to interview at the park?” he asked.
“He’s a homeless guy who has a campsite and I asked him to keep an eye out. Don’t say anything about him to Swain. The rangers like him and don’t want him kicked out. Besides, he’s the best set of eyes we’ve got in the park at night,” she said.
“Are you planning to keep running there?” he asked.
“Yep, and probably make a few nighttime visits too,” she said, “although from what I’ve seen so far most of the people on the trails are pretty harmless looking.”
“Did you check the National Crimes Database?” Jake asked.
“Yeah,” she replied. “The closest things are murders by hanging. There are no reported homicides involving violently broken necks.”
“By the way, I called our guy assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Jake said. “I remembered that the hijackers who crashed the plane into the Pentagon had been working out at a gym in suburban Maryland for several months before 9-11. They were building their upper body strength so they could overpower the crew and passengers. I thought our case might be a practice run for another terrorist attack.”
“What did he say?” M.J. asked.
“He shopped it around at the JTTF. The consensus was that because the bodies were left it doesn’t fit with the profile for terrorists,” Jake replied. “They go out of their way to stay below the radar screen. He couldn’t completely rule out a terrorist connection but thought it was pretty unlikely.”
The pizza came and they each took a piece. They ate quietly for a few minutes, then M.J. said, “This case is driving me nuts. You know the drill for analyzing homicides: means, motive, opportunity. Problem is, we only have one, the means, for sure. The only part of opportunity in the equation was being in the right place at the right time. As for motive, I’ll be damned if I can figure one out short of pure psychopathic behavior.”
“Well, the way in which they were killed certainly points to a psychopath, but that doesn’t give us much of a solid lead,” Jake said.
“I know,” she said. “What we really need is some luck.”
They finished the pizza together with a second beer. As they left, M.J. spotted a pet store across the street and pulled Jake after her.
“Why are we going to a pet store?” he asked.
“Need to get something for a friend of mine,” M.J. replied, entering the shop and picking out a bag of high-end dog treats. She paid for them and they went back out onto the street.
It was a beautiful spring evening, warm with the scent of blooming trees imprinted on the breeze from the river. As they walked back toward their cars, Jake asked, “Why don’t you come over to my place?”
“I think I’ll pass tonight,” M.J. said. “I’m really wound up with this case and I also need a good night’s sleep.”
When they got to the parking lot, she put her arms around Jake’s neck and gave him a lingering kiss. “See you in the morning. Our interviews start at 11:00,” she said as she started to walk to her car.
Jake took her arm and gently pulled her back. He kissed her and said, “You know things would really be a lot simpler if we just lived together.”
“I know,” M.J. replied. “I’ll seriously think about it. Maybe when this case is wrapped up we can do something.”
Jake smiled and said, “The way this case is going, that’s a pretty open proposition.”
On the drive to her apartment, M.J. decided that living with Jake wasn’t such a bad idea. After all, they had maintained an exclusive relationship for almost two years and sharing an apartment with him wasn’t such a big step. She also realized that her continued resistance to the idea might threaten their relationship and she didn’t want that to happen.
When she entered her apartment, she took off her gun belt and clothes and fell into bed. She was asleep in
“He’s a homeless guy who has a campsite and I asked him to keep an eye out. Don’t say anything about him to Swain. The rangers like him and don’t want him kicked out. Besides, he’s the best set of eyes we’ve got in the park at night,” she said.
“Are you planning to keep running there?” he asked.
“Yep, and probably make a few nighttime visits too,” she said, “although from what I’ve seen so far most of the people on the trails are pretty harmless looking.”
“Did you check the National Crimes Database?” Jake asked.
“Yeah,” she replied. “The closest things are murders by hanging. There are no reported homicides involving violently broken necks.”
“By the way, I called our guy assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Jake said. “I remembered that the hijackers who crashed the plane into the Pentagon had been working out at a gym in suburban Maryland for several months before 9-11. They were building their upper body strength so they could overpower the crew and passengers. I thought our case might be a practice run for another terrorist attack.”
“What did he say?” M.J. asked.
“He shopped it around at the JTTF. The consensus was that because the bodies were left it doesn’t fit with the profile for terrorists,” Jake replied. “They go out of their way to stay below the radar screen. He couldn’t completely rule out a terrorist connection but thought it was pretty unlikely.”
The pizza came and they each took a piece. They ate quietly for a few minutes, then M.J. said, “This case is driving me nuts. You know the drill for analyzing homicides: means, motive, opportunity. Problem is, we only have one, the means, for sure. The only part of opportunity in the equation was being in the right place at the right time. As for motive, I’ll be damned if I can figure one out short of pure psychopathic behavior.”
“Well, the way in which they were killed certainly points to a psychopath, but that doesn’t give us much of a solid lead,” Jake said.
“I know,” she said. “What we really need is some luck.”
They finished the pizza together with a second beer. As they left, M.J. spotted a pet store across the street and pulled Jake after her.
“Why are we going to a pet store?” he asked.
“Need to get something for a friend of mine,” M.J. replied, entering the shop and picking out a bag of high-end dog treats. She paid for them and they went back out onto the street.
It was a beautiful spring evening, warm with the scent of blooming trees imprinted on the breeze from the river. As they walked back toward their cars, Jake asked, “Why don’t you come over to my place?”
“I think I’ll pass tonight,” M.J. said. “I’m really wound up with this case and I also need a good night’s sleep.”
When they got to the parking lot, she put her arms around Jake’s neck and gave him a lingering kiss. “See you in the morning. Our interviews start at 11:00,” she said as she started to walk to her car.
Jake took her arm and gently pulled her back. He kissed her and said, “You know things would really be a lot simpler if we just lived together.”
“I know,” M.J. replied. “I’ll seriously think about it. Maybe when this case is wrapped up we can do something.”
Jake smiled and said, “The way this case is going, that’s a pretty open proposition.”
On the drive to her apartment, M.J. decided that living with Jake wasn’t such a bad idea. After all, they had maintained an exclusive relationship for almost two years and sharing an apartment with him wasn’t such a big step. She also realized that her continued resistance to the idea might threaten their relationship and she didn’t want that to happen.
When she entered her apartment, she took off her gun belt and clothes and fell into bed. She was asleep in
Similar Books
