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On Saturday morning, the very hungover but smiling crew, including Tony, packed up and went home. Blake spent the day drinking beer, fishing, and eating leftovers. On Monday morning, refreshed after a restful Sunday and a good night’s sleep, he parked outside the Hideaway next to Taylor’s car.
He opened the door and was greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Taylor was behind the bar and placed two cups on the counter. “The coffee is hot and ready.”
Blake picked up his cup and headed toward the big table, followed by Taylor. “Will Peter and Mary be joining us, or will our meeting be by wi-fi?”
“You know how Peter is – take him away from his toys and he’s like a fish out of water. He’ll be on the air at 8.”
Blake swallowed some coffee and asked, “Have you heard from Mary? I half-expected a letter under the door saying she had quit.”
Taylor toyed with his cup. “The day is young – it could still happen. Peter and Mary aren’t like us. I checked and found that they were told about the party Friday, but they don’t do that kind of thing. They live in their own world and are happy there. To be forced out of that world terrifies them.”
“Believe me, Taylor, I wouldn’t take Mary into the field if there was any other way.”
The door opened and Tony and Wayne, along with Shelley, came in, unusually happy for a Monday morning.
Taylor whispered to Blake: “Maybe you should look harder for some other way.”
Blake took the happy atmosphere as a good sign. “Okay, bring your coffee, water, Coke, or whatever you need to the table. Peter will be on the big screen in 5 minutes.”
While they were settling in, Blake sent a text message to June Warner: “June, I’m down a person and wondered if I could borrow one of your security people? We need him next week to train with us for next month.”
The screen lit, and Peter’s smiling face filled the screen before he backed away from the camera. Still smiling, he said, “Good Monday morning, everybody.”
After “good mornings” back, Blake asked, “Peter, is Mary there with you?”
Mary moved into camera range. “I’m here, Blake.”
Blake could hear the tone of her voice, and so could everyone else. “Mary,” he said, “you’ll not be going into the field with me, after all. I’m making other arrangements.”
Blake could feel everyone’s eyes on him. “That’s all I have to say on this subject. Peter, let’s get on with the assignments.”
Peter, who likely didn’t want to be drawn into a conversation as to why Mary was or wasn’t going into the field, got right into the plan. “Traveling from the Cary area by express bus is the killer’s likely choice. Express buses get to their destinations faster than local buses, and traveling on local buses, with their much larger number of stops, would increase the chances of the killer getting caught.” Peter paused to let that sink in. “Now, there are only three express buses leaving Cary that fit with what we know about the killer.”
A map appeared on the screen in place of Peter. “Each one of these routes has as its first stop a major city. The computer believes that focusing on that first stop is our best chance of catching him. If he gets past you at the first stop, it will likely take at least the third stop to catch up with him. However, if that happens, then all three units will converge on the route on which the first killing takes place – assuming, of course, that we learn about the killing quickly.”
The map went away and Peter came back on the screen. “This will happen the first weekend in June, so our killer will be catching a bus Friday night or Saturday morning. I’m betting on Friday night, but if not, then we start over on Saturday. He has only two weeks, so he is on a timetable, as are we. It will be another year before we will have this chance again. I have sent the city map of each city to the leaders of our 2-person teams, with the bus station highlighted. But if you can’t get him at the station, I’m not sure what good the map will do you. You have it, in any case.”
Peter consulted his notes. “Wayne and Tony, the first stop on your route will be Richmond, Virginia. An express bus bound for there leaves Cary at 2:05 in the morning – Saturday, by our calculation. If the killer takes that bus, you should see him by 6:00 that same morning. Because of the time zones, you’ll be an hour ahead of everybody else and will be the first to report. If you miss him, he’ll move on to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and then back home. Questions?”
There were no questions.
“Okay, Taylor and Shelley: You’ll be waiting in Jefferson City, Missouri. The express bus leaves Cary at 10 p.m. – Friday, by our calclation – and at 5:30 in the morning the next day you’ll be standing by waiting for the computer to pick out our guy. Let me warn all of you: wait for the computer, do not go after someone just because they’re wearing a ball cap and have a backpack. If you or the computer misses him, he’ll move on to the next stops. In your case, Taylor and Shelley, they’ll be Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and then back home. For that region, the computer actualy gave two possible routes from Cary. There is also an express bus leaving that same night for Des Moines, Iowa. If he takes that bus, which goes to the farthest point north and works its way back to Jefferson City, you’ll miss him. But Mary and I believe he’ll go to Missouri first, because the bus to Des Moines would not get him anywhere until noon.”
Taylor waved his hand at Peter. “Wait a minute. Are you saying, if we had another team we could be covering both stations?”
Peter leaned off the screen and seemed to be conferring with Mary. He came back and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I may have confused the issue by even bringing up the alternate route for that region. If the killer chooses to go into that region, there’s a 95% chance he will go to Jefferson City. It would be a waste of manpower to cover both stations. I should never have mentioned the other route.”
Peter picked up the next card, for Blake and whoever would be going with him. “An express bus to Dallas, Texas, departs from Cary at 6 p.m. Friday night and arrives at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. If you miss him, he’ll next go to Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, and then home. By the way, Blake, we believe this is the route he’ll most likely take. It’s a long bus ride out but a short one coming home. Are there any questions?”
Mary could be heard to say something, and Peter leaned off-screen again. “I forgot something. Mary has an interesting theory—”
Blake interrupted him. “It’s Mary’s theory – let’s hear it from her.”
Peter stood aside and Mary came on screen. “I wasn’t sure I would be welcome to speak. As you know, it has been very hard to come up with a profile for this killer. We know he starts his trips on the first Friday night or Saturday morning in June. We infer that from his killing pattern. We know also from his killing pattern that he travels by bus. However, why does he not go back to the same areas? He goes to a new area each year. He uses the daytime hours to travel around each city and pick his killing spots for the nighttime. I believe that he thinks of himself as a tourist. He could kill anyplace – what difference would it make? Well, what if he is touring America, and touring a different area each year?”
Blake had his hand on his chin, thinking. “First, let me say, Mary, you’re a member of this team and can speak anytime you want. But, how does this help us?”
Mary smiled. “Thank you. If for some reason we miss him at a station, all these cities have tour buses that would be ideal for our killer to use. He’s on vacation and will want to see the sights. This could give us a second chance to catch him before he kills again.”
Blake closed his file and looked around the table. “Mary’s point is well taken. Check for tour companies close to any of the bus stations. Does anybody have something to add? No? Okay, good job, Peter and Mary. We’ll be doing a test run next week, so make sure your computer is ready.”
| Copyright © 2019, 2020 by Ed Rogers |
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