Colbert shook her head before meeting Blair’s gaze. “We didn’t find any other victims matching this description prior to two years ago. Are you sure it’s the same?”
“Yes, and this was five years ago.” Sullivan tapped the table. “Do serial killers wait that long between kills?”
“Not usually, unless something prevents them from carrying out whatever agenda is set in their head,” Redden said.
“Like jail,” Karma tapped one picture hanging on the whiteboard. “Or maybe being forced into military service. Tengku, he’s from Malaysia, right?”
“But they don’t have conscript there,” Blair said. “That’s what you’re thinking, that he had to serve his military time.”
Captain Walker cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need the rest of the overview so I can debrief the chief and the mayor. Zach and Amy, even though they broke the law, were still known by the mayor and his children, so he’s taken a personal interest in this case.”
The words galvanized Colbert, Redden, and Blair to finish the meeting. Jo stood and moved to the board to write notes on each of the victims but was interrupted by the captain. “Rayburn, we’re going to need to move all this to the conference room in the basement. Tomorrow’s the divisional meeting which is taking place in this conference room. Vice has the second-floor conference room with the sex trafficking ring, and our other conference room has—”
“The new interface with the forensic software,” Karma cut in. Captain Walker’s eyes narrowed on the woman who slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
Karma was racking up demerits with the captain today. His main hot button was someone interrupting him. The other was being unwilling to work with other departments and jurisdictions smoothly. Which was the primary reason Jo didn’t buck working with Redden too much. Besides, with as much crap as she gave the man, he was a good profiler. It wasn’t his fault the Skinned and Gravedigger were such screwed-up cases. Her gut told her this would be a screwed-up case too.
“Captain, since this case might drag out for a while, how about I offer an alternative?” Jo drew their captain’s attention away from Karma.
“I’m listening.”
“I have my own office in Rhys’s house. It’s about the size of this conference room, and we’ll have plenty of room to spread out. Rhys equipped it with a whiteboard and several other things he thought I’d need.”
“And you don’t share it with anyone?”
“No, sir. It locks so no one can access it. We also have a monitored security system with cameras and alarms.” Jo laced her fingers together to keep from biting her thumbnail.
“Okay, but I need regular updates, and I might stop by to see how the case is progressing. I’ll also need you and Krane to still clear your other cases as well as take on the Lieutenant duties in a few months.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, sir.” Jo had planned to come in during the week. Police work was her second passion, Rhys had become her first. But no matter how much she loved Rhys, solving crime was an addiction for her and this latest case, the FBI and Interpol had termed the Slenderman case, might be her most challenging puzzle yet.
The captain motioned for Colbert, Redden, and Blair. “I want to make sure I have all the points, and Agent Colbert I’d appreciate if you could bring the projections in case the chief wants more details.”
Colbert gathered her things and the three trailed the captain to his office.
“Way to go Lewie, we get to work from the castle. Lounging in the hot tub or in the heated pool. It’s going to be great.” Karma held her hand up for a hi-five.
Jo ignored her raised hand and narrowed her gaze on her half-sister. “Call me Lewie one more time Karma, and I’ll put you and Maker on Black Friday detail.”
Her sister’s face paled as she took a stumbling step away from Jo. “Okay, no more Lewie.”
“No more anything that isn’t my name.”
“Got it.”
“You better have it, Karm, because I’m not going on Black Friday detail. People go postal, and it’s the primary reason I volunteer at the youth center to avoid getting called in.” Maker growled next to Karma.
Neither took their eyes off Jo as if they thought she was a bomb about to go off. If they didn’t quit using those stupid nicknames, she just might prove them right.
“Now help me get everything put back in their boxes and onto a trolley so we can get it loaded up when Redden and Blair get back.”
Chapter 5
It took an hour before they could leave the station. Redden, Colbert, and Blair were required at Captain Walker’s meeting with the mayor and the chief. Jo expected the meeting to take longer than an hour, but Colbert sent Redden and Blair back to them while she stayed behind to answer any questions that came up.
Within half an hour they were pulling into Jo and Rhys’s driveway. This would be the first case she brought into their home. Nerves wound in her. Rhys had said it was fine, and he had been the one to set up her office. But she hated for anything this violent to touch her family.
“You live in a castle?” Redden asked, jerking Jo from her worry.
She huffed. “It’s not a castle, it’s smaller, and yes, I live here with my soon to be husband.”
“How much does a lieutenant in Alabama make?” he quipped.
“Not enough to deal with the FBI that’s for sure,” she snapped while opening the front door.
“Yep, my sister got her a sugah-daddy—”
“Swear to God Karma, I’m gonna beat your
