Secret Scents

Chapter 15

Belle stood in the room with her board, her arms crossed. Bill, Emmett, and Eric were quiet, watching her study everything and take it all in. "Jason is on his way?" She suddenly asked.

Bill cleared his throat. "He is. Rene got him calmed down earlier, and Rene is bringing him by."

Belle nodded. "Alright. Sookie got me the call logs I needed since they share a phone plan still. So far, it seems like Andy calls Jason before the girls are found by the police, except for April. Jason didn't answer the call because he was to upset."

"What are you figuring? Andy is our killer?" Eric asked.

Belle blew out a breath. "Yes. I'm almost certain now. That night Bill, Sookie, and I both got a weird feeling, and the pictures of Cindy in our head. Andy wasn't inside during the event, but that doesn't mean he wasn't slinking around, or nearby."

Rene opened the front door, and he walked in with Jason, and Emmett went to steer them towards the room. "Thanks." He said, nodding to Emmett. He looked at the wall, that had news clippings of the different killings. "Holy smokes." He exclaimed, amazed at the detail, and the timeline.

"Thanks for bringing Jason." Belle said to Rene.

Rene nodded. "Of course. Is this...is this all the girls?" He asked, pointing to the board.

"It is." Belle said, and Jason went to stand in front of the board and looked over it.

"It is my fault..." he murmured.

"No, Jay, it's not your fault." Belle said softly, and set her hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her, tears in his eyes. "How can you say that? All these women, I slept with. My gran basically raised me. Good thing you didn't jump in bed with me, or you'd be like these women."

Belle sighed. "Jason, you don't know that."

"I do know that. Look Belle!" He motioned to the wall. "This is because of me."

Belle shook her head. "No. It isn't. It's because of a deranged lunatic." She said. "Listen, we're going to catch him. I have an idea."

Rene shook his head at the wall. "What's this idea?"

"We set a trap. If he really is killing all the girls that Jason has been with, then he'll find out about it somehow. He's either stalking Jason personally, or he's watching social media." Belle said. "Not all the girls that Jason has been with is on that wall, which means, he has to find out about this some way. The last two girls were killed fairly quickly, after Jason was seen with them. The other girls, according to the timeline, took days, weeks, and for a couple of them, months before the killer struck. Also, the girls being killed are out of order. Jason was with Cindy Marshall 10 months ago, and she was the second girl killed because Penny was killed first, and he was with her after Cindy." She explained.

"Alright, but what does that have to do with a trap?" Eric asked the obvious question.

"Because we're going to set a trap. Jason, you and me are going to 'hook up'. You're going to boast about it. You're going to boast about it at Merlotte's you're going to tell everyone that asks you about it. There are enough chatty Cathy's in this town, that word will get around. You tell Hoyt, you tell everyone, even if it's going to hurt Hoyt's feelings a little."

"Wait, I don't like this idea." Eric started.

Belle looked at Eric. "I know how to handle myself. If the killer is targeting the women Jason has been with, then we need to know."

"What about the girls all being with a vampire?" Rene pointed out.

"All but four girls on this timeline had bites on them. That includes Adele." Belle said. "So, that may or may not be a trigger. Jason, did you tell anyone about Maudette or Dawn having marks on them?"