A Trail of Murders

Chapter IX

"Agent Valdez! Agent Valdez! WILSON!" A woman's voice screamed out, waking me from my slumber.

    I shot up from my sleeping position on the couch. Blinking furiously, I noticed Agent Connelly staring down at me, an amused smile on her face. I grinned up at her, quickly pulling her down on me, covering her mouth with a deep kiss.

    "Morning Partner." I whispered into her ear, listening as she giggled.

    "Come on Wilson, they're waiting for us. Something new came in, and you're expertise are needed." She murmured, pushing off of my chest and standing.

    I sighed, rolling my eyes and standing up, dusting off my suit. We walked out of the sleep room and towards the conference center. Assistant Director Bianca Summers nodded gratefully at me as I entered. I smiled partially at her and turned my attention to Director Adams, standing at the front of the room.

    "Agents Valdez, Connelly. Thank you for joining us. Now, as I was saying, this team has been tasked with the tracking and capture of a new serial killer that has appeared in Colorado and has now crossed the border into Utah, making this a federal case. Valdez, with your speciality being in serial killers, you are the lead agent in charge and will leave for Utah with the team and your partner at 16:00 tomorrow afternoon." Director Adams said.

    I nodded at him looking at the board of evidence behind the Director. "Understood Director."

    "Good, here are the facts. " He responded, gesturing for another agent to hand out a thick set of files to the three other members on my team. "Two victims have been discovered so far, the body parts of Matthew Smith was found in an alleyway in Denver, near missing person Elouise Copeland disappeared from. Last night, the body of Landon Wallace was discovered along Highway 83 near Castlewood Canyon State Park. We have determined that the assailant is a white male in his early twenties, approximately six foot two inches tall. We have also determined that Elouise Copeland is with this man, either a willing participant/accomplice, or a kidnapped victim. We are guessing that there are more victims, but so far, they are unknown."

    The door opened behind us with a bang, and an agent ran in, straight up to the Director and started whispering into his ear. Malia's hand brushed mine and her body leaned closer to me. I watched with confusion as the Director's eyes widened with shock and he cleared his throat.

    "Okay, as of five hours ago, we have discovered new victims, fifteen of them to be exact." People started murmuring with shock and the Director quickly shushed them. "In a small diner, Paolo's, outside the town of Grand Valley, there was a massacre performed by a caucasian male in his early twenties, approximately six foot two inches tall and helped by Elouise Copeland."

    My eyebrows furrowed in horror. Seriously? I read about this chick, I honestly thought she was innocent. Huh, guess my gut was off. "How do you know it was them, sir?" I questioned.

    He held up a disc. "There was a security camera in the diner, it caught everything."

    Without another word, the Director played the disc on the screen and we all watched in horror as the following events played out on the screen. A tall white man entered the diner with a woman, appearing to be pregnant. They sat down at a table and all seemed peacefully normal. That was until the TV screen showed the picture of Elouise Copeland. A waitress turned and walked up to a man sitting at the counter. The man stood and turned, walking to the couple at the table, taking a gun out. The pregnant woman stood and her face turned slightly, enough for her face to get captured by the camera, exclaiming it to be Elouise. The man across her stood up quickly and shot Elouise in the thigh, causing her to fall down, then shooting the opposing man in the head. Then he took the dead man's gun and turned them on the rest of the occupants of the diner.

    Several people started to come out from the back rooms, hands raised. He seemed to shout at Elouise, who started to stand and limp to the customers, taking items from them. She limped back to the threatening man, who smiled and began to shoot at people. Headshot after headshot, he murdered everyone there except for one woman, who he shot in the abdomen. He pulled Elouise up to the woman and they struggled with the gun in her hands before one of them squeezed the trigger and killed her. Elouise ran from the building, leaving the man standing over the bodies. He turned to look directly at the camera, before winking with a smile and shooting it, blacking out the footage.

    The Director turned off the screen. He turned to look at us with a grim look on his face. "The first man to be killed, was an off duty cop named Samuel Parker."

    The feeling of anger burst from everyone in the room. You hurt one person of law enforcement, you hurt us all. My eye twitched as I tried to control my rage.

    "Do we have an ID on our suspect?" I asked through gritted teeth.

    The Assistant Director stood up and walked to the front of the room. "Yes, his name is Myles Adrian Banks, Trauma Surgeon at Rose Medical Center in Denver, Colorado.  Age 27, born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom on February 21, 1990 at Wycombe General Hospital. 153 lbs, 6 feet 2 inches tall."

    I nodded and walked up to the Director with a determined stare. "You can count on my team sir, we will find Banks and Copeland, and bring them to justice."

    He nodded gratefully, shaking my hand and leaving the room for us to work on tactics. Hours passed and the clock finally hit 9:00 before we called it a night and left to go home. I kissed Malia on the cheek and drove downtown to the daycare center Tiffany is waiting for me at. I pulled into the parking lot and walked inside. The only person that was inside was the owner, my old friend from high school, Michelle DiLisa. She smiled at me, giving me a quick hug before taking me to the nap room where Tiffany was curled up.

    I smiled at the angel before me and picked up her slumbering body. I whispered 'goodnight' to Michelle and walked back to my car, strapping Tiffany into the carseat. Climbing into the driver's seat, I dimmed the internal lights and started driving to my apartment. Tiffany woke up as I carried her through the door. She wrapped her arms around me sleepily.

    "Hi Daddy." She whispered.

    "Hi Princess. Did you have a good day?" I asked, setting her on her bed.

    "Yeah. We went to a petting zoo! Momma never lets me go to petting zoos." She laughed in reply as she pulled her shoes off and changed into her princess pajamas.

    I tensed at the mention of her mother. Horrible Woman. "That's wonderful sweetheart, I'm glad you're happy. Now it's time to sleep babydoll. I love you. Goodnight."

    "Goodnight Daddy. I love you too." Tiffany murmured as she drifted back to sleep.

    I sighed and covered her with the covers. Walking out of the room, I headed to my office, putting the case file to the side for the moment. I picked up the papers that Tiffany's mother had sent me. She wanted sole custody of Tiffany, but I refused and now we are going to court. I can't lose my little girl, I love her more than anything. I can not afford to lose this case, without my baby, I am nothing. Her mother wants to leave the country, go back to Spain with my darling. Pushing my head into my hands, I sighed. Fuck. Reluctantly, I dialed her mother's number.

    "Ring....Ring....Ri- What do you want Wilson?" Liliana's snotty voice answered.

    "I have to go out of town for a case, and I need you to take Tiffany starting tomorrow morning around 07:00. Okay Liliana?" I said with a monotone voice.

    "Whatever Wilson, you're just giving me more evidence against you in court. She'll be mine before you know it."

    "Fuck off Liliana." I grunted, hanging up the phone.

    Moving back into my bedroom, I began to pack my bags, putting the case file in my briefcase. Changing and getting into bed, I squeezed my eyes shut and reluctantly drifted off. I will get you you murdering son of a bitch, and Elouise too. You won't win.