Read Online Mystery: The Card Counter: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) by James Kipling - Free Book Online
Authors: James Kipling
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I was hoping it would stop the killing.
I left Flo and the forensic teams behind and headed back to the station. I needed to see if there was any more information from the labs, especially from the samples and the kit from Wally Bennett since that had come in first, as well as to check with the Captain about the incoming federal assistance.
When I arrived at the station, I was pleased to see some reports from the lab waiting for me on my desk. I grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down, and started to read through them, not even bothering to complain that no one had called my cell to announce their arrival. A lot of the reports confirmed what I had long suspected ... the victim was raped by the suspect, but there were no traces of DNA. There was evidence of a synthetic plastic, which would suggest that the suspect used a condom. Based on the information that I processed, we were looking for one really sick individual. When Captain Bancroft noticed that I was there, he walked over while I was reading the file. “What do we know?”
“Not much more than we started with.” I put the folder down and sighed. “I’m hoping that relocating the remaining members of the team and coaching staff will give us a little breathing room. This suspect is targeting this group for a reason. With them all under watch, there’s no reason the killer will strike anyone else.”
“Let’s hope so,” the old man replied. I could tell he wasn’t happy about it. “Are those the reports from the lab on the first victim?”
“That they are,” I replied. “It confirmed the victim was sexually assaulted, so it’s safe to say the others were, as well. There was no trace left, either, so this suspect is covering their tracks to avoid detection.”
“So what exactly are we looking for?” the Captain asked.
“A man who seems to have a beef with the football team and staff.”
“Seems a little extreme to rape and kill for being cut from the roster.”
“I would agree. Whoever is doing this is taking his revenge out on them for a reason. If we find out what that reason is, then we’ll find our man.”
“Do we have enough to go on?”
“A bit. We’re looking for a male now. That’s a start.”
“What about height?”
“We have no camera of him, not much to work from.”
“Well, he had to be strong.”
“That’s not entirely true. He did taze them. That might suggest he needed to do that because he wasn’t strong enough to overpower them.”
“Or perhaps it was just to get the person out of the way before someone noticed what was going on. Either way, we’re talking about football players here – not the weakest victims.”
“True.”
The Captain paused for a moment. “Can’t we guess his height?”
“Based on what?” I asked.
“Well, he did rape them. Can’t we tell based on the size of his˗?”
“No, we can’t,” I snapped back. “How tall is the porn star, Ron Jeremy?”
The Captain paused for a moment. “He’s short in stature. Good point.”
“You think?”
“Alright, I get it,” he conceded. “Yet, our guy is attacking men.”
“I know. It’s why I think this is something personal.”
“We need to get a profile going the moment the FBI gets here.”
“Yeah, like those are easy to put together.”
“I don’t need the backtalk right now.”
“Sorry.”
“I realize this isn’t going to be an easy case, but I need you at your best or we won’t come close to solving it before someone else gets hurt.”
“I know.” I rubbed my eyes again, tired from the lack of sleep. “It’s just a shame we can’t pick when killers go on a spree.”
The Captain paused for a moment. “Is this your weekend?”
“Of course it is.”
I could tell what he was thinking. “Flo has things under control. Go home and come back tomorrow after you drop the girls off at their mom’s.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. Just the idea of leaving him and Flo kind of felt like deserting the
I left Flo and the forensic teams behind and headed back to the station. I needed to see if there was any more information from the labs, especially from the samples and the kit from Wally Bennett since that had come in first, as well as to check with the Captain about the incoming federal assistance.
When I arrived at the station, I was pleased to see some reports from the lab waiting for me on my desk. I grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down, and started to read through them, not even bothering to complain that no one had called my cell to announce their arrival. A lot of the reports confirmed what I had long suspected ... the victim was raped by the suspect, but there were no traces of DNA. There was evidence of a synthetic plastic, which would suggest that the suspect used a condom. Based on the information that I processed, we were looking for one really sick individual. When Captain Bancroft noticed that I was there, he walked over while I was reading the file. “What do we know?”
“Not much more than we started with.” I put the folder down and sighed. “I’m hoping that relocating the remaining members of the team and coaching staff will give us a little breathing room. This suspect is targeting this group for a reason. With them all under watch, there’s no reason the killer will strike anyone else.”
“Let’s hope so,” the old man replied. I could tell he wasn’t happy about it. “Are those the reports from the lab on the first victim?”
“That they are,” I replied. “It confirmed the victim was sexually assaulted, so it’s safe to say the others were, as well. There was no trace left, either, so this suspect is covering their tracks to avoid detection.”
“So what exactly are we looking for?” the Captain asked.
“A man who seems to have a beef with the football team and staff.”
“Seems a little extreme to rape and kill for being cut from the roster.”
“I would agree. Whoever is doing this is taking his revenge out on them for a reason. If we find out what that reason is, then we’ll find our man.”
“Do we have enough to go on?”
“A bit. We’re looking for a male now. That’s a start.”
“What about height?”
“We have no camera of him, not much to work from.”
“Well, he had to be strong.”
“That’s not entirely true. He did taze them. That might suggest he needed to do that because he wasn’t strong enough to overpower them.”
“Or perhaps it was just to get the person out of the way before someone noticed what was going on. Either way, we’re talking about football players here – not the weakest victims.”
“True.”
The Captain paused for a moment. “Can’t we guess his height?”
“Based on what?” I asked.
“Well, he did rape them. Can’t we tell based on the size of his˗?”
“No, we can’t,” I snapped back. “How tall is the porn star, Ron Jeremy?”
The Captain paused for a moment. “He’s short in stature. Good point.”
“You think?”
“Alright, I get it,” he conceded. “Yet, our guy is attacking men.”
“I know. It’s why I think this is something personal.”
“We need to get a profile going the moment the FBI gets here.”
“Yeah, like those are easy to put together.”
“I don’t need the backtalk right now.”
“Sorry.”
“I realize this isn’t going to be an easy case, but I need you at your best or we won’t come close to solving it before someone else gets hurt.”
“I know.” I rubbed my eyes again, tired from the lack of sleep. “It’s just a shame we can’t pick when killers go on a spree.”
The Captain paused for a moment. “Is this your weekend?”
“Of course it is.”
I could tell what he was thinking. “Flo has things under control. Go home and come back tomorrow after you drop the girls off at their mom’s.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. Just the idea of leaving him and Flo kind of felt like deserting the
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