Brained

Interstate 95 Going South

The press and media set the "serial killer pot" to boil.  It was now clear to the public that someone was killing teachers. 

Reporters were not yet going down the Abernathy College rabbit hole. They had not found that angle, and the cops had not yet let the public know. 

Nothing is public yet about the cassette players found at every crime scene.

The English tabloids covered the story more enthusiastically than the local papers where the killings happened. It's as if the local newspapers, even those with a robust online presence, had thrown in the towel when they started getting their butts kicked by more nimble outlets that figured out how to draw customers to them and monetize.

The long-dead print business was still sullen, licking its wounds and thinking about past glory. If there was a paper and someone read it, in most cases, they were reading yesterday's news.

Eve and I discussed better ways to get the word out when it counts, and it counts right now.

Our phone call to Hannah was in time; however, we could not tell her she was in danger. 

I called Ron Strier and asked if he had heard anything about a large law enforcement response in Scituate, Massachusetts. 

He called back and told me about the first responders party on Weldon Road in Scituate. He also added that the F.B.I. sent an Investigative Team to the site.

I called Wallace Hughes at the F.B.I. and told him I was a day late to speak with this victim.

"Why are you poking your nose in our case Allston?"

"Evie and I found a pattern and were checking things out."

It was at this point I decided we knew the direction of the killer, not the why of it all, and we had a solid lead on who the next victim would be. We had an appointment to see her in Connecticut today. 

The Private Investigator in me wants to sit in Petra Shultz's kitchen and wait for the perp to walk in. I'm game but shaken by missing the opportunity to save Hannah's life by one day. Petra could be dead right now or still alive.

Eve and I discussed this for about twenty seconds, and she made some valid points. "Five songs on the tape, four victims who knew each other, with one more person saying she knew the four victims." It all adds up, Allston.

"We have to get this right." She said. 

"Wally, are you onsite in Scituate?" I asked

"I'm heading there now."

"Eve and I are heading for who we believe the next victim will be." Would you like to meet us there?" "We were correct about Hannah Meyers."

I explained the specifics, and Wally said, "I'll meet you in Darien, Connecticut, in 1.5 to 2 hours.

Eve and I headed south, and I attempted to call Petra.  I got a voicemail, and the message I left was urgent.  I insisted she should not go home and leave her house if she was home. I told her we were on the way and I would call again when I was close.

I also added the F.B.I. was on the way.

I took a peek at Tango and Eve; they both have serious faces.

Heading For Interstate 95 South

Wally called the team on Weldon Road and advised he was tracking a potential perp. He asked the onsite team to keep him appraised.

While he was heading south to Darien, Connecticut, Wally started laughing.  Allston had a way of getting in the middle of things; it was good he called him. Solving this case would get Wally a promotion and a solid reason to turn down "Natalie Freaking Leuze's" tempting offer to be her bodyguard. He did not want to ruin the relationship they had or feel like someone's personal bitch. He is still a Bureau man and wants to stay that way.

Wally called the office and asked them to send him anything they could find about Petra Schultz in Darien, Connecticut.

He pulled into a Dunk's drive-through and got a large iced regular. 

He would do everything possible not to get any on his starched white shirt or tie.

Stratham, New Hampshire - Police Station

Ron Strier called Allston and said on speaker, "Your girl in Scituate brained the killer with a cast iron frying pan, just like in the cartoons. It sounds like they have hair, blood, and skin on the pan. She hit him real good."

"The kitchen is a wreck. She did not go down easy."

Eve started laughing.

"Is Evie in the car with you?"

"What are you laughing at?"

"You said she brained him with a frying pan." "I have not heard that expression in years."

"Awesome"

"You got a winner there, Allston!"