Aidan had begun to pour the remaining of his coffee in a thermos, but Shaun's words gave him pause.
“She did?”
Shaun confirmed but said the woman seemed confused, so he wasn’t sure if she’d be a valid eyewitness. Aidan told him it was at least something to go on.
It may be the break they needed.
The break that would end the search for a ruthless serial offender that had been terrorizing the states over the past ten years.
Once he ended the call, Aidan grabbed his keys and turned to Cheyenne.
“Sorry, love,” he told her. “But I’ve got to run.”
“I know,” she whispered. “Be careful.”
As he kissed her on the cheek, he promised her he would, and then rushed out the door.
The Lady A Pavilion had been sectioned off by the police when Aidan arrived. Lieutenant Christenson saw him in the distance and made a beeline toward him.
“It’s a mess,” he said.
The rain was still falling hard, the thunder sounding as though it was moving closer.
Aidan used the hood of his raincoat to keep his head dry, absentmindedly noticing Christenson didn’t seem to care whether he was dry or not. He wore a windbreaker, which he had zipped, but that was all the protection he had from the rain.
“Shaun said an elderly couple found the body? What were they doing out in the storm?” Aidan asked.
Christenson shrugged. “It wasn’t raining like this when they arrived.”
Aidan followed him to where the body was. They had covered the remains with a tent in an attempt to preserve the crime scene. Federal agents and the police were combing the area for evidence that was likely not there.
“The husband—,” Christensen glanced in his notepad, “—Mr. Gibbs has health problems, and his doctor suggested walking a little more, so they’ve been walking around the track. Before they were going to leave, they went to the restroom. It had begun raining right after we got the call.”
They reached the tent and Aidan opened the flap to peer inside. The medical examiner was inspecting the body as Shaun watched.
“What do we have?” Aidan asked.
“I guesstimate TOD was last night by eleven. Same as the last victim.”
Jane Ridgeway’s body was white, amidst the cuts and purplish bruises. Aidan could tell she’d suffered broken bones, probably more so than Maya. The offender’s mistreatments usually became worse after each victim. Aidan imagined the first was always his warm-up.
Jane had two markings on the side of her neck, indicating she’d been tased.
She wore a black dress and her hands held a bouquet of white carnations over her chest.
This time, he didn’t leave a note. But, then again, he did call the previous night, so Aidan presumed it was a note of sorts.
“I don’t know if the offender got lucky, or if he planned on leaving her in the middle of a storm,” Shaun said over the thunder.
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the premises.
“Luck,” Aidan said. “It wasn’t supposed to rain today. I’m going to go talk to the couple that found her.”
Aidan crawled out of the tent and headed toward the restrooms, where an elderly couple stood underneath the awning. Shaun followed behind.
As they walked, Aidan silently cursed the rain for disturbing his crime scene.
“Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs?” he began as he approached them. “I’m Special Agent Aidan O’Reilly.”
“How do you do, young man?” Mr. Gibbs’ voice was shaky and betrayed his age, as did his white hair and walker. His wife looked a few years younger, her hair bright red. She wore a large pair of bifocals. She squinted at Aidan, and he could tell she wouldn’t have been able to see anything much. Not from a distance, anyway.
“I’m doing well, considering,” Aidan answered. “Thank you. I understand you found the body?”
“Yes,” Mr. Gibbs said. “My wife said she saw someone carrying something over his shoulder. He set it down.”
“Next thing I knew,” Mrs. Gibbs added, her voice wavering slightly, “he was leaving.”
“At first, I thought it was her imagination,” Mr. Gibbs continued. “She has trouble seeing. But she was insistent, so I went to look and—” he frowned as he glanced in the direction of the police and agents, “—and I found that poor young girl’s body. I checked for her pulse, but she was already dead.”
“You didn’t see anyone yourself?” Shaun asked.
“No, young man,” he said. “I was in the restroom.”
“Ma’am.” Aidan directed his attention to Mrs. Gibbs. “Do you remember what he looked like? Do you know if he was short, tall...?”
“I don’t know.” Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t see too well these days.”
“And it was only one man leaving?”
She nodded.
“Do you think he may have seen you?” Aidan asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’ve heard about the serial murders on the news. I was afraid it might be him, so I hid in the bathroom. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Her lips trembled, and Aidan put a hand on her shoulder.
“You did the right thing, ma’am. There was nothing you could have done. Your safety is more important than anything else.”
“You don’t think we’re in danger, do you, young man?” Mr. Gibbs asked.
Mrs. Gibbs sniffled, and her husband took her hand in his.
“No, sir. He likely didn’t notice you.” Aidan opted not to mention the Gibbs more than likely wouldn’t be alive had the offender realized he’d been seen. “But I’ll have an officer escort you home,” Aidan told them. “If we need anything else, we’ll contact you. And if you do remember seeing something that may help, call us anytime. Day or night.”
Aidan passed Mr. Gibbs his card. He accepted it with a quick nod and thanked them, then guided his wife toward the parking lot.
As Aidan watched them, he noticed reporters had
