Humpty Dumpty: The killer wants us to put him back together again (Book 1 of the Nursery Rhyme Murders Series) (26 page)

“Yeah, until they get burned. The FTRA kind of acted like tramp and hobo royalty there for a while, but there were a whole string of murders that were laid at their feet, and they’ve kind of gone underground.”

“That’s what I was talking about,” Joshua inserted. “These guys are a lot meaner than your average hobo. And there’s one who’s sticking out like a sore thumb.” He pointed at the screen, where a photo and a digital file stared back.

“Olaf Fjerstad,” Agent Cooper read, her face wrinkled up in puzzlement. “A.K.A. King’s Man.”

“All of the hobos have a handle they go by,” Reggie clarified. “Their hobo name. Like here.” She pointed to another window that was open. “Spamhead Fishbottom. Gastroboy. Gil Bates, Inventor of the Hobonet.”

“So where did our guy get the name the King’s Man from?” Coop leaned in closer to the screen, reaching a hand around the front of Joshua to scroll down the man’s file.

Joshua nudged Agent Cooper’s arm aside so he could pull up a different page, doing what he could to keep from shoving her. The woman was making him claustrophobic. “He’s from Norway. Worked as a servant to King Harald V. He was watching some documentary on hobos about twenty years ago, fell in love and hoofed it to the States to join the life.”

“Looks like he’s been a busy boy since then. His sheet’s thick.” Once more Coop reached around Joshua to scroll down. Joshua had to physically restrain himself from biting her hand. What was wrong with him?

“Plus there’s the possible connection with Humpty Dumpty,” he said, to cover his mounting frustration.

“What connection’s that?” Reggie asked.

Agent Cooper spoke over her shoulder. “You know…
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
…”

“
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
,” the part-time cop finished for her, giving Coop a brilliant smile that showed all of her lovely teeth. Joshua found himself grinding his own until Reggie caught him staring.

She gave him a look, and he did what he could to smile back at her. It didn’t appear to have been successful. She looked closer at him, as if to see if there was something wrong. He shook his head.

Agent Cooper turned around, catching part of the exchange and raising an eyebrow. “Are we okay here?”

“Fine,” Joshua snapped.

She looked back and forth between Joshua and Reggie, and seemed about to speak, then abruptly changed directions. “Well, let’s get a BOLO out on him as soon as possible.” The agent glanced at her watch. “And then we’d better call it an evening. Better to start tomorrow a little more fresh.”

“Whatever,” Joshua said before he could stop himself.

Agent Cooper just sighed and walked out, leaving Joshua alone with Reggie. Which was not at all what he wanted. And yet there was a small part of his mind that asked in a whisper… why else would he have treated Coop that way?

“Do you guys not get along?” Reggie asked, as the door closed behind the exiting agent. “’Cause I think you’re both pretty awesome.”

“We just don’t have the same views on service animals,” Joshua muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Grabbing a few of the loose papers on the tabletop, Joshua gathered them together in a pile, hitting them on the surface to get them straight. “Well, she’s right. Probably ought to call it a night.”

Was it his imagination, or did Reggie seem disappointed as she waved and followed Agent Cooper’s path as she left? The lingering scent of the young cop tantalized and taunted him, causing his heart to beat faster and his gut to twist in knots.

It was time to get back to his hotel room. He nudged Bella, clipping her leash onto her collar as she perked up. There was nothing she liked more than a walk.

The weather was cooler tonight, but the trip back to the hotel did nothing to calm his nerves or clear his mind. The lead weight of the guilt Joshua felt both impelled him forward and tripped up his feet as he moved.

Every fear he had regarding this case was coming to pass. People had died on his watch. More souls on his conscience. And now he seemed to be hot for a coworker. Joshua groped for the image of his wife in his mind’s eye and found that he couldn’t find it. The ache increased, a burning fire that begged to be quenched.

As he entered his hotel room, he released the clasp on Bella’s leash and moved out of habit toward the minibar, checking to see if the alcohol had been restocked. It couldn’t have been, right? The universe wouldn’t be that cruel to him.

It had.

The drink beckoned, it’s oblivion a salve that would wipe away shame and fear. His hands started to shake, and beads of sweat broke out on his brow. It would be so easy to take that step. He’d done it a thousand times before. Gone down that negative spiral pathway, and it wasn’t like he was all that effectual as it was. He reached toward the blackness in front of him.

And then he heard a scratching. It was Bella at the door. She needed to go out.

The dog had just walked a half-mile and somehow hadn’t done her business. And he hadn’t noticed?

Okay. Okay.

He grabbed a grocery sack from his last snack run and scooped out all the bottles, throwing them into the bag and tying off the top. He’d take it by the front desk, drop it off, and have a conversation with housekeeping.

For now, Bella needed some attention.

* * *

Sariah woke from half-formed dreams that seemed to involve Joshua and Reggie and a whole heaping helping of tension. Whatever had been going on last night had followed her into her sleep.

Talking with him about it yesterday had seemed like a bad idea, so she’d put it off until this morning. The problem with putting things off is that eventually the time comes to take the plunge.

She had no desire to talk to Joshua right now, but the kind of interaction had been happening lately had to go. The former agent was becoming more erratic by the day, and Sariah needed to find out why.

As she neared his room, the door opened, and out came Bella, straining against her leash. She was followed by Joshua, who looked like he had been run over by a bus and then pounded with a sledgehammer. He squinted against the light in the hall as he paused in the doorway.

His body kept the door from closing, so Sariah was able to see into the room. There were no empties that she could see in the room, but the mini fridge was hanging open. It had been cleaned out of alcohol. That, plus Joshua’s demeanor spoke of another rough night of binge drinking. And just when it seemed that things were getting better.

“You okay?” she called out.

Joshua squeezed his eyes shut, looking like he was trying to shut out her voice as much as her image. He shook his head.

“I’ve been better.”

“Yeah. Hangovers’ll do that to you.”

Joshua’s head jerked up. “What?”

Sariah snorted. “You’re clearly hung over.”

For a second, it looked like Joshua was going to fight her on that, but then he just responded with his typical, “Whatever.”

She wasn’t exactly sure what that was all about, but she didn’t care all that much. There was something else on her mind right now.

“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about—”

“Yesterday. I know,” Joshua gave her a wry half-smile, half-grimace. “I was out of line.”

Wow. This conversation was not going how Sariah had imagined it. She was supposed to be asking him something, but for the life of her she couldn’t think of it. His apology was rattling her equilibrium.

“Ah, yes. Just…” She looked at him, then down at the dog. Bella looked up at her with her tongue out. “I don’t know. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Joshua started to speak, whether to argue the point or to concede, Sariah couldn’t tell. At that moment, a text came in. She pulled out her cell and glanced at the screen. It was from Had.

News. Get here fast.

Had knew enough not to get her hopes up for nothing. This conversation with Joshua would have to wait.

CHAPTER 17

Darting around the workspace, Had put the final touches on the set up. Reggie had come in and helped him out, otherwise he never would have been able to finish it in time. Between the two of them, they’d basically made the impossible possible.

A Skyped interrogation.

As Joshua and Coop entered the room, Bella in tow, they brought in some pretty strange energy with them. Joshua looked like Had did after he’d been talking to Mama when she was in a pissy mood. And Agent Cooper? She looked… well, Had wasn’t sure how she looked. If it were anyone else, Had would say she appeared confused. But this was Coop. She was never confused. Wrong? Sometimes. Confused? Never.

Pushing his observations aside, Had moved toward the two. “Okay. Here’s the deal. The King’s Man was picked up just outside of Spokane early this morning.”

“So fast?” Coop asked. “How the hell did they find him?”

“Apparently he was speaking to a rotary club about hobo culture. They’d put him up in a hotel for the week, and one of the members was a cop. Heard about the BOLO and went and picked the guy up.”

“Okay,” Joshua replied. “So explain to me why we aren’t headed to the nearest airport.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Had gushed, thrilled to show them what he’d accomplished. “I knew that we’re under the wire. We don’t know how long this new kidnapping victim might have before Humpty decides to cut her into pieces. So…” He pointed at the equipment he and Reggie had put together.

“So you decided to build a television studio?” Joshua asked, looking around the space. He reached out to touch a camera that had been set up.

“Don’t… Don’t touch that,” Had begged him. “I’ve been working on this since five this morning.”

“Whatever,” Joshua growled. He rubbed a hand across his face, pulling the skin taut and then releasing it. “What is it
for
?”

“We’re going to do a video conference,” Reggie blurted, then blushed. “Sorry, Had. I was just so excited.”

As Joshua turned to face her, Had saw the former agent’s expression change. All of the sudden, he seemed taller, more energetic… younger. Weird.

“A video conference?” Joshua asked, his tone skeptical. “That feels like it won’t be all that effective.”

“No, no. It’s a great idea,” Coop argued. “It means we can do this now instead of waiting hours or even a full day to get into the box with this guy.”

“But we’re not there in person. How can we get in his head without being able to be in the same room with him?”

“Please,” she scoffed. “Haven’t you ever been intimidated by a good performance from an actor in a film? Same difference.” Coop raised an eyebrow. “Or don’t you think you can handle it?”

“Let’s just get on with it,” he growled back.

Had was one for two as far as his approval rate was concerned, but he’d take it. Besides, Joshua looked like he’d be grumpy about pretty much anything right now. Had was learning how to take what came out of the former agent’s mouth with a cellar’s worth of salt.

Placing Joshua and Agent Cooper in their chairs, Had focused the camera on them, then checked the internet connection on both ends. It should be more than enough to make for a smooth video conference. He took Bella’s leash from Joshua and led the puppy back to where he would be operating the camera.

As the suspect appeared on the screen, Had was struck by how regal he was. He was scruffy, no doubt, with a huge shaggy beard and long dark hair. But his cheekbones looked like they had been etched in glass they were so sharp, and his blue eyes glittered like arcs of electricity made solid.

And there appeared to be no fear there, whatsoever.

“I’m Agent Cooper, and this is Joshua Wright.” Agent Cooper started. “So, Mr. Fjerstad—”

“I am King’s Man,” the suspect stated in a flat tone. His accent was quite good, with only tiny tells to let the listener know they were talking to someone who wasn’t born in the States. But even with the slight foreign tilt to his speech, he seemed almost more British than Nordic.

“That’s right,” Joshua said in a pleasant tone. “You were a servant to a king. Is that what I’ve heard?”

“That is correct,” King’s Man replied. “But that was a long time ago. I am not a servant to anyone now.”

“I can see that.”

Agent Cooper cleared her throat and held up several photos in front of the camera lens. Had zoomed in on each individual picture as she shuffled through them. He watched like a hawk, ready to sharpen the focus or adjust the framing to make the most impact.

“King’s Man, do you recognize any of these individuals?”

“No,” he said, leaning in toward what must have been the computer screen on his end of the connection. “Should I have?”

“Their bodies were found scattered all across the United States.”

“That is terrible.”

“Oh come on,” Joshua mocked. “It’s not all that bad. Weren’t there like three hundred hobos killed by your group back in the late 90s?”

“To which group are you referring?” the man replied, an innocent look on his face.

“Very nice. Great grammar for a
bum
.”

King’s Man clenched his jaw, his muscle working in stark relief against the skin of his cheek. “I am not, have never been, nor will ever be a
bum
. I am a hobo.”

“Right. A hobo who’s part of the most violent hobo gang that’s ever existed.”

“I’m afraid I still do not know of what you are speaking.”

“Sure you do,” Joshua murmured. Had could see that he was struggling a bit. Like he wanted to stand up and pace but couldn’t. Instead, the former agent wiped his hands on his pant legs. “You were wearing a black bandana. Do you know how unusual that is for hobos to do since what’s-his-bucket was convicted?”

“Robert Silveria,” Coop added. “He’s really the one that helped put the FTRA on the map.”

“The FTRA?” King’s Man wrinkled his nose. “I am not a part of this group.”

“Please.” Joshua made a raspberry noise with his lips. “You were giving lectures on it for the Rotary Club up in Spokane. You have a blog.”

The suspect shrugged his shoulders, the gesture strangely delicate. European. This guy might be a hobo, but Had could see very little that was American about him, even after twenty years.