No Ordinary Killer (3 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Cooper led the way up the walk; as usual his partner
followed close behind. He nodded to the policeman holding up the crime scene
tape and quickly ducked under and clear. “How’s the mood of the crowd, Dennis?”

“Stunned and quiet. I’ve been studying them, like you
asked. I’ll have pictures and my comments on your desk before I head home.”

“Thanks, knew I could count on you. Been having
strange vibes from Candy, she okay?” He moved slowly toward the back of the
house, flashing a light around the perimeter, looking for any sign of forced
entry.

“I hate it when you two do this shit. Twins are
strange, man. She’s fine, been having false contractions and said she’s been
worrying about you, that’s all.”

“Tell her not to worry. It’ll all work out in time.
I’ll stop over when I can.”

“Make it soon or she’ll drive me nuts until you do.”

He nodded and motioned for Josh to follow. Cooper
slowly moved up the cement steps, inched open the screen door and stepped
inside. “You get a feeling we’ve done this once before?”

“Shit, I was thinking the same thing.” He added in a
whisper, “This is giving me the willies.”

“Know what you mean. I’ll wager a month’s pay that’s a
heart boiling and entrails frying.”

“Christ! I can’t believe it.” Josh turned away from
the cooking human remains.

Cooper retrieved rubber gloves from his pocket and
snapped them into place. “Take notes, Josh, we’re doing this one by the book.
Slow and easy with no mistakes. I want everything photographed and videotaped.
Get a sketch artist in here.”

Josh glanced at the white-faced officer standing near
the back door. “Better get Sparks
and Weaver to case the neighborhood. Have them concentrate on racial, ethnic,
and social data.” He paused, then shook his head. “Now, what the hell you
waiting for?”

“Good, they were in charge of that on the previous
case, we’ll have them do a comparison.” Cooper stepped over a large pool of
blood, then moved toward the living room. He dreaded what he knew he’d find.

“Christ, it’s just like before.” Josh stood unmoving
in the middle of the room.

Cooper studied the body of a young woman hanging from
the rafters of the open beam ceiling. As in the first case, the killer had
shoved the back of her neck through the hook of a butcher’s gambrel. Her legs
were fastened open. She’d been slit from neck to pelvic, dressed out like a
deer carcass.

Cooper swallowed hard, his mouth went dry. “Have them
check if the wounds are post-mortem. Sixteen I’ll bet.” His thoughts drifted to
Megan’s book … she’d described it exactly like this. Had she given this killer
a blueprint for murder, or had she awakened the real killer? “Well, LeAnn
Haffer, what can you tell us?”

Cooper turned to observe the rest of the room. As
expected, drawn in blood, an arrow pointed down the hallway. “Well, Josh, looks
like you lead the way.”

“Not this time. I still have nightmares about that
night. Shit, I’m ready to piss my pants right now. This is damn spooky. It’s
time to call in Bicsak and Fortune to back up everything we see and find. I
don’t want to give IA one damn excuse to come down on us.”

“I know what you mean. But, we have to follow this
through. We asked to be on this team and we’re going to get to the bottom of
this case. Now I want you to follow that arrow like last time. Observe
everything and write it all down. We’re going to do some comparisons, and damn
it, Josh, there is no way a killer could duplicate the entire scene unless he
committed both crimes.” Cooper snapped his glove and motioned toward the hall.
Crime scenes like this one were never easy, but to have to go through then
twice was mind-fucking.

“When you’re right, you’re right. Let’s get it over
with.”

Cooper nodded, then followed Josh down the hall. The second
blood arrow pointed to the bathroom. Cooper placed his palm on Josh’s shoulder.
He came to an abrupt stop.

“What?”

“Do you remember a second arrow before?”

“Can’t say I do.”

“Me either. Be careful, it could be booby trapped.”
Cooper pulled his Beretta from the holster under his arm and step-by-step
followed Josh into the small room.

“Just like before. God damn.”

Cooper leaned over the bathtub and took a mental note
of the victim’s organs. “He gutted and rinsed her body right here. Have them
take pictures from all angles. It seems I remember each organ was placed in a
specific place. I don’t recall that being mentioned in Megan’s book.”

“Shit, you sure? I don’t remember that. You have it in
your notes, Coop?”

“I don’t have my notes. They’ve conveniently
disappeared.”

“Damn, you never told me that. Is that where Megan got
her information from?”

“I’ve suspected she might have taken the notebook or
at least read it and taken her own notes. But there were a few things I jotted
down in my notes that she never mentioned. The more I think about it, the more
I’m convinced she never saw my notebook. She must have gotten her information
from someone else. I find her informant and I’m cleared.”

“I get your point. Let’s hurry up and get out of here,
it’s giving me the creeps.”

Cooper couldn’t help noticing his partner seemed
uncharacteristically shaken by this repeat crime scene. Maybe it brought back
too many memories of him sliding on the floor and falling into the tub with
Lisa Helm’s organs. “Listen, I’ll finish up in here. Go ahead and check out the
bedroom.”

“You got it.”

After Josh’s quick retreat, Cooper stood still and
observed everything around him. The sink was covered in blood. The toilet cover
was once again propped up. Dropping the lid, Cooper was surprised to find a
full hand print in blood. He’d forgotten all about that. Was the handprint in
the pictures from the first case? He didn’t remember seeing it. They would have
run prints, it might not have been in the database or there might not have been
a match … but they would have run prints. Again, he just couldn’t remember the
results. Did they ever follow-up on it? There was no doubt he had jotted the
bloody print down in his notes. Yet, this was another important piece of
evidence Megan hadn’t put in her book.

Using his pen, Cooper lifted the lid back into its
original position. Glancing down, a pair of eyeballs floated in the blue water.
“So, you’re watching our asses, are you?” Cooper hated this psychopathic shit.
He’d always had a knack for understanding or at least guessing the bizarre
meanings.

“Find anything?” Josh asked from the doorway.

“Same shit, different case. Anything in the bedroom?”

“Clean as a whistle. But, I’ll bet if we check the
sheets of the immaculately made bed we’ll find he had sex with her before and
after he killed her.”

“We’ll have it checked out. I hate to bring it up,
Josh, but when you slipped in here last time, didn’t you step on an eyeball?”

“Don’t remind me. Worst experience of my life. Got
plenty of attention, but not the kind I wanted. This case was the beginning of
our climb to the big cases. You think that has anything to do what’s going on?”

Cooper followed Josh down the hallway, back toward the
living room. “Guess you could say this was the beginning of our climb. But we
earned our promotions.”

“All I’m saying is this was our first big case. I knew
I’d make a great investigator. I took a lot of shit from the guys at school.
Then we solved this case … my first big case … it showed them what I’m made of.
I’m sure they were piss green with envy.”

“No doubt you’re right. I just wish we could have
proved ourselves on a less tragic case. And I’m not completely convinced we
locked up the right guy.”

“Stop talking that shit again. We wouldn’t be where we
are right now if it hadn’t been for this case and I’m convinced Clarence
Stevenson is the right guy. We solve this case a second time and we’ll both
probably make captain.”

“Don’t be so sure. I’m afraid this entire fiasco is
going to prove we were wrong the first time.”

“Bullshit.”

“You just might be right, Reynolds.”

Cooper shot Dallas Fortune a surprised glance. “I’ve
been expecting you, Ms. Fortune.”

“Dallas.
Is the crime scene the same? Well?”

Cooper suddenly realized he’d been studying how the
double-breasted jacket hugged her ample breasts, small waist, and shapely hips.
He pulled his fingers through his hair, then cringed as he realized he still
wore rubber gloves. “It’s the same.” As she rolled a strand of red hair around
her finger, he tucked his notebook into his pocket.

“You should have told me you guys were coming here.”

“Why? So you could observe our reaction to a murder we
solved years ago?”

“You must realize, Mr. Reynolds—“

“Cooper.”

“You must realize, Cooper, that an investigation of
your actions is no light matter. You could even face prison time.”

“You do what you gotta do … and I’ll do what I gotta
do. Don’t expect me to babysit you, Dallas, because I won’t. You want to be my
shadow, fine, but keep up.”

“Being hostile won’t help your case.”

“I’m not being hostile, Dallas. I’m being honest. I’ve got a job to
do, so let me do it.” The back door slammed and he suddenly realized Josh has
left without him. He walked past Dallas
and had just cleared the door when he heard her release a stifled gasp. No one
should have to see human body parts cooking on a stove. He felt bad she had,
because he knew first hand it would haunt her for years to come.

* * *

Naked, Megan walked past the mirror. She knew she
looked damn good for thirty-two. She’d had one large pregnancy, but no one
would guess it by the firmness of her stomach and breasts. She’d hated being
pregnant as much as she hated being a parent.

Incredible things were happening now. People were
lining up at book stores to get an autographed copy of
Malicious Intent
. She loved the attention more than anything else.

“It’s probably not in your best interest right now to
go and talk to him. If I know Coop, he won’t have anything to do with Kari
Winslow’s talk show.”

Megan glanced at her lover. What he lacked in brains
he usually made up for in bed. “You think I still look good?” She moved her
palms over each breasts and tweaked the nipples seductively.

“Christ, Megan, you’re one good looking woman. When
you wiggle your ass down the street there isn’t a man who doesn’t have a hard-on.”

“I love it when you talk dirty to me.” She giggled
then dived onto the bed, straddling him. He roughly sucked a nipple before
quickly rolling her under him. He slammed into her without the gentleness of a
lover.

“You’re good and tight tonight, Meggy Love.”

She couldn’t help thinking of Cooper’s long and loving
foreplay, his teasing kisses and slow lovemaking. He’d always been more aware
of her needs than his own. She missed the tenderness. Did she miss the man?

He’d finished already and she hadn’t even climaxed.
“Roll over, you’re suffocating me.” She usually enjoyed his power and urgency.
What on earth made her think of Cooper?

“What’s wrong with
you tonight?”

“I’m sorry. I’m
worried Copper is going to make a fool of me tomorrow. I can’t seem to think of
anything else.”

“Maybe you should go over to his place and convince
him it would be a bad idea. If he discredits you enough, maybe people will stop
buying the book. Then again, this copycat killing has made you an over-night
super star. No matter what Cooper says, it’ll just fuel the public into wanting
to read your book. Honey, you can’t lose. Forget Cooper.”

“Did I tell you I’ve already received calls to appear
on Jay Leno and Good Morning America? Can you believe that?”

“See, who cares what Cooper says.”

“I’m excited … but … what if they start blaming me for
this new murder? I can’t believe so many people are accusing me of inciting
this killer. I just wrote a book.”

“Ignore all that bullshit. You think King or Koontz
worry about an idiot out there doing the things they describe in their books?
No. You’re going to sell more books than you ever dreamed of. We’re going to be
rich.”

“I’m going to be rich.”

“Shit, Megan, don’t do this to me. You couldn’t have
written that book without my help. You know that. I could easily backup
Cooper’s story, then where would that leave you?”

“Rich.”

“Don’t you get cocky with me. Get one thing straight
in that pretty head of yours, you don’t want to cross me.”

“You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt our
relationship. We’re made for each other.” She snuggled up against him. She had
an uneasy feeling her lover was holding back. He betrayed Cooper, would he
betray her, too?