Title: The Postcard Murders, Chapter 5
By: greygoose70
Part 5
Savoy Hotel, Alcobendas Spain
"Mom, wake up," Alexis said hopefully loud enough to arouse her sleeping mother.
"Go away, Lex. Want sleep," Kate grumbled.
"Okay, that didn't work, guess I'll have to go to plan-b," Lexi muttered quietly, so she held the fresh cup of coffee down in front of her. One sniff of the magnificent brew and Kate's eyes snapped open, another sniff told her that it was real coffee not the terrible decaf she has forced herself to get used too.
"Lex, are trying to torture me?" Kate grumbled in a sleep laden voice as she moved into a sitting position. Lex handed her mother the cup which she took with both hands, then with one more sniff placed the cup to her lips and took a sip letting the hot delicious brew travel down her throat, she then let out an appreciative moan.
"Were you restless last night," Lex enquired, concern in her voice.
"Not really, I just woke up from a wonderful dream I was having."
"An erotic dream," Lex snickered.
"Alexis Beckett-Castle!" Kate snorted causing Lex to burst out in hysterical laughter. "It was actually about you," Kate said after Lex' hysteria subsided to snickers.
"About me," Lex responded, surprisingly.
"Yeah, it was when you announced you wanted me to be your mother, and had adoption papers to prove you were serios about it."
"Well you must been having some déjà vu because it was one year ago today that happened."
Kate set her coffee down on the bedside table and said, "Come here daughter."
Lex crawled onto the bed and snuggled into Kate' side. "Best day of my life, Mom. I love you."
"Love you too, Lex."
Lex gave her mother a kiss to the cheek before extracting herself from her mother's arms saying, "Come on, get up and get ready. We're meeting Jordan, Tom and Tabitha downstairs for breakfast in, glancing at the bedside clock, thirty-five minutes."
"Wonderful," Kate responded sarcastically crawling out of the bed, grabbing her still half full cup of coffee and heading for the ensuite. Twenty-five minutes later she was dressed and ready to go.
"You look great, Mom," commented Alexis when seeing her step into the room."
"Yeah, well don't get used to it. It won't be long until I'll be looking like a beached whale."
"Never happen. You'll always be beautiful," Lex replied holding out her arm for her mother to take.
Kate hooked her arm with Lex, and together they headed out.
Interpol, London
Rick and Emily were in their second day of trying to determine where the killers have gone. So far Berlin has been a bust. "Where the hell did they go if not Berlin," Rick proclaimed quite disgustedly.
"Maybe they used an alias," Emily stated, "used the IDs from one of the victims."
"I've thought of that but nothing has popped."
"Then maybe they didn't go to Berlin."
"Okay, then what are some of the most obvious choices, though I still think it would be in Germany."
"Munich, Frankfort, or Stuttgart would be my best guess."
"Okay. I'll take Munich, you take Frankfort."
"Think I found something, Em," Rick declared a few minutes later.
"What," she responded.
"A Peter Bishop and Olivia Dunham took Lufthansa flight 7161 from London Heathrow to Munich International. Those are the same names from the NY killings."
"I'll contact the Munich Police, we've worked with before, see if they've had any similar murders."
Rick sat there listening while Emily made the call. After a few moments she pressed a button on the phones base putting it on speaker. A female voice instantly came on identifying herself as Inspector Romy Schnieder. Emily identified herself to the inspector, then told her the reason for her call.
Inspector Schnieder started relating to Emily about the murder of Sylvia Munster, a curator at a local art gallery. Rick listened intently, absorbing everything Inspector Schnieder was saying. And while this was the lone slaying of a woman, the circumstances surrounding the murder were too similar for him to ignore. When Emily asked to be sent the file she was told it hadn't been digitized yet but Schnieder would fax it to us. Emily told her 'thanks' then hung up. Several minutes later Emily' facsimile started receiving the reports, interviews, and pictures.
Upon receiving the file Emily instantly scanned it and projected it on the big screen TV so she and Rick could go through it together.
"This report says the victim owned a red 2016 BMW-M6, but it was not located anywhere on the property, so I'm thinking wherever our killers were going next, they drove. Let's put out an APB out on her car, but to follow it only, do not apprehend."
"Where do you think they will go," Em enquired as she picked up her phone receiver to again all the Munich PD.
"Don't know. They could cross over into Czechia, head up to Prague, or travel farther north, cross into Poland."
"What would you do?"
"Head on up to Berlin, ditch the car, get a room, have sex, then head out the next day, look for another couple to kill."
"Have sex. Really Rick," Em giggled before stating, "You don't think they are done yet."
"Not by a long shot."
"You have a theory, don't you," Em said, stated more as a statement more than a question.
"Yes. I do. And I don't think I'm that far off. I believe it goes back to the killing of the Branson', and the children. I believe the daughter is the more dominant one of the two, that she killed her mother and father, for whatever reason I don't know and really don't care. I believe she and her brother are more than just that. That they are lovers as well."
"But what about the 5 year span before they killed again?" Em asked.
"I don't think there was one. Let's look at the demographics of where they lived. It's not that far to Tucson or even Nogales Mexico. How about a ski trip to Ruidoso, or a weekend excursion to Las Vegas. I'll bet if we started looking into some of these locals we would come up with similar murders."
"You want us…"
"No, not us. Call Jordan. The FBI has a presence in the major cities I just mentioned have her put out a request for any similar crimes."
Rick had no sooner mentions Jordan' name and Em was on the phone making the call. When she had completed the call, she asked Rick, "What are we going to do?"
"Go to Berlin."
Berlin
With the bodies of Bill and Karen Crowley positioned properly, they went to the bathroom and rinsed the blood from their bodies, toweled off, leaving the water running, and got dressed, then left the apartment. They got in the Crowley's late model Toyota and began driving north.
Upon landing at Berlin Brandenburg Airport and taxiing to Interpol' private hangar, Rick and Emily deplaned where they were met by Interpol agent Felix Unger and one other gentleman. Felix introduced him as Detective Sargeant Hans Grubber of Polizei Berlin.
Grubber handed Rick a postcard telling him that Noah Becker, a crime reporter with the Berlin Daily, found it on his desk when he arrived at work this morning, he then brought it to the attention of the Polizei.
Taking the postcard, Rick glanced at the cover picture, a photo of the Hitler Bunker, the bunker where Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide on 30 April 1945. Rick flipped it over and read what it said. There in neat handwriting, just as all the others, it read, 'I fear we have betrayed our land and the king.' It was signed Jack and Jill.
Rick gave the postcard to Emily, who read it, then passed it back to Detective Grubber, who asked, "what do think the saying means?"
"Nothing as far as the picture on the front of the postcard," Rick said. "It's a line from the movie Excalibur. Lancelot had seduced Guinivere, afterwards felt guilty. The end of his little speech to her was, 'And from this day forward shalt not resume any clandestine meetings.' Do you know who the victims are?"
"No, not yet."
"And with a population of nearly 4 million people, would be impossible to do a door-to-door," Rick stated. "Where do you suggest we set up, Detective Grubber?'
"CID (Criminal Investigation Division). We have already been instructed to be on the lookout for the suspects and the atrocities they have committed."
Well, let's go, and hope someone, somewhere reports something."
It was 7:30pm when they got the call. Two bodies had been found in an apartment in the Mitte district with their throats cut. Detective Grubber immediately got a medical examiner and crime scene personnel dispatched.
By the time Rick, Emily and Detective Grubber arrived the investigation was well under way. As ordered by Grubber, the bodies had not been moved. Rick and Emily donned latex gloves while Grubber went to speak with one of the crime technician. "What do you make of the body positions, Rick," Emily asked?
"Lancelot and Guinevere," he answered.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Having watched the movie several times, I am quite familiar with that particular scene. Who found the bodies?"
"George and Elaine Meier," Grubber replied, just returning to join them. "They were supposed to go to dinner with the Crowley', to celebrate their third wedding anniversary. They knocked but no one answered. Mr. Meier tried the door, found it unlocked. He said he went in and called out to them, but then he heard water running in the bathroom, figured they were still getting ready so he and Elaine went in and waited. Said not sure how long they waited but he got nervous, Bill and Karen were usually more punctual, so he went to investigate. The bathroom door was open but there was no one in there. He then heard Elaine scream from the bedroom and went dashing in, that's when he saw what she was screaming about. Said he grabbed Elaine and led her out to the living room, got her calmed down then dialed 911."
"I think we should stop, at least for a while," the one known as Jack said staring out over the railing at the Baltic Sea.
"One more then we'll take a short break," the one known as Jill answered. "We can go to St. Petersburg, visit with Yuri and Yolanda before starting again."
Just then one of the crime scene techs appeared, spoke with Detective Gubber and handed him an evidence bag, then left. "What's that," Rick asked?
"A program and receipt from Checkpoint Charlie Museum," Gubber replied. "Appears the Crowley' took one of the tours there two days ago."
"That could be where they met our killers," Emily stated, "the killers have been known to go to museums in search of victims."
"Do the Crowley' own a car," Rick suddenly asked?
"A 2008 white Toyota Camry, plate number B 4364 C. Why? Grubber answered.
"Is it here?"
"Don't know, I'll send someone to look for it," Grubber responded then turned to get a patrolman to do just that.
A short while later the patrolman returned telling everyone that he searched the apartment building parking lot plus up and down the street for four blocks but didn't find the car.
"So you think the killers took it," Grubber declared. "So where do think they are headed next?" Detective Grubber has learned to default to Castle on many enquiries, especially upon learning he is former CIA and a world traveler as a bestselling author.
"Have no idea, Poland maybe, the boarder is only 50 miles from here, and Warsaw another hundred."
"But not much in the way of museums," Emily said, "mostly local stuff."
"And Poland is currently in border dispute with Belarus, and border security is tight," Grubber added.
"Well, I don't think they will head back south, that only leaves north, and Denmark or Sweden,' Rick said. "And Denmark is basically a dead end unless they intend to continue on to Norway, and if they are driving they would need to swing back through Sweden anyway."
"Sounds like you've been there," Grubber said.
"I spend a month in Denmark doing research for one of my early Derrick Storm books," Rick replied.
"So, Sweden then," Emily stated.
"Yeap," Rick answered.
End of Chapter