Chapter Eight
Square One
"Okay," Grey said grimly as he walked up the stairs to the mobile police center with Harper, Lopez and Daniels close behind. "Tell me, why is Dyer intent on sending her acolytes after Nolan, Chen, Juarez and Bradford?"
The criminal profiler made a face as they entered the back of the truck. "I wouldn't say that she's after Nolan; not anymore. She has already tried that and it got her nowhere."
"Now you've lost me," Harper said. "The feed that has been downloaded to the iPad which she had giftwrapped and sent to Grey clearly singled out four people and Nolan was being one of them."
"She's angry with him because she guessed she would fail to break him. That doesn't mean she is ready to invest more time in him. She and her followers treat him as collateral damage but they clearly still like to mess with Lieutenant Nune's head. As for Juarez, I can't say for sure, but given the fact that she is John Nolan's rookie she is in for the ride. Her project this time – or her acolytes project – seem to be Officer Lucy Chen. She was not Rosalind's project at first but Caleb's. The way Rosalind talked about Officer Chen leads me to the conclusion that our deceased serial killer actually adored the strength and fighting spirit in the kind and warm younger woman."
Grey looked a little skeptical. "It's not that I doubt your analysis Agent Daniels but I think we kind of came to the same conclusion earlier-,"
She nodded with a faint smile. "-without my help and you don't really see the point in calling in a specialist for the profiling part? Look, I know you have competent people inhouse but I am offering the extra resources and – between you and me – I think Agent Garza would be disappointed if you turned me down. Now, while we might have Rosalind covered there are still some unknowns out there."
It was Harper's time to smile. "Actually, I heard somewhere that the first criminal profilers started in the mid-seventies. It was believed that a mix of psychology and traditional techniques, as well as analytical skills, would speed things up and lead to successful identification."
"Detective Harper is correct," Daniels concurred. "However, I am not surprised. We do talk about this at the undercover academy teaching classes, the police academy and the FBI training course. Nowadays you can do a lot of compiling and comparing with basic software and an AI tool. However, the machine will never understand psychology and human behavior as well as a human expert. You can never reach a certain level of experience simply by reading about cases." Daniels paused. "And now we've veered off track. You are probably wondering why I am so certain that Chen is the prime target here."
Harper nodded.
"There are several reasons for that," Daniels began softly. First of all, Chen is connected to Nolan as they attended the academy together. Secondly, Chen's training officer, Sergeant Bradford denied Rosalind the satisfaction of seeing Chen break down and die from oxygen deprivation. Rosalind followed Lucy's recovery from the prison and came to respect and like what she saw. Our serial killer was looking forward to seeing Lucy again. She wanted to look into what made Chen fight so hard to stay alive. She got intrigued by her after Caleb's spectacular failure. It so happens that Bradford and Chen goes to visit Rosalind trying to pry information out of her concerning Detective Armstrong. It invigorates the scheming psychopath to get a chance to talk to one of her indirect victims one more time. She tries to get into her head but Bradford once again saves Chen from Rosalind. She begins to call him her fierce protector."
"Yeah, Tim would protect his rookies with his life, not just Lucy." Angela said fondly.
Rosalind delved into Chen's life - discreetly of course – and was disgruntled to find that Lucy didn't seem to have a significant other. Our psychopath wanted to manipulate Chen but she didn't know how. That intrigued her even more."
"But Lucy took Tamara under her wings," Lopez pointed out.
"Whom Rosalind luckily had no interest in," Daniels replied. "Instead, she set her eyes on Chris Sanford, another – in her eyes – naïve man. Now, Rosalind's plan to get back at Lucy for letting her down at the trial – for refusing to see her again – backfired when she learned that Sanford was just a brief distraction."
Grey sighed and reached up to rub at his aching forehead.
Lopez smirked. "I think Lucy has had her eyes on Tim for quite some time. Longer than I realized."
"Good for her," Harper added. "And good for him. When I met Bradford for the first time, he wasn't exactly Mr. Nice Guy."
"Well, your first impression wasn't ideal either," Grey reminded her.
"I'd say we've all changed for the better," Angela piped up diplomatically.
"So, Rosalind realizes Bradford is Chen's Achilles heel," Grey deduced. "And then what? She just decides it would be fun to blow them up?"
"Rosalind desperately wants to be the one who breaks Chen, it doesn't matter if it's done after her death. She's gotten bored with Nolan. Now, the best way to get to Chen is to grab Bradford. However, Tim is a former USAF sergeant and squad leader. Messing with him takes meticulous planning. He knows how to fight off the enemy, he is a skilled soldier and a member of a special branch within the police department. In a way it is another challenge for Rosalind and her acolytes."
"Why blow them up?" Grey asked again.
"I don't know yet," Daniels replied.
OOOOOO
When Tim opened his eyes again, he had no idea of how much time had passed. He was still lying flat on his back with one hand loosely put over his wound which Lucy had partly sealed using parts of her uniform. He froze as footsteps neared then relaxed as he realized it was Lucy who knelt next to him.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey," she said with a forced smile.
He had known her long enough to know when she was upset and miserable but he had to give it to her; she put up a good front.
"Any luck?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not much. I've cleared some space up ahead but I can't really see what I am doing. I cut my hand on something."
Tim seemed to reason with himself for a moment then he slowly began to sit up.
Lucy knelt by his side and sucked on a breath as it hurt her to do so. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you out of your mind," she chastised.
"Help me up. We need to find the others and a way out of here."
She hesitated. "I think it's for the best if you just stay put while I-,"
"Lucy," he said sternly. "Help me up."
"If you move around, you might start to bleed again," she cautioned.
He was having none of it. "I am the ranking officer here and I'm not going to lie around, doing nothing. So, either you help me-,"
"You are a pig-headed pain in the ass," she muttered under her breath.
"What's that?" Tim asked.
"You want me to add a sir?" she replied innocently.
OOOOOO
Thorsen walked out of the mobile command center leaving the small group consisting of Sergeant Grey, Lieutenant Pine and the profiler behind him as he walked over to Harper and Lopez.
"What's happening in there?" Lopez asked.
Thorsen shrugged. "Not much," he replied. "It goes agonizingly slow. And the LAFD-," he shook his head in frustration, "-I mean, why don't they move it already?"
"It looks pretty unstable," Harper suggested as she glanced over his shoulder.
"There is only one unit," he replied. "Seriously, our friends are in there."
"And Bailey's fiancé," Lopez pointed out. "She would be the first to want to retrieve Nolan from that pile of dust. There is no point in rushing anything, it might just make it worse."
Aaron sighed. "I am just saying – what if – I don't know. What if they die and it turns out a few minutes would have saved them?"
"Don't even go there," Harper said darkly.
OOOOOO
"Where are the cameras?" Lucy said as she glanced around the debris field. "She liked to watch and I know Caleb did too. They had this sick infatuation of watching other people suffer. That is just so twisted."
"They were psychopaths," Tim replied. "As the child of two therapists you should know it's their nature."
Lucy shook her head. "No, this is extreme, even for psychopaths. Besides, the term psychopath is just another word for a set of personality traits that are negatively loaded. It describes a person with superficial charm, lack of emotional sensitivity and empathy impulsiveness. It describes someone who doesn't understand that their actions will have consequences."
"Surely Rosalind must have understood that by killing a person that someone would end up dead," he pointed out.
"Yes, that is true but there is no guilt, no empathy. No thoughts about the ramifications," she explained. "They are thrilled by their actions."
Tim smirked. "I kind of get that," he replied. "They are not wired the way you and I are."
She managed a smile. "There are so many layers. I mean they are pathological liars. They like to believe they are God. They thrive when manipulating others into doing things for them. They have poor judgement yet they are highly intelligent. None of it really makes sense. Another thing that doesn't makes sense is the fact that research has shown that strong psychopathic traits can be seen in people with positively heroic professions."
"Positively heroic professions? My head was already hurting," Tim complained lightly.
"I'm sorry, babe," she said apologetically then winced.
"Lucy?" Tim called out immediately. "What is wrong? Talk to me."
She gritted her teeth. "I just twisted my body, jolted my ribs. Felt like the air was squeezed out of my lungs," she managed. "It's nothing. I will be fine."
Ignoring his own injuries, he gently steadied her as best as he could. "Lean on me."
She looked like she was about to protest but then slowly added some of her weight for him to balance.
"Feeling better?" he asked kindly as he placed an arm around her.
She nodded and then looked ahead of them. Several trusses and beams made it impossible for them to walk much further. They would have to squeeze through on their hands and knees in order to try and reach safety outside.
"Maybe we should take a break here for a while?" he suggested.
OOOOOO
"Are you ready?" The cameraman asked.
The news reporter nodded eagerly.
"Camera is rolling in – 3-2-1."
"Good evening everyone, this is Jamie Monroe from the NBC news. We are live reporting from LA today. Serial killer Rosalind Dyer who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2015 is said to have inspired several followers to torture and kill members of the general population even after her imprisonment. In 2018 her sentence was reduced to a life in prison as she struck a deal with the DA's office. She then pinpointed the remains of another three of her victims that had never been found. You might remember that while doing so a copycat was exposed.
The Los Angeles Police Department managed to save three victims from the hands of Caleb Wright. You might also recall that this man was shot and killed by members from the Mid-Wilshire district while they searched for two of their own. Rookie – now police officer – Lucy Chen was buried alive in a barrel and Detective Nicholas Armstrong was held under gunpoint at an old family farm of Rosalind Dyer. The story could have ended there but DA Sean Del Monte decided to prosecute Dyer for the deeds of Wright – claiming she was responsible for his actions – unfortunately Dyer had already managed to take her lawyer Beth Veston under her wings and manipulated her into helping the serial killer escape.
It could have ended there too but Rosalind Dyer decided to come back to LA, took on another acolyte, and attempted to kill police officer John Nolan's fiancée. After LAPD and LAFD managed to free her during a joint mission Rosalind Dyer was reported dead by John Nolan. He claimed she was killed by a sniper but the general population just don't know what to think. LAPD internal affairs have long since cleared Nolan from the shooting but the sniper was never found and neither the acolyte who helped build the tank in which Officer Nolan's fiancée was trapped inside.
Now I am standing at Miracle Mile here in LA where a woman - who died under mystical circumstances - lived up until recently. Several of the police officers at Mid-Wilshire who have been directly involved in the Rosalind Dyer case have gotten cryptic messages from people dressed as clowns. I've talked to a neighbor here and he confirms that a clown was here before the police showed up to investigate. A few minutes later the house was shaken by an explosion and collapsed on top of four officers. While some parts remain unsolved it is clear that this has been orchestrated by the followers of Rosalind Dyer - or maybe even Dyer herself - before she died.
The people buried in there – behind me – includes newly minted training officer John Nolan and officer Lucy Chen, their superior officer Sergeant Tim Bradford – the man who saved Chen from Caleb Wright – and an unfortunate young rookie named Celina Juarez."
OOOOOO
To be continued