To Serve and Protect (9 page)

After a little more than an hour, he had only made a small dent in the list. And it got harder by the minute to go faster as his mind kept trailing off to Vincent. Was he okay? Did he feel at ease and safe with Troy?

Jacob tried to reassure him before he left, but the worry and panic in Vincent’s eyes when he closed the door told Jacob his words fell on deaf ears.

As Jacob signed the report from last week Troy had left on his desk, he wondered what his and Vincent’s sexual experience now meant for their relationship. Was it a one-night stand sort of thing where once this serial killer was found and Vincent’s memory returned fully, he’d disappear in the thick of night like he did months ago? Or did it mean that Vincent had changed and that the sex and loving they shared in the wee hours of this morning were as real and founding for Vincent as they had been for Jacob? They could wipe the slate clean and start anew, making this a lasting and fabulous relationship. Deep in his bones, his heart, his soul, Jacob knew and felt that Vincent was his soul mate. Circumstances and timing had led them astray before, but fate brought them back together for a reason. They belonged together, forever.

Casting his daydreaming and wondering aside, he needed to focus on his work. There was a ton of it, but if he worked hard enough, he could get the most important stuff done by around four o’clock and maybe he could leave early then.

The captain couldn’t possibly expect him to pull an all-nighter to get everything done today. Could he? God he hoped not.

When he checked another report, right before signing it, he realized that Troy had forgotten to complete one of the sections. To complete it now, Jacob needed to know exactly at what time they got the anonymous phone call that led them to the alley and to the dead body and to an unconscious and wounded Vincent. Normally, Troy would log on to the secure server to check the phone call log and complete the reports, but he wasn’t here and obviously forgot to do so on this report. Which meant Jacob had to do it. Another thing to add to his already-abundant list of stuff to do.

When he logged in, it took him a while to find the call log. He had gotten rusty, it seemed. But after a few minutes, he finally found it and scrolled down to the day and time he estimated the call came in. It was the thirty-third line on the screen. He clicked it and found that the phone call number had an RD3 code placed next to it. That code meant that it was a three-time redirected number. That meant the phone call had originated someplace else, but the caller had used a redirecting application twice to camouflage its origins. That made no sense. According to Troy, the phone call had been local as had the other two phone calls they had before this, letting the police know a killing was about to happen. Clicking on the column of the RD3 code, Jacob realized the phone call had been made nowhere near Boston, Massachusetts, but rather Orlando, Florida. From his estimates, that meant the call was made about one thousand three hundred miles away!

His detective’s sixth sense had him scrambling to make sense of this. Why would an anonymous call come in from a completely different state and from so far away at that? Jumping to his feet, he made his way to Troy’s filing cabinet to check out the other two reports he wrote up on the past serial killings. Jacob hated filling out reports. Troy always handled them, to Jacob’s relief. But now he cursed himself for taking his partner’s work at face value and not going through his reports with a fine-tooth comb.

That was sloppy work Troy just did. If Jacob hadn’t picked it up, this important piece of info would have gone unnoticed. Who knows what other important details Troy had overlooked to detail in the other reports? And more importantly exactly where had the other two anonymous phone calls that led to finding the serial killing bodies truly originate from? Something told Jacob that they, too, had been redirected calls.

Chapter 12

Vincent needed a break desperately. Several hours had passed since he came out of the bathroom and sat beside Troy. During that time, they looked through the gargantuan FBI file in the laptop Troy brought with him. Vincent recognized none of the photos so far. They hadn’t spoken more than a couple of sentences throughout the database search, but Troy had checked his watch a gazillion times already. What was he waiting for?

Stretching, Vincent said, “Oh, I need a coffee break.” He got up and walked to the kitchen. He asked aloud, “Care to have some, too?”

“Sure, I could use a cup,” Troy shouted so he could hear him.

While Vincent prepared the coffees, he wondered what he should ask Troy. He wanted to know more about Jacob and his relationship. How long had they known each other? More importantly, he wanted to know why Troy seemed so nervous and who had he been talking to in secrecy out in the corridor outside.

When he came back into the living room holding a tray filled with coffee and cookies, he smiled. “Jacob certainly has a sweet tooth. His cupboards were full of so many different types of cookies. I brought a few because I didn’t know which you’d like.”

He placed the tray on the coffee table and sat on the La-Z-Boy facing Troy so he could look straight into his eyes when he asked him some questions. He needed to acutely observe his expressions and reactions and try to figure things out.

Troy shook his head as he stared at the fattening selection. “No, I’m not into sweets, thanks.”

“But Jacob is, right?”

“I guess.” He shrugged.

“How long have you known Jacob, by the way?” Vincent took a sip of coffee and gazed at Troy over the rim of his mug.

“About five years now. But we’ve been partners for three.”

“So you’re close, then?”

Troy tilted his head to the right and left, alternating. “So-so, I guess. He’s a great detective. That’s for sure.” He checked his damn watch another time.

“Really? I’m not surprised. He cares about people so much. He has a big heart. I wish I could say as much for me.”

Troy’s eyes widened and he stared intensely at Vincent. “From what you’re saying, it sounds to me like you’re remembering more of your past.”

Vincent needed to probe further. He found Troy’s reaction intriguing. But he’d need to continue to pull him along to get him where he wanted to take him.

“Yeah, I’m remembering more…about my past.”

Troy pushed to the edge of his seat and leaned farther in as if so he could hear Vincent’s confession more closely. “What exactly are you remembering?”

Vincent thought about all the horrible images that had come back to him earlier on when he and Jacob had just finished making love. Some of them were too horrifying to believe. They were like something you’d see happening in a supernatural horror movie. But he wasn’t on the interrogation table, Troy was. And he resented Troy’s attempt at getting the upper hand for control of the conversation.

Half laughing to make light of his nightmarish memories, he said, “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”

“But I do—” Troy’s words were interrupted by a phone call.

Checking the cell, he said, “Excuse me, I gotta take this. It’s work related and confidential.” He got up, walked to the front door, and stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind him.

Vincent gazed at the closed door. He wondered if he should sneak up to eavesdrop on Troy’s phone conversation, but then he might get caught. The minute Troy ended his call, he’d come right in. Vincent had no time to get back to the La-Z-Boy before he opened that door.

Cursing and wishing to be a fly on the wall outside that door, he waited for what seemed like an agonizing century. When Troy finally came back in, he made a deep sighing sound and headed to the coffee table.

“There’s been a change of plans. You’ll have to leave now.”

Flabbergasted, Vincent stuttered, “B–But why? It’s too dangerous. The killer…”

Troy packed the laptop in its case and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be guarding you.”

“B–But what about Jacob? He’ll be coming back soon.”

“No, he won’t. Actually, it was Jacob on the phone. There’s been a huge crack in the case and he wants us to meet him at the station, ASAP.”

Things were happening way too quickly for Vincent’s liking. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t explain. Jacob will tell you everything when we get there. In the meantime, get ready. We’re leaving in a couple of minutes.”

Vincent stood up and headed for the guest room. He quickly gathered all his things and followed Troy out the door. His knotted stomach gave him aches, and worry had a thousand questions whirling in his mind.

Why did Jacob want Troy to bring Vincent down to the station? Had he found the killer and wanted him to come down and ID him?

In utter anticipation, he got into the car and let Troy lead him to Jacob. His questions would be answered soon enough.

Chapter 13

The second Jacob saw the captain enter his office, he jumped to his feet. Apparently, the captain’s meeting with the police commissioner ended sooner than he had anticipated. Good. Finally, Jacob’s luck had turned around. After what he just uncovered a few minutes ago, he must take action and fast. And to do so, he needed the captain’s permission, authority, and contacts in other precincts and the FBI to get things rolling. Vincent’s life was in greater danger than he thought, and they needed to act now before the risk got worse.

The past hour’s search on the calling log and then the FBI’s search of serial killings in other states this past decade had him theorizing that all the serial killings were related. Not with a copycat scenario as he originally thought but rather some sort of nationwide cult. If his theory was correct, then they were dealing with some sort of cult that took it upon itself to supposedly cleanse the world of what they found evil or bad. They used the name The Cleansing Killings in Boston. In the other states, in the past, they had used The Day of Judgment and The Purifiers and so many other words that meant the killings were to better the world of the impure. These people in this cult were sick, demented, and super dangerous. And now they were after Vincent. Why?

What had Vincent done that they felt he should die for his supposed sins? Their reasoning didn’t matter. What mattered was that he needed Vincent here at the precinct with him so he could protect him and work with the captain and an army of officers and the FBI to crack this case as soon as possible.

Knocking on Captain Forester’s open door, he noticed the captain’s irked expression.

“Brown, this is not a good time. I have to get something done that can’t wait.”

Jacob took a big gulp and said, “Ah, Captain, sorry to bother you, but this can’t wait.”

Sighing deeply, the captain said as he leaned against the backrest of his black swivel chair, “Fine, but make it quick.”

Jacob sat down and spread out all the data he had collected and uncovered on his own in the past hour.

Captain Forester looked at the reports, frowning. “I have no time for this. Let’s cut to the chase and give it to me short and sweet. Is this about The Cleansing Killings case?”

“Yes, sir. I found something out when I did a back trace on the anonymous calls. They weren’t local but forwarded more than once from other states across the country.”

“I didn’t read that on your reports before this.”

“I know, sir. That’s ’cause I only just figured it out today.”

The captain’s voice rose as his frown deepened. “Brown, yours and Adams’s reports said the calls were local and direct.”

“Sorry, sir, but Troy wrote that on the reports and it’s wrong.”

The red pigmentation in the captain’s neck started to spread to his face. From past experience, Jacob knew that his blood pressure began to rise. The shouting came next.

“Are you telling me Adams goofed on the police reports?”

“Yes, sir. And there’s more that I need to show you. I just found this info out now.”

The captain’s eyes widened as he looked at what Jacob pointed to on other reports on past serial killings.

He quickly picked up his phone and began to dial. Looking at Jacob, he said, “While I place this call to the FBI, I need you to call Adams and tell him to get his sorry ass down here ASAP to explain himself. And tell him to bring Brewster, too. Tell him it’s a matter of life and death.”

* * * *

What was wrong with Troy? Since he got Jacob’s phone call, he hadn’t stopped fidgeting. Was the situation that serious to get Vincent to the precinct as soon as possible that he ran through two yellow lights already? If he kept speeding and driving recklessly like this, then they’d get into more serious problems, like an accident, or worse, killed.

“Ah, do you mind slowing down, Troy? You’re getting me a little nervous.” Vincent stared at Troy as he drove. He just cut off another car that wanted to turn.

Troy shook his head. “Relax. I know what I’m doing.”

“Five minutes more or less doesn’t change anything. I’m sure Jacob wouldn’t want you driving so dangerously.”

Troy glanced at him frowning, then refocused on the road. “What Jacob wants doesn’t matter. I have to get you there fast.”

“Why? What did Jacob tell you on the phone that’s so serious?”