Fractured (Broken Part 2)

The Killabustas

"They know he's alive. What happens now?" Sarah asked me following the news story.
"The Marines will likely organize a rescue mission. I doubt America will negotiate for his release." I sighed.
"What if they don't send anyone after him?" She pushed.
"I'm not sure. Normally, I'd say I'd lead a team to find him but..."
I paused thinking about my baby and touching my stomach gingerly.
"I'll do it." JT said suddenly.
"What?" I asked looking at him.
"I'll lead a team to find him. I'm sure Aaron would come with me and I have a couple old army buddies that would go as well." He continued looking at Aaron who nodded.
"What about Tally? Your son?" I pushed.
"I have no intention of dying over there."
"Neither did they." I sighed.
"Lily. I've done missions like this before. Some even more dangerous. Let me help." He looked at me.
"Okay. Talk to Tally first. Sophie, I want to know where that video was shot. It'll give us a starting point for a team to search from. We still need to see what the Marines and the government decide to do but I want everyone ready to move should we need to." I conceded.
Another week passed as I entered my twelfth week of my pregnancy with no conclusive news about Mark.
"It's time we move. There's a reason they decided to show that he's alive. He hasn't given them what they wanted. They're hoping to get something before they kill him." JT told me while we were alone in my home office.
"I know. That's why I called you here. Sophie got the coordinates from the video early this morning. Aaron is preparing a plane at my private airfield. How quickly can you and your friends meet him?" I asked anxiously.
We buried him once if this went wrong and we had to bury not only Mark but Aaron and JT... I'd never forgive myself.
"We're ready now. Give us the address and we'll go." He nodded.
"Okay. Be careful, JT. I don't need Tally's rage." I warned as playfully as I could.
"Don't worry. You've got a pilot?" He asked.
"Yeah. Jesse's an ex-airforce pilot. He'll drop the team less than a mile from coordinates from the video and he'll give you new coordinates for a rendezvous point. Call for him and he'll meet you."
"Yes, ma'am. We'll be back before you know it." He promised.
I nodded.
"Oh, Malcolm. Why must everything you paint have an exit wound?" Jessica asked as I entered the ballroom in search of my husband.
"It's a pear." Malcolm said looking at her.
"...A bloody pear. Fine. Well, maybe I'm not cut out for art therapy. I only agreed to this because you wanted to procrastinate. Aren't you supposed to be writing a book? Strangers have been making assumptions about you for years. I thought you would relish the chance to show them how much worse you really are." Malcolm continued as he locked eyes with me.
"Oh. Darling, leave the bon mot to mother." Jessica laughed uneasily.
"I just feel like I haven't tried. I used to write, I kept diaries. But then, after your father's arrest, I stopped writing, started repressing." She sighed after a moment.
"Runs in the family." Malcolm muttered wrapping his arm around me as I looked over his bleeding pear.
"I honestly remember very little." She shook her head.
"What about the police reports? Aren't there transcripts of everything you said? I know someone who would be very happy to help." Malcolm smirked.
"Nonsense. Gil is far too busy to help me with this. See? He's got a new case." She motioned over to the television hanging on the north wall.
"They didn't call us? Why didn't they call us?" Malcolm looked at me.
"Where should I start?" Jessica sighed causing me to glare playfully at her.
"Lilian... Are you going in that?" She asked as we left moments later.
"Jess, I'm pregnant. Ankle length maxi dresses keep me out of maternity clothes until we announce through Ainsley next week." I reminded her.
"Are you showing?" She asked.
"Very little. Jeans are a no go right now though unless I wear low-cut." I touched my small bump.
"But with the press constantly looking for signs... better to wear flowy clothes until the announcement."
Lily? Are you ready?" Malcolm called.
"We'll see you later." I touched Jessica's shoulder as I passed her.
"I can't believe he didn't call us." Malcolm muttered as I drove out to the crime scene.
"We have been dealing with quite a bit the last few weeks." I reminded him.
"I know but solving crimes helps me." He sighed.
I pulled up outside a meat factory and caught Gil glancing to the sky in exasperation before Malcolm leaped out of my now parked car.
"Forget to call someone?" Malcolm asked Gil pointedly as we walked up to him.
"Nope. I'm pretty sure everyone who's supposed to be here is here. I need you both to take a break. Lily should be waiting on news from JT and Aaron on Mark and growing your child; and YOU lost someone in the field, Kid. That's traumatic." Gil argued frivolously.
"Come on. Trauma's my middle name." Malcolm smirked then paused as Gil glared at him.
"Okay, that came out worse than I meant, but I'm fine. We're fine. Gil, I know you care about us. Which is why you'll let us help."
"Fine." He sighed turning to lead us into the actual crime scene.
"Um, and one other thing." Malcolm said causing me to hit him.
He asked too much sometimes.
"There is no other thing." Gil glared at him again.
I couldn't help be surprised that his face wasn't stuck in a permanent glare when my husband was concerned.
"It's for my mother. She needs The Surgeon files for her book, and I thought maybe you could get them? I know she'd love to see you." Malcolm continued.
Gil glanced at me before walking away from us.
"So is that a yes?" Malcolm called after him.
We walked into a meat cooler where dozens of slabs of beef hung from hooks.
"Try to look a little less excited. For the cows' sake." Gil sighed.
"You too?" He exclaimed at me.
"Sorry. Baby Bright likes steak." I shrugged apologetically.
"You're here. They said you guys weren't coming today." Edrisa beamed at us.
"Also, you're bleeding." She chuckled looking at Malcolm's hands.
"Oh, no, it's, uh, paint. New hobby." Malcolm glanced at me.
"Oh, I thought that this was your hobby?" Dani teased.
"Just wait until we really get started on the nursery." I nudged at my husband.
"Where's the rest of the body?" Malcolm avoided my jab.
"Legs. No torso yet. Or head, which makes it a bit harder to ID the guy." Dani pointed out the legs.
"We know he's male. Mid-forties." Edrisa told us.
"The warehouse alarm was turned off around midnight. The morning crew found the body parts. They called it in." Dani explained.
"Any employees not show up?" I asked looking closely at the wounds on the arms.
They looked perimortem to me.
"Not that we know of. The manager's pulling records and looking through security footage." Gil said.
"Glad to see you're feeling better." He teased me.
"Almost to the second trimester. I also discovered essential oils. At least they block out the smell." I smirked.
"Do we know how..." Malcolm started.
"Chain saw! Oh, sorry. I was waiting for you to ask. Given the way the blood has clotted, we think that the victim was still conscious when the killer went full Texas Chain Saw Massacre." Edrisa cut him off.
"Bright, you got fresh eyes. What do you see?" Gil asked my husband.
"The dismemberment, the missing head, the staging. It's an expression of power and control." Malcolm glanced at me.
"Sounds like someone with serious anger issues." Dani noted.
"But this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment murder. This was thought-out. It's performative. Our killer derived pleasure from this. Which means we may be dealing with a budding homicidal psychopath." Malcolm continued.
"Wonderful. I'll never get tired of budding homicidal psychopaths." I sighed.
Malcolm stalked off with Dani and Edrisa to help search for the head and torso of the victim.
"Hey. How are you doing?" Gil asked walking up to me.
"Fine considering." I nodded then sighed.
"Anxious. Malcolm says it's normal to be anxious during pregnancy but I worry I'm putting too much stress on the baby." I admitted.
"Has Bright said anything to you about how he's been feeling?" He asked.
"My husband? Have you met my husband?" I teased.
"Me neither. Problem is, I think this thing is gonna eat away at him if he doesn't talk about it." Gil pushed.
"He seems okay. The FBI trains compartmentalizing quite well, but I haven't felt any anxiety coming from him lately. No more than usual that is." I answered as my husband slid into view at the end of the hall.
"We found the torso. What are you guys talking about?" He asked.
"You." Gil said pointedly.
Malcolm rushed away from us.
Maybe I do need to talk to him.
"Techs searched the place top to bottom. The head isn't here." Dani explained as Gil and I walked up to the torso.
"The killer may have taken it to dehumanize the victim. But they wanted us to find this. It's the only part of the body that's clothed." Malcolm said.
"But the shirt's intact, which means..." I said looking at him.
"The killer dressed him post-murder. To cover something up. It's part of the theatrics." Malcolm nodded.
Edrisa screamed as she peeled back the shirt covering the torso.
I rushed around to her and saw THE VULTURE carved into the skin of the abdomen.
"Well, the killer gave themselves a name.
The Vulture." Dani mused.
"No. The killer didn't. I did." Edrisa said causing us all to look at her.
"I have so much I have to show you guys." She said sadly.
Back at the precinct that afternoon Edrisa queued up some videos.
I could hear a bird tweeting although the screen remained black for the first ten seconds.
Suddenly, a spot light illuminated the bird. A hand, clearly male, moved into the frame. His fingers wrapped around the bird, slowly squeezing.
The birds pain and fear evident in the screams that ripped from it.
"Oh God..." I muttered turning from the screen.
"There's a special place in hell for people who hurt birds." Malcolm muttered.
"And humans, obviously." He amended under Gil's glare.
"That's one of three videos that The Vulture posted. All filmed in the same innocuous space." Edrisa said sadly.
"All untraceable?" I asked.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"We were afraid that he would tire of birds someday and escalate to killing humans."
"All right, question. Where'd this murder board come from?" Dani asked sitting down next to me.
"Oh, home. I have a few. Next question." Edrisa answered
"You said, 'We were afraid.' Who's 'we'?" Gil pasked.
"Oh. My web sleuthing group. The Killabustas." She answered.
"You're a web sleuth?" Malcolm asked sounding impressed.
"Well, some might say 'online vigilante', 'digital gumshoe', but yeah. Medical examiner by day, web sleuth by night. Yeah, I know, it's crazy."
"Oh, I disagree. Web sleuths have aided in the capture and arrest of hundreds of criminals. Most famously, the Golden State Killer." I smiled at her reassuringly.
"Exactly. I mean, we care about the crimes that the police just don't have the bandwidth or the brains for." She smiled.
"Ooh. No. Present company excluded." She amended catching Gil's disapproving look.
"When MrJuly found the videos, his... Oh, sorry, that is, um, that's another member. See, there are hundreds of us all around the world. We all have aliases. I mean, I go by KamaSutures. It's a... it's a double entendre because, you know, I'm always sewing up bodies and I like sex." She rambled with a chuckle.
"Why didn't you bring this to us earlier?" Gil asked.
"Well, the birds are all native to Arizona. So we reported it to the state police, but there wasn't much they could do, and now he's in New York and someone's dead." She trailed off.
"Edrisa. It's not your fault. We're gonna find him." I assured her.
"First step is getting an ID for our vic. Let's go." Gil nodded at Dani who then followed him out.
Malcolm looked at me.
"Bright? Your father..." Edrisa said outloud what Malcolm and I were thinking.
"You don't have to ask. This is right in his wheelhouse." Malcolm sighed reaching for my hand.
I took his outstretched hand and let him lead me out to the car.
"Dahmer, Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler... They all started on animals. It's an entry-level opportunity to play God. They have all the control over this, caged... seemingly inferior creature." Martin said after we explained our case to him.
"Question is, what triggered The Vulture's escalation to people?" I asked leaning back against the back of the chair.
"Mm-hmm." Martin muttered.
"You seem distracted today." Malcolm laid his hands on my shoulders almost protectively.
"Oh, please. I'm just mulling the case. And I'm not usually granted visitation during, uh..." Martin paused looking around.
"Quiet time." He whispered.
"What exactly is quiet time for?" I asked not sure I actually wanted to know.
"Oh, you know, mulling stuff. Imagining... all kinds of things." He muttered.
"Oh, my God, you're actively fantasizing right now, aren't you?" Malcolm exclaimed.
"Don't be ridiculous." Martin answered still not focused on us.
"I'm a profiler. I know the signs of a deviant mind in the throes of delusional reverie. My wife is here. It's super gross."
"I'm just gonna have a... a quick nibble."
"If you don't focus on our case, we're leaving. You know that." I interjected.
Martin sighed.
"Fine, fine. Well, um.." He cleared his throat.
"If Dr. Tanaka has... correctly profiled your killer, then he's spent years suppressing his deeper urges. But... now that he's taken his first life... he'll do it again. And soon. You can't keep a good man down." Martin smiled at me.
"How's the little one?" He asked.
"Right on track. Second trimester next week." I answered touching my stomach.
"That's wonderful."
"We should get back. Thanks for your help." Malcolm squeezed my shoulders gently.
"Come back anytime." Martin smiled at us.
"Does he seem off to you?" Malcolm asked as we walked out to the car.
"Yes. Very off." I nodded as my phone rang.
"It's Jesse on the secured line." I told him.
"Go." I answered.
"The packages have arrived. Radio contact strong and consistent. Heading to friendly airstrip to fuel up and wait for the signal." He told me.
"Good. Keep me posted." I said then hung up the phone.
"So?" Malcolm asked beside me.
"They're on the ground." I answered with an uneasy smile.
"They'll be okay." He assured me.
I nodded absently.
Malcolm and I sat with Edrisa once we returned to the precinct empty handed.
"How long do we stare at it before we go crazy?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm already crazy. You must really love it, though. To do it as a hobby." Malcolm muttered.
I kicked him under the table and he smirked at me.
"Growing up... my parents used to take me on their research trips. I was six years old... when I accidentally played with a voodoo doll. And, um, like, a year later, I saw my first cadaver. The two are unrelated. Mm... I think. The point is, that when it came to making friends, I never really fit in. But then I found the Killabustas. And, you know, they're a bunch of misfits. But together, we're a family." Edrisa explained.
"Got an ID. Vic's name is Alex Malone. Fourty-year-old retiree from Queens who's also a member of the Audubon society. He fought for the conservation of birds." Dani explained walking into the room.
I caught Edrisa's change in demeanor.
"Well, that can't be a coincidence." Malcolm said standing up.
"It isn't. Um, Alex was a member of the Killabustas. We called him Birdboy. He was my friend." Edrisa told him.
"Edrisa, I'm sorry." I reached over and touched her shoulder.
"So... we were trying to track how The Vulture might've acquired the birds in his videos." Dani told us.
"Alex was following a lead on Craigslist." Edrisa said.
"Well, maybe he found something. Alex got too close and The Vulture flicked the switch. He killed to keep his identity hidden." Malcolm looked at me.
"You and I will check Alex's house." I nodded.
"I'll talk to Gil, get a warrant." Dani said.
"Good, got it. I'll go with them." Edrisa said.
"No. No, no, you won't." Dani said shaking her head.
"No, I won't." Edrisa hung her head.
My heart broke for her as Malcolm and I walked back out to the car.
I parked on the street and shut the car off.
"Malcolm? Are you doing okay?" I asked turning to him.
"I'm fine, Lily." He sighed.
"I just want... I need to make sure you know you don't have to face anything alone. That's what marriage is. We're having a baby. I just don't want you to shut me out again."
He sighed again.
"I know. Can we talk about it at home? Edrisa needs us." He looked at me.
"Okay." I nodded.
I jumped slightly as someone knocked on my window.
"Hey! Sorry!" Edrisa called.
"Okay, I pulled a Bright. But I couldn't just, you know, sit back and do nothing. The son of a bitch killed my friend!" She said as Malcolm and I climbed out of the car.
"It's fine, just don't make 'pulling a Bright' a habit. I have a hard enough time dealing with the one I got." I sighed as we walked across the street to Alex Malone's house.
"This looks like our crime scene." I said looking at the remnants of the front door.
"Whoever broke in used serious force. Maybe a chain saw." Malcolm said gently moving me behind him as I pulled my pistol from its holster.
A large man suddenly burst from the house, took one look at the three of us and ran to a car parked in the driveway.
"Stop! FBI!" I called out as the man jumped into the passenger seat.
"Stop! Stop! I said stop!" I continued as the driver reversed.
Malcolm ran into the middle of the road as they shifted into drive.
"Malcolm, get out of the road!" I called to him.
"It's a four-door hybrid, fuel-efficient family car." He said not moving.
"Your point is?" I yelled.
"I said stop!" Malcolm said as the driver sped towards him.
"Malcolm!"
He jumped slightly and rolled over the top of the car, landing with a loud thump on the pavement and the car screeched to a stop.
I rushed over to stand over him, my pistol at the ready.
"Hey, look. It worked." He muttered.
"Oh, God. Is he dead? I knew I shouldn't have been the getaway driver! I have night blindness!" A woman exclaimed climbing out of the driver's side door.
"You had right of way. He can't sue." Another man said climbing out of the backseat.
"Put your hands on the car!" I yelled.
"Whoa! Whoa! I can help. I'm a fireman." The large man said looking at my idiot husband.
"I said on the car." I repeated.
"Wait, I know you. You're MrJuly. No, no, no, they're not suspects. These are my super close friends from online. They're all Killabustas." Edrisa said moving to stand in front of me.
"Excuse me? They ran over my husband." I reminded her.
"Technically..." MrJuly started.
"I'm not talking to you right now. What part of 'FBI, stop!', did you not understand? It's not his fault he's an idiot!" I exclaimed.
"Hey!" Malcolm called.
"And you!" I turned on my clearly injured husband.
"What did we just talk about in the car? Huh? I am growing your child! You need to stop being so goddamn reckless!" I yelled as he stood up.
"Go sit in the car." I sighed.
"What?" He asked.
"Get in the fucking car! I have to take you to the emergency room again!"
Finally, Gil and Dani arrived on scene.
"I have to take him to the emergency room. He decided it would be a lovely idea to stand in the middle of the road and get hit by a car." I told them walking to my car.
"Get in the car or take the damn ambulance! I don't give a shit anymore!" I yelled at my stubborn-ass husband again.
"Lily, I'm..." Malcolm began getting into the car.
"If you say 'fine' I'm going to punch you in the throat." I glared at him.
"Emergency room it is." He conceded.
"Good call." I sighed throwing the car into drive.
"Lily? What's going on?" Malcolm asked me as we sat in the hospital room waiting for yet another CT result.
"I need you, Malcolm. We're married. I'm pregnant. I cannot do this on my own." I looked at him for the first time since we'd got to the emergency room.
"You're not going to. I'm still here." He tried to reassure me.
"You just got hit by a car. When we first found out I was pregnant your main concern was me and how dangerous this job could be, but what about my concerns? Do you think it's good for our child for me to watch you get hit by a car?" I pushed.
"Probably not." He conceded.
"I know how you are, Malcolm. I do but we're a team and we have more to think about than just ourselves now." I pleaded.
"If I'm yelling and begging you to not do something, can we please try to not do it?" I continued when he didn't respond.
"I'm scared." He admitted.
"Of what?" I asked gently taking his hand.
"What if I'm not a good father?" He looked up into my eyes.
"My love, it's going to be hard. Neither of us has ever done this before but we're going to do it together. You and me and our little angel." I sighed.
"I'm sorry I yelled, but I can't lose you. I don't want to do this on my own." I pressed my lips to his fingers.
"I know, baby. I'm sorry. I'll do better." He promised.
"Let's go catch this son of a bitch?" He asked.
"We're in it now. Can't just stop." I smiled at him.
Edrisa sat in on MrJuly's interview with Malcolm and I when we returned to the precinct.
How my pain in the ass husband always managed to not end up with massive concussions or broken bones was beyond me.
"So, you're MrJuly. The one who found The Vulture's videos." She said sitting next to me.
"I thought you didn't know anyone else's real identity." Malcolm mentioned standing behind me.
"Oh, I didn't. I mean, MrJuly's avatar was a super-hot fireman." She raised her eyebrows at him.
"I figured it was a sock puppet." He answered.
I didn't get it, but alright.
"You know, like, a fake picture that you put on your profile. But you're real." Edrisa looked at Malcolm and I before looking back at him.
"So are you. You can call me Blaze." He smiled at her.
"Yes I can." She chuckled.
"Edrisa, do not flirt in interrogation." I whispered to her.
"You two do it all the time." She objected.
"We're married and he's not the one being interrogated."
Malcolm cleared his throat.
"Okay, Blaze. We still need to ask you a few questions." Malcolm said drawing my attention.
"Right. Why were you at Alex's?" I asked.
"Same as you. Trying to find out what went down with Birdboy. Which is a little crazy, but not... "jump in front of a car" crazy." Blaze answered looking at my husband.
"Is that police procedure... Jumping in front of a car?" He looked back at me.
"No, no it isn't." I glared at Malcolm again.
"Could you not get me in more trouble with my wife? Tell us everything you know." Malcolm pleaded.
"I was worried about Birdboy. He went radio silent on the message board. So I messaged the group that I was going to Birdboy's house, but only LululeMom and DeadHead were willing to meet in person. I can't believe he's dead. Murdered. By The Vulture." Blaze explained.
"I, uh, like your jacket, by the way." Edrisa cut in causing me to glare at her.
"Oh. It's pleather." Blaze smiled at her.
"Blaze. How did you know that Alex was The Vulture's victim?" I asked.
"Alex reached out to me a few days ago. He wanted to meet up. I thought he found something on the killer, but Alex didn't show. So I started looking for him.
"Do you know there are nine Alex Malones in New York City? But only one of them is in the Audubon society. Sasha drove. They waited in the car while I went inside to make sure it was safe. I did a quick sweep, but didn't find anything. I was about to fill in the others when I ran into you.
"Look, I get it. Breaking into the home of a murder victim? I mean... it's a little suspicious." He looked at me.
"You think?" I sighed.
"Alex sent me a pamphlet from the Audubon society. I almost threw it out, but I saw a note hidden inside." He continued.
"Oh, my God. I got a mailer from the Audubon Society. I tossed it." Edrisa said.
"When?" Malcolm asked.
"Yesterday. But I don't take my recycling out until Thursday." She said.
"Let's go." I sighed standing up.
"Okay. Oh. You know, give me a call sometime... if you want to fight a real fire." Edrisa handed Blaze her card.
"What did I just say?" I asked shaking my head as we walked out of the interrogation room.
I drove my husband and Edrisa out to her apartment.
"So, welcome, come in, relax. I don't know, office area... bedroom... dining room... kitchen..." She pointed out various rooms.
"Recycling?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah, under the sink." She said as an alarm chirped in the office.
"Oh, that's my Killabusta alert." She ran off.
"Mm... Oh, it's nothing new. It's just LululeMom updating the group about Alex." She said as I walked around the main room.
"Oh. It's a text from Blaze. He wants to go on a date tonight. Do you think that he is the romance from my horoscope? How tall do you think he is?" She laughed.
"I don't know. Six feet-ish? You read your horoscope?" I asked.
"Really? I thought he was six, three. It's so hard to tell from down here." She rambled looking at me.
"Of course I do. You don't?" She asked as we moved to the kitchen towards Malcolm.
"Nah. Never seemed interesting to me." I shrugged.
"What's your sign?" She asked.
"Uh... Scorpio I think. 10/31/1988." I answered.
"You're a Halloween baby?" She exclaimed.
"Yeah." I chuckled.
"And...?" She glanced at my husband.
"Pisces." I chuckled as Malcolm glared at me.
"Oh, look, there it is." Edrisa exclaimed pulling at one of the pieces of paper.
"Huh. Yeah." Malcolm muttered reading over the note quickly.
"From Alex. He knew you worked with the NYPD?" He confirmed.
"I let it slip that I was a medical examiner." She nodded.
"Well, good that you did. He found out that The Vulture bought their birds online under the username Save The Sparrows." Malcolm said glancing at me.
I nodded and texted the username to Sophie and Aaron.
"Save The Sparrows? I know that username. He's... He's a member of the Killabustas." Edrisa stuttered looking up at me.
"He infiltrated the group." I sighed looking at my husband.
Malcolm and I filled in Gil and Dani before going back home to try to rest.
"Malcolm. Lily. Aaron and I got some information on Save The Sparrows." Sophie touched my ankle to wake me.
My head still in Malcolm's lap as we lay on the couch.
"He sent some threatening messages to Alex, nasty stuff, and he's really good at hiding online. Aaron's still chasing him around the dark web." She told us once I met her eye.
"Hmm. He isn't really hiding. He's looking for a place to belong. The Killabustas are the only people who really know him." Malcolm reminded us.
"He's a seriously twisted mind, that's what he is." Sophie shook her head.
"Sure. The kind I get. The Vulture spends his life alone. Ignored, isolated. He killed birds online for attention. That's what Edrisa's group gives him."
I took Malcolm's hand that rested on my torso.
"But Alex was gonna out him to the group." I said.
"You're right. Killing Alex wasn't about self-preservation. It was about preserving the group. The Vulture needs them." Malcolm nodded.
"None of this is getting us any closer to finding the killer." Sophie complained.
She really didn't like that I continued working cases.
"What if we already have? Who found the videos in the first place? Who was supposed to meet Alex before he was murdered? Who organized the break-in and invited the others to meet in real life? One person." Malcolm looked at me his face colored with concern.
"Blaze." I sighed sitting up.
"He fits. He works odd hours knows his way around a chain saw." Malcolm stood up.
"And he's on a date with Edrisa right now." I looked at Sophie.
"Let's go." She sighed.
I drove the three of us back to Edrisa's apartment.
I pulled my pistol as Malcolm moved to open the door.
"Oh, no. Blaze beat us here." He said looking around the apartment.
"Oh! Lily? Bright? What are you doing here? Sophie?" Edrisa asked popping up from behind the kitchen counter along with a shirtless Blaze.
"Are you sure about this profile?" I asked looking at Malcolm.
"I was." Malcolm flustered.
"Wait, you think I'm The Vulture?" Blaze asked.
"That was our working theory." Sophie chuckled.
"But, uh... our killer would never order takeout." Malcolm rushed over to a brown paper bag by the door.
"No, we didn't order takeout." Edrisa looked at us.
"Well, what's this, then?" Malcolm asked looking into the bag and recoiling slightly.
"What? What is it?" I asked moving towards him but Sophie stood protectively in front of me.
"We found our victim's head." Malcolm looked over his shoulder at me.
"Pack a bag." I told Edrisa pulling out my cellphone.
"Lily?" His voice answered.
"Gil. I need forensics at Edrisa's apartment." I sighed.
"Is everything okay?" He asked his tone anxious.
"Everyone is okay. The Vulture dropped Alex's head. Malcolm and I are taking her to Bright Manor." I explained.
"Keep us posted."
"Dr. Bright? Is everything alright?" Paul Gardner, our temporary security guard, asked as I pulled up to the gate with Blaze and Edrisa following in his car.
"For now, Paul. Thank you. Another car will be coming shortly." I answered.
"Of course." He nodded and opened the gate for us.
"You really live here?" Blaze asked as I got out of my car in front of the house.
"We do. We built it last year. Moved in at the start of February." I answered.
"Hey, thanks for offering your place. I feel better knowing she's safe." He said quietly to only Malcolm and I as Edrisa walked around the living room with Sophie.
"Can't believe The Vulture knows where I live." She chuckled nervously.
"Oh. This is nice." Blaze mused glancing into the ballroom.
"Gil's ready to shut down the group until it's safe. The killer's obviously targeting members." Sophie said.
"Not yet. We need to see what they do next." Malcolm reminded her.
"Better to be safe than sorry." I told him as he took me into his arms.
"I did not know you were into bondage." Edrisa picked up one of Malcolm's old restraints.
"I thought I told you to put those away." I muttered.
"I wasn't expecting guests." He responded.
"You're into bondage?" Blaze asked Edrisa.
"Like, light bondage." She scoffed.
"And not so light." She whispered wandering into the kitchen.
I pulled away from Malcolm to follow her.
"Oh. This is a fridge of a very sad person." She said.
"It's the fridge of a couple who works insane hours and hasn't had time to grocery shop." I responded playfully.
"We should order sushi. And I acknowledge the fact that it is weird that I still want takeout." She said as someone knocked on the door.
"Did you already order?" She glanced at me.
"Better. I invited the Killabustas." I smiled and lead her back into the foyer.
"Thank God you called. I was about to get crunk on Chardonnay, but this is much more productive." Sasha said as she walked in followed by Ashton.
"I've got a good update. A Killabusta in Thailand was able to pull hours of surveillance footage from the warehouse." He said holding up a laptop.
"Do I want to know how they did that?" I asked motioning them into the ballroom to set up.
"No. You definitely do not. I'll set us up on the big screen? Maybe we'll find something." He smiled walking passed me.
Edrisa, Sasha, and Blaze followed him.
"What is happening?" Sophie asked.
"Oh, we are web-sleuthing. Pretty cool, right?" Edrisa chuckled.
"We're turning the case over to them?" She asked.
"Of course not." I sighed shaking my head.
We ordered pizzas and settled in the ballroom. Blaze helped Malcolm move chairs in from the formal dining room so they could all sit.
"Okay, guys. I've zoomed in on it." Ashton said as I walked up behind my husband.
"What is it?" I asked quietly wrapping my arms around him and resting my chin on his shoulder.
"They clocked a van parked outside the warehouse on the night of the murder." He explained reaching up to run his fingers through my hair.
"You think they're onto something?" I asked.
"We'll see." He shrugged.
"Look, it's got blinds, and they're closed, so you can't see inside." Blaze observed.
"And that is an Arizona plate." Ashton said.
"Arizona!" Sasha exclaimed
"Why is that important?" Sophie asked.
"Because The Vulture got all of his birds from Arizona. Great eye, Ashton." Edrisa smiled.
Malcolm tensed slight. I knew exactly what he was thinking. It was too easy.
"Oh, I'm just a truck driver. But what do you think? What are the chances that van's still there?" Ashton asked.
"Yeah, let's check it out." Blaze nodded.
"Yeah, Babysitter's got another two hours.
I think we'll just get snacks." Sasha added.
"Uh, I'm sorry, guys, but the NYPD is gonna take over from here, just to be safe." I explained motioning for Sophie to call Gil.
"Ugh. Buzzkill." Ashton sighed.
"Fine. I'll go put my stupid kids to bed." Sasha muttered.
I placed my hand on my growing stomach, a silent promise to never call them stupid.
"I need a ride to my rig. Blaze?" Ashton asked
"Oh, yeah, don't worry, I can take you." Blaze nodded before turning to Edrisa.
"Uh... It's not much, but... I want you to be safe. I'll see you around, KamaSutures." He whispered handing her a small pocket knife then kissing her.
They all walked out and closed the door behind them.
"Exciting, right? I mean, the van... that's a clue. That's a real clue." Edrisa smiled.
"I'm not sure." Malcolm muttered.
"What, are you jealous? I'm sorry Blaze is so jacked." She teased him.
"That's not it." Malcolm shook his head then looked at me.
"Gil sent a cruiser to do a drive-by. The van is still there, with Arizona plates." Sophie said glancing down at her phone.
"Of course it is." Malcolm sighed.
"Lily?" Sophie said.
"What did you find?" I asked.
"I asked Aaron to run the plate. It's not registered to a van, they were stolen from a truck depot outside Phoenix." Sophie told me.
"Truck depot." Malcolm nodded.
"Run a background on Ashton." I instructed.
"Wait, what does this have to do with Ashton?" Edrisa asked.
"We didn't find the clue, we were shown it. Hours of grainy black-and-white surveillance footage, and after barely an hour he finds an out-of-focus license plate." Malcolm explained a little harshly.
"Checking traffic cam logs of the plates on Ashton's cab. Looks like he's been through Arizona six times in the last year." Sophie told us.
"No, no, no, he said all of his routes were in the northeast. Why would he lie?" Edrisa asked and my heart broke for her.
"Because Ashton is The Vulture." Malcolm exclaimed.
"Oh, my God. He's with Blaze." Edrisa looked at me.
"Sophie. Find me that truck." I instructed leading Malcolm and Edrisa out to my car.
I flipped on the lights in my car and sped towards town.
"Ashton's truck is parked on Eighth." Sophie told us as I sped towards the street.
"That's not good." Malcolm muttered.
We pulled up behind the van
"There's blood." I told him the crimson red illuminated by my headlights.
"That's not good either. Call it in." He instructed climbing out of the car.
Edrisa climbed out of the passenger seat and ran around the semi truck.
"Edrisa!" I called after her climbing out of the car.
"Hey. What's up, guys?" Ashton said walking out of the corner store.
"Ashton. Great. Uh, we got a new lead. You should come back up to the house. I think you guys can help." Malcolm explained.
"Sure. Yeah. Uh, Edrisa, could you give me a hand with this stuff?"
I glanced at her and shook my head subtly.
"Where's Blaze?" I asked drawing his attention.
"Oh, he's pulling the car around." Ashton lied.
"Great. I'll call him." Malcolm pulled his phone out.
"I'm sorry, Edrisa. He's not gonna answer. He's bleeding out in my truck. Thought I'd pick up some cleaning supplies before I take him apart." Ashton said pulling a gun from behind his back.
I responded by pulling my own pistol and aiming it at him.
"How can you be The Vulture? I thought we were friends." Edrisa asked.
"We are friends. Everything I've done has been for us. For the group. I've been a freak my whole life. I had no one until that bird video. Suddenly I was a part of something." Ashton explained his twisted logic.
"But Alex found out who you were, so you killed him." Malcolm said.
"He was gonna ruin everything."
"Ashton, please, you can't let Blaze die. He's one of us." Edrisa pleaded.
"No. This is how this has to be. Blaze will die, I will escape, and then you will keep looking for me. This is our family." Ashton said.
"Ashton, it won't work. Family will only go so far. Once they know the truth... Who they're really after... They'll give up on you. And no... more... family." Malcolm explained sadly as Edrisa started to sneak up on Ashton.
"No. She'll never let me go." Ashton said sounding very sure of himself.
"You're right. She won't." I said.
Edrisa stabbed Ashton in the shoulder three times.
Ashton screamed out before falling to the ground.
"I'll call a bus. You save Blaze." Malcolm said throwing her Ashton's keys from his pocket.
"You good?" I asked my husband gently as the ambulances took Blaze, Edrisa and Ashton to the hospital.
"Do you think you can ever really know someone?" He asked as we walked back to the car.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Like Ashton. Hundreds of hours with the group, masquerading as someone he wasn't."
"I mean, we all do that in one way or another, don't we? What are you thinking?"
"What if I didn't do enough to save Nat? What if I'm not really who you think I am?"
"Malcolm, I was there, remember? You did everything you could to save her. She aimed that gun at us. Your pregnant wife. You let go of her to protect us. You're a good person. You can't really be doubting that." I turned to look at him.
"It's just, ever since Nicholas died, I feel like I'm spiraling."
"I know. It's okay. I'm here." I took his hand gently.
He looked up and smiled at me.
"Let's go home, okay?" I asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Lilian Bright." I answered my phone as we walked in the front door.
"They found him. We're coming home." Jesse said instantly.
My heart skipped.
"We'll be waiting." I said.
"What is it?" Malcolm asked.
"They found Mark. They're coming home."