8
It Had to be You
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Chapter 26
"The Mission of Life has three names that fit the criteria," reported Tara. "I have their last known addresses."
"I've got one guy that fits from that homeless shelter on M Street," Lucy added. "No address."
"Two here," said D raising his hand.
"And with the three names we have that's a total of nine people," said Jack looking at a sheet of paper. "Much more manageable to check than our original lists." He thought a moment as he mentally organized the tasks to be done. "Let's start checking on the names and addresses we do have to see if any of these men fit the general description provided by Theresa and Sue."
"If any of them fit the description, call Tara and Lucy so they can do background checks," instructed D.
"In the meantime, we'll continue working on the list you gave us from Father Dancy," said Tara.
"Pardon me for asking this question, but do we even have a description of the suspect to go on?" Myles instructed.
"Youngish—late twenties to thirties, longish hair, average build, average height," supplied Bobby.
"My…that's helpful," said Myles acerbically.
"It's all we've got at the moment. Tara and Lucy, we need those addresses," Bobby requested.
"I'll trade you my names and addresses for your names with no addresses," Tara offered.
"You've got yourself a deal," answered Jack with a smile as he handed her his sheet.
Bobby looked over his shoulder to look at the list. "Why don't we take these two names since the addresses aren't too far apart. Myles and D…"
"We'll take the other," D picked up smoothly. "Okay, people, let's go."
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Sue smiled as she put her Blackberry into her pocket. "Janice said to tell you one and only one cup of coffee, you smooth talking devil and then I am to come home. If you want to chat more, come by the shop or the house. I feel like a teen-ager with a curfew."
"Smooth talking devil, huh?" repeated Mark with one eyebrow raised. "It's been a while since anyone's said that to me."
"Well, it's not something you usually say to a priest," smiled Sue. "At least not to his face."
"No, it's not," chuckled Mark. "Have a seat," he gestured. "I promise I won't keep you long. "
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
He fidgeted for a moment before blurting, "I…I just wanted to apologize for putting you at risk."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your FBI friends think I may have been the one to let it slip that you were a witness in Eric's death," admitted the chagrinned priest. "I'm sorry."
"You would never do anything to put me in danger," said Sue.
"Not intentionally."
"But they're not sure it was you. It could have been someone else." Sue leaned forward in her seat. "Mark, whatever happens, it's not your fault. I refuse to blame you for the actions of a deranged murderer."
"I'm a priest," he said, "I'm supposed to know how to keep my mouth shut and I didn't."
"Did the police tell you not to tell anyone?"
"No, but I should've known."
"Why?"
"I don't know but I should've."
"That is the silliest thing I have ever heard," she said flatly. "You're a priest. You're not omnipotent. That's your Boss' department."
Mark stared at her for a moment then laughed.
"You know, it was my intention to provide comfort to you," he grinned. "Instead, you're the one comforting me."
"Even a priest needs someone to talk to now and then."
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"Lucy, c'me here," remarked Tara.
Eyes narrowing, Lucy looked at her teammate. There was something in Tara's tone that raised alarm bells in Lucy's mind.
"What am I looking at?" she asked peering over Tara's shoulder.
"You know that list Bobby gave me?"
"Yeah. Everyone on my half checked out."
"Well, one person on mine didn't." Tara pointed. "Joe Denning. Age sixty-three, formerly a chemist with a big pharmaceutical company until his retirement three years ago."
Lucy couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. "And so?"
"Because of the chemistry connection, I dug a little deeper. Joe Denning died a year ago from lung cancer."
"Could you have gotten the SS numbers mixed up?" suggested Lucy trying to eliminate any variables.
"I ran the number on the list twice and came up with the same information."
"We need to call Bobby and Jack asap."
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"Last name on the list—John Tyler," announced Bobby as Jack pulled up to the curb. The five story building was located in an older neighborhood.
"The name of our seventh president," Jack replied as he got out of the car. "Or was he the sixth? Whatever. Did you know he had fifteen children?"
"Fifteen, you say?" smirked Bobby. "The White House must've been a rather lively place with all those children running around."
"Probably." Jack scanned the directory. "Manager…apartment 101."
The two agents knocked on the first door. After a few seconds, the door opened a few inches.
"Yes?"
"FBI," Jack stated holding up his badge. "Are you the manager?"
The man peered at the credentials. "Yeah, I am," he replied satisfied the badge was authentic.
"We'd like to ask you a few questions,"
The door shut briefly while the manager slid the chain off.
"Special Agents Hudson and Manning," Jack introduced themselves when the door opened once again. "You are…?"
"Bill Cooper."
"How long have you been the manager?"
"This year makes ten years. Why?"
"About two years ago you had a tenant by the name of John Tyler," said Bobby. "Does his name ring a bell?"
"John? Sure," the manager answered. "But he doesn't live here any more. He moved about two…two and a half years ago."
"What did he look like?" asked Bobby.
"Is he in trouble?"
"Right now we're just gathering information," Jack replied calmly. "What did he look like?"
"Average looking, height…weight…build something like yours," Cooper answered nodding towards Jack. "Dark hair. Can't think of anything else."
"Anything about him that stands out?"
"Can't say there is."
"Do you happen to have a picture of him?" Bobby asked perfunctorily. So far no one had had a photo of any of the men on the lists.
The manager thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact, I do. My sister and niece came to visit and I took their picture when he happened to be in the background. Let me go find it."
Bobby and Jack exchanged hopeful glances. Maybe this could provide a face to the serial killer.
As Cooper rummaged through an album, Bobby continued the questioning.
"You know anything about him? What he did? Any family?"
The manager grimaced. "John's quiet. Didn't talk much about himself. He must've had some kind of white collar job cause he didn't have that look, you know, like he did manual labor. " He flipped through the pages. "I don't know if he had any friends. Had a sister but she died a while ago. He took it really hard."
Cooper stopped and pulled a photograph out. "Here," he said handing it to Bobby. "He's kind of hidden behind Zoe but you can make out his face."
Bobby and Jack peered at the picture trying to make out the man's features.
"He looks familiar," commented Jack.
"Yea," agreed Bobby thoughtfully trying to pinpoint where he'd seen the face before. "You know, with glasses…longer hair…"
Jack looked at Bobby in astonishment. "The handyman at the shelter."
Bobby's cell went off. "Excuse me," he said as he walked away.
"May we keep this?" Jack asked the manager.
"Sure. I've got the negative. Is John in trouble?"
"He could be," Jack answered honestly. "We need to talk to him. Thanks for your help." Jack followed his teammate out into the hall and saw the look on Bobby's face.
"What?"
"We need to get to the shelter now," Bobby said urgently hurrying towards the car.
"What's up?"
"Tara did the background checks on the list we gave her. Joe Denning died two years ago."
"She has an agent with her," stated Jack trying to reassure his friend of Sue's safety.
"It would be even better if I was with her." Bobby punched in Sue's number impatiently waiting for the connection to be made. "Hurry, Jack."
"Hi!" she answered finally. "I was…"
"Where are you?" Bobby said urgently.
"At the shelter. It's my day to help, remember?"
Damn! thought Bobby. Maybe…maybe the handyman wasn't there. "Go home and stay there," he ordered.
"I was…"
"Sue?" demanded Bobby as her words were abruptly cut off. "Sue? Are you there?" Faintly, he could hear her ask, "What happened?"
Jack glanced at his partner's face. "What's wrong?"
""I don't know," Bobby said tersely. "Faster, Jack, faster!"
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A/N: Not being evil intentionally, but I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow so I don't know if I'll be able to post the next chapter before I leave.