Chapter Eleven

Tom sat up in his bed with a gasp. He’d been dreaming of his children, but the edges of the dream were already melting away.

What the hell was that all about? Am I just trying to tell myself I need to spend more time with them?

The phone rang, startling from his musings. He grabbed for it as his mind struggled to free itself from the grips of his dream.

“Hello,” he spoke into the receiver as his reality began to solidify around him.

“Tom, this Jack,” the voice on the other end informed him. “What’s going on, man? You were supposed to be in the office an hour ago.”

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed as he grabbed the clock. “I must have slept right through the alarm.”

“Well, hurry up and get your ass in here. I have good news and I know you wouldn’t want to call in sick with news this big just sitting here waiting for you.”

“Big, huh? How big? Did we catch a break?” He held the phone with his shoulder as he lit up a cigarette.

“The lab results are back from the blood you found at the Joyner house. We have a name and I am running it through the database right now to see if we can get an address.”

“Jesus, that took them long enough. It’s been what… a month?”

“It’s been a week, smartass, and it probably wouldn’t have taken that long if you hadn’t jumped all over their shit again.”

“I wouldn’t have had to talk to them if they would have sped things up. This guy’s killed three couples this week. Two of which happened after we sent that lamp to the lab. That’s four murders that could have been avoided if these people would develop an appropriate sense of urgency.”

“Hey, for what they lacked in urgency, they made up for in efficiency. That sick fuck finally has a name.” Jack paused. “Hey, do you really want to sit around talking about this on the phone or are you going to bring your sorry ass in here?”

“I’ll be right there.” Tom laughed as he jumped to his feet. “Oh, and Jack…”

“Yeah?”

“Keep as few people in the loop on this as possible. I don’t want to risk another leak.” Tom rubbed his temples.

“Sure thing, Tom. Just get here as quick as you can.”

Tom couldn’t believe his luck. As he jumped into the shower, he silently thanked God that they finally had a solid lead. He was sure The Puppeteer didn’t have a clue that they were on to him. The maniac was still killing any time he felt the urge. Surely, he would have laid low for a while if he had the slightest inkling that he had left evidence at the Joyner’s house.

He was dressed and headed out the door in a matter of minutes.

He weaved in and out of traffic as he made his way to the station. Barely resisting the urge to use his wailer, he still managed to make incredible time. He swung his car into a parking space in the underground garage and ran to the elevator.

“Come on, come on,” he said impatiently, watching the indicating light move slowly downward.

The doors finally began to open and he rushed forward. He collided with someone, causing a rain of expletives and falling papers.

Great, just what I needed, he thought when he looked down at the scowling face of Anna Perez.

“I’m sorry,” he said, extending his hand to help her up.

“So, I gather,” she huffed, but allowed him to pull her to her feet. “But an apology wouldn’t hurt either.”

“Moving up in the world,” Tom said as he helped her gather the scatted papers.

“What do you mean?” Anna paused and stared at him.

“Every other time I’ve run into you, you were holding a camera.” Tom shrugged. “Now, it looks like you’re up to paperwork status.”

Anna snatched the wad of papers from his hand and added it to her own. “Where you born an asshole or does this come from years of practice?”

“Ah, you don’t have to be that way. I’m not such a bad guy once you get to know me.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Anna spun and walked off in a huff.

Tom stepped into the elevator and let the doors close. There was a faint hint of Anna’s perfume hanging in the air of the small space.

My God, she smells as good as she looks. Maybe, I need to try to be a bit nicer to her. Once all this is over, I’ll have to show her just how charming I can be...

He stepped out of the elevator and walked into his office to find Jack sitting on the edge of the desk, wearing a shit-eating grin. He held a thick manila folder, tapping it against his chest. Tom motioned for him to get off his desk and strolled around to the other side nonchalantly.

“That’s an awfully thick folder to be just the holder of a name.” Tom took a seat and cleared off a spot on top of his desk.

“We have his name, address, picture and every piece of public information ever gathered on this guy.”

“What’s his rap sheet look like?” The amount of information Jack had gathered in such a short time was impressive.

“He doesn’t have one.” Jack shrugged. “He had a few tickets while he was in med school but that’s about the extent of it.”

“Med school? That explains his precision with a blade.” Tom shook his head in disgust. How can someone with enough intelligence to make it into med school commit such horrible acts?

Tom leaned back in his chair. “You know we speculated about that very possibility the first time we investigated him.”

“Really? And you couldn’t find anything solid to follow up with that?”

“No, our chief at the time ruled it out early on,” Tom smirked. “There is no way somebody could be this sick and maintain a normal life as a doctor, he told us.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Are you ready to go get this creep or what?” Jack pulled a picture out of the folder and held it up for Tom to see.

“Yeah, let’s get a squad together and ready to head that way. I’ll fill the chief in on where we stand. He should be able to push the warrant through before lunch.” He picked up the phone. “What’s the address?”

“54233 East Delaware Avenue.”

“Jesus Christ!” Tom blurted, nearly dropping the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Jack gave him a puzzled look.

“That’s only a few blocks from my… I mean Sherry’s house.” He hung up the phone and moved to stand in front of the far wall.

There was a large map between the door and the window, with a red pushpin placed in the locations where they had discovered bodies so far. He pulled a blue pin from the corkboard below and placed it where the killer’s house was. The first crime scene was in the far northeastern section of the city. They found the next victims in a residential area to the southwest. The third was in a house that sat in the northern most tip of the city. Tom had half expected to discover that the killer’s house would be in the center, not south of town.

“Tom, we can study the map after you get the ball rolling,” Jack suggested calmly.

“Huh?” Tom managed without turning around. “Oh, you know what? I have a better idea. Let’s go tell him in person.”

“How quick do you think he can get judge Mulhaney to sign the warrant?” Jack followed Tom into the hall.

“To catch The Puppeteer?” Tom turned to cast a smile at his partner. “I’d be surprised if he even looks through all of our evidence.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on that bastard’s face when we knock on his door.”

“Neither can I, old friend. Neither can I.”