“Not a bad thought,” said Brad “How about we expand on that idea. What if you were seen around town, at the senior center or some such place? You have just arrived from California and lonely as hell. You’re begging for company and invite people over to your small house that is off the beaten track. You have a flower garden as Billy says this guy has flowers on the brain. Your disguise could be made simple just enough to make you look old and slow. Damn, what do you guys think?”
Sujin had since raised herself to a sitting position and said, “I like it and what about you Mike?”
“It can’t hurt to try,” he said with a lot less confidence than before. “Hell, let’s do it,” he said with renewed enthusiasm. I need a beard, more wrinkles, eye glasses, and hair in my ears, a stoop when I walk, and a professional make-up artist to train me”
Brad said, playing with Sandy rolling around in the hot sand with her, “When are you leaving?” So it was decided Mike would leave soonest and a professional make-up artist would meet him in Seattle. He would spend a week or less in training and then up to Anacortes.
Brad made the necessary phone calls and had the plan set up by the next day. A house would be located even if they had to move someone out. When Billy heard the plan he was ecstatic. Wendy and agent Jones went about their business with the dry cleaners and laundry. By now they were getting a feel for the town as more and more customers came by to have their clothes cleaned by the nice people who ran the place. Agent Jones drove the van for delivery and soon had a lay of the land. Nancy came and met with the mayor and the mayor provided her with a list of old people in town who frequented the different organizations that catered to old folks. A list of homebound seniors was visited by the FBI and told under no circumstances let anyone in their house they didn’t know. To prevent a repeat of Aberdeen, two agents instead of one would always be together so if an individual posing as an agent would be a dead give away. Nobody thought he would pull the same MO again, but no chances were taken this time around.
Brad thought it only time before another letter came from the brazen John. And sure enough as April neared a letter was delivered to both the Seattle Times and an identical one to the FBI office. Like before a smiley appeared on the top left hand side and a shocker occurred when they saw it was postmarked Anacortes. The contents are as follows:
Dearest Brad and the witless Batt team,
How did I do in Aberdeen? Not bad huh? Catch me if you can.
The half circle is closing. I didn’t much like the sex part. So don’t put that in the equation.
Brad, I think we shall meet again soon as April showers bring May flowers.
GOD I LOVE MY JOB!
PS: oh by the way I hear you and your lovely Korean wife are expecting.
When Brad received a copy he was livid. How the hell did he find out Sujin was pregnant? This man knows too much and it is time to increase security around the house. No telling what this madman might try and do. And the gall to mail the letters from Anacortes really upset Brad and the entire team. Brad called Steve and Steve told him he was flying out for a meeting with him. To Brad he sounded all in and was probably taking too much heat back in Washington. In addition, Brad’s father had called three times in one day. He knew he must return the call, but right now he didn’t feel up to the conversation and questions he knew were forthcoming.
That night he and Sujin discussed the future with her being pregnant. Brad wanted her to stay home and she wanted no part of staying out of the game. She eventually won him over with her womanly charm, not to mention any special attention. The next day about noon Steve showed up looking like he had been drug through the proverbial knot hole.
Steve couldn’t sit on the floor because he told them he might not be able to get back up. Sujin fixed him a ham and cheese sandwich and a cup of soup he could drink out of a coffee mug while he sat on the driftwood sofa. Very little conversation took place and after Steve finished his lunch he fell asleep for two hours waking up with a blanket over him stretched out on the sofa. He had no recollection after the lunch and seemed a little embarrassed. But then he realized he was among friends and it was just their way of saying he needed to rest.
Brad did most of the talking and Steve listened carefully to the details. He never mentioned Washington DC. There was no need to. All guessed what flak he took from his boss and up the ladder to where the buck stops here place. While they were talking Nancy called and had some bad news. It seemed that Anacortes had a May flower festival beginning the week of May twenty second and running for five days. It seemed Skagit County was a Tulip growing area and thousands of tourists, mostly from the Seattle area converged on the area to see the fields of color in April. Anacortes being a tourist town where people caught the ferry to the San Juan Islands had a special attraction with the Waterfront Festival along with a local flower festival. Brad hung up and repeated the conversation with Steve.
“What the hell else can go wrong,” he said with a voice that sounded like he just rode a camel across a dry desert. He shook his head and continued, “This guy is so far ahead of us it isn’t funny. We are like a dog chasing its tail. Somehow we must out think this guy. I fear we are about to lose another senior. I know you and your team will give it your all in Anacortes, but a more isolated area like Arden maybe is where we can catch him”
Brad said encouragingly, but with less conviction than he truly believed, “We have a good plan and even if a lot of tourists come, his MO is always in the victim’s house. That fact gives us an even chance to catch the guy. If he does strike and we get a line on him, I fear he will be lost in the throngs of tourists. I believe he is there now and I’m going to put on a disguise of my own and hang around town for awhile. Sujin will stay here until the date of the festival and then meet me in Anacortes.
“Brad we have covered a lot of ground together, but this case is our most difficult to date. As we all know, some serial killers are never caught or if caught it is by a fluke like the Unabomber.”
A very sobering statement and not without the agreement, however as they say, tomorrow is another day, Brad thought. “Well, Steve, we have been under the gun before and we will put this guy to rest one way or another. If I get the chance, I’ll put this guy down and out. I’m not interested in some shrink digging at his infected rotten brain. I’m paid to stop this guy and my team will do what we’re here for.”
Having said that, Brad went down to the computer room to download Goggle Earth and look at Anacortes. His earlier look had been from Billy and said a perfect little house resided at the end of 32 ^ nd St. It was a straight shot to downtown to highway 20 which ran around the outside perimeter of Anacortes and then proceeded west bound to the airport and Ferries to some other islands of the San Juan area, including a ferry that went to Sidney/Vancouver, BC. After looking at the map Brad decided to make sure a helicopter was sitting at the airport ready to go along with his NASA jet. Just in case this guy made a run for it aboard a ferry he wanted to be able to cover all bases. Especially if the roads were gridlocked from tourists. Next he wanted some bike riders who were expert street riders. He thought maybe three at the airport and three at the harbor; and one for himself. He’d cut his teeth riding dirt bikes and street bikes.
They left with no dog this time. No doubt John remembered Rocky at his pig farm and when they left the next morning, Rocky had fit his master was leaving without him. Both he and Sandy sat there watching the car leave like a mother dropping off her kids at the day care center.