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Chapter 643 Follow-up

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As a reward for a grueling week of hitting the streets of Charming chasing down leads in Louise's murder, Decker made one of Jax's favorite meals—a peanut Thai noodle dish with shrimp, ground pork and eggs. Lime wedges and crushed peanuts enhanced the flavor to perfection. He made a double recipe so Jax and Scarlett could take some home with them. Scarlett did her part by making an ice box cake with homemade lime curd, ginger snaps and whipped cream. It was tangy, rich, creamy and delicious.

After dinner, they settled into the murder room where Decker had all the information on the murders.

"There's a new addition. A new body was found by a couple of kids riding their bikes along a dirt road. She'd been dead for a couple of months, but she fits the pattern," Decker said pointing to a picture of a young woman.

"It's scary how many women turn up dead," Scarlett said

"And now you know why I insisted on self-defense and weapons training for you," Decker responded.

"You are a great dad," Scarlett said with a grin.

"He'd make a great addition to the MC," Jax suggested. "I can expedite your prospect period and make it easy." Jax said speaking to Decker. He hoped if he mentioned it enough Decker would decide he wanted to be part of SAMCRO.

"Never going to happen," Decker said lightly. "Take the motorcycle out of the club and we'll talk." Jax chuckled.

"I have been trying to get Jax to tell me if he got any information and he's been very secretive. If you don't have any information," Scarlett said tartly, "there will be no dessert for you."

"Hey," Jax protested, "I can't just create leads. We spent all week pounding the streets of Charming, some nearby areas and a few uncooperative people. Friday, Opie and Juice turned up an interesting lead. Yesterday, Sack and I went out and followed up on it. I took him with me in case I needed a little physical persuasion and I'm still not up to it. Damn that Buck Jeffers!"

"Clay should never have let him ride with you."

"Jeffers is calling the shots with Clay thanks to the leverage he has on him over your mother's murder. It takes every ounce of self-control not to rip Clay's head off for what he's done."

"Now you know how I feel," Scarlett said quietly.

"Sometimes the long play is better," Decker said. "Justice is going to come for Clay soon. We all have to just be patient."

"Quit stalling and spill," Scarlett ordered impatiently. "You've kept me in suspense long enough."

"We didn't get any information that will lead us directly to a person," Jax said. "That's the bad news. There is some good news. First, let's fill in the timeline for Louise."

"I'm ready," Decker said. He was standing at a white board in front of all the information they had on Louise's murder.

"We know that immediately after work she went through the drive thru at the Chinese place," Jax said as Decker wrote notes on the board. "She parked her car in the lot, ate her food and threw the containers away. Hale turned up surveillance video that showed that. Charming doesn't have many traffic cameras—just a few at some major intersections, so we don't know much about what happened to her from that point. We did find some people who saw her on Oak Avenue. She had stopped her car, gotten out of it and was talking to a man.

"After a lot of effort, Sack and I found someone with a little more information. The woman was definitely Louise. Judy Garvin recognized not only her car by the bumper sticker on the back but also saw Louise. She was facing out towards the street and Louise waved to her."

"No signs she was in trouble or anything?" Decker asked quickly.

Jax shook his head.

"No, Judy said that she smiled and was absolutely normal. She also said the guy was holding a red plastic gas can."

"She get a look at the guy?" Scarlett asked.

"He had his back to the road. A little taller than average, average build. He was wearing jeans, a hoodie and a baseball cap. She couldn't even tell his hair color."

"Would Louise have stopped her car to help some man she didn't know who had run out of gas?" Decker asked.

"No. Louise was friendly, but she wouldn't have stopped to help a stranger. She was safety conscious and told me that she was glad she worked so close to the MC because it kept the store from getting robbed. There's no way she would have stopped to help a stranger. The guy was carrying a gas can, he could simply walk to a gas station less than half a mile away and be on his way. She would have only stopped if she knew the guy and more importantly felt safe with him."

Decker added that to the white board.

"It's possible that this guy isn't the one who attacked her," Scarlett said.

"Sack and I went to the two nearest gas stations based on where Judy saw Louise. The videos of that night are long gone, but I asked if anyone came in that night with a gas can. We even went to the employees' homes to talk to them. They said usually people fill gas cans during the day for lawn mowers or things like that. It's much less common the later the night gets. One of the guys remembered a guy coming in with a gas can at night a few days ago, but it was definitely after Louise was killed."

"So, we're back to thinking this guy is the one who got Louise," Decker said.

"The guy used the gas can as a prop. Ted Bundy had a fake arm cast and he used crutches too to get women to help him," Scarlett said.

"Sounds like it," Jax said.

"Louise is driving along passes this guy she recognizes, stops her car and gets out to talk to him. She feels safe with him. She offers to give him a ride to the gas station. He gets in, forces her to drive somewhere and kills her," Scarlett said shuddering at the picture she was painting.

"Yeah, that's what I think happened too," Jax said. "She trusted the wrong guy and he killed her."

"Did the killer know all his victims?" Scarlett wondered. "That part doesn't make sense. Maybe there's more than one killer."

"I can't buy into the multiple serial killer theory even if this is California and there are probably multiple serial killers out there. The method and body disposal follows the same pattern," Decker said.

"I agree," Jax said. "I think it's one person who gets off on killing, but knows he can't keep killing people he knows so he gives himself an occasional treat by killing someone he knows and fills in with the other victims."

"So the guy we're after knew Violet and Louise," Scarlett said.

She and her father exchanged looks.

"We've got to try to figure out who Violet and Louise both knew," Jax said. "We're making progress. We're going to find the bastard."