversed by someone who was hiking for the day. It wasn't very steep, but it did have plenty of rocks protruding from the dirt as well as roots sticking up from shrubs that dotted the little incline.
He looked down and saw a branch lying in the dirt near the rock formation. Since there weren't any other tree branches of that size lying on the ground in that area Danny crouched down and gave it a closer look. Slipping a glove on one hand he lifted the branch and examined it carefully, he noted a smear at one edge and his heart lurched in his throat, blood.
"Elena, I've got what I think is blood."
Elena came up beside him and examined it as well. Their eyes met and with sadness they both nodded. Looking again over the rocks and down the incline Danny made his decision.
"I'm going down to see if there's anything or –" Danny couldn't finish the thought. Elena nodded and pulled out her cell phone to update Jack on what they'd found and Mitchell's separate 'conversations' with each of them. Another crime scene team would need to scour this area.
Danny slowly worked his way down the slope. He tried not to disturb any rocks in case someone Martin was down there. He followed a direct line from where the piece of wood had been found figuring that, if whoever had been struck by it had fallen down this way, he'd be on their track.
At the bottom he found two things he hoped he wouldn't find and one that he was both relieved not to find but discouraged because he didn't know where to look for him next. At the spot where the terrain leveled out he saw a rock that had been dislodged from its original spot as the ground bore testimony to its movement, beside the rock was a dark spot on the ground that was covered with insects. Experience told him it was blood. The next thing he found was a cell phone. He didn't have to pick it up and look at it to know that it was Martin's, but he flipped open his own phone and hit the speed dial for Martin's phone. Within seconds the phone on the ground vibrated and the little red light flashed on and off.
"Where are you, Martin?" Danny bagged the phone and returned up top where Elena was in the process of updating Jack.
MPU Office: 11:00 a.m.
Jack watched the elevator light descend from Van Doren's floor to his own. He'd given her an update on what little the team knew at the time and was relieved that she had told him that Martin's father was out of the country at a conference in Japan. Jack felt that for once there was a little luck on their side as he didn't want to contend with Victor Fitzgerald at that moment and Paula indicated that while she he was in the process of returning home, it would take Victor a significant amount of time.
Upon returning to his office he was greeted with an annoying sight, Agents Mitchell and Clark had taken it upon themselves to enter his office and were sitting in the chairs across from his desk. He knew the two men had left Danny and Elena hours earlier and Van Doren had just informed him that they had secured a warrant to search Martin's apartment. Their presence in his office indicated they had completed that task. Jack was only glad Vivian and Sam had gotten there first. Jack wasn't sure if these two were interested in the truth or just in pinning the crimes on a convenient target.
"By all means, gentlemen, make yourselves at home." Jack's gruff voice did not even cause either man to look up from their notepads much less stand at his entrance.
Jack walked around to the back of his desk and resumed his seat. "Well."
"Agent Malone, perhaps it would be best if we spoke in private." Mitchell started.
Jack looked around his office that was empty of any other person beside himself and the two agents across from him. "So, do you need an exorcism to get rid of the ghosts or is that your way of telling me you've turned off the bugs?" Jack could feel the headache growing behind his eyes, this was not going to be a good day.
"I meant perhaps we should talk with the door closed." Mitchell responded tightly.
Jack's response was to wave at the door and when it didn't close by itself, Agent Clark stood up and closed the door.
"Agent Malone, how well do you know Agent Fitzgerald?"
"Well enough, why?"
"I guess what I'm asking is do you really know who he is?"
"I don't know what color his pajamas are or what side of the bed he sleeps on if that's what you're asking." Jack's temper was rising quickly.
"It's not. Do you trust Agent Fitzgerald?"
"With my life."
"Would you trust him with your daughters' lives?"
"I don't trust anyone with my daughters' lives. Get to the point."
"Agent Malone, we've found Agent Fitzgerald's car, driven by a woman who has been raped, beaten and almost strangled. The location where this happened fits with all the previous murdered women not only here but in Seattle and Colorado. Agent Fitzgerald's badge was found lying near the woman's shoe and now your agent is missing and not answering his phone or pager. We searched his apartment and while there is nothing there of any material evidence, we have impounded his computer and your tech specialist is going through it right now. I think it's safe to say that Agent Fitzgerald is our killer."
"I think it's safe to say there's evidence that that he's been in close proximity to some of the killings but then so have you. Not to mention that all the evidence regarding Martin's car and this attacked woman is circumstantial. For all we know he came upon the crime, intervened and was injured and taken prisoner or worse."
"Agent Malone, I don't think you understand the psychosis of a serial killer. They most often stick to very similar patterns and rarely, if ever, do they go from mutilating and murdering women to kidnapping men. If this mythical killer you've conjured up had gotten the better of your Agent Fitzgerald, it's likely he would have killed him on the spot, not spirited him away."
"Do you know that Agent Fitzgerald likes to ski?" Clark's question caught Jack off guard but his experience kept him from showing it in his facial expressions.
"Yes, I do."
"Yeah, I was talking to him when we first got here. I mentioned I was from Colorado and we got to talking about skiing. Turns out Agent Fitzgerald has visited my home state several times over the years. He even did some skiing in Durango about three or four years ago, although he said he couldn't pinpoint the year."
"And your point is?" Jack was rapidly tiring of this game of cat and mouse, especially since he was the mouse.
"My point is that I did a little checking, as it turns out Fitzgerald was in Durango during the time period that Alicia Calhoun went missing. He's lived in Seattle during the first disappearances and now he's here in New York City and we've got three additional missing and probably murdered women."
"So far all you have is coincidence." Jack didn't like the glint of victory in Mitchell's eyes.
"There's an awful lot of coincidence Agent Malone. I'm sure you can see why we're more than a little curious about Agent Fitzgerald. We've been told that it's not likely that Rachel Sanders will regain consciousness for us to talk to her until later today. We've already spoken with Agents Taylor and Delgado and as your other two agents, Johnson and Spade, are in the outer office, we're going to be interviewing them. After that we're going to go through all the phone records, credit card and bank statements and all the other material you've spent the morning combing through. We'll find Fitzgerald; we've waited too long to find our killer."
Jack snorted as the two men rose and headed for his office door. "Do you want the killer, or will anybody do?"
He watched them stop at his voice but not turn back to look at him. Both men went across the hall and Jack watched as Mitchell spoke with Vivian and she rose and followed him to an interview room. Clark sat near Samantha and started reviewing his notes while Sam glanced first in the direction Vivian had disappeared, then once in his direction before going back to her work.
Interview Room #1:
"Agent Johnson, please take a seat." Agent Mitchell started as he placed his notepad on the table and claimed a chair.
"I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."
"Of course." Vivian was not impressed with Mitchell right now. She knew he was dedicated to finding the killer of all these women but right now her focus was on finding Martin and every second counted.
"Okay. How long have you known Agent Fitzgerald?"
"Five years."
"Is that when he joined the MPU?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Now, would you say that he's a good agent?"
"Yes, I would."
"Do you think he likes his job?"
"I would say so, yes."
"Do you think he takes the job to heart?"
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"I'm wondering if perhaps the job becomes a bit overwhelming for him, you know, perhaps he doesn't know how to leave it behind at the end of the day?"
"I think any agent who is dedicated to what they do encounters that in their career." Vivian responded evenly.
"Have you ever been concerned about Agent Fitzgerald's professionalism?"
"What do you mean?"
"Has he ever displayed any behavior that concerned you?"
"Concerned me how?"
The corner of Mitchell's lip twitched in annoyance. "All right. Has Agent Fitzgerald every lost his temper?"
"Yes, as have I."
"That's fine, but I'm only interested in Agent Fitzgerald. Now, when he lost his temper, did anyone get hurt?"
"Yes."
"Can you describe that situation?"
"I could but, since it's a matter of official record and both Agent Fitzgerald and I were thoroughly questioned and cleared of any wrongdoing, you can read the file yourself."
"Agent Johnson –"
"Listen, I know what you're after or what you think you're after but I will tell you this: Agent Martin Fitzgerald is a dedicated, intelligent agent. He risks his life for his partners and for the people we are out trying to help. I trust him with my life. Now, I'm quite certain the couple of minutes that I told you I was able to spare are up."
Vivian stood up, carefully replaced the chair at the table before turning and exiting the room pulling the door closed behind her.
She walked to the bullpen pausing at Martin's desk. As usual everything was in place except he wasn't there. She fingered his name plate with one hand while the other unconsciously patted the back of his chair. Her mind went back to almost two weeks ago to Wednesday May 16th when the second body had been found and the horrific murders hadn't yet turned out to be a nightmare of personal consequence to the team…
Vivian opened the passenger door and stepped from the sedan. Her partner, Martin, did likewise from the driver's side. They had been called to Central Park after the body of a young female had been found. Oddly, her driver's license was right next to her body allowing for easy identification and was the reason the Martin and Vivian had been dispatched.
The woman's name was Jo Anne Mills and they had been on her missing person's case since Monday of this week. Now, two days after the woman had been reported missing, she had been found. Both agents showed their badges to the officer guarding the taped off entrance to the crime scene and then proceeded up the path and then followed the track up a small hill until they came to the spot where the medical examiner was just completing his initial pronouncements while a small flock of ducks quacked agitatedly from their little pond.
"... by the rate of decomposition she was likely killed shortly after she disappeared. Obviously I'll be able to tell you more definitively once the autopsy is done and tissue and toxicological tests are complete. Obvious signs are asphyxiation due to the ligature around the throat; her neck was also broken between the C3 and C4 vertebrae. She was bound at some point judging from the marks on her wrists and ankles and judging from other damage readily visible she was raped. Again, a kit will confirm that."
Martin and Vivian stood quietly taking in the horrific scene in front of them. Both were seasoned in their work and had seen more than their share of these sites but it still never got to be normal for either of them.
Later, as they were sitting in their car getting ready to head back to the office Martin turned to Vivian sadly.
"It never gets any easier."
"No, it doesn't." Vivian paused for a moment and let the sad silence settle around them. "I guess the only positive we can take away from this is that we can bring some closure to the family."
Martin snorted softly. "I was just saying that to a friend this past weekend. He was asking me how I dealt with the violence and the sorrow and all that we see and I told him that one consolation was being able to bring closure – to bring home the loved one to their family and friends even if that meant they were dead that knowing was better than not knowing."
"I think it is. I hope it is." Vivian wasn't certain who she was trying to convince since in this conversation they were both on equal footing despite her greater years of experience.
"I hope so, too." Martin started the car, backed it up and swung it around only to pause before putting it into drive, "You know, Viv, you're right when you say to put it in a box. If you don't, it just eats you alive until you can no longer function. Sometimes though, I have to open that box and look inside, otherwise, it just seems disrespectful. It seems as if they didn't matter."
Vivian nodded thoughtfully at that. As Martin put the car in drive and slowly headed out of the park and back to the office she looked in the side mirror and watched the scene behind them disappear. Whoever had done that to that woman, defiled her body, ended her life and threw her away obviously didn't care about her, was it enough that there were people like Martin who did even if it was too late?
Present Day, Monday, May 21st, 2007:
Vivian stared a moment longer at Martin's desk and then squared her shoulders and set to work. She wasn't about to allow him to become one of those cases that gets put into a box and the lid closed; it didn't matter that someone lifted the lid and respectfully remembered from time to time, she wasn't going to let it happen.
TBC…