12

Chapter 535 Murder Boards

"

After a delicious hot spicy Thai noodle dinner with shrimp and sausage, Scarlett and Jax were ushered into the Murder Room as her father called it. It had a classroom feel thanks to the full size white boards on not just one wall but three walls. There were a couple of swivel armchairs, a small sofa and an array of dry eraser markers in the trays below each white board. Jax and Scarlett sat down next to each other on the sofa.

Jax realized that Decker had spent a lot of time working on the murder cases. He felt guilty that he hadn't done anything to find Violet and Louise's killer. He'd gotten so busy with the Esai situation. Well, that was over and done with and he could devote his time to helping find the sick bastard that killed Scarlett's sister and the sweet, shy Louise.

Scarlett made him promise not to kill the guy that killed Violet and Louise, but Jax wasn't sure he would be able to keep that promise. Everyone always thinks that jail is so awful, but those people miss the point—those people are still alive. They get to buy their own TV and watch it, they eat ice cream from the commissary, they get mail from loved ones and they get to live.

Not every minute of every second of every day is miserable and if they are in their own cell, they have less chance at getting beat up or killed. Prisoners find ways to squeeze pleasure out of a miserable situation and that's why when people say getting locked up for life is enough; those people just don't get it.

Decker stood in the front of the room and pointed at the board on his right.

"Each board has its own purpose," he explained. Jax was beginning to feel like he was back in high school. "This one is a list of all the bodies identified and unidentified that have been found in the last eighteen months that are within ten years of Violet's age." There were almost a dozen names on the list.

"Were they all found like Violet and Louise?" Scarlett asked.

"Five of them were. I listed the others because it's possible the pattern changed or it's also possible that they aren't serial killing victims. I'm sure there are undiscovered victims out there."

"Probably hookers that aren't noticed as missing. It's just so sad that someone disappears and there's no one who cares," Scarlett said.

"A lot of hookers just move around, so disappearing isn't as unusual," Jax observed. "There's also a difference in how law enforcement looks at crime. If you are an upstanding citizen of the community and crime happens to you; that carries more weight than if you are a petty criminal. Hookers have dangerous jobs and, for the most part, they can't count on law enforcement to help them."

"I just don't like the idea that they are disposable," Scarlett said.

"That's why serial killers prey on them," Decker said. "The Green River killer murdered mostly hookers for more than two decades. He was convicted of almost 50 murders and suspected of as many as 90. He got life while his victims got death.

"Now look at The Night Stalker Richard Ramirez. He was convicted of thirteen murders. It took a little over a year to catch him. People in California, especially Southern California, were terrified he was going to come for them in the night. He didn't have a typical victim profile. He killed men and women often gaining entry through an unlocked door or window. He didn't target hookers."

"Were the women that were killed like Violet and Louise hookers?" Scarlett asked.

"No. Two were hookers, one was a waitress at a truck stop and another was a woman on vacation. The fifth victim was unidentified and the body was so badly decomposed they don't have much information about her. I've written down everything that I could find out about the five women on the board. I can't find many points in common."

Decker had pictures of the four victims that had been identified on the white boards with magnets. There was no picture of the unidentified woman or even a sketch of what she might have looked like in life.

"Victims of opportunity?" Jax suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Decker agreed.

"I did a map of where the women were found and in Violet and Louise's cases where they were last seen," he said pointing to a wall on the left side. The red pins are where they were found and the green where they were last seen."

Jax got to his feet and took a closer look. He studied the map for a few moments.

"Every body was left in a different county to prevent law enforcement from linking them," Jax said.

"That's what I think too," Decker agreed.

"That's unusual for a serial killer to think things through like that," Scarlett said. "They usually have poor impulse control."

"It's possible that the killer is a woman," Decker said. "That could explain why the women weren't sexually assaulted."

"Or the killer is impotent and maybe that fuels his rage," Jax suggested. "I know there have been a few cases where a woman has helped a man by luring a victim but there were sexual motives in those cases. I just don't see this as a case of a woman killing other women."

"I don't either," both Scarlett and Decker agreed.

"On this board," Decker said pointing, "I've written what I know about Violet and Louise. It's not much."

"The night she died, she told me she was going to get together again with you," Scarlett said to Jax. "Do you remember that night?"

Jax knew Scarlett was OK knowing that he and Violet had gotten together a couple of times; what she didn't know was that he barely remembered those times. He'd been with so many women that he didn't have a lot of distinct memories with the exception of a threesome or two and even those were not that clear anymore. The only memories he had were of Scarlett. They were the only ones that mattered.

"There has been a lot that's happened since then," Jax said. He paused trying to remember back to when Violet was hanging around the clubhouse. She had come in with one of the crow-eaters and from that point forward, she'd been around most Fridays and Saturdays.

He and Wendy had been off for good at that point. He wasn't sure, but he might have been the first MC guy Violet had been with, but he wasn't sure if she'd been with any of the other guys in the MC or hung around the club. He didn't really pay much attention to anyone's sex life except his own.

"I know that it might not have been a formal date," Scarlett said.

"Outside of high school, I haven't really dated," Jax said chuckling. "Except with you of course."

"Good thing you added that," Scarlett said giving Jax a playful poke in the side, "or you would have been in trouble with me."

"I don't want to be in trouble with you," Jax said with a grin. "Let me look at my phone for that day and see if that jogs my memory," Jax said pulling his phone from his cut.

He looked through his call history and text messages and put together what he'd been doing on the day Violet disappeared. Once he saw the information, he had a clear memory of that day.

"I'd been hanging around the clubhouse that afternoon. I got a call from Jury. He's a buddy of my dad's from 'Nam and he's president of the SOA Indian Hills charter. They were having some problems with the Mayans and asked for a couple of guys to help out. That's why I didn't meet up with Violet. I was in Nevada."

"Who went with you?"

Jax gave that a little more thought.

"Chibs, Bobby, Happy, Sack and a couple of guys visiting from some other charters. I think it was Lorca, Bully and Donut."

Decker wrote their names down on the board.

"We've made some progress. We've cleared a few people," he said.

"Can you find out where Violet went that night? If she showed up to the club house and if she left with someone?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Violet may have gone for a drink with one of the guys that hang around the clubhouse and left or gone to another bar and met someone there," Scarlett said. "Violet was reckless when it came to men. She thought she could trust her gut when it came to guys, but her gut led her into bad relationship after bad relationship. She was desperate to find someone to love her."

Jax felt the words stab at his heart. He hadn't helped Violet much. She'd been just another crow-eater to him. He never misled any of the girls he was with into thinking that they had any kind of relationship or future. He was sure that some of them were hoping for more than a night or two, but in his mind, it was never more than temporary.

"Can you do a list of guys that hang around the clubhouse too?" Decker asked.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"I think we should focus on Violet and Louise. Chase down the leads we can there," Decker said. Jax and Scarlett nodded their agreement. "What do you know about Louise?" Decker asked Jax.

"I've known her for years. She didn't hang around the clubhouse, but most of the guys go into the convenience store since it's less than a five minute walk from TM to get a cold drink or a snack. The guys really like the slushies from the convenience store."

"What was she like?" Violet asked.

"She was a nice girl, kind of shy. I'd joke and tease her a bit. I know she was going to community college. Smart girl."

"Not the kind of girl to meet a man and go off with him?"

Jax shook his head.

"Not from how I knew her. I think she would have been careful."

"I've been talking to David Hale a bit," Decker said. "He said that Louise got Chinese food, they think she pulled over somewhere to eat it and that's when the killer walked up on her and forced her out of the car. Her food was half eaten."

"Did he say if they found DNA?" Jax asked.

"No, he's keeping that to himself," Decker said.

"The night Louise was taken was the same night that Tara had to kill Kohn," Scarlett said.

"I remember that night. You called me and asked me to come to you."

She reached over and slipped her hand into his.

"And you came," she said softly.

"Of course I did," Jax said looking into her deep green eyes and giving her hand a squeeze. He remembered that night vividly. Scarlett's call had surprised him. He could hear how upset she was and when she asked if he could come to her, all he wanted to do was get to her, scoop her into his arms and fix whatever had upset her.

On his way to her, he'd passed Tig in his pick-up. He hadn't seemed to notice him. Maybe the blood on his shirt had something to do with it. He was probably thinking about the bar fight he'd gotten into. He'd meant to ask Tig about what happened and forgotten with everything that was going on with Scarlett. Tig going out and getting into a bar fight wasn't unusual.

"The one thing that links Violet and Louise is proximity to TM and the clubhouse," Decker said.

"I can't see any of the guys hunting and killing women," Jax said.

"How well do you really know anyone?" Scarlett asked. "Look at the people who find out their neighbors have kiddie porn on their computers and swear that it couldn't be true and yet there are the pictures and videos that prove it. Sick people hide their deepest darkest sicknesses under a cloak of normalcy. You can't trust anyone—even your SOA brothers and those that hang around the clubhouse until we know they have an alibi for the murder of Violet or Louise."

"Fair enough," Jax said with a short nod of his head. "I don't like having to suspect my brothers or friends of the MC, but I get it. Until we can put a name on the board, that person is a suspect," Jax said.

Jax knew that he didn't know that much about all the guys that hung around the clubhouse. The biggest concern was always an informant or undercover cop; now the biggest concern was one of them being a serial killer. They were always careful about never discussing MC business in front of these guys, but now there was a whole new danger that might be lurking at the clubhouse. The sooner they could rule out the guys at the clubhouse and TM, the better.

As Clay's SA, it was Tig's job to make sure that a prospect was who he claimed to be. He also was supposed to check into the backgrounds of the hang arounds. He might have some useful information.

Jax would have to break his promise not to kill the serial killer if that man was one of the guys hanging around the clubhouse. That man would have to die. It was a matter of club honor. He'd be dropped in a deep hole and buried. It might not give grieving families closure but it would keep other families from grieving.

"Is there anything anyone wants to add?" Decker asked.

Jax and Scarlett looked over the boards and shook their heads. Now, the hunt for the killer of Violet and Louise suddenly felt real.

"The idea of Violet and Louise both being victims from Charming makes me very nervous for you, Scars. I think you should leave the serial killer hunting to me and your dad," Jax said.

"Whether or not I help in the hunt doesn't change the level of danger I'm in. Every woman is always in danger in this world. It's just more dangerous now here with this maniac on the loose. I'm not going off to investigate on my own and I trust no one except you two."

"My daughter is hard-headed. Once she makes her mind made up, that's it," Decker said.

"Well, at least if I stay with you while my house is being renovated, I'll know you'll be safe. What about when you open your store?"

"I'm going to hire someone. I was thinking about offering a job to Sack if he'll have it and you don't mind losing him."

"As long as you can be flexible if there's an MC emergency, that's fine. Maybe just four days a week so he can be around on Fridays," Jax suggested.

"That works for me," Scarlett said. "My dad is going to fill in and if Sack's doing a delivery and my dad isn't around, I'll close the store so I'm not there alone. I think I'll open the store in two weeks. My physio will be over as long as you keep helping me."

"I don't mind helping me. You should have asked me sooner."

Jax watched as Decker and Scarlett exchanged looks and he knew that this must have been a source of conflict between the two. Scarlett had been embarrassed about having him help her with her physio. He didn't understand it, but sometimes women were mysteries and Scarlett was easily the mysterious of them all.

After they got ready to leave, Scarlett had a favor to ask of Jax.

"Would you mind giving me a ride home? Dad's selling the Corvette to David so I'm leaving it here. It's too flashy and hard to get in and out of."

"Hale is buying the Corvette?" Jax asked openly amused.

"Yeah, he was around a little when I was moving in and we got to talking," Decker explained. "He's always wanted a car like that, so I sold it to him for a good price. I wanted to get rid of it anyway."

"I don't like taking you on my bike with your injuries," Jax said.

"It's night and you can go slow."

"I'm not worried about my driving ability. I just can't control the others that are driving or riding."

"It's only a couple of miles and I'm dying to ride on your bike."

"I'm going on record that this is against my better judgment," Jax said.

"It's going to be fine," Scarlett said as they walked out to his bike together.

He put his helmet on her head and carefully tightened the strap before kissing her lightly on the lips.

"You be a very good girl for me."

"My behavior is always on point," she reminded him tartly.

They got a mile away when David Hale flashed his lights at them. Jax pulled over.

"Are you going to be in trouble because you don't have a helmet?" Scarlett asked.

"No," Jax's lips quirked into an amused smile.

Hale walked up to them.

"You need some help with your bike."

"Bike's fine," Jax said.

"You were driving so slow I thought you were having trouble," Hale explained.

"No, I'm just being careful because Scarlett's with me and it's her first time."

"You mad at me for buying your Corvette?" Hale asked her.

Scarlett shook her head.

"No, I'm glad to be rid of that car. It's too hard to get in and out of. I prefer the van."

"OK, just wanted to make sure everything is OK," Hale said.

"Thanks," Scarlett said with a smile.

They watched as Hale left before Jax and Scarlett continued their trip to her condo.

"That was fun," she said after they were back inside her condo and Jax had removed her helmet and his cut.

"It's even more fun going a little faster. Now let's get back to that part about how much you missed me. How much did you miss me?"

Scarlett put her fingers closer together than she had at her father's house.

"This much."

"Uh-huh. Is that your final answer because there will be consequences I don't think you are going to like."

"I have missed you desperately and urgently. Would you think I was just using you for sex if I suggested we go to bed right away?"

Jax frowned appearing to think it over before breaking into a wide grin.

"You can always use me for sex," he said wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. Jax didn't explain that men wanted to be used for sex because it made them feel like studs.