The Killing Ground: A Foxx Files Thriller (11 page)

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hudson, the baby did not survive.” Rebecca didn’t think it was a good time to bring up the fact that the baby had been taken.

The sound of soft sobs filled the room, and Jordan used the opportunity to study him. The sobs sounded convincing, but then she remembered he had done this once before. Grief could be faked. She had seen it done in the past.

“How did it happen?” His sobs quieted to soft inhales of breath and an occasional hiccup.

“Are you certain you want to know?” Rebecca voiced her concerns, not sure that he would be up for hearing details of her murder. That was assuming he was innocent and not the UNSUB they were looking for.

“She’s my wife, Detective Foxx, I need to know how she died.” His eyes held hers, and Rebecca knew that she had to tell him. He needed to know as a means to move forward.

“Her throat was cut and she bled out.”

“Is that it?” His hands wrung together slowly, as if steeling himself to hear the news.

“I know what’s been all over the news. Was that all that happened?” His eyes pleaded with her for the truth. It was at this particular moment that Jordan started to doubt his act. Was he interested in how his wife had been attacked because he loved her and he needed to know, or was he a psychotic killer who knew the details and got off on them being repeated back to him?

“No.” Rebecca looked over her shoulder, her eyes asking Jordan a silent question. She interpreted her nod as a sign to tell him everything. “She was raped and the killer took the baby.”

Richard Hudson looked as though he might vomit. Anger flared in his nostrils, and Rebecca could see in his eyes someone capable of murder, maybe not his wife, but someone.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” At that moment, she did feel sorry for him.

“I want to see her.” His tone was cold, and she sensed a small amount of the man that had a prior arrest record for physical violence.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” It was true. Rebecca didn’t think it was a good idea to show him Elizabeth’s body. As angry as he was now, she knew seeing his wife lying on a cold autopsy table might bring out the devil in him.

Richard Hudson jumped up, and his chair slammed back into the wall. He leaned over the table and stuck his finger in Rebecca’s face angrily. Before she could even react, Jordan had come around the table and grabbed him by the arm, hauling him back roughly.

“Mr. Hudson, while I can appreciate your grief, you will do well to remember that assaulting an officer isn’t a good way to get what you want.” Her voice was low and even, and she left no doubt that she was willing to do whatever it took to see that Rebecca was okay.

“Agent!” When Jordan didn’t pull away, Rebecca shouted again. “Agent Gray!” Rebecca slammed a folder down on the table loudly. “I can take care of myself. If Mr. Hudson wants to see his wife, I’m sure we can arrange it.”

She wasn’t sure what made her agree to it, especially after he had thrown himself at her. Something in his eyes made her change her mind. She wanted to see how he reacted when he saw the body. Perhaps then she would be able to judge his guilt or innocence. She was buying into the whole grieving husband act, and she didn’t want to be wrong.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll have one of my uniforms escort you to the morgue.”

He merely nodded and sat down in the chair dejectedly.

Rebecca followed Jordan out of the room. “You want to tell me what the hell that was?”

“He came at you.” Jordan knew she sounded defensive, but Rebecca had accused her like she was the bad guy.

“He didn’t come at me. He was emphatic. The guy just lost his wife. Give him some slack.”

“That slack could have gotten you hurt. You saw the look on his face, and you know his history.” Jordan felt the need to defend her actions. “Besides, I’m not sure I buy the whole grieving husband bit.”

“Really?” Rebecca studied her profile until Jordan met her gaze. “I didn’t get that.”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t like him.” Jordan’s time on the streets left her with the ability to read people. She was usually a pretty good judge of character, and she bristled at the fact that Rebecca doubted her judgment.

“If he is the guy, he’s a pretty damn good actor.” Rebecca opined. “I bought his act. Besides, we didn’t get a hit in the Combined DNA Index System for the DNA, and Richard Hudson has a record.”

“
Had
a record. As far as the CDD is concerned, his record is nonexistent, so you wouldn’t have gotten a match. But that doesn’t make him any less violent.”

“Violent yes, but not necessarily a killer.” Rebecca felt like playing the devil’s advocate, getting under Jordan’s skin. “Besides, it seems nuts to kill seven other people, just to cover the murder of his wife.”

“Stranger things have happened. I’m still having Matt run the sample you gave us against his DNA in the National DNA Index System.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and walked away leaving Jordan running to catch up.

Jordan caught her arm. “Listen, come back with me. I had our profiler look at the case files, and I think he has some thoughts on our UNSUB.”

“Fine, but after this, you are buying me lunch.” Rebecca’s lip curled up slightly, and Jordan felt warmth effuse her body. This new feeling of wanting more than just sex with Rebecca was quickly becoming part of who Jordan was, and she wasn’t too thrilled with it.

“I guess I owe you at least that much…” Jordan smirked. “…for making this whole working together thing so incredibly enjoyable.”

“Funny, smart ass. Let’s get this whole profile thing out of the way. I’m getting ready to start, and I’m totally craving something chocolate.”

Chapter 11

“Julien, this is Detective Rebecca Foxx with the Chicago Detective Division.”

Rebecca stepped forward and shook hands with an attractive gentleman, whom she put at close to fifty. His hair was brown with slightly grayed temples and when he spoke, she had to keep from rolling her eyes. What was it with hiring people with foreign accents? It reminded her of commercials that used foreign actors because supposedly some survey indicated people actually bought more of a product if the actor had an accent. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Redmond.”

Jordan directed Rebecca towards a chair and handed her a bottle of water. “So, Julien, what do you have?”

“Well, originally I thought he was targeting lesbians, but the most recent victim changed that idea. I believe we are looking for a male in his mid to late thirties. One who is very angry and is lashing out at whoever or whatever is around him. I believe he might be suffering from some form of impotency. The thought of being less of a man has made him resentful.”

Julien expanded his thought. “I believe that he may have been married at one time, perhaps even still married. He feels emasculated because he cannot father a child. Something happened to push him out of reality. Given the fact that the space between murders has shortened, he is losing touch with reality. It’s quite possible that his wife left him for another man, one who could get her pregnant, and he sees that as another sign of personal failure. He also believes he is above the law, or at least above getting caught. He leaves his victims in plain sight, which leads me to believe he feels superior to law enforcement. That he is too smart to get caught.”

“What do you make of him taking the babies?”

“He feels a certain need for the familial bond with the child. Perhaps he believes that the child is his own, perhaps filling the parental void that was left by his inability to father a child. He does it with almost tender precision, and I would guess his treatment of the fetus will border on loving. That is his one act to erase the violent death that he just committed.”

“Violent. That fits Richard Hudson.” Jordan couldn’t help the feeling that he was involved in these cases, much more than Rebecca was willing to admit.

“Like I told you before, that doesn’t make him our killer.” Rebecca held her gaze until a slight blush crept into her cheeks. No matter how hard she tried, she was not as immune to Jordan’s handsome looks as she wanted to be.

“One other thing, ladies. He was interrupted when he attacked Julie Keppler. I have seen the crime scene photos from the homeless man. He is very angry that he was not able to kill his mark. He is not going to accept failure. He will try to kill her again, if at all possible. Combine that with the fact he knows that the condom with his DNA was left at the crime scene, and you have a killer who is mentally unstable at best. Julie could very well be in danger again.”

“Have you spoken to Assistant Director Mitchell about that?”

Julien shook his head. “Not yet. I was hoping we would not need to address that with her.”

“I don’t want to have to, but I think you’re right. We need to make sure she is guarded at all times.” Jordan turned her gaze toward Rebecca. “I think we need to dig a little deeper and find out what Richard Hudson is hiding. I can’t shake the feeling he isn’t as heartbroken as he pretends to be.”

Rebecca opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when her hip started to ring. Rebecca pulled her phone out of its holster and took the call. “Foxx.”

When she finished talking, she hung up and pushed back in her chair. “Uniforms already brought Hudson to the morgue. They’re sitting on it until I get there. Wanna take me for a ride before lunch? I want to see his reaction to the body.”

Jordan opened her mouth to answer and caught the warning look in Rebecca’s eyes. For now, she had to leave that comment alone. “Sure.” She glanced to her left. “Julien, thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, Jordie. Detective Foxx, it was a pleasure meeting you as well.”

Rebecca followed Jordan outside. Her eyes fell to Jordan’s shapely bottom. Standard issue, black khakis should not look that good on anyone, but Jordan made them look sexy. She unconsciously licked her lips, and somehow had the wherewithal to lift her eyes before she walked out the door. She ignored the knowing smirk on Jordan’s face, hoping she hadn’t caught her staring. Oddly enough, that was the last thing she needed, but the one thing she wanted.
God, I need to get laid.

“So, are you starting to believe me?”

“Maybe I’m not buying the whole guilty thing yet, but I’m a slow learner.” Rebecca waited while Jordan opened the door for her, still not accustomed to being treated like a lady. “You might have to teach me.”

“I’m a great teacher.” Jordan teased lightly. She walked around the back of the car, a smile on her face. If she didn’t know any better, Rebecca was actually flirting with her, and it felt damn good. She started the car and revved the engine loudly. Nothing like a little female attention to get the blood running hot.

Rebecca studied Jordan closely, watching her movements. She did everything with as little wasted energy as possible. Her hand draped over the steering wheel casually, occasionally gripping it tighter to take a turn. Her eyes took in the tight muscles straining beneath her khakis. There was no hiding the fact that Jordan had a great body and when Rebecca pictured her tongue gliding over her taut skin, she shivered.

“Cold?” Jordan reached over and turned the heat up.

“No.” Rebecca’s face was tinged pink. “Just thinking about the case. You really think that Richard Hudson did it? It seems kind of extreme, don’t you think?”

Jordan shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe not. However, I do think the guy is hiding something. We already know he has a temper. It may be a stretch to say he killed seven other women just to cover his wife’s murder. But my gut is telling me he is dirty.”

“Guess we will see.” Rebecca watched Jordan ease into a spot outside the morgue. She stepped outside and sucked in a breath at the rush of cold air. “I suppose it would have been too much to ask him to wait until summer to go on a killing spree.”

“Oh yeah.” Jordan shoved her keys in her pocket and pulled her coat tighter. “When you meet a criminal who wants to do it our way, let me know.”

Rebecca smiled. “And we’ll call it the Burger King of crime.
Have it your way.”

Jordan started laughing, and Rebecca had to admit even her laugh was sexy. She shook her head, trying to get Jordan out of her thoughts and maintain her distance. “You ever been to a morgue before?”

“Once. It’s been a long time.” Jordan’s mind flashed back to her first year at the FBI. She and Tony Wozniak had been investigating a crime ring around the city, and one of their informants had gone missing. Turned out, he wasn’t lost, just dead. They had the unfortunate job of identifying the body, her stomach turned at the memory. It was the first time she had seen a dead body, and this one was especially gruesome. He had learned the hard way that being caught as a snitch was a very bad thing.

“Well, you will find it hasn't changed much.” Rebecca came to a stop in front of two Chicago Police Officers. Jordan could tell from the chilly reception, this was another place that Rebecca’s presence wasn’t liked. She shook her head. It was tough to get anywhere in a man’s world. Rebecca had done it, but she hadn’t made many friends along the way. “You got him?”

One of the uniforms nodded his head behind him. “Had to take a leak.”

“Okay. Listen, thanks for bringing him down. I’ll handle it from here.”

“Sure thing, Detective.”

Jordan saw him smirk as they walked away. “Nice guys you work with.”

Rebecca shrugged. “Some of them can be. It just depends on who you get.”

Jordan opened her mouth to respond, but kept quiet when she saw Richard Hudson walking back down the hallways.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rebecca offered him one more chance to refuse, knowing the scene on the other side of the doors was not something any person, let alone someone whose wife had just been brutally murdered, should ever have to see.

“Yes. I need to see her.” His tone was quiet, but adamant.

Rebecca led him into the examination room and nodded at Sylvia. She stopped at a table with a white cloth draped over the obvious outline of a body. Her eyes met Richard Hudson’s one more time and when he met her inquiry with a silent nod, she pulled the sheet back.