think anything is possible at this point and Samantha is on the right track, but until something else happens—and I hope it doesn't—we need to keep our complete focus on this case. "Samantha, please continue." Chief Hayes pointed his finger at me.
"The two victims that we know of are Stephanie Mason and Jennifer Edwards. Church Street and Court Street in the historical district, two blocks from each other. Both single and living alone, and both in their early thirties." I circled their locations on the map hanging behind me. "No obvious sign of forced entry except for Billy Randall's claim that the Edwards’ back window was open before he entered the premises."
"And that was his invitation to climb right in?" Neville yelled from the back of the room.
"I don't know what he was doing. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet." I shot daggers at him. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.
"Doors secure, vehicles in driveway, personal effects intact and no sign of struggle." I swallowed the last drop of coffee I had in my cup." I have a feeling that we're going to end up with another clean scene, like the Mason house. We'll have more information from the lab and M.E. later in the week."
"Anybody talk to the family yet?" Mitchell asked from the back of the room.
Hayes nodded. "My first stop this morning after I left the scene." He shook his head. "Devastated." He took a drink of coffee.
"Any info on friends? How about a boyfriend?" Mitchell continued.
"Not really. Said she liked her privacy, stayed to herself and worked most of the time." Hayes added. "No boyfriend that they we're aware of."
"What about those lovely engraved poems?" someone from the left side of the room asked.
I walked back to the white board and did my best to untangle the knots in the tightly wound rope that I felt around my neck. "Each body has a special little riddle or poem. He's trying to tell us something, and of course he's going to make it as difficult as possible." I stared at the words. "The first one is letting us know that whatever he's doing, it's going to last a long time. Blood for blood , same as eye for an eye. Seeking revenge. For what, I don't know. No remorse , that's an obvious one, and he's already plotted his course of action." I turned back to face the crowd.
"Any hits on ViCAP?" Neville reared his head again.
"Does she even know what that means?" Ward started laughing.
"Really?" I bit the rest of my words off to avoid another round of insults with him.
"We've already registered the information from the Mason case in the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.” I glared at Ward. "There are no similarities, nothing matches. I'll check the Edwards’ information after the meeting." I looked over at Chief Hayes. "It's probably a good time to request an assist from the Feds."
"I'll take care of it," he said, never looking up from the pad of paper he was scribbling on. "Go ahead and finish up with what you put on the board."
"The second one that I put on the board was as disturbing as the first. This guy is definitely an overachiever in the rhyming department. He wants us to see what he's doing, feel their pain. One by one , I don't think he has any intention of stopping and the bit with, beneath the ruins with unheard cries —I haven't processed that one yet. Not sure if I've processed any of it correctly. I've also searched the Internet for anything that might match the wording from the first one, and again no matches. All these bastards are unique and he could be telling us something completely different. Could be something important or just a sick freak leaving his calling card."
"So, in other words you don't have shit," Ward yelled out again, prodding at my last nerve.
"I can smell a big pile of it from here," I shot back and mumbled, “Asshole,” under my breath and scuffed my boot on the floor. The room erupted into laughter. "Let me know when you figure it out, and I'll get in that line
"The two victims that we know of are Stephanie Mason and Jennifer Edwards. Church Street and Court Street in the historical district, two blocks from each other. Both single and living alone, and both in their early thirties." I circled their locations on the map hanging behind me. "No obvious sign of forced entry except for Billy Randall's claim that the Edwards’ back window was open before he entered the premises."
"And that was his invitation to climb right in?" Neville yelled from the back of the room.
"I don't know what he was doing. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet." I shot daggers at him. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.
"Doors secure, vehicles in driveway, personal effects intact and no sign of struggle." I swallowed the last drop of coffee I had in my cup." I have a feeling that we're going to end up with another clean scene, like the Mason house. We'll have more information from the lab and M.E. later in the week."
"Anybody talk to the family yet?" Mitchell asked from the back of the room.
Hayes nodded. "My first stop this morning after I left the scene." He shook his head. "Devastated." He took a drink of coffee.
"Any info on friends? How about a boyfriend?" Mitchell continued.
"Not really. Said she liked her privacy, stayed to herself and worked most of the time." Hayes added. "No boyfriend that they we're aware of."
"What about those lovely engraved poems?" someone from the left side of the room asked.
I walked back to the white board and did my best to untangle the knots in the tightly wound rope that I felt around my neck. "Each body has a special little riddle or poem. He's trying to tell us something, and of course he's going to make it as difficult as possible." I stared at the words. "The first one is letting us know that whatever he's doing, it's going to last a long time. Blood for blood , same as eye for an eye. Seeking revenge. For what, I don't know. No remorse , that's an obvious one, and he's already plotted his course of action." I turned back to face the crowd.
"Any hits on ViCAP?" Neville reared his head again.
"Does she even know what that means?" Ward started laughing.
"Really?" I bit the rest of my words off to avoid another round of insults with him.
"We've already registered the information from the Mason case in the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.” I glared at Ward. "There are no similarities, nothing matches. I'll check the Edwards’ information after the meeting." I looked over at Chief Hayes. "It's probably a good time to request an assist from the Feds."
"I'll take care of it," he said, never looking up from the pad of paper he was scribbling on. "Go ahead and finish up with what you put on the board."
"The second one that I put on the board was as disturbing as the first. This guy is definitely an overachiever in the rhyming department. He wants us to see what he's doing, feel their pain. One by one , I don't think he has any intention of stopping and the bit with, beneath the ruins with unheard cries —I haven't processed that one yet. Not sure if I've processed any of it correctly. I've also searched the Internet for anything that might match the wording from the first one, and again no matches. All these bastards are unique and he could be telling us something completely different. Could be something important or just a sick freak leaving his calling card."
"So, in other words you don't have shit," Ward yelled out again, prodding at my last nerve.
"I can smell a big pile of it from here," I shot back and mumbled, “Asshole,” under my breath and scuffed my boot on the floor. The room erupted into laughter. "Let me know when you figure it out, and I'll get in that line