Redemption

Chapter Sixteen

The bullpen wasn't as lively as it should have been. A case like this required all of them to be on their toes, but because of the lack of new evidence, the only one who seemed to be working her behind off was Tara. She continued to type on her computer like there was no tomorrow. She was trying to search the FBI's database for the brothers' frequent visitor. So far, she'd come up empty-handed, but she wouldn't give up. "Nothing yet," she told Jack as he asked her for anything new.

He nodded in acceptance as he questioned everyone else on the team. They all gave him the same answer. The only person he hadn't heard back from was Myles. He wasn't at his desk and Lucy explained that he'd gotten an important call this morning. It was about their case so Jack couldn't really complain. With an exasperated growl, he sat in his chair. They were missing something; they had to have been. Someone doesn't just get murdered without reason.

"Jack, this was just sent up. It's from the Coroner," Lucy said as she handed him a group of files.

He eagerly took them with a "thanks" and read over them. This could have been the break they were looking for. But, as he scanned them all, he saw that there was nothing new. All of them carried information that they already knew. With exasperation, he closed the third file only to find a fourth below it. He glanced at the discard pile he'd made and back at the last one. He'd just assumed there were only three of them, so he never bothered to count. He opened it to find a small note inside that was addressed to him. It was in the same handwriting as the Coroner's report, so it had to have been something that was missed the first time around.

He read the note to himself and looked at the photos that followed. His eyes almost fell from his head from the shock of the photographs. "I don't believe it," he muttered, not expecting anyone to hear him, but Bobby was still sitting at his desk which allowed him to.

"What don't you believe, Sparky?" He asked as he hung up the phone. Reluctantly, he'd been on the phone with Stern, trying to see if there was anything new they'd come across. Unfortunately, that was a negative. At least they hadn't come across anything; he couldn't vouch for the rest of Metro PD. The funny thing was the cop's attitude toward the agent. He was actually very courteous and told him he'd be willing to assist in any way. He hated to admit it, but he missed the old Robert Stern and wondered what had gotten into him to make him so willing to acquiesce to them.

"Crash, how much do you know about ammunition?"

It was a strange question to be asked, so Bobby stared at him for a moment as he tried to get it to register. "What?"

"I'm asking you how much you know about ammunition. It's a simple question." He gave an annoyed look as he waited for an answer.

"Not much as you do, why?" Bobby seemed disgruntled at the way his friend snapped at him, but he didn't press it any. The last thing he needed was for his best mate to be angry with him. Jack said nothing as he laid three photographs upon Bobby's desk. The Aussie picked one up and looked closely as it. It was a picture taken of one of the bullets used to kill the brothers. His eyes went wide as he turned his attention to the next and the one after that. "Whoever did this is bloody insane." He'd said it loud enough to catch everyone's attention, even Myles' as he entered the room with worse news than he'd expected. He would relay his information later, though as he focused on what Jack and Bobby were talking about.

The team leader looked up at all of the expectant faces who were looking at him and let out a heavy sigh. They needed to know. "The Coroner's report confirmed our theory of the brothers to have been killed by gunfire, which is no surprise. There were no drugs in their systems and nothing was out of the ordinary. That is, until he got a good look at the bullets." He held up on of the photographs as Bobby passed the other two around. "He sent me these, along with his reports and a note saying I would find this interesting. If you look closely, you can distinctly see the etchings." He even pointed to the marks on the side of the bullet he held in his hand to show them what he was referring to. "At first, he thought them to be only marking from the gun, itself, but on closer inspection, he saw a distinct marking on all three. Now, because of the explosion that occurs during the firing, most of it has been taken off, but there is still some clarity. The Coroner believes that their killer scratched their names onto the bullets with his own hands. He wanted to make it personal."

"Isn't that dangerous, though?" Tara asked. "I mean, the slightest spark could blow it up, couldn't it?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. And that means that this bloke knew what he was doing. Maybe he's even done it before."

"And now three innocent men are dead," Jack finished as a grim shadow crossed over him.

"Four," Myles spoke up, making everyone's attention turn toward him.

"What?" D asked. He'd joined the conversation in the middle, though he didn't bother to speak as he tried to catch up.

"Four innocent men were killed. I got a call from an old friend at Metro a little while ago. He somehow thought we would find the victim interesting. He was bound by his hands and feet with a bullet in the back of him. I can have the ME send over his report when he's finished with the autopsy."

"It looks like we have a serial killer on the loose," Bobby said to Jack.

The team leader nodded as his heart filled with dread. "Yeah and he seems to know his victims well enough to personalize their deaths. Myles, have you got a name on the latest victim?" The New Englander nodded. "Good. You and Bobby check out the home and place of employment. I want to know everything about him. Sue, call Danni and see if she can help us out any. We need to know if there are any threats being made against any member of the public. This guy probably warns his victims before he attacks. D, you and I will search the brothers' apartment again. If this guy had been after them for a while, there might have been something that we missed. Tara, keep searching for our suspect. He's bound to show up sooner or later."

"Would you like the good news or the bad news on that front?" She asked before he had the chance to continue.

Jack was afraid to ask. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to like it. He closed his eyes with exasperation and let out a silent growl. "Why?"

"Well, the good news is that I found a match. His name is Richard Palmerro… The bad news is that he certainly doesn't want to be found. There is no known address or phone number on file."

Jack cursed under his breath, but accepted both pieces of information. At least they were getting somewhere and now they needed to get to work.