A/N - Hey guys sorry about the wait. I got everything ready to load and discovered that I had the wrong chapter!
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Chapter Eighteen – Between Two Lungs
They were stepping away from the Jeremy residents when Olivia's phone started ringing. After the scare with Etta, she hated that sound. Her heart resumed its normal pace when she saw Peter's name.
"Hey hubby."
Peter chuckled.
"Hey wife. Are you finished with Rayne Jeremy?"
"Yes."
"Hit pay dirt?"
"Somewhat. She still stands by her claims that there were two attackers."
"What does Heather say?"
"She feels the same way. Something's not right."
"Good. Well, I have a job for you. Well for us."
"Do you?"
"Yes. Just got a call from Broyles. Another body was found. If Heather wants to come and check the scene, this will be as good a time as any."
"Ok, we'll head down."
"You know where it is?"
"Train graveyard a couple of hours out of town right?"
"Yup. Bring coffee if you feel the need."
"Ok. Love you."
"Love you too."
Olivia put her phone back in her pocket and settled herself behind the wheel of the truck, flicking Heather a quick smile.
"We are off to the crime scene. Another body was found."
"How many does that make it now?"
"Six by my last count. All between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five, no missing person reports and all drug users."
Heather nodded slightly.
"And I'm taking a guess that they are all Caucasian?"
"According to Peter, yes so far."
Heather frowned.
"If you were a killer and someone else was in prison for your crimes, you would mix things up."
"How?"
"Well, instead of our guy going after young college students, he's going after women who won't be missed."
"So, lower rung of the ladder?"
"Yes."
"Who? Runaways?"
"I'm thinking more along the lines of prostitutes. No one will miss them; most don't have family or friends outside of their pimps or other prostitutes. And sadly, even if they are reported missing, they are low priority."
"So he's back to picking on the weak."
"Precisely. Just a theory though."
"I've worked off less."
Heather smiled slightly.
"How was Rayne?"
"Helpful. What I don't understand is why no one listened to her in the first place."
"Because they had all the evidence that they needed to convict Cutler. Why cause more panic that there might be a second man out there? Plus, her head injury meant that her statement was flawed to begin with."
"What I don't understand is why Cutler happily sits in prison."
"Well, from what we know, he was definitely there. So he's doing time he deserves. However, I've done some study on pair killers. One is always more dominant than the other."
"So Cutler is merely a pawn?"
Heather nodded.
"A way for our guy to do what he loves without getting caught. And it was far more evident to me in the meeting you had with him that he didn't pick the victims."
"How so?"
"Well, he should have been all but drooling with you in the room. You are an almost exact match to his victims. But he didn't. He spoke to you, as a person, not as an object. But when you left, I went in to finish the interview."
"Did he say anything relevant?"
"Not really, just the same shit he was spinning with you. But he looked at me differently, kept flirting."
"So the Barbie Doll killer-"
"Isn't Alfonso Cutler."
"As an educated guess, I would say no."
"So who is our guy?"
Heather sighed.
"I don't know. But he's a crafty son-of-a-bitch, I'll give him that."
Olivia paused at the lights, her fingers tapping on the steering wheel.
"So how do we find him?"
"We start at the beginning and work our way back."
"So we talk to Melanie?"
Heather nodded.
"Perhaps Alfonso met our guy early on."
"But why A.J?"
"It could be to do with her interviews with Cutler. One of the things that all killers have going for them is their arrogance and inability to obey rules."
"So Alfonso starts talking, telling A.J his stories and our guy gets pissed off?"
"The real question is how did he find out?"
"Letters?"
Heather shook her head.
"Not according to the Warden. Other than lawyers, A.J and us, he has no contact with the outside world."
"Other inmates?"
"He's in solitary confinement."
"Shit."
"My thoughts exactly. It does make me concerned for A.J. Because this guy does not want to get caught. And before us, A.J was getting too close to the truth."
Olivia frowned, looking out the window as the city slowly slipped away. She didn't want to think of the possibility that they might be too late to help A.J.
Two hours later, half of it passed in silence as each woman thought of the enormity of the task before them, they arrived at the train graveyard, two trays of coffees in their hands. It seemed odd to Olivia that they picked now to start cleaning up the abandoned train carriages now. They had been there for as long as she could remember. Peter was standing at the entrance, his hands in his pockets when they finally pulled up. He ambled over to Olivia's side, giving her a quick kiss before turning his attention to Heather. He moved around the truck again, offering her his hand.
"Peter Bishop."
Heather smiled.
"Heather Fogleigh. Nice to finally meet you."
"So are you used to crime scenes?"
Heather raised her eyebrow.
"Somewhat, yes. Why do you ask?"
"Because it is pretty gruesome. Even I had to get some fresh air."
Olivia caught the flash of confusion come over Heather's face. What they did, what Fringe division entailed, wasn't common knowledge. She was fairly certain that Heather would have heard the tall tales but none of it seemed real, not even to Olivia and she had lived through it. Peter kept to Olivia's side as they made their way into the train graveyard, sipping at his coffee. Even though they were long out of use, there was still the smell of diesel and grease in the air. The ground was uneven under foot and Peter's arm caught Olivia as she stumbled slightly. He offered her a small smile before they resumed their pace. Slowly, more and more people came into view and Olivia could finally see the scope of the findings. There was yellow crime scene tape looped over each carriage where a body was found, and even though they were spread out, you could almost connect the tape together to make some sort of path. Peter moved ahead slightly, leading them to the latest find. Olivia didn't need his direction. Even out in the open like this, she could smell the unmistakable scent of rotting flesh. Olivia instinctively started breathing through her mouth rather than her nose as the smell became heavier. They finally got to the carriage, marked by the people milling around. When Olivia first glanced into the darkness, it took her a moment to see the shape hidden in the corner. She stepped aside as a crime scene technician moved through, setting up a couple of lights so they could work. The body was laid down flat, in the far corner of the carriage. Olivia stepped up into the carriage and crouched down beside the body. It was decomposing there was no doubt about that. And despite the fact she was breathing through her mouth, the smell clung to her nostrils. She could taste the rotting flesh in her throat. Olivia glanced over the body, pausing at the hand. The skin didn't look like skin anymore but it didn't hide the tattoo on the back of the woman's hand.
"Heather, look at this."
Heather moved in beside her, a frown on her face.
"We might be able to get an I.D if someone reported her missing."
"A tattoo like that? Considering it's illegal in America, I think it might be a good thing. So tell me, what do you see?"
Olivia stepped back as Heather stood, her arms over her chest as she looked over the scene.
"She wasn't murdered here. There's no blood or any sign of a struggle."
Heather moved around the body.
"He didn't try to hide her. He doesn't think he will get caught. He is careful too, he redressed her. Why would he do that if he was just going to leave her out in the open like this?"
Heather wasn't talking to them now, Olivia could almost see the moment Heather slipped into her own thoughts. She chewed her lower lip, her eyes narrowed.
"He redressed her but her shoes are missing. Why are her shoes missing?"
Heather knelt down, looking at the woman's bare feet, shaking her head slightly.
"The skin isn't damaged."
Heather lapsed into silence as she continued her slow circle around the body. After ten minutes, she moved away from the body and slipped off the high step of the carriage. Olivia wanted to question her but her phone cut off her train of thought. She glanced at the screen, excusing herself as she answered.
"I'm glad Etta's ok."
Heather offered Peter a smile.
"You have a beautiful daughter."
Peter smiled back, glancing at Olivia.
"Yeah, the wife's not to bad either. Which reminds me, I wanted to thank you."
Heather frowned.
"What for?"
"For getting her to speak, for getting her to open up."
"It's easy when you know how."
"Not so easy with her."
"Just good timing I guess."
"Well, whatever it was, thank you."
Heather pushed her hands into her pockets.
"Did she tell you what we talked about?"
Peter shook his head, his eyes still on Olivia.
"No. I didn't push. She just needed to talk to someone. I don't need to know."
"If it helps, every second word out of her mouth was about you or Etta."
Peter smiled.
"Good to know."
Peter nodded towards the body in the carriage.
"So what do you think?"
"Olivia and I have a theory."
"Care to share?"
Heather chewed her lip.
"Alfonso Cutler is a fall guy"
"So he's innocent?"
"No. He was there. That's why all the physical evidence matched him. He didn't work alone though. Rayne Jeremy? She swore black and blue that she heard two voices."
"Shit."
"That's what we thought too."
"So A.J?"
Heather shook her head.
"I don't know. She was the only other one who was getting close to the truth."
"Do you think she's dead?"
Heather glanced at Peter and then at the body in the carriage.
"What reason would he have to keep her alive?"