Chapter 11

For Nancy the week passed quickly and Brad and team thought she had a good plan for the FBI to support the team’s plan. Brad decided to take a risk and send everyone home for the holidays. It was a gamble, but just to make sure he and Nancy put in place some retired FBI agents in each of the towns and in Arden the retired agent would stay in Colville which is just up the road from the sawmill town of Arden.

Nancy took a flight from North Bend to Portland connecting to Washington D.C. Billy stayed at the house as Brad and Sujin flew to Seoul, South Korea. Brad had his fingers crossed that nothing would happen until after the holidays and maybe not until spring. He felt in his bones John was holed up for the winter somewhere in the Cascade Mountains either in Oregon or Washington.

Brad and Sujin spent a week at her mother’s house and her mother and father were very happy to hear a baby was coming. Sujin also had a chance to meet her client about her photographer and made an appointment for next year sometime. She was vague, but the guy knew what prima donnas artist were like.

After Seoul they flew to Palm Springs to have Christmas with Brad’s parents. It was a time to relax and Brad and his father played a lot of golf with his father’s friends who were thrilled to play golf with the famous Brad Pratt. After the press conference he was a household name spread across the globe and now he was doubly cautious of a hit man looking to fatten his wallet from the bounty on his head. Rocky was flown to Palm Springs ahead of them and was excited to see them. Gwen said he spent most of his time staring at the front door waiting for them. Phillip took him for walks every day and they became attached to one another. His parents were sorry to see them leave after Christmas and Brad promised them a pup from Sandy when she had her litter. Before leaving Brad filled his father in on the details and his father looked pleased as punch when they left.

Back at the house the first thing Brad and Sujin did was take the dogs for a run. It was a rare occasion when both dogs went with them for a run. Billy was put on alert and he watched the hidden cameras faithfully while they were gone. It gave him a chance to smoke while no one was home. He lighted an incense stick to cover the smell of his Marlboro and sat back and enjoyed himself reading a book from the inventory of John.

An hour later they came back and Billy wanted to show something he found in a book he was reading to Brad while Sujin was in the shower. Billy had a book on flowers, but strangely the book was about the Flowers of Washington State. There was one place in the book he showed Brad that was about wild flowers near Mt. Rainier. They got a map out showing towns around the base of the giant volcano. Sujin came out and Brad left to wash the sweat off. Billy looked at the map and saw towns such as Morton, Randle and Mossyrock. Billy thought about how these towns might fit into Senior John’s plan. Two ‘M’s and one ‘R’ made his head ache.

Later having dinner they talked about the flowers and the small towns mentioned in the book as grown in that particular area. Sujin pointed out that whatever grew in that area probably grew in other areas as well. Besides, she told them, ‘M’ and ‘R’ had no place in the message. Billy wasn’t satisfied with that and spent the night on the computer with his friends down south and back east. These computer jockeys no matter the day or time, spent most waking hours trying to outdo the other guy. Billy stayed with it and finally when the sun came up as he smoked outside looking at the cloudy sky with the air much warmer than before, felt a storm coming. And the storm that came was both in the form of a fierce gale force cyclone and the Senior Killer.

Confident in their realm of thinking that he would strike next in an ‘A’ town; he fooled them all by leaving an old lady to not see in the New Year. The call Brad got was from Steve saying a body had been found in Naches, Washington.

After talking to Steve and telling him what he would do, and that sends Nancy on location meeting up with the local authorities and the FBI office in both Seattle and Yakima. His first impression, he told Steve was that this was a diversion and his real sites were still the ‘A’ group of towns. He hung up and called Nancy most likely spoiling her holiday. Never mind, he thought, there was one person in Naches that would never see the light of day again.

* * *

Senior killer John, he loved the acronym, set his cruise control at fifty five. A cloud of blowing snow was left in his wake as he made his way to the Tri-Cities. It was New Year’s Eve and little traffic were on the freeway headed east. He flashed back on his successful kill. He’d selected his old man disguise with crutches. The trip down from Wenatchee over the pass with lots of snow, but he didn’t mind as he drove carefully in his four wheel drive SUV. Approaching Naches, which is a very small down west of Yakima he’d remembered a restaurant with a convenience store attached on the south side of the highway. He’d also remembered a lot of locals hung out there drinking coffee and shooting the breeze. He felt lucky that he would find somebody unlucky to meet up with him.

Playing the role of an old man on crutches he entered the café about noon. Heads turned but rapidly turned back seeing just another old man of no interest to them. Sitting in a booth was an old lady having lunch all by herself. He noticed she was looking at him as he made his way slowly towards her. He had his best grin on his face and twinkle in his eye as he stopped and said, “Madam, I hate to eat alone and would you be as kind as to let me join you on this nice holiday?”

She made continuous eye contact and said, “Surely, please sit down. Us old folks do get lonely and we hate to eat alone, don’t you agree,” she said politely, but in a croaky voice made from too many years of gossip he thought. Well I’ll fix that he said to himself.

“I’d like a nice bowl of hot soup like you’re having,” he said putting his crutches out of the way against the window that looked out onto the gas station. Her purse, like so many old ladies were sitting on top of the table next to the salt and pepper shakers. He quickly made a plan to take something from her purse as he would give her money to pay the bill and hopefully leave her purse for him to take something and then follow her home to return the dropped item. He hoped she lived alone and with her eating alone on a day before a holiday, the chances were good she did live alone.

He told her he was on his way to Randle to visit his son and see his grandkids. She told him her two girls lived in Yakima and they would come get her tomorrow and spend the holiday at one of her girl’s houses. She had a car, but only drove from her house to town and back. She’d lived in Naches for over forty years. Her husband, long gone was a logger and she told him she was thinking of moving into Yakima and live with one of her children. John listened attentively and after a half hour they were old friends that they both had loneliness in common and grand kids to watch grow up. She sat there quietly while he ate his soup and cheese sandwich. The young girl laid the check on the table and he quickly grabbed it from her too slow reach. She argued but not much as he reached for his wallet and took out some money and said, “Would you be so kind as to take this money and pay the bill?”

She said, “Of course. That is the least I can do as it is probably difficult for you with your crutches to make your way around.” She left leaving her purse on the table. John looked around and nobody was looking his way. He snatched it up and found inside a coin purse and stuck it in his pocket. She came back and sat down and told him she would go home now and it was sure nice visiting with him. She picked up her purse and left the restaurant on her way too big coat to ward off the below freezing temperature of the day. She got into an old car not far from him and once she left slowly pulling onto the highway, he moved like a cat to the door and into his SUV and followed her. She wouldn’t notice anyone following her and so he kept fairly close to her as she headed west out of town.

Her turn signal came on and he slowed down and looked into his mirror seeing no one behind him. An old house stood some two hundred yards off the road all by itself. This is too good, he thought and too easy. He felt a stirring between his legs and that totally confused him. Sex was something he never felt the need for. But now as he felt the blood engorge his penis something strange and different sent a message from his twisted brain to his libido. He watched her go into the house stopping on the porch to sweep off the snow from her boots. He waited a few more minutes and then pulled into her driveway. A fine snow was falling and he knew his tracks would be covered by the time anyone discovered her body.

He pulled up next to her car and took his time getting out. Under his driving gloves he had on a pair of latex surgery gloves. His Marlin spike in its usual holster on his pants leg and now he was so good he didn’t need the hammer anymore. He’d learned just where the tip should be placed and then a powerful upward thrust buried the spike in the soft brain.

She opened the door with a quizzical look on her face as he struggled around his car and up to the three steps to the porch. He stopped on the top and stuck out his hand with the coin purse telling her she dropped it at the restaurant. He found it while getting his crutches and the young girl at the restaurant that served them told him where he could find her to return the item. A big smile came across her face and she invited him in for a cup of coffee. He swept off the snow from his shoes and followed her in closing the door behind him. He took off his heavy coat and laid it on a chair in the small living room. The house was typical of an old lady having lived in it for so many years. Pictures hung on every available place be it a wall or a coffee table and on the TV. He wasn’t interested as she invited him to sit at the kitchen table while she made some instant coffee. While the water was coming to a boil, she asked him what his plan was for the coming year.

He said, “I expect to have a very fruitful year and my plan is to make sure a balance is met.” She had no idea what he was talking about as she poured the coffee and brought it to the table. Then she looked him in the eye sitting down and gave off a sigh of relief. He smiled at her and thanked her for the nice hospitality.

She said, again looking him in the eyes, “I know who you are Mr. Senior Killer. We have been warned of you coming for days and weeks now. I suspected from the moment you sat down at the restaurant. I’m a long ways from stupid and having lived over seventy six years can see a fake when it is right in front of me” At that she sipped her coffee and looked at his unchanging face.

“Well, madam, you seem to be living in a fantasy world like me. Now I can make it painless or make you beg for a quick ending to your life.”

“Of course Mr. Killer, I would prefer a quick end to a life of boredom and move on to meet my husband and my parents. What do I have to do to make it a quick ending?”

“Well my dear, I see you are wearing dentures and I would like you to take them out and give me some oral sex. I’ve had no sex for the last forty plus years, but for some reason I need to feel some relief.”

“I didn’t do that even with my husband, but in this day and age I understand oral sex is common. I will do my best if you promise to make it quick.”

“I promise to make it quick as you know I have had a lot of practice this last year and before I’m through, I will be an expert,” he said while standing up and walking without crutches to the living room for a pillow that sat on the old sofa for her knees. He slowly walked back as she stared at him from her chair. He dropped the pillow on the floor and then he took out his Marlin spike and laid it on the table to show her he meant business. She, not without a struggle got to her knees as he dropped his pants revealing his member to her. She’d only seen one other in her life and that was her husband’s penis. This one was long and skinny where as her husband’s was short and fat. Curious she thought as she took him in her toothless mouth.

For John it felt wonderful and he picked up his spike in his right hand and while she was pumping away, he held her head with his left hand. Lucky for her it didn’t take long and as he was about to ejaculate, he pushed her head to his member and she gagged as he thrust the spike into her brain. The jaw did a clamp on his member as he let loose with his sperm into her throat and mouth. He held her head while his member turned soft and slowly let her sink to the floor. He took the napkins on the table and wiped clean his member. Then he took a kitchen towel and wiped his spike and returned it to its rightful place. He picked up his driving gloves and left the house.

By now he was half way to the Tri-Cities where he thought he would treat himself to a night at the Red Lion motel and then drive on up to Spokane where he would get his SUV repainted and new tires put on. After that he would make a full circle up to Arden and then on around through Omak, then back to his snug little room in Wenatchee.

At the Round House with all the team back after the first of the year, all were looking drawn and frustrated at the news of another murder. Brad was filling them on what Nancy had reported after she had viewed the scene and followed up with an autopsy report from the pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner. The new twist was the sexual aspect void of the other killings. But the examiner verified the same type of wound and the same results from the other killings. Why then did John have sex when it was totally absent in all the other murders? Did this have something to do with the trying to throw the investigators off the trail? Why Naches, but the answer was fairly clear that Naches was a link from Yelm to the east side via Morton and Randle. The flower book reared its head with the mention of the book by Billy.

Wendy spoke and told the team that it wasn’t unusual for a serial killer to have sex with their victims. However, in this case it was a little unusual to change in the middle of what had been a pattern before. “We’re dealing with a twisted mind and there is no way we can predict his behavior in the future. I think he will hold fast to the ‘A’ plan as that is firmly entrenched in his sick mind. From what Nancy reported that the autopsy revealed no struggle on the victim’s part, but it looked like she took part in the action. Why? Maybe he promised a quick death if she agreed to the act. Now two things can happen, one he liked it or two he feels sickened by the sex act. If he likes it, then we can assume more females than males would be his targets.”

Brad thanked her for her report and then said, “Let’s put our plan together for the ‘A’ towns and hope our fishing expedition proves fruitful. First Mike and his most significant one will take on Aberdeen and Wendy and agent Jones Anacortes. Nancy has found two Koreans who will assume the ownership of a convenience store in Arden. The FBI will place in Arden and the other laundry stores high quality cameras for 24/7 coverage. Cameras will be placed in the cash registers at eye level. Nothing is left to chance. And if you can suggest something, make it so. Now let’s take a run on the beach and at first light we will leave for Seattle.”

After an invigorating run in the stormy weather the team sat around the floor table smacking their lips on some homemade noodles and baked fish. The table turned quiet and Brad thanked Mike’s girlfriend Julie Umber for taking on a difficult assignment. Julie was forty, short and wiry with a weathered look of wholesome living. Her hands gave off a look of manual labor and her short hair made her look boyish. She told agent Jones and Wendy she met Mike in San Diego while he was still in the Navy. She was working in an all night restaurant where he and his friends would come in late at night for coffee and something to eat. The rest is history and we now have two kids and a nice farm. “Why aren’t we married?” She said, “Well, we never got around to it. Why spoil a good thing is what we both think at this time in our lives. Maybe someday.” And she let that last statement fades away.

Billy looked forward to using the FBI’s forty eight foot communications trailer that he’d heard about from their trip to Olympia before. Seattle was central to either Aberdeen or Anacortes. Pretty much a toss ups either direction; besides a helicopter was on the FBI office roof of 1110 Third Avenue, Seattle just for the teams use.

Brad knew it would be a long wait and they rented a town house that accepted dogs after a hefty damage deposit. Rocky was with them as Sandy stayed home waiting to have her litter of pups.

Nancy met them in Boeing field and drove them to the Seattle office. They were sitting in a conference room after being thoroughly checked by security especially after they found all of the team, except Julie packing hand guns. Brad appreciated the tight security and told Nancy so while everyone got settled into the conference room. Steve was there and after the two hour meeting took the red eye back to Washington after having dinner with the team.

During the meeting details of the laundry in Aberdeen and Anacortes were hashed over. Housing was difficult to find so it was decided Mike and Julie would rent a motor home and park in an RV site. That way coming and going would not be so noticeable with nosy neighbors. In Anacortes an apartment complex with two single bedrooms was founded for Wendy and agent Jones. Brad and Sujin were to fly to Spokane and meet the Korean couple who would man the Stop and Go in Arden. After a week of setting up a communication system and the installation of cameras along with intensive training, found Brad and Sujin back in Seattle. Three weeks after that, all was in place and now it was mid-January. There was nothing to do now but wait for his next move which was expected in Aberdeen. The retired FBI agents in place reported no suspicious looking men or women that weren’t already know amongst the longtime members of the senior center or the local clubs, like Lions, Moose, and other organizations.

Meanwhile work went on day by day and down in Oregon agents of the FBI went from town to town, city to city posting alerts to the Senior Killer. In addition, agents made lunch speeches to seniors at their meeting and lunches. The same program went on in California and never in history had one serial killer had so many law enforcement agencies and agents in the field looking for him.

Towards the end of January a letter arrived at the Seattle Times newspaper office. Of course it was opened and read, handled and photo copied before the FBI had a chance to look at it. A front page article with a quarter page copy of his letter hit the Sunday edition. At least the Seattle office of the FBI had a chance to read it before it came out early Sunday morning, but any trace elements or such things had long since been gone by the time the lab got a hold of it for analysis.

The plain brown manila envelope had a smiley sticker where a return address was usually written and the address of the Seattle Times was written in block letters with a permanent marker. Inside was a one page plain paper written on a word processor and printed by a common laser printer. The content of the letter was plain and simple giving very little information of his state of mind. It said:

Dear newspaper,

I’m writing to tell you how happy I am after my nice visit with the lady from Naches. Before her death, I think she felt some excitement in her last moment on earth.

My goal of ridding the old people who are just taking up space is proceeding according to plan. [You Mr. Brad Pratt of the ‘Batt Team’ we will meet soon] and as you can count, I’m not even half way there yet.

Spring is coming and new flowers will bloom and the old will give way to the new.

This is not my last mail to you. If you are thinking you can find out where I am by the postmark, think again. I’M NOT STUPID!

Going to sign off now and watch the news on TV. Hope you have a nice day Mr. Brad.

Abe Lincoln had his ways and I have mine. Bring your raincoat my smart guy.

Senior Killer……

Brad and team on a Sunday were in Seattle at the office discussing the letter. Billy said it was too simple that the start of each paragraph sent a message: MY GOAL THIS SPRING GOING TO ABERDEEN. The team agreed and now they knew where and when and they also knew the how and why, but they didn’t know who. Billy and his friends and the FBI could find no other clues except the flowers mentioned and somehow Billy felt that was important to remember. And as it turned out he was right on the button.