Chapter Twenty-Four – Cheap Burgundy
Olivia frowned.
"Did he report it?"
Melanie shook her head.
"No. I don't know why but he didn't."
"Melanie?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you stop them?"
Melanie sighed.
"Because my family aren't monsters. Cutler's the monster, not them. I needed them. If they were in prison, how could they help me?"
"I don't think there would be a jury in the world that would have convicted them."
"Beside the point. Do you know what's really funny?"
"What?"
"My father still talks about killing Cutler. My brother's, they all got married and had a family but him, he's like a dog with a bone. Even now. Turns out his concerns were right. So Jeremiah is out there?"
"Yes, we think so."
"Am I danger?"
Olivia resisted the urge to give the response that would quell the fear that she could see in Melanie's eyes but she knew it was pointless. Rayne and Melanie had more than a violent attack in common. They had both lived through the lies that come with being a victim.
"I don't know. But I can do something about that."
"What?"
"I can have agents posted outside to protect you until this is over."
"Thank you."
Heather handed Melanie a mug of tea, her face relaxed but it didn't matter. Olivia could still see the wheels turning in her head. She waited until they were outside again before finally questioning her.
"So Jeremiah Brookes?"
"Man with a record longer than my arm."
"Same kind of line as Cutler?"
"Pretty much."
"So do we ask Cutler about Jeremiah?"
Heather shook her head.
"If they are connected, they would never say. We have to find Jeremiah."
"That's going to take a while."
"Tell me about it. Last sighting of him was almost two years ago."
Olivia's phone started to ring and she paused outside the truck, smiling as she glanced at the screen.
"Hi."
"Hey Liv."
"You at the club yet?"
"Yeah. First interview and I hit pay dirt. I have a picture of Rose."
"Great."
"So we have one I.D at least but I don't know about the other bodies. I mean, how many girls go by their real names?"
"None I'm guessing."
"Any luck on your end?"
"We have a new suspect."
"Who?"
"Jeremiah Brookes."
"That is one creepy name."
"Well he and Cutler go way back."
"The question is, is he our killer?"
"I don't know. Heather said that Jeremiah hasn't been seen for two years."
"We'll find him."
"I know."
"And then we will put him in the prison with his partner."
Olivia smiled.
"I love your optimism in all of this."
"It's all we have."
Olivia ended the call and turned back to Heather.
"Peter got picture of Rose."
"That's great."
"I know but we still need to reply on that tattoo. Her body is too far gone to I.D any other way."
"But still, it's good."
Heather and Olivia got into the truck.
"So where too now?"
"Back to the lab. I'm roping in Astrid for this one. I could use her help."
"You have the right person. If there's a track, Astrid will find it."
Olivia dropped Heather off at the lab before heading out again. When she pulled up outside of Fiona Sparks home, Fiona was sitting on the front step, Charles sitting beside her. When Olivia got out of the truck, Charles came bounding up to the fence, his face pulled into a doggy grin. He huffed at her, jumping at the fence until she opened the gate and rubbed him behind the ears. He groaned and leaned against her.
"Hi Charles."
She made her way up to Fiona, who smiled at her.
"Hello Agent Dunham."
"Olivia. Hi Fiona. How are you?"
Fiona shrugged.
"Fine. All things considered. Has then been a breakthrough on the case?"
"You could say that. I wanted to fill you in."
"Really?"
"You deserve to know. A.J made it clear that you and Charles were the only family she had. There's not many cases where I can keep the family as informed as I can."
Fiona nodded slightly.
"Thank you. I have been so worried. And Charles….he's not sleeping."
Olivia glanced down at the dog, who was currently sitting on her shoe, watching their conversation with wide eyes.
"Really?"
Fiona sighed.
"He does nothing but pace at night. Doesn't cry or anything, just pacing. I called his vet and she offered to give me some sedatives for him but I found something that works just as well."
"What?"
"Our boy here likes beer. A little bit mixed into his biscuits and it helps him relax at night."
Olivia couldn't help the laugh that tumbled from her lips.
"A dog that likes beer? As if this case couldn't get any stranger."
"It's better than a sedative. I did my research. A little bit doesn't hurt him."
Olivia stroked Charles's soft ears, making the dog groan in pleasure. She slipped her foot from under him and took a seat beside Fiona. Charles promptly shifted with her and sat alongside her, leaning against her leg with a sigh.
"Thanks for the lemons by the way Fiona, my sister made a lot of cake and cookies out of that."
"I am glad they were useful."
"Yeah they were. Peter and I won't be eating anything but cookies and cakes for a while."
Fiona smiled.
"Good. Did you want anything to drink?"
"No thanks I'm fine."
"Ok."
Olivia sighed and shifted deeper into her seat.
"We have a lead on a man that we think could have A.J."
"Who is he?"
"Jeremiah Brookes."
Fiona's grey eyebrows shot into her hairline.
"Jeremiah Brookes?"
"Yes. Why?"
Fiona said nothing, moving from her seat with surprising speed and headed inside. Olivia was tossing up the idea of following her before Fiona came back out a thick book in her hands. Olivia didn't get a chance to look at the cover before Fiona was pulling it open, flicking through it with fast fingers. When she finally stopped, she sighed and put the book on her lap, where Olivia could see the book. It was a book filled with clippings of murders and murderers. If Fiona wasn't the tiny lady that she was, Olivia would get suspicious as to why she had the book in the first place. Then again, Fiona happily admitted at the start that she was an avid fan of serial killers. And there, in his full glory, was Jeremiah Brookes. The picture was an old one, taken in the late eighties but it was first look she had of their latest suspect. He had dark hair and eyes, his face was handsome and his cheeks had small traces of the dimples he would have when he smiled.
"He reminds me of Ted Bundy."
Fiona's voice took on a soft thoughtful tone as she spoke.
"Ted Bundy used to con people, blend in because when people pictures a monster, it's never the handsome, charming stranger. Bundy, along with the other's all struck out because of arrogance. They think they are above it all."
"What else does it say about Brookes?"
Fiona scanned down the page with her finger.
"According to one judge, he callous and cold. Detached and then just as quickly, warm and charming. But he kept slipping away."
Fiona flipped the page and there was a wider shot of Jeremiah. And for a second, Olivia thought her eyes were playing tricks. When Fiona went to turn the page again, Olivia caused her to pause when she placed her hand over Fiona's.
"Wait."
Fiona frowned.
"What?"
"Do you have a magnifying glass?"
Fiona nodded and handed the book to Olivia, slipping back into the house. She came back out, handing Olivia the magnifying glass. Olivia leaned over the book, allowing the smile that tugged at her mouth escape. There it was. A faint but well defined scar on Jeremiah's right hand. It looked like it started at the third knuckle of his forefinger travelling back down to the base of his thumb.
"The scar."
"Scar?"
"One of the survivors remembered a scar but didn't say where. This is perfect."
Olivia was still examining the scar when her phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She kept her eyes on the picture as she answered.
"Dunham."
"Hey Olivia, it's Heather. We've got a problem."
"Well, I just found out where Jeremiah's scar is. It's on his right hand, going from his forefinger to his thumb. We can use that to I.D him if we need too."
"That's great. But as I said Olivia, we've got a problem."
Olivia finally caught the edge in Heather's voice, her excitement slipping away.
"What's wrong?"
"Cutler's dead."