An Unkindness of Ravens Read online

  One simple name and the end was in sight.

  Chapter 53

  “We’ve got to be really careful when we get to the forest,” Tyler said to Danny as they sped along the interstate. “This could be a big trap, something spectacular he has in mind.”

  “You think that’s possible?”

  “Possible yes, probably no, but still, this thing has been twisting and turning all the way and this is just the latest swerve for us. Who’s to say there’s not another one just around the corner?”

  “If we stick together, we should be fine,” Danny said. It sounded more like a question than a statement, however. Tyler didn’t like the fact that the young man was ill at ease - it probably wasn’t the most professional idea to bring him along on this today, but they were on the road now and time was of the essence.

  “So how did you get the job at ‘The Baltimore Echo’, again?” Tyler asked, hoping to turn the boys mind from fearful thoughts.

  “I won a story competition,” Danny said and Tyler nodded.

  “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot that.”

  “No problem,” Danny said, shrugging.

  “What was the story about,” Tyler asked, wondering then if he’d already read it but not remembering. There had been so much going since Danny joined the paper.

  “It was about a small mining town in Communist Romania - a murder story.”

  “Sounds good,” he was sure he hadn’t read it now.

  “It was written through a series of newspaper articles. I think that’s what won it for me. It was different than all the straight news stories that entered.”

  “Standing out from the crowd is never going to hurt your chances in that situation,” Tyler smiled.

  “That was my thinking too,” Danny said. Silence returned to the car a moment and Tyler worried Danny’s mind would drift back to scary thoughts. He tried to think of something else he could ask about the competition.

  “Who were the judges, some teachers in your school or something?” he came up with.

  “No. It was an open competition in the paper. As far as I know, Mr Davis was the judge. I don’t know if there was someone else doing it with him.”

  “Looks like Davis found a way to get good writers for free,” Tyler laughed. “I won’t be surprised if that competition becomes a frequently run one.” Danny smiled at this, and Tyler went on, “Just make sure you don’t do any more work for free for him once your internship is over. You’re worth paying for, and if he doesn’t want to pay you, I’ll give you a reference that should do you good at some other paper in Baltimore.”

  “Thanks, Tyler.”

  Tyler was happy to boost Danny’s ego on this, and as he drove on, the image of Davis looking up from his phone after overhearing him speaking to Sarah came to mind - there was still going to be hell about that later. Then the image lingered a moment too long and Tyler felt a wave of unease come over him. What was it? Something in his boss’s face? Something more than anger at giving away the scoop, but what?

  Though the intern didn’t speak, Tyler heard Danny’s voice in his head once more. “Davis was the judge.” Davis was the judge? Hadn’t Tyler heard him speak of that before, from somewhere long ago? Then a horrible stack of bricks fell forward in Tyler’s mind and he saw the merry dance he’d been on this whole time. Davis!

  Again he saw Davis on his phone pressing something like he was sending a message as Tyler came in, but it wasn’t a message was it? No, he was pressing ‘publish’ on the latest blog post - just after learning about them finding out about CJ Mortimer. Davis must have worked with Mortimer back in those days when ‘Epic Aeons’ was a thriving magazine - had most likely been the judge in those competitions as well, which was how he knew of all the victims and their unfulfilled dreams of being writers! He must have lured them to him with promises of their old stories getting a new lease on life or something like that!

  And now he was on his way to Mortimer’s house to meet both him and Sarah - He was going to kill them both! There was nothing going on in Whitney State Forest; it was only a diversion to get Tyler away while Davis went to carry out this murder to keep himself out of suspicion for the other murders. Davis was ‘John the Baptist’! It beggared belief!

  Without warning, Tyler slammed on the brakes and did a wild 180-turn in the middle of the highway, crossing over a patch of unwalled dirt divider to get back on the other lane to head for CJ Mortimer’s place.

  “What the hell!” Danny exclaimed loudly, pulling hard on the handle strap over the door and banging against first Tyler and then the door as the car came about. “What are you doing?”

  Tyler didn’t answer, he was pulling the secret cell from his deep lower pocket and he speed dialled Sarah’s number. There was nothing, no answer, no connection.

  “Shit!” he shouted, banging the phone on the dashboard. He pulled his own normal cell out and called her work cell number - there was no need to be hiding anything now! It rang out and went to voicemail.

  “Sarah! It’s Tyler, if you get this message before you get to CJ Mortimer’s house, stay away from there, don’t go there! ‘John the Baptist’ is in the house and he knows you’re coming!”

  There could have been no hiding that from Danny, and Tyler didn’t look his way just yet. He had to focus on the road to get there as fast as he could.

  “What the hell is going on, Tyler?” Danny’s scared voice asked in the background. Tyler ignored him and tried both phones to get hold of Sarah again. No luck this time either. He took in a long deep breath.

  ‘You’ll get there before her,’ he thought, ‘Even with this extra distance added on the way to Whitney, you’re still way ahead of her. It will be fine.’

  “Tyler!” Danny’s shouting came to him, “What the fuck is going on!”

  “You’re on the story of your life, Danny,” Tyler smiled at him, but in his head he wasn’t really there. He was already in Mortimer’s house having it out with Davis - getting the full story, even as he punched in the new address into his satnav. There was a thud on the floor, and looking down, Tyler saw it was his secret phone. He could see the screen where it landed and it was fine there for the moment.

  “Danny, take my phone and call the police, tell them the killer known as ‘John the Baptist’ will be at the address on the satnav here.” Tyler tapped the screen above the steering wheel to show him their new destination.

  Danny took the phone and Tyler looked at him.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on!” the young intern said.

  “You will very soon!” Tyler said, feeling the weight of what he now knew fall into place all over what had been happening these last few weeks. How long had Davis been listening into his phone calls and monitoring his life? It could have been years - it was scary to think he’d been in such close proximity with a killer all this time and he never picked up a vibe from the man. How had he been able to keep it so under control? These were all things Tyler Ford intended to ask ‘John the Baptist’ very, very soon.

  Chapter 54

  It had seemed forever, but at last Sarah pulled up outside of CJ Mortimer’s lakeside house. She was surprised not to see Tyler’s car - or any other for that matter - anywhere. Her thoughts ran to the worry that Tyler had already been here and taken CJ off in his car somewhere to talk to him, somewhere Sarah wouldn’t be able to find them.

  It was eerily quiet as Sarah made her way up the weaving stone slabs that made up a walkway to the front door. She closed the click straps of her FBI bullet proof vest as she went. When she was close enough, she saw something was wrong and she pulled her gun at once. Though only by a hair, Sarah saw that the front door was open. Another person might not have noticed at all, but it was this kind of thing that made her a good agent, and she hoped would keep her alive for many cases to come.

  How she wished she had her phone with her now. Bobrick and Daniels would tear her a new asshole about that one, but there was little she could do about it now. She would h
ave to do this without backup - it wouldn’t be the first time, and more often than not she couldn't afford to hang around waiting for backup anyway.

  “Mr Mortimer,” she called out, “This is the FBI, are you in there?” No answer came, as she expected. Inching towards the door, Sarah listened for any sound at all from within. The memory of what had happened with Des Roche was all too real and recent. She looked around the front of the house, standing still and silent. Only the light breeze rustling the trees about the place. Something was wrong; it stirred in her.

  Then something else came on the breeze. It was an approaching car. Sarah leaned against the wall at the door to the house. She would have to wait and see who it was coming before she went inside. The road was a dead-end, so it definitely wasn’t someone just passing by. The engine grew louder as it approached at speed and then it shuddered to a halt, raising a cloud of dust that ran on ahead of it. Through the trees Sarah could see some of the car, but it was not one she recognised. Could it be Tyler in a rental or maybe CJ Mortimer coming home from the store? This was a possibility - out here in the sticks by a lake was the kind of place people probably still did leave their door unlocked - at least during the day.

  The car door slammed shut and a man whom Sarah vaguely knew appeared on the path. She had definitely seen him somewhere before, but right now she couldn’t place him. He was fixing his clothes as he walked, looking flustered, and he stopped dead when he saw Sarah standing there, her gun in her hand.

  “Who are you?” she asked. He looked at the gun nervously and then held up his hands to show he was unarmed.

  “Derek Davis,” he said, “The Editor of ‘The Baltimore Echo’. I’m Tyler’s boss.” She’d seen him in the paper before and also in some photographs at Tyler’s place from office Christmas parties or awards nights. “You’re Sarah Brightwater from the FBI,” he said as though to confirm in full his credentials.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Tyler told me what was going on here, but there has been a new blog post from ‘The Baptist’ and he’d gone to look into that.” She didn’t like them talking so loud out here, so she urged him to come closer to her. He did as she asked.

  “What was the post?”

  “He said there was something happening in Whitney State Forest right now. I’d say every journalist on the east coast is heading that way now.”

  “And every agent except me too,” she said sourly.

  “I told Tyler to go to the scene and I’d come here to see this editor guy,” Davis nodded to the house.

  “The door is open,” she said to him, “and there has been no response to my calling. It might be best if you were to get back in your car until I have this place checked out.”

  “No no, ma’am,” he said, shaking his head, “I was in the army, I’m able to look after myself and I can’t let you go in there alone.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” Sarah said, “Please go back to your car and wait for my signal, Sir.”

  “Not happening,” Davis said and she could see the stubbornness in his face. She had to make a decision fast; it was too dangerous to be standing here talking like this. She needed to get inside and see what was going on. She nodded grimly and looked coldly into his eyes.

  “Stay behind me,” Sarah said, “You keep an eye out behind us all the time, you got it?” Davis nodded. She pulled him hard by the shirt front and his eyes went to hers in amazement. “I mean it!” she barked at him. “I was nearly killed the last time I came into a house like this!”

  “OK,” he said, “I’ll be super careful and keep an eye out every second.”

  “You do exactly what I say when I say it, OK?”

  “Yes, no problem.”

  Knowing this was a mistake but not having the time to dwell on it anymore, Sarah eased open the door into the house.

  Chapter 55

  A few seconds had passed and Tyler realised Danny hadn’t started calling yet.

  “Call the police, Danny,” he said, glancing at the intern and then back to the road he was currently driving too fast on. When a few seconds later there was still seemingly no reaction, Tyler looked at his intern again, “Danny!” he called, thinking he was in some kind of trance. Danny looked at Tyler and then let his eyes rove to the phone before he tossed it out the window of the speeding car.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Tyler shouted, but Danny Kircheck turned fast back to Tyler, a gleaming knife in his hand and it was thrust hard into Tyler’s neck. He felt the tip pierce his skin, but then it was held in place and the weight of the heavy breathing intern behind it, waiting to plunge it in deep. Tyler put a hand to the gearshift, but Danny put a little more pressure on his neck.

  “Keep driving,” Danny hissed, “But you can ignore that satnav from now on.”

  “Where are we going, Danny?” Tyler asked, easing his hand back onto the wheel.

  “It doesn’t really matter for now, just not to CJ Mortimer’s house.”

  Tyler’s mind raced trying to get both a handle on what was going on, and also to come up with a plan to get himself out of it.

  “What is this, Danny?” he asked as calmly as he could. There was no answer and Danny seemed to be thinking hard about something.

  “Get off the freeway at the next exit,” he said finally. Tyler did as he was told.

  This has been some kind of setup from the start, he thought. Davis was the killer, and he’d brought this young man somehow under his wing to keep track of Tyler and Sarah during the investigation. How well young Danny Kircheck had played his role, a wasted acting talent well beyond his years.

  “I knew there was something off about you from the start,” Tyler said. “I should have listened to my gut.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up,” Danny said, the knife still pressed into Tyler’s neck. “You had a lot on your plate, and I was good at the journalism stuff, so you probably didn’t want to see the bad in me.”

  “So what’s going on, Danny,” Tyler said, “You’re happy to let Sarah get killed? For what?”

  “You don’t have much faith in her, really, do you?” Danny said.

  “She doesn’t know Davis is coming up there to kill her!” Tyler shouted. Danny shrugged.

  “Maybe,” he said.

  “What are you getting out of this, anyway? Davis tell you he’d give you a permanent job at the paper!” At this Danny laughed out loud.

  “I don’t want anything to do with the paper, or reporting,” he said derisively. “I only did this to get closer to you to keep tabs on what was going on.”

  “So you were no better than a little spy for Davis.” Tyler was more angry with himself right now than Danny. Everything about this tasted bitter in his mouth. Danny laughed again.

  “Why do you keep going on about Davis?” he asked Tyler. “Yes, Davis is ‘John the Baptist’, but he’s small fry compared to what’s really going on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not working with Davis,” Danny said in a flat tone like he was explaining something obvious to an imbecile. Tyler felt like an imbecile just then; he was constantly one step behind even now as it as being spelled out for him. “I’m under the tutelage of a real artist.”

  “Who? Spalding?”

  “I don’t know about that,” Danny said, “but the Monster has shown me many amazing things as I worked towards this job.” It was unsettling how Danny spoke of his master; it was almost religious awe. There was no telling what kind of crazed ideas were put in the young man’s head.

  “What do you mean you don’t know? You never met him?”

  “Despite your industry, Tyler, you’re so old fashioned. You don’t need to meet influencers in real life; their ideas are all over the internet. I can talk to anyone I want on over fifty different apps and messengers at any time of the day or night.”

  “So what are you in some kind of cult or something?” Again Danny laughed.

  “You just don’t get it at all.” He shook h
is head as though feeling sorry for Tyler.

  The pressure of the knife on his throat remained constant and it seemed like Danny had been well trained. Tyler scanned the streets for approaching police cars, but as ever, when you needed one they were nowhere to be found.

  “What if Sarah is killed? Tyler asked, “Doesn’t that kind of spoil things?”

  “Life goes on and it can’t always be predictable.”

  “Does Davis know who you are?”

  “Not a clue. You should have seen him shit a brick when the copycat killing came out.” That made sense; Tyler had already figured out Stanver and Des Roche had nothing to do with ‘John the Baptist.’

  “What will happen to Davis if Sarah and me are dead?”

  “That depends on how much evidence he leaves behind. At the moment he’s going to kill Sarah, but he also thinks he’s going to have to kill both of us too as we can point to him going to meet her.”

  “Will I still be alive to see that?” Tyler asked.

  “That all depends on how you act in the next little while.” Danny was so calm it was unnerving. There had to be a way out of this; Tyler just hadn't seen it yet.

  Chapter 56

  Sarah and Davis were inside the house of CJ Mortimer now. They stood quietly listening to the breathing of the house. Sarah was nervous, not the least because she had an unarmed civilian in here with her. She looked at Davis and he was looking behind them as she had ordered him too. At least he was good at listening.

  Her heart was thumping and she couldn’t help but think of Malick and how he’d so nearly been killed in a situation just like this. She leaned to Davis and nudged him with her elbow. He turned to look at her.