Chapter Nineteen ~
"The next morning Jude went
downstairs and hurried to the kitchen. No one was there so he grabbed a piece
of toast from the table and ran back upstairs to Jackson’s office. Everyone was
sitting in the darkened room, talking about the killer.
"We know the guy’s real name isn't Max
Sanders, but that's about all we do
know," Scott said.
"Unless he's never been caught in
any crimes, he's either had plastic surgery himself, or he's wearing a mask.
His picture didn't get any hits from any of the alphabetic agencies," Jude
said. He ran his hand through his still-wet blonde hair and groaned in
frustration.
"Did you try international
databases too?" Amy asked.
"Yes, we tried them all. This
guy is smart. Since he went to the great lengths of having the women undergo
plastic surgery, it's a good bet he did, too. Who knows, maybe he did it
himself. He could be a plastic surgeon," Jude guessed, warming to his own
idea.
"That's a possibility, but it's
still unusual for someone not to have made their way onto any databases by this
time in their life. He's at least our age, or a few years either way,"
Jackson surmised as he went to a cabinet in the corner and pulled out a bunch
of file folders. He handed one to each person, took his, and returned to his
seat.
"This is the working profile we
have on the guy as of right now. Obviously it's incomplete, but any help you
guys could add to it would be great," Jackson said as they opened their
files. A few minutes were spent in silence while they looked over the
description of their serial killer.
The file was as comprehensive as they
were going to be able to manage for the time being. Wow, we don’t have much of a profile on this guy. He’s a sly one, Jude
thought. He continued to look over the profile, agreeing the killer had
psychopathic tendencies, though he wasn't a true psychopath. Psychopaths didn't
have normal emotions. This guy's whole reign of terror was due to something
Jude himself had done to wrong him; at least what he perceived was a wrong.
Vengeance wasn't really a true factor in serial killings. True, many of them
used that as the excuse, but the main cause was they were just plain, downright
evil. They liked the control they held over other people and they enjoyed
watching them suffer. The more sadistic they thought, the more sadistic they
killed. This one was an awful man, but still not the worst Jude had ever dealt
with. The 'Music Man' was the worst he'd ever encountered and he'd suffered
from nightmares about him for a long time. God had finally been merciful to him
and the nightmares had stopped.
"Jude, are you okay?" Jackson
asked worriedly. He knew what Jude was thinking about because he’d shared the
horror with him right after their adventure last summer.
Jude shook his head to rid it of the
awful memories and asked, "Did you say something?"
"I asked you several times for
your opinion on the killer, but you didn't answer. Are you thinking about the
past again?"
"I was just thinking he isn't a
true psychopath, though his crime scenes are particularly gruesome. The fact he
uses glitter could be a sign he's either artistic, or at the very least,
interested in art. It would make sense if he was a plastic surgeon."
"I think that's the consensus
with all of us," Jackson said. Everyone shook their heads.
"He's most likely someone Jude
went to school with. Just because he believes Jude made fun of him doesn't
necessarily make it so. When we're younger we tend to feel people have wronged
us when in reality they haven't. Maybe he wanted to be your friend and you
scorned him. Maybe you took a girl he was interested in...It could be so many
different things."
Jude was thinking as hard as he
could. The only person he'd ever turned down an offer of friendship from was
that weirdo, Kenny Wilson. He’d always given Jude the creeps, and when he'd
dissected frogs in Biology class the look on his face had been pure enjoyment. "I
just thought of someone. His name was Kenny Wilson. He wanted to be my friend
back in high school but I turned him down. He gave me the willies."
Jude pulled the lid open on his
laptop and logged into the FBI database. He typed in the name Kenny Wilson and came
up with twelve candidates. He narrowed them down to two who’d gone to school
with him. From there, he tried typing in plastic surgeon, and he got a hit. A
picture of a scary-looking man with black hair and almost jet black eyes stared
back at him. His smile was almost demonic-looking, and Jude resisted the urge
to shudder. Maybe he was a true
psychopath. "I have a hit. This guy went to the same school I did and he's
a plastic surgeon. He even looks scary. He unplugged the cord to his laptop and
turned it around so everyone standing in the room could see. The guy looked
vaguely familiar…”Hey, I remember him now; he was one of the crime scene
cleaners. He might be the Kenny I went to school with, it’s hard to tell after
all this time.”
"I've seen him, too." Amy screeched.
I paid him to clean the pool."
"That's a scary thought. Does
anyone else recognize him?" Jackson asked. "We need to find out if
this is the Kenny Wilson you went to school with."
"Maybe he's using more than one
disguise. He's thumbing his nose at you, making you look like fools in his own eyes,"
Isaiah said.
"I think you’re right Isaiah,
good catch," Shepherd said with a smile.
Jude was frustrated, but happy they'd
gotten a new lead. They knew who he was now, and the noose was tightening, but
they needed to catch him before he killed someone else. He examined the picture
closely again, and underneath the older face and obvious make-up, those cold,
dark eyes were the same, and so were the cruel lips. "It is Kenny Wilson from my biology class. I
would know those evil-looking eyes anywhere," Jude said, looking at his
friends.
"We need to pray for guidance.
Ultimately, God is in control of everything, and it's His will we must strive
to do," Isaiah said with a smile. They prayed, asking for God's guidance
and enablement to catch this evil killer.
Excitement and dread filled Jude, and
he couldn’t wait to get back on this guy’s trail. He rushed back to his suite,
laptop in hand. He needed to find an address for his old nemesis. Tomorrow they
would go after him, and they wouldn’t stop until he was behind bars.
A few minutes after he’d cozied into
his sofa to search the net; there was a knock on the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s Justy, can I come in?”
Jude’s heart thumped in his chest.
Should he allow it? It was dangerous to be alone with her, at least for him.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, would you open the door?”
He heard the frustration in her voice
and hopped up and opened the door before his brain could process the movement.
“Hello.” His heart thudded even louder as he moved aside to allow her in.
“You have a lovely room, too,” She
said awkwardly.
She sounded uncomfortable and he
wondered what she wanted.
“I know I shouldn’t come to your
room, but I couldn’t stay away.” She moved up against his chest and her hands
snaked around his neck. “Kiss me Jude.”
He was afraid to open his mouth in
reply; scared his heart might jump from his throat where it had lodged. He took
a steadying breath and whispered, “Justy, we shouldn’t…”
She stood on tip-toes and pressed her
warm, moist lips against his and he groaned loudly. He pulled her to him and
kissed her, tasting her lips, knowing he shouldn’t be alone with her in his
room. His hands disappeared in her long hair as his lips moved against hers.
She was kissing him just as fervently, until he groaned and pushed her gently
away. “Okay,” His breaths were ragged gasps. “We have to stop, Justy.” He heard
the pleading in his own voice as he backed away, putting several feet between
them.
“I love you, Jude,” Justy said, tears
sparkling in her huge eyes. “I know this isn’t the right time, but I needed you
to know.”
“I love you, too,” He returned. He’d
never had such trouble trying to breathe. What
is it about her? He backed-up a few more feet, and she turned and ran out
of the room, leaving him to stare after her in confusion.
“What was that all about?” He asked
out loud as he headed for the shower and some nice could water.
