All in the Eyes of the Beholder

Chapter 5

     Early the next morning Garrett rose, showered, dressed and went downstairs to find Antonio already up and making breakfast. Garrett offered to make the coffee. Antonio pointed to a cabinet, "You will find everything you need in there." Garrett nodded and opened the cabinet. He found whole bean coffee and a grinder. He ground the coffee, put a filter into the coffee maker, added the coffee and water and turned it on. Jose came down shortly thereafter to join them. Garrett poured out the coffee for all of them, added milk to his and downed it. He poured out another cup for himself and did the same thing again. Antonio and Jose looked at him in shock. "No sugar, no flavored creamer, just milk? Are you even human?" Antonio gasped. Garrett just smiled and shook his head. "My father is a diabetic. Bad diet and lack of exercise at one time. My mother got rid of all the sugary products in the house and had a complete gym installed in the main house. No alcohol, sweets or sugar are allowed in the house, hence I got used to this" he replied as he went for a third cup of coffee. He didn't this one down until he ate his ham and cheese omelet.
    
     They stopped and picked up Sam on their way to the office. "Hey, after work, I have to get a tux for the reception and Art Expo. Where would be the best place to go?" Garrett asked. "You're what? Six three, six four, two hundred and thirty five lbs, all muscle? Then your best bets would be number one: The Big and Tall shop in the Smithhaven Mall, two: The Men's Warehouse and lastly for a more custom fit The Tuxedo Junction which is really pricey" Sam replied. Garrett nodded. "What about you two?" he asked them. Jose laughed. "We still have ours from Sam and Jill's wedding but we may have to have them altered though. Between Jill's cooking and Antonio's grand meals, we may have packed on a few pounds" Jose said. All three men laughed.

     When they arrived at headquarters, they went over the guest lists for both events. So far nothing was popping out at them until Sam said, "We may have something. One of the women being showcased just went through a messy divorce a few years back. It seems she took up photography and fell in love with a fellow photographer, a woman, and dumped her husband. In court he screamed out, "I'll get even with both you bitches!" I'm going to check out the ex-husband and get all the background info I can find." Garrett nodded. But by the end of the day, they hadn't come up with anything solid. There were more questions than answers. Jose dropped Sam off at home and took Garrett over to Tuxedo Junction. Jose was surprised at how much the custom made tux was and that Garrett paid extra for a rush on it. Garrett pulled out his credit card and paid for it. "A platinum card, geez how much does the Feds pay you?" Jose said shaking his head as they left. "Yeah, well I come from a wealthy family. Mom's a surgeon and Dad owns and operates a horse and cattle ranch. There was also oil found on the property, so rich kid here. I also have two sisters and a brother. I'm the oldest then Nikki and then the twins Natalie and Nathan" he explained. Garrett grinned as he got into the car after looking at Jose's shocked face. "Man you are going to make some woman real happy, when you find the right one" Jose quipped and chuckled.

     Bobbie entered the convention center carrying some of her favorite photos for the exhibit. The manager and his assistant were waiting for her and the other artists to arrive. They greeted them and showed them where to set up their displays. It was turning into a very hectic morning with just one more day before the show. Bobbie had hers set up in record time and went to help out the others. "Hey Bobbie, isn't that something about those poor women being killed that way? It's just creepy and sick. It gives me the chills just thinking about it" one of the other women said. Bobbie looked at her in bewilderment and asked, "What are you talking about?" The other woman looked at her astonished that she didn't know. "Oh my, so you haven't heard. There were seven women murdered across the country. They had been brutally murdered, strangled, and then their eyes were removed. Where have you been that you haven't heard, it has been all over the news?" the woman explained. Bobbie shook her head no, "I was in South America, down in Peru for the last four months. That's just awful. Do the police or Feds know why or have any leads?" The other woman shook her head and said, "I don't think so or else they are keeping a very tight lid on the case." Bobbie finished helping the woman and walked around and looked at some of the other photos. They were truly amazing. She left and went to spend the night at her friend's house.

     He had watched her as she put up her work. The prints were beyond compare as always. 'What was it that her eyes saw that no one else did?' And her beauty was incomparable too. Her bearing was that of a Queen, as if she were above all others, untouchable, unobtainable, but he would show her soon. She would be his in the end. He was almost ready.

     Garrett went and rented a car to use so that he didn't want to rely on Sam or Jose for his everyday transportation. Then he went to the tux shop. His tux was ready and waiting for him to pick up. He went and grabbed a bite to eat and just as he was finishing up, his chief called him. "Any leads yet?" the Chief asked. Garrett explained about the two women they were looking into and why. "Good, good. Keep me posted of any new developments" the Chief said and hung up. Garrett went back to the squad room after he finished eating. Something was bothering him about the case and he wanted to run it by Sam and Jose. Sam was running another check into the one woman's ex-husband with no success. He had come to the proverbial dead end. "Well the only thing we can do is talk to the woman tomorrow night and see if she is willing to talk about her ex. How are you doing on your end Jose?" Sam asked. Jose greeted Garrett as he sat down next to him. "Yeah, I just got the name of the guy Miss Silverfox had the problem with. His name is Alain David Johnson, twenty four, five feet nine inches tall, and one hundred seventy lbs. He is apparently a real geek. Always had exceptional grades in school, photography classes and clubs in high school and college. Was also on the schools newspapers. He had always thought Miss Silverfox had cheated her way through school. Then he had accused her of doing the same thing at that competition and lost, he just worked harder and earned a position at a local newspaper. I can't get anymore information at this time" Jose responded. Garrett sat back, laced his hands behind his head and stretched his legs out in front of him with his ankles crossed. He was thinking over his idea in his head before he said anything. "I was thinking we talk with all the women first and see if they have been sent letters or felt like someone has been following them. If so then we stick close to them and see if they have anything to worry about. I feel this perp is going to make his move soon" Garrett said. Jose nodded in agreement. " The ex-husband, what did he do for a living?" Garrett asked. Sam checked the information that he had. "Truck driver, long haul interstate, working as an independent for hire" he replied. Garrett frowned. " Damn it, they both have motive and opportunity. They have to travel for their jobs. As I suggested, we talk to all the women at this event, but I suggest we stick closer to our two primary targets. This perp just may be a nut job randomly attacking these female photographers or someone with a personal vendetta against some one in particular and has been lashing out at anyone who has just gotten in his way of obtaining his ultimate target. Sticking close may lead us to who he is and averting his next strike" he said. He was hoping beyond all hope that Miss Silverfox was not his intended target but he had a gut feeling she was. He wanted to meet her and get to know her under better circumstances.