Page 19 of Say Now
He pushed down the eagerness inside.He told himself over and over that this was not something to be enjoyed, but a mission he was on.Still, there was a faint sense of enjoyment within that caused him to lick his lips at the prospect of another.
He looked at the picture of Dr.Payne again."You won't be fooled for long, will you?You need not worry about that.I will kill my next victim soon enough, and you will be proven right.Then, it will eat away at you that you aren’t able to catch me.How long will you be able to last here before you go back home with your tail between your legs?You might have a stellar record, but you won't defeat me."
It was time for him to plan.He wouldn’t wait a long time.He didn't care about the distraction of the man they had arrested.He would kill Dr.Gates, and everyone would know that he was a mastermind.
If you don't go home soon, Dr.Payne, I will have to punish you for your mistakes because we both know you have made a lot
CHAPTER TEN
Alison sat on a bench in the courtyard of the motel she was staying at.She was on the phone with Derek, hoping to gauge whether she was going crazy with her latest theory that Marcus Webb was not their guy.
It was cold and was about to get a lot colder.A thin dusting of snow had fallen while she was at the station for the Webb interview, but most of that had turned to slush on the roads.There was something calming about the cold and snow.She'd only been in Missoula a few days, but she was used to the weather.Still, she would be glad to get back to California.
"They say a storm is rolling in," she told Derek.
"A bad one?"he asked.
"Yeah, pretty bad.Not so bad that they’ll cancel flights or anything like that, but they’re recommending that you don't drive through the mountains at all, and if you need to, you have to have chains on your tires."
"So, you’re going to be in town a few days longer," Derek noted.
"Yeah, at least."
"But the storm is not the reason you’re sticking around, is it?You really do think he’s innocent, don't you?"
"I can't shake it," Alison admitted."Given some time, he might have gone after the same people, but there’s a disorganization to him that doesn’t fit with what I know of the killer.He has almost everything else: the anger, motivation, aggression, desire, vengeance, strength, dedication, and ingenuity, but he’s too angry, too disorganized, and too quick to act.He doesn’t have the planning and precision."
"So what happens next there?"Derek asked.
Alison looked up at the pale grey sky.She shivered thinking about the dump of snow that was coming."Special Agent Martinez thinks we have our man, and she’s getting pressure from her superiors to close this case, which will happen soon.Webb doesn’t have an alibi, and he doesn’t seem bothered about proving his innocence.Or maybe he’s just not able to.They’ve swept his house and cabin, and apart from the stuff on his walls, there’s nothing to tie him to either crime scene.Still, there is enough with what was found at his cabin for this to go to trial, and I can see him acting out in court and the jury sentencing him for the crimes."
"Which means you need to stay there to prove he’s not the killer so you can go after the real killer."
"Exactly," Alison agreed."I’m certain he’ll kill again, but this arrest gives him the chance to disappear.I have a bad feeling that he might wait longer before his next kill, and I’ll be gone by that time.He might keep his head down and use this arrest to his benefit.The worst-case scenario is that he shuts it down completely and we never hear from him again.He might get away with it."
"How do you stop that from happening?"Derek asked.
"I don't know.If he kills again, then we know where we stand.If not, then I need to prove Marcus Webb is innocent, and I’m not sure there’s a way to do that.He claims he’s spent the last week in his cabin alone, but no one can verify that.He was not on any hiking routes, and he didn’t have any visitors.He doesn’t have a cell phone out there that we could track.There’s nothing so far that proves he was in the cabin for the entire last week."
"I want you to come back home, but you’re needed out there."
Alison sighed and pulled her coat around her a little tighter."I’m so torn, Derek.I’m the only one fighting here.That’s what it seems like.And you’re waiting for me to return so I can go with you to talk with Morris Bridges.What if I’m just wasting my time here and delaying finding out more about my sister?"
"If there’s one thing I know, it’s that your hunches are most often right.If you think they have the wrong guy, then you need to stay there and do what is right.This is kind of like what the killer is doing, right?He wants to kill to punish people for making mistakes.You need to make them see their mistakes without the punishing part.You always find a way, and I know you’ll do the same with this."
"Maybe I can enlist the help of Dale."
"Who’s that?"Derek asked.
"The first victim’s brother.He’s an ex-detective and now a police captain.He’s been a pain in my behind so far, but he wants justice.If I can convince him that we don't have the actual killer, he might be able to influence the investigation some."
"Do what you need to do," Derek said.
Alison was glad she’d gotten Marcus’s name from Dale.She couldn’t imagine what might have gone down if he had discovered the location of the cabin and gone out there.They might never have found Marcus’s body.
"They’re already winding things down," Alison complained."Even if I get Dale onside, there won't be a budget, and I know local law enforcement wants to go back to normal.They want their routines.People in the city want to know a killer is off the streets.If Marcus is convicted and the killer stops killing, then they get what they want, but there will forever be a demon hiding in the shadows, and they could resume at any time."
"I hate to say this, but it sounds like you are alone for now.I’m always here with you, of course, and I’ll drop everything and head straight over there if you need me, but you need to figure this out alone to get them all back onside."
