Chapter 15

Daylight on the Oregon coast in late May is around six am. The whole team excluding Billy was dressed for a run on the beach. Brad greeted them all warmly and Billy were left at home alone. Even Sujin with her morning sickness gone was dressed and ready for an early morning run on the beach. Her sister was coming later and a picnic was planned for later in the afternoon. Julie and her two kids were coming along with Earie’s husband who reluctantly agreed to come. He told his wife that he always felt like an outsider, but would put on a happy face for her today.

The air was cool and only a slight breeze was still blowing like the night before. Brad knew by afternoon the northwest wind would turn the beach cold for beachcombers. They would need a big fire in Devils Kitchen this afternoon he thought. The run was invigorating and just what the doctor ordered for his body and mind. They all jogged up the beach to the jetty and back again. The tide was out and very low. The smell of muscles and star fish was strong with the pungent smell of exposed seaweed. Seagulls were having a feast in small pools left by the receding tide leaving tiny fish and other morsels of food for the birds. Rocky was in heaven running alongside his master. Sandy was very pregnant and due to have her litter soon. Brad stopped in front of Fish Rock and led the team around the side and up to the top that overlooked the small cove of seawater moving back and forth in the low tide. He stared at the water and the team wondered what he was doing and then Sujin told them when he felt like he was too old Brad would climb the rock wall inviting the feel of death if he didn’t succeed in meeting the challenge. The team peeked over the edge and thought only a crazy man would try to climb the sheer rock wall without a safety rope or pitons rock climbers used.

They were starting to cool down from the run when Brad told them the last one to the Round House was a rotten egg and they all scrabbled down and off the sea stack and ran to the house. Agent Jones was neck and neck with Mike as Brad took off fast and then backed off to run with Sujin and Wendy. Brad found out later that Mike and agent Jones were pretty much even going up the trail fighting for the lead on the narrow sandy trail. When Brad and the girls arrived only moments later they found the two guys rolling on the ground laughing their heads off like little kids in a sandbox.

After a light breakfast of scrambled eggs and rice, the team retired to the basement to listen to Brad’s trip to Washington and the latest word about John. The team had no word as to his whereabouts and Nancy had called to say she would be there is a few days’ time. Earie and the old Korean lady came just after breakfast carrying sacks of whatever for the afternoon picnic.

Sandy was laying at Brad’s feet with her head on his socks while he told the team about his short trip to DC. He told them the truth about not knowing what the future was for the team. Steve would be here in a day or two and from his early morning phone call to Seattle Nancy found out John spent the day looking at flowers and was holed up in his hotel room. She told him that John would have to be very slick to get past the four agents watching his door every minute of the time. Both rooms on either side of him were locked tight and not available for lodging.

Brad said, “Quite frankly, I’m not sure of our next move. Arden is still a go and will continue so until we hear different. Billy I want every border crossing from Canada to the US on our China board. I feel our man will head east and lose his tail in a big city like Toronto or Montréal. Check with anyone and everyone about the past ways people used to sneak across the border or where it appears the border guards are lax. Anyway that ought to keep you busy and away from your nasty habit,” he joked to him. Billy jumped up and left climbing the stairs for a least one or two cigarettes before taking on the new search.

Brad told the rest of the team to relax and put to paper different case scenarios on what our John might be up to next. Brad told Mike to do the same while he went in and called his father. After that he and Mike would sit down and make a plan for where if not Arden our serial killer might strike next. Oregon was a good bet and that were in their backyard so to speak. When they discussed Oregon little did they know how close they were to the truth? However, as it turned out it was many months before John the Senior Killer raised his ugly and twisted self once again made his presence known to leave his mark.

Steve and Nancy arrived at the same time, she by commercial jet and Steve by his borrowed NASA jet. It was planned that way and both rode down in Steve’s car talking about where John might go next. To Nancy Steve seemed a little preoccupied and distant. She was beginning to like him and wondered if he was married or single. She wasn’t sexually attracted to him, quite the contrary as she was very happy with her relationship with her lover. She wished this case would come to an end so she could get back to Washington and their cozy town house. However, she liked the weather in the Pacific Northwest and in particular the Oregon coast. Even at the expense of a difference in personalities with Brad, she felt comfortable in his house. She looked forward to the next day or two as they turned down the familiar road to his house.

The team welcomed both with warmth and a friendly attitude. Some of that friendly attitude was due to the afternoon picnic. The dogs welcomed both by wagging their tails and Sandy rubbed Nancy’s legs. Sandy was very pregnant and Nancy noticed. Steve and Brad disappeared for a walk on the beach once Steve changed his shoes.

Silently they strolled up the beach watching the waves climb the beach as the tide was coming in. Soon it would be high and the walking harder in the soft sand next to the dunes. The wind was blowing fairly strong as they found a place to sit behind a giant old tree that had washed ashore a long time ago during a monster storm to place it so high on the beach.

Brad sat on a piece of driftwood across from his friend who too found a place to sit. Brad the always patient one, Steve thought as he tried to find the words to tell Brad that they would leave the case to the FBI and Nancy for a while. The only change might be if John struck again soon. Steve said, looking at his friend who had a twinkle in his eye knowing pretty much what he was going to be told by his friend, “Yes. Your team is put on the back burner for the time being. Nancy will take care of it for a while. If our John strikes again soon then you and your team are back on the front line. Meanwhile we have another little job that needs your attention. This involves your whole team which includes Wendy and agent Jones if you like. They have proved invaluable recently and if you want to add them, then consider the transfer completes, if they so desire to transfer agencies. Their retirement and such things will remain the same. Let me know before I leave what their answer is. Now here is a major problem that needs your immediate attention. You might think this is a way to get you off the case of our serial killer, but that is not true at all. This comes from the president who listened to your recording and likes the way you think and act.” Steve buttoned the top of his Burberry against the cold afternoon wind that seeped around and under the giant old white tree. Brad meanwhile sat there looking and feeling a little sorry for his past commander and friend. Brad looked hard at him to see how he was holding up under the strain. To Brad he looked about the same as years gone by, but maybe a little slower in his movements is all. Brad thought he needed more exercise and hoped the next few days they could spend some time combing the beach. We’ll go up to Agate Beach and look for agates, Brad thought.

Steve continued his dialogue, “The president has a special assignment that needs your expertise. As you are well aware of the problems facing the free world with the off center leader of North Korea is becoming a real problem. The president tells me we need better intelligence from that region. There are rumors that they are about to test more missiles and there is word coming down from the North that a nuclear underground test is planned in the near future. We are applying all the pressure we can try to stop a renegade nation from actually going nuclear. However, it might just be another is a long line of games the North is playing to feed its army for free. China is not happy about them going nuclear and will allow you and any of your team in China without hindrance. A lot of North Koreas are living in exile along the border and we need first hand intelligence on what is truth or fiction. The president knows Sujin is pregnant and a good cover for you is that her parents live in Seoul and the only one who will stand out is agent Jones. You think about it and let me know what you think. Best guess it is a two month job. After that we will know all we will probably will by then.” His look gave Brad an opportunity to ask questions.

Brad shook his head and said, “Not at the moment Steve, and I too think the free world is in trouble with that devil in North Korea who is called the ‘Dear one.” Let me run this by Sujin and tonight after our picnic we will discuss it around the table with the team.” At that they walked for a while talking politics and the elusive serial killer still at large. After Anacortes it was reported the killer went to Canada and all hoped, not that they didn’t care for the people of Canada, but we're glad he was out of the States.

Making their way back up the narrow sand trail to the house, at the top, Steve laid his hand on Brad’s arm and stopped him saying, “You flat out impressed the boss man and the president wants to nominate you to head up the FBI!” Brad laughed and said he wouldn’t have that job for all the tea in China! Both went into the house laughing making the three women busy fixing lunch for the picnic, stare at them like they found something funny about a picnic lunch?

Steve and Brad sat at the kitchen table while the girls worked in the kitchen. They were talking about a trip they made to Russian a couple years ago when a terrorist went to ground after selling some arms and explosives to a rebel group aligning itself with factions of the Taliban. Brad went undercover and after three months posing as an arms dealer, nailed the guy and his right hand man in a dark warehouse area in the slums of Moscow. About at the end of the story, Billy came up for his usual fix of nicotine. Brad called him over and told him to get all the intelligence on North Korea that was available and unavailable. Billy never batted an eye and went out with Rocky on his heels.

About two o’clock Earie’s husbands showed up making the security go off. Earie hurried to the door to let him across the yard and Brad greeted him with a warm handshake and told him to sit down and have a cup of coffee while they waited for the go signal to head to the beach. The other members of the team came up and all were introduced around and Lane Brown greeted all with a little awe and respect. After the intros down the beach they went with blankets and ice chests full of drinks of all kinds. Sandy stayed home and came to attention when they all left except the old Korean woman who stayed and cleaned the kitchen.

Walking down to the beach and tucking themselves out of the wind, the team made a nice fire out of gathered drift wood. Brad thought it good the team could relax after a stressful couple of months. He vowed to give them a few days of relaxation while he worked out a plan for going to South Korea and then over to China along the border with North Korea.

Nancy, Brad noticed was into the swing of things much different than last time when she showed up with her tail between her legs. Now she was helping build the fire and spreading blankets around to sit on. Agent Jones and Wendy went up the creek to find some sticks to roast some marshmallows on. Billy was smoking more than the fire was as he sat Indian style with Mike and Julie’s two boys talking computer games and the internet. Brad thought Billy wasn’t much more than a kid himself as he watched him with the young boys. The tide was in and starting to turn back out. It was early that morning Brad had taken a crab pot and with a chicken from the freezer dropped it off the side of Fish Rock. In a couple of hours the tide would be low enough for him to fetch the crab pot and see what occupied the jail inside. He’d carried down a big pot and all wondered what he was going to do with a big pot when it was just a picnic. Brad and Sujin inwardly smiled at the idea of live crab probably never seen by agent Jones, Wendy or Nancy.

The picnic was relaxing and the creek was still rather high for May. Kids could lie in the fresh water and let the stream run over their bodies. The creek was only fifty yards from the Kitchen and when the kids and adults got cold they would run to the fire and warm up. Brad and Steve were thinking about other things and even though they were involved in small talk, all could sense his inner problems. Something was up and all waited patiently for what was on his mind.

By four in the afternoon the tide was low enough to walk to the ledge of Fish Rock to check the crab pot. Brad asked if anyone would like to go with him to check the crab pot and Wendy, Nancy and agent Jones jumped up like there was a fire somewhere on their blankets. Walking to the rock, which was only a hundred yard from Devils Kitchen, a buzz of talk about what the hell was going on filled the air. Still a cold wind was blowing from the north and the sun was slowly dipping towards the horizon out to sea. A bright glaring light reflected on the tranquil sea making the beach walkers hold their hands above the eyes lessening the glare. Brad and team jumped onto the ledge between surges and walked down to near the southern point of the rock where he had tied off the rope to a piton long ago driven into a crack above the tide line. Agent Jones asked if he could drag it in and Brad turned the job over to him. All watched as the pot came near the ledge and finally brought up to the ledge where a dozen or more crabs scrambled around inside the wire cage. Brad had given Wendy a plastic bucket to put the crabs in and he opened the wire door and reached in what looked like a dangerous thing to do as large pincers were raised in defense of what they knew as a large predator invading their space. In no time Brad had thrown back into the sea the small ones and kept the larger ones placing them in the plastic bucket. Six adult crabs were carried back to the fire. All of them including Brad were acting like young kids when they returned with the crabs. Mike meanwhile had gone to the ocean and filled up the large pot to boil the crabs in. Billy helped him carry the heavy pot back to the fire. Brad told them you need salt water to cook the crabs in. It took a while for the water to boil and the kids plus Nancy and Wendy played with the crabs taking one out of the bucket and letting it go to run around trying to get away with pincers high in the air for protection. Mike took one of the sticks for cooking marshmallow and showed the neophytes how strong the pincers were on adult Dungeness crabs.

The water finally came to a boil as the sun edged closer to the west where it would meet the sea in about an hour or around seven daylight savings times. Sujin took out of a bag crab crackers which are like pliers to crack the tough exoskeleton of the crab. Brad took a long pair of tongs and after only a five to ten minute boiling the crabs turned red in color ready for the watering mouth of the expectant eater. Brad led the way showing how it was done along with Mike who was even faster. Sujin had melted some butter mixed with onion and garlic to dip the crab in. Loud praise went around the fire as fresh crab boiled on the beach with good friends is hard to beat. Julie had brought a gallon of homemade dark burgundy wine to wash the rich crab down. When only a pile of shells were left smoldering in the fire, the picnickers were all slightly on their lips.

As the long red rays of the sun made the sky red all stood on the beach watching the sunset singing a song that no one knew the words to. When the sun went to bed they all cleaned up their mess and slowly walked back to the Round House and a good night’s sleep. The kids crashed on the floor with Billy and Mike and Julie took a bedroom for their own. Steve had his room and agent Jones was left to the sofa downstairs. No one cared where they slept and come morning there was more than one headache from the wine and rich crab from the night before. No one complained and by eight am all were sitting on the floor around the table drinking tea or coffee, all except Brad and Steve who were talking at the wood table by the kitchen.

Brad had told Sujin of the new case about North Korea. Sujin asked him if he thought they were trying to ease him and his team out of the serial killer case. “Probably because of the new director wants to prove he can do it without outside help. He’ll find out the hard way that this guy is way above average in intelligence and a force to be reckoned with. I’m not going to worry about it for now. I think John will go to ground as that last round in Anacortes probably shook him up a little. Now he will be more careful and it will make him harder to catch, unless……..,” He paused in his speech thinking and then continued by saying, “maybe he will think he is invincible?”

“I like the both of them put together,” Sujin said

“Yes, I’ll pass this on in the morning and see what Wendy and the team thinks.”

Back at the kitchen table Brad told Steve he and his team were in on the Korean operation.

Billy went out for his usual two or three cigarette after breakfast smoke and hurried back in saying to everyone very loudly with an unlit smoke in his lips to come outside and look at the dog house. Sandy had had her litter and was still licking one of them as first Sujin looked in with Brad looking over her shoulder. Three pups were suckling on her as Rocky sat back and had a nonchalant look about him like, hey guy’s, what is the big deal here?

Sujin hated the thought of leaving Sandy alone here, but her sister could and would take very good care of them. Her husband Lane would stay here while they were gone along with the old lady. The rest of the team would fly to San Francisco and from there to Seoul. Steve would go back to Washington to his office and later fly to Seoul for an update for Brad and his team.

At about the same time as they were looking at the new pups, in Vancouver BC John, aka Alex sat at the airport waiting for his flight to Toronto. He was followed he knew that and didn’t much care. In Toronto, where he had spent a lot of time in his job as a makeup artist while filming more movies than he cared to remember, he would lose his tail and cross in Chicago and back to his old haunt in Wenatchee to regroup and make a plan for the future. He would, he decided take some time off and enjoy the summer in and around the Wenatchee area. For now, at least, he had to figure out a plan to ditch these guys and that would not be easy as they were on to him about his many disguises. The call to his plane broke his thinking and he picked up his only bag, carried it on the plane and left for Toronto.

Back on the Oregon coast, Brad and Sujin made ready for their trip to Asia. Nancy reluctantly packed her bag for the flight to Seattle. Steve would drive her to the airport and he would fly back to Washington DC. Billy, Wendy, and agent Jones would follow Brad while he made arrangements for staying in Seoul. No more than a week would pass before they left for Seoul. Meanwhile they would do the research on the Koreas, China and Russia. Wendy would do profiles on Kim, Jung in and the Chinese leaders. A lot of information was needed to make the project successful, such as economics, political, and military and profiles done on all the power behind the scenes. South Korea was still sending aid to the North and seemed, by the current president, to ignore the signs of military buildup by the North. The recent test firing of missiles rocked the free world and if North Korea went nuclear, an arms race was imminent. Japan would reconsider its constitution with a stockpile of plutonium from all of their nuclear power plants to make a bomb. The same could be said for South Korea. Back in the nineteen seventies America leaned on South Korea to stop their plan to go nuclear assuring the country America could protect the peninsula with its strong presence in the region. However, that was more than thirty years ago and now with North Korea knocking on the door, South Korea would have to seriously think about protecting itself.

Then there was Taiwan and its big brother China with the economic climb of exponential dimensions of risk from a potential conflict in the region. None of this was classified information as Brad thought about Asia. Anyone could find this information on the WWW. Brad listened to his headphones to music as they rode first class to Seoul. He was formulating a plan and he was struggling with the notion of Sujin so close to the volatile conflict that like a volcano building up pressure and once the pressure could not be contained, an eruption occurs.

Also he thought how political this operation was. He would gather the intelligence and the politicians would play football with the results. Threats, sanctions, frozen assets, and if China cut off the flow of oil and gas to North Korea, North Korea would have few options but to ally itself to the Middle East offering nuclear support for oil. Countries like Iran would gladly exchange oil for nuclear knowledge of making a bomb. God, Brad thought, what a mess the world is getting into. The Cold War all over again and the arms race would be on like the Kentucky Derby. Billions of dollars would be spent and where would the money come from? Space would be a busy place like a rush hour freeway hurry to be the first home to have a space station or a permanent place on the moon. He shut his mind off and along with the music he fell asleep.

John Mitchell was in his room at the Toronto Hilton. He had a plan. He laughed when he thought about it: so simple, yet effective. He would trade places with the guy who brought him room service. The only problem was finding a waiter that was his size. Age made no difference to him as he could use his make up to look twenty if necessary.

The first night after checking in he ordered dinner. He quizzed the guy with weather talk and his job. It was not hard to learn his schedule for the week and in particular for the next day or two. After checking this one out, later he ordered some dessert. The dinner guy had possibilities, but the young kid for dessert was a no going. In the morning he ordered breakfast and this guy was forty something; and had the seniority to work the day shift. Perfect, he thought. Some knock out pills and he was home free. As John was of average build, the day shift guy had a beer belly and that would work well for John as he could fit his makeup kit and a change of disguise once he left the men’s room in the lobby.

The hotel management was aware of the watch on the guest named Alex Windslow. The joint watch of the room was done by the FBI and the equivalent in Canada. John knew from the room service people that the authorities always looked under the cart as if he was going to escape hiding under the stupid cart. What dummies, he thought.

The next morning he invited the room service guy for a cup of coffee and at first he refused, but then, he thought and said later, this guy was so nice and a big tipper he took the drug laden cup and a short few minutes later he landed on the floor in a heap. John caught the cup of coffee before it hit the rug and quickly made the appropriate make up to fit the room service man. Dressed in his disguise he pushed the cart out the door leaving the guy in the room to wake up in his shorts and undershirt. John even took his socks he said later to the laughing hotel staff down in the basement kitchen.

It was a breeze as the FBI man checked under the cart and John made for the elevator. He pushed the cart into a storage linen closet and locked the door on his way out. Next he found the restroom and quickly changed into his other clothes but left the original waiter look as he walked out of the hotel into a bright sunny day in Toronto.

Now, he thought, getting across the border with his passport as Alex Windslow would be hard if they ran a check on the computer. This was not good and he needed to give this some serious thought. He made for the ferry terminal to see what was available in America across Lake Michigan. No doubt the authorities were alerted to his passport name and number. He was sure it would pop up with a red flag as soon as they entered it into the computer. God, he hated to do it, but maybe he would have to find an American and steal his passport. Well, he thought, the Canadians probably will blame the murder on the States serial killer the loss of one more would not affect the balance of the population age bracket, he decided to overdose a likely prospect and take his passport and apply the appropriate disguise and fly to wherever the guy’s home was.

John found a medium priced hotel just off the business district. At noon, after he checked in under an assumed name with cash, he went to the bar to see if any heavy drinkers were there and American. His luck held at a convention of salesmen from St. Louis marketing dental supplies were drinking lunch. John perused the gathering and when he spotted a table with only three and a fourth chair vacant, he sidled on over and introduced himself. The three men were already half in the bag and it wasn’t long before two left and the lush with a strawberry nose kept drinking with John. John wasn’t much of a drinker so when he ordered a gin and tonic he told the waitress to make it a light one as he lots of work to do before his six o’clock meeting with his boss.

The conversation took on the good ole boy talk and when John at about two thirty said he needed to make a phone call, invited the guy to his room for a drink from his bar in his suite. The guy jumped at the call for free drinks and off they went to John’s room. Once situated in the room, John poured the guy a stiff scotch and dropped enough knock out pills to lay down an elephant. The pills mixed with alcohol knocked the guy out for good. John propped him up so he could make up the face in front of the room’s mirror. Satisfied he took the guys passport and left him propped up leaning against the bed. Fingerprints would be taken and the only things he had touched were the small scotch bottles and one glass. He wiped both clean and wiped the doorknob clean on both sides. Then he wiped the swipe card and threw it away once he found an outside trash can.

He smiled as he took a taxi to the airport and it was almost guaranteed he would be long gone by the time the body was discovered. Two hours from the time he left strawberry nose, he landed in Chicago. No problem going through immigration and he took a flight to Boise, Idaho. He changed ID back to Clyde Walker of Wenatchee and took a flight to Spokane. From Spokane he bought a used car and drove to Arden to look it over before flying from Spokane to Seattle to pick up his SUV in long term parking.

He cruised into Arden and spotted the convenience store with a gas station attached. He walked in and right away noticed Koreans were running the place. He thought, they are everywhere, these Asians. You can’t go anywhere anymore without running into these people who can’t speak English. He gave the guy a fifty dollar bill and told him it was a fill up. Walking back out he was on full alert as he realized Arden was on the FBI list of where he might strike again. Filling his car with gas he looked around for cameras and spotted too many for an average place like this out in the country side. He finished up and slowly walked back into the store. He saw more cameras as he wandered around under the pretense of looking for snacks. He picked up a bag of chips and a bottle of juice. He was, he noticed the only one in the store and both Koreans were pretending to be busy behind the counter. Two cameras stared at him while he waited for his change. After receiving his change he winked at the camera and left the store having said nothing other than a fill up for gas.

He drove from one end of town to the other and left for Spokane. John loved this area and drove around Spokane and over in Idaho. Four hours later he drove to the airport and left his car with the keys in it for someone’s use. A short flight to Sea-Tac and he was in his SUV driving back up I-5 to the cut off to Wenatchee over the North Cascade pass down the east side to Wenatchee. Back in his little room he decided to do some letter writing and take a few months off. That last kill in Anacortes was too close for comfort, he thought. That Brad Pratt and his team were good; maybe too good. He told himself he must make a plan for Arden that will knock the socks off the FBI and the Pratt Team. Meanwhile, as summer came and the tourists flocked to the valley, he might do some fishing.