Page 15 of Deception
If only they’d been able to get video footage of the area around the warehouse. It feels as though there’s something big they’re missing, but Colt can’t quite pinpoint it. A way to better identify Gerard as the killer.
“I guess we’re making another visit to the prison.”
“Did you guys figure out who Phillip hates? It’s been long enough,” Gerard says from the same conference room they last saw him in.
“Yeah, we have a problem, Gerard. We can’t find anyone named Phillip tied to an Original Ten. No one knows anyone by that name, either,” Brock says.
Shaking his head, he slams his hand on the table. “You didn’t do a good enough job, then. How did you ask them? Did you say a serial killer hates one of them enough to target women who look like a woman of the club? Because that’s a rookie mistake.”
“Rookie mistake?” Colt asks.
“What motherfucker is going to admit he’s responsible for fourteen murders? Idiots.”
“If he’s really out there, it’s been over a year. Why hasn’t he killed again?” Colt asks.
Gerard leans forward and looks him dead in the eyes. “Because he knows his next victim will be his last.”
“Why would he do that?” Brock asks.
His eyes never leave Colt. “Because his next victim will be your wife. They’re going out together. That’s what he kept telling me when he talked about her. All the things he planned to do to her. It was actually disgusting, but I didn’t owe you shit. Still don’t, but I want to fuck him.”
The way he says it chills Colt to the bone. The conviction in his words reinforces the belief he has in the prisoner.
“Serial killers don’t take this long of a cooling-off period,” Tony says. “It’s not how they’re wired. The only thing that would cause it would be if they were stopped. Like… being incarcerated.”
Sighing, he leans back and shakes his head. “He’s not just a serial killer, and there’s nothing typical about him. He wasn’t killing those women because of some insatiable need to do it. He was doing it to perfect his methods for the target he wants. Tested various tactics on them like lab rats. That’s all those women were to him.”
“Or, and here’s the more likely option,” Tony says, “hedoesn’t really exist because the real killer is already in prison. Sitting right here in front of us. That would put a stop to a killing spree.”
“I don’t know you from Adam. Why would I target women who look like your wife, huh?”
“Because you have a type that has nothing to do with his wife,” Brock says. “I bet the blonde hair and blue eyes are your preference, and it was just the perfect coincidence when you learned about Lex. Maybe you even saw her as a potential target.”
He laughs. “I know what your wife looks like because I saw her pictures in his shop. They were plastered along the wall like wallpaper, and he had pictures from her childhood, too. He probably still watches her, adding to his collection.”
Staring at Gerard, Colt tries to determine whether there’s deceit behind the gaze. This could be nothing more than a hoax. A well-thought-out plan to save his own ass.
But what if it’s not? What if there really is someone out there after Lex?
“Why would he hate my wife that much?”
“That’s what you’re supposed to figure out!” he shouts. “He didn’t tell me why he wanted her. All he ever said was that he hated the club and wanted her dead. That it would teach the asshole the consequences of what he’s done. He knows I talked to you, and he hasn’t reached out to me since.”
Tony shakes his head. “I did get copies of the phone conversation she had where he was told the identities of the women, but nothing could be traced. We assume he hired someone to do it to throw off suspicion.”
“Why not target the guy he supposedly hates instead of her?” Brock asks. “No one named Phillip who is still alive would have any reason to kill women and target Lex.”
Slamming his hand on the table, Gerard looks between them. “I’m trying to help you save her, man! The last time we talked, outside of these walls, he said that Alexis Dalton would be hislast victim. He just has to bide his time, and they’ll go out together.”
“Dalton?” Colt asks. “That hasn’t been her name for over a decade. And what happened to your guy looking into him? He doesn’t have more for you to save your ass with?”
“That’s what he called her. I assumed she didn’t change her name when you married her. You know, like a progressive woman or some shit. My job wasn’t to ask questions. And why he wants to kill her wasn’t considered necessary for me to know.” Sniffling, he leans back. “My contact’s dead. Wasn’t able to give me anything more before his death.”
“Phillip wants her dead, but he never told you why? And you never thought to ask?” Tony asks as he walks around to sit on the corner of the table by Gerard.
Letting out a long breath, Gerard locks his gaze on Colt again. “He doesn’t want her dead. He wants to kill her. There’s a difference. He took notes with every woman he killed to learn what to do and what not to. He’s looking forward to taking her life, not just her being dead. It’s a whole plan.”
“Why would this guy bother to tell you his plan? If you were just the fall guy, this would, in theory, be enough to identify him,” Tony says.
