Re-Runners First Life: A Time Travel Suspense Series (8 page)

Chapter 16

1994

LAPD

‘Come on people,’ growled Captain Ian Rogers as he impatiently gestured for the last of the uniforms to close the door and take a seat.

Rogers held up his hands and the rumbling of conversation stopped.

‘I want everyone up to speed on where we are so far with this latest
le Segador
killing.’

A uniformed officer spoke up, ‘Are we sure it’s the
Reaper
, Cap’n?’

His neighbor punched him in the shoulder, ‘Don’t you watch the news, Kastanza? That reporter ‘outed’ the details we’d kept under wraps. It’s his MO to the letter. It’s
le Segador
alright.’

Rogers growled again, ‘Allegedly a police leak.... but that’s another matter. For now, yes; it looks like him.’

A low murmur went around the room.

‘OK zip it. We’ve got a lot to cover.’

He nodded to the powerfully built, dark haired man to his left, ‘I want you all to meet Detective Marc Perez from San Francisco Homicide. He was the lead detective on
le Segador’s
three Frisco murders before he dropped off the radar. Lindi Jenkins in 1985, Suzy
Kozlowski and Juanita Perry in 1986.’

Marc stepped forward and nodded.

‘Most of you know our own Detective Sutton was working the LA
le Segador
cases with lead detective Pat Brodie before his retirement in ’92 and Pat’s continuing assistance as a consultant ... until recently,’ Rogers paused, his eyes intent on a spot on the floor.

One of the plain clothes at the rear of the room asked, ‘How’s he doing, Captain?’

Rogers shook his head, ‘Not good.’ His lips clamped together in a firm white line. Another rumble of voices filled the room until one said what they were all thinking, ‘Fucking cancer.’

Detective Patrick Brodie was one of the most celebrated and respected homicide detectives in the country. He had brought down more murderers and specifically more serial killers than any other cop in US history.

Le Segador
had been his only failure, which is why he continued to consult with Pete Sutton on the case long after his early retirement, due to failing health. He had come close a couple of times, but
le Segador
always managed to elude him. Arresting him had become Pat’s obsession, but lung cancer had put an end to that. It was as though the murderer had chosen this moment in time to reappear, knowing his greatest adversary was dying.

Rogers ran a hand over his jaw before starting again, ‘Sutton and Perez will be leading the task force and we’ll be throwing as much time and all the resources we have at this. The news broadcast has started a public panic already and the mayor’s office is running damage control. The chief will be giving a statement in an hour.’

Rogers nodded to Sutton and Perez, ‘I’ll hand you over to the detectives in charge now.’ He paused, his eyes sweeping the room, ‘Let’s do this for Brodie.’

‘For Brodie,’ came back the thunderous reply.

Pete Sutton stepped forward and waited for the noise to subside. He was a powerhouse of muscle. Just shy of six foot, Sutton obviously worked out ... and hard. He removed his grey suit coat and rolled up his sleeves. The white business shirt did little to disguise the bulging biceps that strained at the fabric as he crossed his arms.

‘As the Captain said, we want everyone up to speed, so senior uniforms,’ he nodded to the officers seated in front of him, ‘will liaise between their officers and the task force when necessary. The detectives you see behind you are part of that ten member team. Detectives Taylor and Baker have come with Detective Perez from San Francisco. They’ve been working the
le Segador
cases in San Francisco and are assisting us with this re-activated investigation.’

The two detectives from Frisco stepped forward so everyone could identify them. ‘Detective Perez’s team will be here for two weeks before they return to their precinct, however they will continue to work with us. Detective Perez will be remaining here, until we nail this sonofabitch.’

Heads nodded around the room.

A few frowns appeared and the officers looked to one another. ‘Beside him is Agent Costis from the Washington office of Interpol and most of you know Special Agent Andy Harvey, our liaison with the FBI.’ The noise level in the room increased.

Sutton raised his hands again and spoke over them, ‘I think you can put two and two together. We have strong evidence to support the premise
le Segador
committed similar crimes in Italy during his eight-year absence from our shores. His MO has been identified in association with the murder of eight young women in and near Rome. This positive connection with
le Segador’s
MO was made
before
the recent leak of information to the press; so we are confident Italy is where he settled after he killed his last two victims in the US in 1986.’

‘This is a major break for us. With Interpol’s international database and the new DNA technology available to us since his last murder here eight years ago, we have the best hope we’ve ever had of apprehending him. We will be revisiting all evidence in his previous seven murders with DNA testing’.

He paused to let the last bit of information sink in before introducing another player in the team. ‘OK, you have your folders in front of you. Dr Julie Anderson is one of our best profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. She will go over the
le Segador
profile again and answer any questions you may have.’ Sutton resumed his place to the side of the whiteboard.

A petite woman in her early thirties stepped forward. She was tiny and hadn’t been noticed before by most of the assembled group. She dragged a chair over to a three drawer filing cabinet, climbed up and sat on top of the metal box. A vibrantly colorful blouse, black jeans, Doc Martens boots and spiked midnight black hair soon made her an obvious stand out amongst the uniforms and plain suits. Her glasses with large purple frames took up half her face, but beneath them; red painted lips and a big smile drew their attention.

‘I needed a height advantage,’ she joked before getting down to business. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, let me dispel a few of the myths first,’ she held up her hand and counted off her fingers. ‘All serial killers are dysfunctional loners – Wrong. All serial killers are young white males - Wrong. All serial killers operate interstate and are evil geniuses – Wrong. All serial killers want to get caught and cannot stop killing – Wrong.’

Julie watched the reaction of the gathering before beginning again. ‘The truth is serial killers have no particular race, sexual preference, nationality, IQ, mental illness or gender. However, the one thing that is common with serials and which differs from regular murderers,’ she emphasized ‘regular’ using her fingers as inverted commas, ‘Serial killers usually don’t murder people they know. They may create a relationship with the victim after they have chosen them, but generally a stranger is chosen first.’

Julie flipped open her folder and asked the group to go the second page where she had prepared Quantico’s profile of
le Segador
. ‘So in the case of serial killers, we rely heavily on profiling because we cannot focus on the victims relationships as we would do with a single murder. As you know, most single murders are committed by people well known to the victim.’

‘
Le Segador
has so far beaten our best investigative minds,’ thoughts returned to Pat Brodie, ‘but as Special Agent Harvey has said, we now have DNA testing capabilities ... and I will admit we are placing a lot of hope on this new technology.’

Dr Anderson closed her folder and looked intently into each face before she spoke again. ‘The truth is
le Segador
appears to be many of the stereotypical myths I just tried to dispel. He’s obviously methodical and intelligent. We’ve never found a print, clothing or hair fiber. We also believe he lives in California and not interstate. Italy was an interesting addition to the mix because it means he is financially stable; either in a job that allows him to work from anywhere in the world or more likely, independently wealthy. We also believe he is a young white male, because Caucasians usually kill Caucasians, with some exceptions; however Detective Brodie didn’t believe so in the case of this murderer and we agree with him.’

‘He is not motivated by sex, but he is ritualistic in his placement of the body, the severing of the hands and the heart carving on the abdomen. The removed ring finger and plastic ring could be anger at being jilted or he could simply be playing with us. The hands over the eyes could indicate guilt, but that doesn’t fit the pattern. Serial killers of
le Segador’s
obvious intelligence are usually narcissistic and lack empathy or remorse. They focus on their intellect and skill in evading capture and of course, the obvious sensation killing gives them. Be that power, sexual gratification in the pure act of murder itself, intense pleasure in an otherwise apathetic life ... or all three together.’ She paused to take a sip of water from the glass Sutton had handed up to her.

‘All the information we have accumulated both here and overseas is in front of you. I will be a fixture here most of the time with the task force and any queries you direct to them, will reach me ASAP. Thank you for your time.’

Sutton quickly moved in to grasp Julie’s hand and help her down from her high perch. This was a serious situation and a serious job they had ahead of them, but he couldn’t help smiling. Smart and cute. He was looking forward to working closely with Dr Anderson.

Captain Rogers broke up the assembly and everyone left to attend to duty.

The search was on in earnest.

Chapter 17

1997

The lure of the double kill was too strong for Christian and he had indulged himself twice since returning from Italy. Two in 1995 and two this year. He was addicted to the euphoria that accompanied these murders and to a lesser degree he enjoyed the preparation and the planning.
The journey is as important as the destination
, Christian would often quote to himself, but with his personal addition,
almost
.

Despite this, lately he felt the need to do more to achieve the high he craved.

His rituals had remained the same. He still placed the gaudy plastic rings on the severed fingers and positioned them in the heart carved into the belly of his girls; but the last two Lovelies were both so still and quiet. Terrified no doubt, but it cheapened his enjoyment, so he severed their fingers while they were still alive. Their muffled screams behind the tape gave him the remembered thrill of earlier kills. Perhaps next time he would saw their wrists while they screamed.
Yes
, the thought made him tremble.
Yes, that’s exactly what I will do.

The mounting number of
le Segador
murders had increased the number of jurisdictions hunting him, but Christian wasn’t concerned. He had always been meticulous with regard to his crime scenes and his preparation. The police had placed a lot of hope on the introduction of DNA technology, but he had been years ahead of them and he continued to elude capture.

A lot had happened to the people who searched for him in the last few years, but Christian’s life was constant and uninterrupted.

Sally’s career continued to escalate but her obsession with Christian never wavered. She knew she was the only woman in his life and that was enough for her to forgo any thoughts of marriage or a family with anyone else. Her successful career and her love for Christian were enough to sustain her.

Christian had mourned the passing of Detective Pat Brodie in his own way. He had even attended the large and impressive funeral funded by the city, with Sally on his arm. She hadn’t understood his need to go, but as with anything Christian wanted, Sally was always happy to oblige.

Christian had the money to buy information. There was always a corrupt cop or two, happy to bolster their income and it was through his sources that Christian watched with interest the involvement of Dr Anderson, although the addition of her brains to the police brawn hadn’t helped them come close to capturing
le Segador
.

Marc Perez had moved his wife and two young daughters to LA two years ago. The hunt for
le Segador
had taken on mammoth proportions, both in the US and overseas and Perez wanted his family close.

A few more years and I might look at adding his pretty daughters to my collection
, Christian chuckled to himself.

At times he felt he needed to do more. At least when Pat Brodie was on the job, he had come close to working it out, but now it was all too easy. He felt the urge to take more risks, although it went against his code ... but he was in danger of becoming bored.

Perhaps hitting closer to home would increase the thrill. Christian considered the idea, as he dressed to meet Sally for dinner.