Nightmares Do Come True

Chapter 31

Agent Martinez POV

It was almost lunch time on Monday when Agent Martinez and Agent Stein rushed to their Director's office as she called them and said it was urgent. "What's going on? Is everything ok? Gabrielle is ok??" Agent Martinez asked in a panic as he slammed down into the seat at the desk. He was itching to call his butterfly to check on her. 

 "She's fine Agent. However, there are two other ladies who most definitely are not. He's escalated and he outsmarted us. He didn't strike in Memphis. He wasn't even planning to yet. He just wanted us to not suspect where he was hitting. He killed his San Francisco victim and Chicago victim within two days of each other. Within two fucking days. Good news is there's no way this was planned out meticulously. I know he fucked up. Everyone is tracing EVERYTHING. We will find the fuck up." The Director said with certainty.

Killer's POV

Jeff arrived home feeling good. He thought about everything and went over the details. It was then that his mistake hit him. For every murder he took the company plane so nothing would be tied to him. Except for Lauren's murder. He caught a regular red eye flight. He had no doubt that they would match it to the times he visited the ladies on dates where he didn't kill them, just stalked them. He was mad at his slip up but knew he was fine. He's a hacker after all. He already has another house right in New Orleans under another identity. He was actually kind of glad to be in the same city as his goddess. He packed what he needed and got into the vehicle that was registered to that new identity to begin the long drive to New Orleans. He'd been ready for this moment in case it happened.

Agent Martinez POV

It was early Wednesday morning when the Agents received the call that there was a break. The sun wasn't even up yet as Mateo slipped from his butterfly's bed. He kissed her and left her a note explaining his absence. Then he rushed to work. He arrived at his Director's office looking rumpled. He hadn't even looked for his clean clothes just threw on yesterday's suit. Agent Stein walked in right after him not looking any better. They were ready for this to end. They took their seats at their Director's desk. 

 "We did it. He fucked up like predicted. His name is Jeff Doyen. He's a big deal. He works for a private company that often gets hired by our government. He can do anything with technology. He hacked Lauren's security, so nothing was seen on the camera footage. He overrode her security system, so he didn't set off the alarm. For each murder he used a company plane to get to their city where he participated in conventions in those cities. Which is why we couldn't find him. However, he's flown to each city his victim resides in to stalk her. He did that on his own time. He took the company plane to Chicago which means he couldn't take it to San Francisco. He bought his own ticket. So now we can tie him to her murder. That weekend you felt someone watching you Agent Martinez he was here. He even bought artwork from Gabrielle herself that weekend. Agents are at his home right now with a warrant searching it. He's already in the wind. He left a note taunting us. It told us that we missed him. He's probably created another identity so he could be anywhere. But this is still a win. We'll have his DNA from in his home to match to the prostitutes that we're certain he killed. We know what he looks like now. That's everything for now. We're getting close." The Director said as she handed the Agents folders with the information inside along with a photo of what Jeff looks like.

"I saw that fucker!! It was only for a split second, but I recognize him." Agent Martinez said angrily. 

 "Damn he must have been mad at Lauren almost getting away from him. He didn't drug her. He clobbered her in the head with a statute. He didn't even dress her when he pulled her from the shower. Sent her to her watery grave nude." Agent Stein said shaking her head in sadness. 

 "We'll get him." The Director said softly. The Agents both nodded as they dragged themselves tiredly back to their own offices.

That evening Mateo dragged himself into Gabby's apartment. I knew he was tired from his texts with me throughout the day, so I made sure to have dinner ready for him. I immediately went up to him and he just held me. He hugged me for about five minutes. I didn't have the heart to interrupt because I knew he had a hard day and he needed this. Finally he let me go. "Let's eat then we need to talk. But I want to eat first because neither of us will want to after we talk." Mateo said tiredly. Normally those words meant breaking up but after that hug I knew it was nothing relationship related. We ate quietly not watching anything. After we were done, I cleaned everything up as I knew he lacked all energy. Once I was done, I sat back down and patiently waited for him. 

 "He killed two women from his list last week." Mateo said as he hung his head. I quickly moved closer wrapping myself around him while crying myself. "It's bad baby. But he also fucked up making those two moves so close together. His name is Jeff Doyen-" Mateo said before I interrupted him with a gasp. 

 "I know him!! He's one of my loyal customers. For fucks sake. He visited just a few weekends ago." I said in horror. 

 "I know. I even caught a glimpse of him and didn't know it was him." Mateo said hanging his head again. 

 "Mateo Antonio Martinez. There's no way you could have known. You can't beat yourself up for that. I saw him more than you did and didn't know!" I exclaimed. 

 "I know. Logically I know that, but I want to protect you. I can't lose you and I HAD him. I just didn't know it." Mateo said angrily. 

 "I'm guessing from this anger that despite knowing who he is now that he hasn't been caught." I stated more than asked. 

 "Correct. He caught his error before we found it. He was long gone. Even taunted us with a note that we missed him. Fucking bastard. Gabs. He's a master hacker. We took down your camera feed. He can use it to watch you. He has been doing just that. I'm so sorry. Shit the security alarm pad is useless too. I'm fucking failing you." Mateo said in anger.

I sat there numbly feeling so violated knowing he watched. I wanted to comfort Mateo, but I couldn't. I was frozen. Until the panic attack started. My breathing became faster and faster. I couldn't catch my breath. I sat forward with my head between my knees and tried to focus on my breathing as my therapist taught me. It always worked. But I couldn't calm myself. Suddenly Mateo was on the floor kneeling in front of me. He cupped my face with both hands. 

 "Slow your breath mi Corazon. Follow my breathing." Mateo said calmly. I found myself matching my breaths with his as I calmed down. Once I was calm, I began crying. Mateo carried me to bed. He undressed me and put a tee shirt over my head and then just held me in bed.

Mateo held her as she cried. She finally fell asleep after about 15 minutes of crying. I tucked her in then took care of Shadow for her. Once he was cared for, I took a shower. Then I set the alarm on my phone and climbed into bed. I wrapped myself around her and fell into a much-needed sleep.