They reached the CBD. Andre parked on the street, and they all jumped out.
Dan looked at Katie, and she knew he was wondering if she would be in danger if he brought her in, or if it would be worse to leave her outside.
“Let’s go!” she told him.
They went into the office building. Katie and Dan took the elevator, while Axel and Andre dashed up the stairs. They arrived within seconds of each other at the suite where Carly Britton had her casting-agency office.
The door was ajar.
Dan stretched an arm back to keep Katie behind him, drawing his weapon as Axel and Andre did the same.
He pushed open the door.
Katie didn’t scream, but she did let out a gasp.
There was no missing the violence that had gone on. Blood spattered the walls and the desk and covered the woman who lay on the floor, limbs at oddly broken, slashed angles, her head nearly severed from her body.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The city was in a state of sheer panic.
Dan gave another press conference, and in it, he referred to the situation that had occurred in the French Quarter, and he reported he was happy to say some recent victims of an attack were alive. The cunning bravery of a young girl had caused the killer to flee. They believed two of the victims found had been part of the killer’s crew, and the mastermind behind numerous killings was now moving with desperation because they were close on his heels. Again, he asked for help from the community and thanked those who had come forward with bits of knowledge or suspicion.
One reporter asked if a forensic team had come up with anything.
Dan could only answer they were working diligently and wouldn’t stop.
He gave the citizens of the city and surrounding areas advice again: to make sure homes were locked, to not travel alone, and to avoid dark alleys, parking garages and other isolated spaces. Most importantly, to be careful in their own homes and report anything suspicious immediately.
“And like a brave teenager, keep your cell phones on you. Law enforcement is ready to move quickly in any direction. Know how to speed dial 9-1-1.”
“Aren’t you asking for a lot of unnecessary panic by implying people aren’t safe in their own homes?” a reporter asked.
“We’d rather be a step ahead than a step behind,” Dan said.
At last, he was able to excuse himself.
He joined Katie, Axel, Ryder and Andre in Axel’s makeshift office at the NOLA bureau.
“Have they found Carly Britton’s husband yet?” he asked Axel as he fell into a chair. It had been a long day.
“No. Not at home. There’s an APB out for him,” Axel said.
“The man works at home, something with stocks, so there’s no office to try,” Andre said. “We’ve asked neighbors and others if they know any of his habits, places he goes, but apparently he and his wife were not friendly neighbors. They stayed in, and most people thought it was because they were snobs.”
Dan nodded.
Katie cleared her throat and spoke up.
“I keep thinking about the six. If we’re right on this... The real Brian and Aubrey might have been two of the six, with Neil and Jennie being another two. We know there is a head man, the big man who is copying the Axeman in his clothing and attacks. And now Carly aided and abetted the big man, and he killed her for her efforts. We don’t know if her husband is involved or not. The others are dead. They tried to recruit Dan’s client, Nathan Lawrence, but we don’t believe they succeeded. That means—unless they did fill their ranks—that only two remain alive. The big man and Neil Browne. And Neil Browne is in custody. The big man, the mastermind, whatever, is possibly out there alone.”
“Should we take another crack at him?” Axel asked Dan.
Dan looked at Ryder. “Do you want to talk to him? He’s being arraigned in the morning on the charges ensuing from the other night. Now might be a good time for him to bargain. With nothing but circumstantial evidence, attorneys from the state and the federal government are still working on how they want to press charges when it comes to the murders.”
“I would think they could get him on Brian and Aubrey and Jennie. Since there is written proof they were using their identities,” Katie said. “And I am happy to swear in any court of law they were on the boat the day my parents and Anita were murdered.”
Axel’s phone buzzed, and he excused himself to answer it.
He stood and stepped a few feet away to listen, then returned and sat down again.
“We have something to work with,” he said. “Angela has been combing the country and beyond, and the problem has been that Neil Browne has switched identities a dozen times. She managed to trace everything back. Dr. Neil Browne is really Sonny Hartfield, born in New Orleans and, according to records, died in New Orleans during the storm.”
“So that’s when he ditched his real identity!” Katie said.
“After the storm,” Dan said, “there must have been chaos I can only imagine. Say Sonny Hartfield was with the group your father went after, when he was protecting others during the storm, Katie. And Hartfield was already with the big man, and they were already working on becoming the super six, immortal beings in the vein of the Axeman and Allan Pierce. They would have been the core, and they would have added others in. Now that we know his real name...”
“You want me to go in?” Andre asked. “He doesn’t know me yet. He’s very defensive toward Ryder, Axel and you, Dan.”
Dan glanced over at Katie. “He might realize he’s in real trouble and could possibly save his supposed mortal
