Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) (6 page)

Chester Rugger ran a hand through his thick
blonde curls. He leaned back in his desk chair, put his feet up on his desk and stared intently at the walls. One displayed a magnetic board cluttered with pictures and words, organized into categories by date; it spanned the length of the conference room.  The other wall held a huge detailed map of the United States, peppered with push pins. Five red, ten green and dozens of blue ones jutted out. The busy utilitarian room was filled with long tables surrounded by chairs, loaded with computer screens and stacked with files. Chester knew he was missing something and it was right in front of his eyes. He frowned and rubbed his eyes, clicking his ball point pen rhythmically, he read the walls for the hundredth time. He’d been there all night, drinking coffee, reviewing reports, receiving faxes, checking emails and staring at those walls. Those dammed walls had become the bane of his existence.

The team of officers
forming the core of the Multi-State Task Force (MSTF) was due in about 15 minutes and he was stumped as to how to proceed. Straight ‘A’ student at Putnam County High School and captain of the football team, leading them to state championships for two years running, Chester Rugger was not used to being stumped. He worked his way through the New River Community and Technical College in Beckley, W. VA, returning home upon graduation to marry his high school sweetheart. He was a clear thinking man who knew what he wanted and how to get it. The proud father of two little girls, Chester was what the town thought of as an ‘up and comer.’ “That boy will make something of himself one day,” they would say, “maybe even become Mayor.” That was how his community saw him, a hero in the making. No one was surprised when he became the Chief of Police. Chester Rugger was proud and determined. He cared about his family and his community. He would stop at nothing to keep them safe. Since the day that Rebecca Hallowell’s body was found in his jurisdiction in 2011, he had been obsessed with catching her killer.

Using all the technology available to a rural police department like his, he learned that there had been 5 killings with nearly identical MO’s in West Virginia and neighboring states. He had organized this Task Force so all concerned law enforcement officers could work together. This morning
, they were going to meet for the first time with agents from the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. They were sure they had a multi-state serial killer or killers on their hands, probably at least two of them. It seemed all these killings had the same MO. The problem was that Task Force members were used to working in smaller jurisdictions and organizing a manhunt on such a grand scale and crossing state lines was a job for the FBI. The Task Force had done all the preliminary work, assembling information about each individual victim and crime scene sufficient to determine to their satisfaction that they were dealing with the same perpetrator/s. Now they were at a cross-road. It had been a difficult decision but Chester believed it was the right one.

Lou Fairmont, the head of the BAU team assigned to work with th
e Task Force had been fully briefed en route to the meeting. In his late 50’s, he had seen enough gore and misery to last several lifetimes. A few months from an early retirement, he was ready to hand the team lead over to his second in command, Marie Del Monte, a resolute woman in her 40’s. The third member of the team Will Schmidt, a 28 year old computer genius, was unequaled at decoding information and finding obscure patterns in the data. The BAU team had been working together for 2 years. They were effective and goal-directed. Fairmont took charge of the meeting as soon as everyone was seated. The MSTF members were well-informed about their particular victims, crime scenes and evidence and spent 3 hours sketching out the details of their victims so that the Task Force could become familiar with each individual case, its crime scene and evidence. After all 5 cases had been presented and discussed the Task Force members began to postulate various theories. It was clear to all of them that the evidence all pointed to the same perpetrators.

The evidence and
victim profiles were summarized as follows:

Damaged remains of 5 young women ranging in age from 17 – 21 had been found during the past
13 years. One each from Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio; the first and last victims had been found in West Virginia. The victims were all attractive, single, slim, athletic females and all but one had light blonde hair. All but one had light blue eyes. The girls were either attending college or worked at a college from which they had been abducted. Each of the girls had been driving her own car and all but one car disappeared along with its driver. Most of the cars had never been found. The bodies had all been found in state parks or wildlife areas, near a campground and not far from an interstate highway. All of them had been found in shallow graves, barely 3 feet deep. All of them had been found within 450 feet of some type of outbuilding or shack. There was evidence that the crimes had either been committed in the nearby structures or that the victims had been caught and killed just outside of them. There was evidence that multiple assailants had been involved in these crimes, but lacking fingerprints and DNA evidence, none of the evidence was specific enough to be matched with anyone in any of the law enforcement databases.

A definite pattern
had emerged but no discernible links between the victims had been found and no links had been found between the victims and the killer/killers.  While the victims indicated a definite victim profile, the timing and geography seemed random.

1. Rebecca (Becky)
   Hallowell age 19
   

Body F
ound: 2/3/2011

Reported missing
: 11/22/1997

Location:
Mill Creek Wildlife Area, near Hurricane, WVA.

Resident: Hurricane, WVA

Dead approximately 14 years

2.  Rosemary (Rosie) Withers age 18

Body F
ound: 1/15/1999

Repo
rted missing: 12/3/1998

Location:
Grayson Lake State Park near Bruin KY

Resident:
Bruin, KY

Dead
approximately 1 ½ months

3.   Erika (Rickie) Bateson age 17

Body F
ound: 7/11/2008

R
eported missing: 5/16/2004

Location:
Big Stone Mountain State Park, VA

Resident
Big Stone Gap, VA

Dead
approximately four years

4.  Roberta (Bobbie) Donaldson age 19

Body Found: 11/2/2003

Reported Missing: 3/25/2002

Location:
Crown City Wildlife Area, Ohio

Resident:
Polkadotte, Ohio

Dead about 1 ½
years

5.  Arushi (Rushi) Kowndamani age 23

Body
Found: 9/30/2012

Reported Missing: 11/1
8/2011

Location: Mono
ngahela National Forest, W VA

Resident: Elkins, W. VA

Dead about 10 months

Based on
the dates that these girls went missing, it seemed there had been one killing each year then a break in the pattern for several years. There were no hypotheses about the reason for the start date or if it was indeed the actual start date. All but one of the girls was killed in the cold weather months. All but one of the victims was in the same age range, had similar physical attributes and had been born in this country. Only one, the most recently discovered victim, Arushi Kowndamani was born in Pakistan. She had lived there until she was 7 years old when her family immigrated to this country so that her father could accept a position as CEO of a newly formed Cultural Exchange Program designed to improve relations with local colleges and universities. She was the only victim who was not living at home or at college. Rushi, the oldest of the victims and the only one who didn’t fit the victim profile, lived in an apartment with two of her cousins.  She was the assistant manager at the Super 8 Motel in Elkins, West Virginia. She and her cousins commuted a half hour each way twice a week to West Virginia State University in Dunbar where they were studying Culinary Arts in hopes of opening an Asian fusion restaurant. The Kowndamani family still resided in Hurricane and it wasn’t clear if she had crossed paths with the killers in this area or near Elkins, where Rushi had worked and resided. Since Rushi did not match the victim profile they had developed, the Task Force decided that made her highly significant. Sometimes the exception to the rule provided important insight into the killer. The Virginia group offered to investigate this angle and began immediately setting up interviews with her family and coworkers.

In addition to the five murder victims that had been found, there were
5 reports of similar abductions and sexual assaults occurring throughout the 5-state region during the time period in question, plus a 6
th
report of an attempted abduction in Virginia. There was solid evidence in those cases, but nothing that could point to specific perpetrators. Victims had been blindfolded, drugged and soaked in a body of water, a stream, river, lake or pond, they thought to conceal or eliminate trace evidence. Task Force members thought the water involvement was either to destroy DNA or to replicate a particular pattern that had meaning to the perpetrator (s). There was evidence to support the theory that these killings were being done by a group of killers, certainly more than one, because the amount of work required to commit the crimes (such as concealing the victim’s car) could not have been done by one person acting alone.

Although serial killers usually live solitary lives, stalk and kill their prey alone
, there have been some exceptions. The MSTF decided that these killings were being done by a small group, probably three men and dubbed them ‘The Gang’. Because the crimes showed specific individualized preferences and patterns, they concluded that there was one dominant male and two submissive males who for unknown reasons agreed to the assault and killing pattern that met their leader’s needs. The MSTF thought that other crimes, armed robbery, drug dealing and car theft probably had accompanied their killings, as it was unlikely that any of them were gainfully employed, given how much they moved around. They needed to get money somehow, so petty thefts and small store robberies were the most likely means. Based on evidence found at camp sites near where the victims were found, it appeared that ‘The Gang’ spent time in the woods primarily consuming food bought at convenience stores or drive-thru’s.  The MSTF decided to focus on crimes reported along the travel routes between the killing sites, thinking that the killers may have been more ‘lax’ when carrying out these lesser crimes they decided those crimes might lead to the killers’ identities. Given the amount of control the leader appeared to have over his followers, the BAU suggested that the gang members had been together for many years before they began their crime spree. There was no evidence to support the idea that these crimes were politically, religiously or racially motivated. They concluded this was a gang led by a sexual sadist who controlled his followers by intimidation.

Members filed out of the meeting, coffee cups and notebooks in hand, men and woman from various agencies. Each law enforcement professional was assigned to work with a team
based on three main areas of interest.

• Team 1:
  The Victim Study Team
  - was tasked with learning everything possible about each victim, including the 5 victims who had been kidnapped but not killed and the victim of the attempted kidnapping, examining their lives, looking for commonalities between the women and trying to discover not only where and how they would have encountered these killers but why they had been spared a death sentence.
  
• Team 2:
  The Related Crimes Team
  –
  would concentrate on other types of crimes looking for patterns and links between those crimes and the killings. These would include robberies at gas stations and liquor stores, as well as auto theft and armed robberies. All crimes would be considered no matter how petty, if they fell within the geographic area and time frame in question.
  
• Team 3:
  The Gang Profile Team
  - would be developing in-depth psychological profiles of the killer/s including their group dynamics based on crime scene evidence and the behavior pattern of each crime. They would develop theories about the killers, their group dynamics and their roots in the community.
  

Each team
, consisting of 4 members, was assigned space equipped with desks, computers, faxes and phones. All had access to central database information. Passions ran high as agents talked together espousing favorite theories and favorite outcomes. After a thorough review of the crime scene pictures and evidence, the teams were fired up for the hunt. Task Force members were committed to working 24/7 to bring these killers to justice. They had been set in motion and were ready to go.

They sat at a table in the back of the crowded deli. The room was alive with people chatting across small tables or into their cell phones, reading newspapers or clicking away on multi-sized keyboards staring into multi-sized screens. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the scents of pastrami and kosher hot dogs. In the background kitchen staff yelled out orders for pick up:

“Rueben and fries, 2 Coney Island Dogs
- kraut and fries,”

“Greek Salad, dressing on the side
”

“
Powerhouse wrap on tomato basil.”

As they sipped Cappuccinos and shared a slice of warm coffee cake,
Tanya asked, “So you doing any better now?”

“
I’m still shaky,” Gina responded.

“So what happened in the O
.R. yesterday?” Tanya asked. “That was really freaky. You scared the hell outa me,” she said shaking her head, “I didn’t know what was going on with you.”

“Do you think anyone else noticed?” Gina worried.

“Well, we all saw you leave, that’s for sure, but most people seemed unfazed about it, like you were just going to get cleaned up. No one said anything, at least not to me, they didn’t. I’m sure that’s what people thought,” she reached over and patted Gina’s hand. “Now, tell me how you are doing with those memories or whatever it was freaked you out.”

“I’ve been having bad nightmares and these memories are coming up and scaring me half to death. I have these horrible flashbacks about things I don’t remember but I know they are real.
And I can’t shake the feeling that I’m in danger. I don’t know if it’s real danger or past danger that I’m feeling again. I don’t know if I’m going crazy or what’s going on with me,” Gina explained.

“
Were you able to see your therapist last night? What did she have to say about all this?” Tanya asked.

“
She says it’s PTSD and that makes sense with the nightmares and flashbacks but the problem is I’m not sure how ‘post’ it is. I have this strong feeling that the danger is real and that’s another thing that’s freaking me out. I can’t put my finger on what and why exactly but it’s a creepy feeling that got triggered somehow and I just can’t settle down.”

“Don’t you know what the memories are from? I mean can’t you remember your early life? I know you never talk about it or anything but I just assume that you remember it like everyone else does,” Tanya sipped her drink and looked carefully at her friend
.

“I don’t
actually not all of it,” Gina shrugged “there are lots of things that I don’t remember about my childhood. Time gaps, you’d say. I know some really bad things happened and I think I just forgot them, you know repressed or whatever it’s called. It’s those gaps that are creeping in and freaking me out.”

“So,” Tanya said
leaning closer and lowering her voice, “you think some bad things happened that you don’t know about?”

“Yes, actually, that’s right. And now I’m worried you’re going to think I’m crazy,  I probably said too much to you about this already,” Gina said pulling back in her seat.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tanya leaned across the table to hold Gina’s hand, “You’re my girl, girlfriend; nothing’s going to get in the way of that. I’m just trying to understand what you’re saying. You've got one of the best memories I’ve ever seen. You remember lab reports and test dates and dosages and stuff better than any doc on the service. I just can’t get my head around you having memory issues,” Tanya replied.

“This isn’t that kind of memory,” Gina told her, “My shrink says that trauma memory is in a different category altogether
.” Then she grinned at her, “You just like to think I’m perfect, Tan, I guess I’ve got you fooled.”

“Well,” Tanya added, “To be perfectly honest it scares me to think that some things happened to you that were so bad you’d have to forget them.

“It scares me too,” Gina admitted, “I’m trying to put my life together in some kind of sequential order but that’s been hard.”

Tanya frowned slightly and said,
“You don’t know exactly how you got from there to here, right?”

“That’s right
. I know some things but not everything.”

“Tell me what you do know, OK? Maybe just talking about it will help you remember,” Tanya said
giving Gina’s hand a little squeeze.

Gina stirred her coffee and glanced at her watch. “We don’t have much time, Tan, but I’ll try.” The crowd was thinning out, so no one was anxious for their table. She began
, “The short story is that I’m starting to remember details of something bad that happened
when I was
14. That’s been haunting me because things I don’t remember are jumping out at me when I least expect it.”

Tanya moved closer and asked
, “So is your therapist trying to help you get to those memories?”

“Yes, but if I don’t remember them then I can’t talk about them, right? The memories are coming up on their own right now,” Gina explained.

“So go ahead,” said Tanya, “what did you do after the bad thing happened?”

“I don’t recall the exact details but I know I ended up at my school counselor’s house, that’s Mrs. Goodwin I’ve mentioned her before. She took me in and then later I moved in with a foster family in North Carolina.”

“Oh, right,” Tanya said “You did tell me you’d lived in North Carolina. How long did you live there?”

“I moved in with my foster family, the Bakers when I was 14 and lived with them till I graduated from college.”

“Oh wow,” Tanya said, “that was a good long time. Sounds like you really got along with them.”

“I did, they were wonderful. That family helped me in so many ways. They were kind and loving. They encouraged my schooling, they introduced me to religion; they did everything… I just can’t even tell you all the things they did for me,” Gina’s eyes filled with tears. “I am who and what I am today because of that family.”

Tanya listened attentively, her warmth and concern evident on her face and in her voice. She settled back as if she had nothing to do in the whole world but sit at this table and listen to Gina. “That’s amazing, sugar, tell me more.”

“Unlike my own family, the Bakers encouraged achievement in school and involvement in the community.  Both of the Bakers worked. Mr. Baker was an accountant for a local firm and Mrs. Baker worked as a nurse in a General Practitioner’s office. When I was 16, she got me a job there in the Doctor’s office. That was my first real exposure to medicine ‘cause my family didn’t believe in getting medical care and I had never even seen a doctor before I moved in with the Bakers. First I worked there as a ‘go-fer’ but as secretaries or receptionists were off work for one reason or another, I filled in for them.  It turned out that I was really good at all those jobs.”

“Of course you were,” Tanya added her face glowing with pride, “You’re good at everything!”

Gina grinned, “You’re biased
, Tawny, you think that now, but you didn’t know me then. I wasn’t self-confident; I didn’t think I could do anything. I didn’t know I was smart. I had no way of knowing that. The doctor, Dr. Bennett could see I was interested in medicine. He was the first one to suggest that I become a doctor. He took me under his wing, explained certain conditions and procedures to me, found I picked things up quickly. Then he created a little job for me as his researcher. He would ask me to find out about specific problems and treatments, read articles in his medical journals and copy things I thought he should read. Doctor Bennett and I started to meet regularly to review the research projects I was working on for him and that evolved into a little lecture series. He explained about biology, the main body organs, bacteria, germs and viruses. I learned a lot from him. He was really supportive of my going to medical school. Mrs. Baker agreed with him, given my interest in science and math they said I’d be a natural. Plus I was a straight ‘A’ student.”

At first the idea of becoming a doctor was appalling. Me become a doctor? No! That was beyond my comprehension. I was a just farmer’s daughter. No one in my family had even finished high school let alone college and well, medical school that was impossible! When in my
senior year of High School, I was accepted for early admission to college and granted a full scholarship I nearly fainted! It was perfect. I lived at home with the Bakers and four happy years later I graduated from the University of North Carolina in Asheville with a 4.0 GPA. I applied for and was accepted to the University of Chicago Medical School on a full scholarship.”

“What an amazing story!” Tanya said. “What a fabulous family! They totally believed in you and launched your career! Seriously amazing!”

“I know. I really miss them,” Gina added sadly.

“Why can’t you get in touch with them now? You could do that now, couldn’t you?” Tanya asked.

Gina shook her head. “That’s the problem. I can’t see them or contact them at all. I haven’t had any contact with them since I left for Medical School.”

Tanya
’s expression turned quizzical, “How come?”

Gina shrugged and looked at her watch. “We’re going to be late, hon, we’ve got to get back to the hospital. Let’s talk about this later, OK?”

But Tanya was insistent, “Just answer me that one thing, why haven’t you been in touch with that family you love so much?”

“Because I can’t risk putting them in danger,” Gina sighed. “I can’t risk
him
tracking me down there and hurting them.”

“Him?” Tanya frowned.

Gina blurted out “My nemesis…my tormentor…my rapist….my would be killer…. He’s still after me. I know it!”

Tanya dumbstruck uttered, “What did you say?”

“Come on Tan, we really have to go let’s talk later.”

“Wait a minute, you can’t just drop that killer thing on me and expect me to drop it!” Tanya stopped gathering up her things and stared at Gina who said, “Not to forget it, just push it aside for a while. Really we’re late and we’ve got to get back to the unit.”

“When exactly are we going to talk about this killer thing?” Tanya refused to move without an answer.

“Let’s take the kids out for pizza tonight and we’ll talk after they go to bed,” Gina suggested tossing cups in the trash can, “Does 6 work for you?”