Chapter Nineteen

Jackson wanted to anywhere but where he was in that moment. He parked his car in the visitor's lot for the jail and tried to calm his nerves. He found that his hand was shaking as he turned off the ignition of the car. He needed to get his emotions, his fear, under control. He knew Charles hated to see any signs of weakness. His shaking hands would only make matters worse.

He exhaled an extended breath and opened his car door. He had to do this. There was no other choice. No other way. He could do this. He could get in, have his conversation with Charles and get out. Out without being recognized. Out with maybe even a solution or new directions. Maybe there was a way to still pull everything together that his limited mind just couldn't see. Charles was a genius after all.

And he reminded himself that Charles couldn't hurt him. Today. Not when he was still behind bars. But Jackson understood that Charles wasn't planning on staying behind those bars for much longer. He knew the man was planning an escape. He had assisted in several pieces of that plan. So it was inevitable that he would be free soon.

That was when Jackson would fear for his safety. He was about to inform Charles he had failed to complete a vital part of a plan and he was very much aware that it could cost him his life. He had witnessed Charles kill for lesser reasons than failure and not think twice about it.

His only hope would be that Charles would somehow understand that the failure was not his fault. How was he supposed to have foreseen that Dr. Isles would take time off? How on Earth was he supposed to anticipate that she would be dealing with a death in her girlfriend's family? From his perspective, Jackson just could not think of anything he could have done differently to avoid where he presently found himself.

The minute he had received Charles' package and read his requests he had started to see to them all. He didn't delay. He had moved as quickly as he could. He had used his family influence and name to secure an internship within the medical examiner's office. That had taken some doing but he had managed to get himself placed there.

He had arranged for a secure location for Charles for after his escape from prison. He had done exactly what he had been asked in that matter. The location. The equipment. All of it had been arranged. Jackson had seen to everything he had been asked with the exception of his interaction with Dr. Isles. And no matter the other items he had managed, he had failed on the most important one. So he was right to fear for his safety regardless of if he had any control over the situation. Missing his chance with Dr. Isles may very well be his undoing.

Jackson made his way to the visitor check in desk to sign in, present his ID and make the official request to visit Charles. He filled in the name that was listed on the ID he was about to present. John Abbott. The man at the desk reviewed the ID and compared the photo to the man standing in front of him.

This was always the part that made Jackson nervous. Not the ID but the scrutiny anyone gave him. This was when he was worried that someone would recognize that he was an Allister. But after a minute the man at the desk handed him back his ID. Jackson tried not to let out a sigh of relief in front of the man.

"You can wait over there. We will call you when the prisoner is ready to receive you," was all he said. A line Jackson was sure he repeated hundreds of times a day to all the individual visitors.

Jackson nodded and complied sitting down to wait. It was all he could do.

R&I

Hagan looked through the psych evaluation for Charles Hoyt as he sat at his desk.

While subject exhibits characteristics and traits consistent with antisocial personality disorder further testing and analysis would be required to confirm such diagnosis. Subject was found to be deceptive and uncooperative at different times throughout the evaluation process. At other times the subject was insightful, well spoken and came across confident and charming. It is to be noted that his times of insightful reflection seemed to only come when the topic for discussion centered around himself.

With that, subject exhibits characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder. Subject has an overwhelming need to be recognized as superior in intelligence, station and influence. As stated previously, subject would require further testing and analysis to confirm such diagnosis but during the interactions with the subject there were signs that he fell into an unprincipled narcissist subtype.

Subject appears to be without conscious, lacks empathy towards others and has no difficulty in subjecting others to pain if it served a higher purpose in which the subject was the beneficiary. Subject is without remorse for the crimes with which he is charged. It should be noted he made no comment on his guilt or innocence. The subject appeared calm and somewhat pleased when the list of charges were reviewed with him.

Subject gave no indication that he was without a reasonable thought process. He fully understands the charges that are pending against him and it is the opinion of this clinician that the subject possesses the ability to execute rational thought. Subject's ability to differentiate between right and wrong does not appear to be compromised.

It is the medical opinion of this clinician that the subject is legally sane for the purposes of the proceedings he will be facing.

A narcissistic, sociopathic serial killer. Not exactly a shock to Hagan. Considered legally sane. Also not exactly a shock to Hagan. The evaluation and its supporting documentation should be enough for Hagan to argue against any attempt Hoyt's lawyer may try in mounting an insanity defense. The evaluation wasn't what had him confused. It was Hoyt's lawyer that Hagan couldn't get a handle on.

First, the lawyer had not filed an intent to change his plea from Not Guilty to Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. Hagan was unsure as to why he had put Hoyt through the psych evaluations if he simply wasn't going to use information in some manner. Hagan knew the game. He was sure the defense had found a psychiatrist willing to rule that Hoyt was legally insane. But to date there were no motions for a change of plea.

There was, however, a motion that absolutely confused Hagan. He had received notice that Hoyt's lawyer filed a motion for a bench trial and that motion was granted without objections from the State. Sitting at his desk Hagan still did not understand that move. Given the evidence, a jury trial seemed to be Hoyt's only chance. He wasn't sure how or why the lawyer had convinced Hoyt he stood a better chance with a judge than a jury.

He was confused but he would take it. It freed up significant time on his calendar now that he did not have to handle jury selection. The case would start Monday with opening arguments by both sides. He would call his witnesses starting Tuesday. Now the only thing he needed to decide was if he was going to start or end with Dr. Isles. She was the key to the case and everyone knew it. At this point, he was pretty sure he would end with her testimony. Especially now that it was a bench trial.

R&I

Hoyt knew there was a problem when his name was announced as one of the inmates who had a visitor. He didn't have an appointment with his lawyer and there had been no scheduled interactions with any of the people who were on the outside doing his bidding and seeing to his arrangements. Reluctantly, he stepped forward when his name was called and followed the guard towards the visitor area.

Once he was searched and retold all of the rules and notices about recorded conversations and how many minutes he was allowed for the visit, Hoyt was lead into the visitor area. He saw Jackson immediately. And immediately he was angry. A second visit was not in the plans.

Hoyt walked over to the chair and stared at Jackson. He didn't even make a move for the phone receiver. He sat down and just stared at the man across the glass from him. The look of panic and fear that was radiating from Jackson told him everything he needed to know. The kid had screwed something up.

Screwed up something so bad he risked coming to see him. So Hoyt knew it was big. And he had a feeling he knew what it was. The kid had failed to gain access to the medical examiner. The one thing the kid absolutely needed to do for him. Failure. That was the look the kid had on his face. That and fear.

If Hoyt was right, if the kid had failed, there had better be fear not just in his eyes but in his soul. No one. No one failed Hoyt and lived to tell the world about it. Hoyt continued to just stare at the kid across from him. He didn't blink. He didn't look away. He locked onto the kid's eyes and refused to relinquish them. It was a hard, cold, dead stare that would unnerve even the most hardened criminal.

Hoyt tried to have his mind run through what may have happened. No matter the scenario, he found he really didn't care for the details. The reason behind the failure didn't matter. What matter was that the kid failed. A failure that might cost him everything.

Hoyt trusted so few people in life. But he had trusted Jackson. He had spent two years making the kid his protege. He expended countless days and nights showing Jackson the way. Turning the kid into his right hand. His heir apparent. He thought he had found someone he could depend upon but the first chance Jackson was given to truly prove himself he had just failed.

Hoyt still hadn't picked up the phone. He wasn't going to either. He had nothing to say to the boy on the other side of the glass. The fact that he was here said all that needed to be said. That, and the look on the kid's face. Hoyt didn't have the time or the patience for failures.

His hard stare continued and he watched as Jackson's expressions wavered from anxiety, to fear, to confusion, to sadness. All running through the boy. All etched painfully on the face seated across from him. And then there was a moment of clarity. Hoyt saw it in the kid's face.

Resignation.

There would be no conversation that day. There was no need. After a few more minutes of the cold, hard stare Hoyt stood up and walked away leaving the kid to just sit there.

No explanation given. No excuses sought. Hoyt needed to think. All his plans were shot to hell and now he needed a new plan.

And he knew his time had run out.

R&I

The minute Charles was within view Jackson could read the expression on his face. It was worse than he anticipated. He watched Charles slowly approach the booth. It seemed as if the man was walking in slow motion. And then, suddenly, he was sitting down across from him.

It was the stare.

Jackson had never experienced anything like it in his life. The look coming from Charles was menacing enough that it caused his whole body start to tremble. Cold, dead eyes didn't seem to be looking at him. They seemed to be looking through him. Piercing through him.

No one had ever given him a look like that before. Ever. It scared him. And he was already terrified.

And then Charles wouldn't pick up the receiver. He never made a move for it. There would be no conversation. No need to talk in code. No attempt to develop an alternative strategy. In that moment, Jackson understood that Charles was done with him.

He wasn't even allowed the chance to give an explanation. Or maybe it was just an excuse. Either way, it now no longer mattered. Charles wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say. Not now. And he knew not ever.

There was nothing but silence.

And that cold, dead stare.

Then Charles was standing and walking away. As Jackson sat there he became certain of two things. One, Charles wasn't just walking out of the visitor's room. He was walking out of Jackson's life. And two, Jackson Allister III was a dead man when Charles Hoyt escaped from jail.

As Jackson made his way out of the jail and towards his car a third, even more disturbing thought, occurred to him. There was a more than decent chance that he was a dead man even if Charles didn't escape from jail. Jackson understood that there were plenty of people who were under Charles Hoyt's spell. He could name several people willing to kill him in order to please Charles.

Jackson was so wrapped up in his own thoughts as he made his way back to his car that he never noticed the man who stopped and stared at him as he walked across the parking lot. He didn't notice the man continue to stare at him as he got into his car. If he hadn't been in complete fear for his life in that moment, he would have noticed the man with the gym bag continuing to watch him drive away. But as it was, Jackson never noticed a thing.

R&I

"All rise. This Court in now in session. The Honorable Judge Joseph Atkins now presiding."

"In the matter of the State of Massachusetts versus Charles Xavier Hoyt, is the State ready to proceed?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"Is the defense ready to proceed?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"Mr. Hagan, your opening statement."

R&I

Frost sat at his temporary desk in the bullpen. Jane and Korsak were at the courthouse. Both had been scheduled to give testimony in the Hoyt trial later in the day. Frost hadn't been a part of the investigation or the apprehension of the man so he wasn't needed for anything today. As he sat in his chair he thought back to the conversation he had with Jane the day before.

"Jane, we are up for testimony in the Hoyt trial tomorrow," Korsak said from his desk. Jane had just returned back to work and he wanted to make sure she remembered their court case was tomorrow.

"I have it on my schedule," Jane acknowledged. "I've blocked out the entire afternoon." She turned to Frost. "Sorry Frost," she said. "We don't have an active case and you're not needed for court. There might not be too much for you to do tomorrow."

Frost just shrugged his shoulders. "It's not going to break my heart not to have to give testimony," he said. "Anyway, from what I've heard the DA could just put Dr. Isles on the stand and she should take care of everything for him."

"She was pretty impressive on the stand," Jane said with a smile. Frost wasn't exactly wrong about that. She knew that the DA would focus his case around the testimony Maura would deliver and if she was even half as good as she was during the preliminary hearing the DA had nothing to worry about. Compelling was an understatement for Maura's performance.

"Maybe I'll sit in on the trial. I may not have to testify but I think I'd really like to watch Dr. Isles in action," Frost said. "Plus, how often do we get to see the trial of a serial killer?"

"The guy is a psychopath," Jane commented. What Hoyt had done to his victims was just sick. She was glad he was safely behind bars and that he was well on his way to being placed there permanently. "I heard that he went through psych evaluations. Hagan is worried he might be trying to claim insanity now."

"I've read the case file," Frost stated. "From what I read, I think anyone could make the argument that the man is insane."

Jane looked over to Frost shaking her head. "Don't confuse sanity and psychopathology Frost. The man is sick. But he fully understands what he's doing when he does it. An insanity defense tries to argue that the person doesn't know or understand what they did was wrong. Hoyt knows. He knew exactly what he was doing when he killed all five of those people. It's reprehensible that he took pleasure in the pain he inflicted, but he did. That makes him sick. It makes him dangerous. But it doesn't make him insane."

Frost was still trying to find his place in Jane's world. He knew his timing was poor given what had happened to her brother. He was worried at first when he went over to her place after finding out about her brother's accident that she would be mad or think he was overstepping his bounds but he felt he had to be there for her and her family. He felt like her partner even if it wasn't official and partners were there for each other. No matter what. So he was glad when she didn't seem to be upset when he walked into her house that night.

He wanted to become her official partner after Korsak retired. He knew both Korsak and Jane would have the final say in the decision. He felt they had a good relationship so far. He was learning a lot from both her and Korsak. As far as he was concerned he was extremely lucky to even be in consideration for a partnership with Jane. Her reputation was stellar in the department and in the short time he had spent with her he was absolutely certain she had earned the respect she had.

He was also learning a lot from Korsak. The man was old school and extremely technology challenged but his basic instincts were excellent. His ability to process a crime scene and see the small details impressed Frost. Korsak had the ability to take a series of seemingly unrelated pieces of evidence and connect them in a way that helped with their cases.

Both Jane and Korsak was excellent interrogators. He had been able to witness both of them in action and he had to admit they were both more impressive in person than what their reputations alluded to. It was a close contest but if Frost had to admit who was better he would have to come down on the side of Jane. But the difference was marginal as far as he was concerned.

He was beyond thankful that both Jane and Korsak looked passed his weak stomach. He was catching hell all over the station for the fact that he frequently threw up at crime scenes. He was trying to stop but it seemed to be a reflex he just couldn't seem to get under control. He could handle the teasing. He could even handle the vomiting. But what he was worried about was looking bad in the eyes of Jane or Korsak. He didn't want to make either feel ashamed that he was her partner. Or potential partner anyway.

Dr. Isles had made him an offer to try to help with his reaction to crime scenes and autopsies. She had called it immersion therapy. He was seriously considering it. He knew he needed to get his stomach under control. He wanted Homicide. He wanted Jane as a partner. He would do whatever he had to do to make sure that happened.

His original plan had been to be in the courtroom to watch the proceedings but he found himself distracted by something that he just needed to look into. It was probably nothing but he had a strange encounter a few days before and still couldn't make any sense of it. And he had learned over the years never to neglect his gut when it was trying to tell him there was something off in a situation. And something was off. He just had absolutely no idea what yet.

He had been certain he had seen Jackson Allister walking across the visitor's parking lot of the jail. It was the last place he had expected to see an Allister. Frost had been sure that there wasn't a single prisoner who would merit an in-person visit from an Allister. That was why he stopped and stared. He was trying to see if he was just wrong about who it was.

But he watched the man get into a car. A BMW Z4. It was definitely an Allister. And he was certain it was Jackson Allister. So, curiosity getting the best of him in that moment, when Frost walked into the jail he headed over to the desk guard. Frost's appearance at the jail was a regular occurrence. He helped facilitate a weekly youth intervention group for jailed teens. He, along with a few other officers, tried to interact with some of the younger offenders to integrate positive interactions with law enforcement in the hopes of stopping recidivism rates in the teens. Mostly the interactions were through pickup basketball games but they had found it to be very effective.

So when Frost strolled over to the desk guard to say hi he was greeted with a quick smile.

"Hey Barry, what's up?" the guard asked.

"I'm curious about something. Who was Jackson Allister here visiting?" Frost asked.

The guard looked at him. "Who?"

"Jackson Allister. That kid that just left. Who was he here to see?" Frost answered.

The guard checked his log. "There's no Allister listed Barry. Are you sure that's who you saw?"

Frost was sure it was Allister. Now he couldn't figure out why the guys name wasn't on the visitor log. "I'm positive." He looked around for a second and then back at the guard. "Roll back the tapes."

The guard nodded and turned towards the monitor panels that were on his left. This wasn't anything new. Several officers and detectives would ask him to roll back video from time to time. Sometimes for police business. Sometimes to just get a better look at some chick they noticed. After a few minutes the guard found the man Frost had been referring to. "This guy?"

Frost looked at the monitor. "Yeah. That's Jackson Allister."

The guard looked at the monitor for confirmation. "Not according to the ID the guy gave me. According to his ID that is John Abbott." The guard pointed to the sign in log and Abbott's name.

Frost looked at the log and saw the name John Abbott. He then looked at who 'John Abbott' was visiting. He was absolutely shocked that it was Charles Hoyt. A fake ID. An Allister visiting a serial killer. There was something not right about the entire situation.

Frost turned back to the guard. "Oh. My mistake. Sorry," he added.

"No harm my friend," the guard said.

Frost stayed talking with the guard for a few more minutes before he headed to the gym for a pickup game. But during the entire game he couldn't shake the feeling he had about seeing Allister and trying to figure out his Hoyt connection. He vowed to look into it further the next morning.

So Frost found himself sitting at his desk two days later still trying to figure out what the Allister/Hoyt connection was. He had called the jail and requested the surveillance and audio of the meeting between the two. It was due to him any time now. As much as he wanted to be at the courthouse watching the trial, there was just something about the Allister situation that unsettled him.

About ten minutes later a flash drive and a note arrived on Frost's desk.

Detective, here is the camera footage you asked for. However, there appears to be no audio. Neither person ever picked up the receiver during the visit and from what we can see it doesn't appear that either said a word. Personally I find the footage a little disturbing but that could just be me. Let me know if you need anything else.

Frost inserted the flash drive and pulled up footage. Sure enough, neither Allister or Hoyt said a word. But Frost understood immediately what the IT tech meant about disturbing. He had never seen a stare like the one Hoyt was giving Allister. It was haunting. And it clearly scared Allister.

After watching the video, he was no closer to an answer to this mystery but he was still determined to figure out what was going on.