Run (5 page)

I had my laptop bag, a grocery ba
g, and a weekend bag. I pulled a pen from my purse and a notebook from my laptop bag. I had both laptops, my folder of research, my Kindle, a journal, the profiling book I had gotten from Amazon, and my Bible. The grocery bag. I had food for Kitty and Max. I should probably get Max some more since the amount I had with me would only last a day or two. I added that to my to-do list. I also had granola bars and an apple. Okay, I would need some more food; things I could make easily or eat in my car or a motel room. On the list. Weekend bag. Deodorant, 8 pairs of underwear, two bras, T-shirt, sweatshirt, dress (what?), three pairs of socks, glasses, contacts (no contact solution, added to list), toothbrush, toothpaste, yoga pants, and a tank top. Okay, I had no shoes other than the ones I was wearing. I was going to need a pair of sneakers and some more clothes.  In my car I had an emergency kit, a couple of blankets, spare deodorant, and water. I then tried to think of everything I might need in the next few days and added prepaid phone and duct tape (when in doubt use duct tape, right?) to the list.

A little after 11
:00, I got out of my car and headed into the Wal-Mart. 45 minutes later I walked out with another hundred in cash, 3 additional outfits, enough incredibly unhealthy and preservative-filled food to last me for at least a week, prepaid phone, litter box and litter, contact solution, duct tape, and dog food. In addition to the above, I got a baseball bat, Maglite, hunting knife, a compass, lighter, pepper spray, hiking stick, small collapsible shovel, a pocket weather alert radio, cooler, electric burner, and a tarp. I don’t know what I really thought I would need half of that stuff for, but I was feeling a little (or a lot) paranoid and trying to cover every possible avenue.

I left the
Wal-Mart at 12:08 and headed to the bank. Using my credit cards and debit card I got another $1,500 from the bank. With my car full of supplies and $2,100 I left the shopping center. At first I drove with no real idea of where I was going. I felt like I should get out of the area, but I wasn’t sure where exactly I should head. I was on I-295 heading north when I remembered Hamilton Train Station. Since the trains ran all night, the parking lot would have cars. I could park in the lot and catch a couple of hours of sleep. My car would not be alone in the lot, but by the same token the lot would not be full so I would hopefully be able to get in and get out without drawing any attention.

On the wa
y to Hamilton, I stopped at a rest stop on I-295 just south of Trenton. For the first time since this started I was quiet. I wasn’t running, I wasn’t planning. I fed Max and Kitty, and took them each out for a bathroom break. While quiet, my mind went to Emily. Emily and all those other girls. They had never had a chance to escape. They never had a chance to hide. They were beaten, raped, and tortured. They were alone. I could fight back, I would fight back. I would fight for myself and I would fight for them.

The Hamilton
Train Station was quiet. At this time of night there were few people riding the trains. There were enough cars though that one more wasn’t going to draw attention. I stopped the car. Checked the locks for the 100
th
time. Climbed in the back off my RAV4 (affectionately named Big Bertha) and made a bed out of the blankets I had in the car. I used the tarp to cover myself, Kitty, and Max. The minute I laid down I was asleep. It was 3:19 am.

Chapter 7: March 29, 6:10am - 9:43pm

The sound of a car door slamming woke me up. I went from sound asleep to wide awake in a fraction of a second. Everything that had happened the night
before rushed back to me. Max was tense beside me, ready to jump up and announce his presence. A whispered command held him in place. I looked for Kitty and saw her huddled under the back seat. The tarp was still keeping us covered. If someone looked into my car they wouldn’t see the suspicious sight of a woman, a cat, and a dog huddled in the back of a RAV4.

A car lock beeped,
and then footsteps sounded walking away. I waited for a minute, but didn’t hear anything else. I poked my head out from under the tarp, motioning for Max to stay put. It was dawn and traffic at the train station was picking up as commuters came and went. Time for me to go. Staying here much longer would certainly draw attention.

Once it was quiet around my car
, I folded up the tarp and climbed into the front seat. Every move hurt. My body screamed. I felt like an old woman. Each scrape and bruise announced its presence. In a few minutes I was settled in the front seat, and starting my car. Five minutes after I woke up, I was pulling out of the parking lot. It was 6:10.

_____

I drove for a while aimlessly. I didn’t want to stay in New Jersey. The Trenton Bridge didn’t have a toll which meant no toll cameras. Half an hour later I was in Pennsylvania and headed north. A little after seven I pulled into a park. I got breakfast for the three of us. A granola bar for me and pet food for Max and Kitty. The public bathroom at the park gave me a chance to freshen up. The scrapes on my hands and knees in particular needed a good washing.

Since I had no particular place to go and no plan for the moment
, I crawled into the back again, pulled the tarp back over us and went to sleep.

I woke up a little after noon
, made use of the bathroom again, and let my fur kids out.

I needed
some place to stay and regroup. I drove northwest for about an hour and finally found a motel. I registered under the name Laura Graham. I don’t quite know where the name came from, but it worked. The bored attendant at the register was happy to give me a room in the back when I paid in cash. I am sure she thought I was getting a room for some sort of rendezvous or that I was on the run from an abusive husband. I wondered if she had seen so much that she was unshockable.

Safely boarded up in a truly
atrocious motel room (a pink bathroom and an orange comforter, really?). I sorted through the provisions I had. Next, I set up the litter box and put food and water out in plastic containers for Kitty and Max.

To be honest
, I am not sure what happened in the next few hours. I slept. I stared. I was lost. I didn’t know what to do or how to respond.

Hunger finally brought me out of my
dazed state. I had brought some mac and cheese and instant soups, but at the moment they seemed like too much work. I ate a granola bar and apple and turned on the news.

______

I was only half watching so it wasn’t until my town’s name was mentioned that I really focused and paid attention to what was being said. A picture of my street popped up on the screen and I was glued to what was going on.

The words the news reporter
was saying faded to the background as a picture of my condo complex on fire filled the screen.

It is not yet certain if anyone was hurt in the fire
. Fire officials continue to …

The
reporter’s voice lips moved but I could no longer hear his words as I watched my home burn. All of my things, everything I owned, gone. My family and friends would be frantic. I turned to call someone, anyone and then stopped myself. If I called I would give away where I was. I was trapped.

I watched every news program I could find. I sat inches from the screen for hours trying to get every bit of information I could. There was nothing.

What I knew was that my condo was gone. The cause of the fire was unknown, although at this point they suspected “faulty electrical wiring.” Everyone would think I was dead. I was alone. Finally after hours of news I turned off the TV. I was numb.

I checked the deadbolt and chain. I checked the windows. I pulled the flimsy desk chair over to the door and wedged it under the door knob.

I didn’t even get under the covers; I just fell on top of the bed. With Max lying down on the floor between me and the door and Kitty curled up at my back I fell asleep.

Chapter 8: March 30, 9:00am – March 31, 11:00pm

I slept for almost 12 hours. When I woke up, for the first time in several days my mind was clear and focused. I couldn’t run forever. Someone was after me. I needed to figure out
whom.

I got up, showered, and dressed. Every step that I took made me feel like
myself again. Like I was reinforcing myself. Getting my analytic mind and my stubborn spirit back.

Once dressed I took a moment to take stock of my situation, of where I was, and what I was doing.
So much had happened over the last 48 hours it seemed difficult to believe that it had only been a few days. I grabbed my purse along with the bags containing what I had brought. I emptied and sorted through what I had. I made sure I had everything I thought I would need including the pepper spray, compass, and radio. My laptop bag was filled with one of my laptops, a notebook, and my Kindle.

I needed to do some research. I needed to get somewhere I could use
Wi-Fi. Max, Kitty, and I packed into the car and headed for a residential area. It took me some time, but eventually I found a home with unprotected Wi-Fi. Set up with my laptop and a notebook, I began by looking over the information I had and the questions I still needed to ask.

The first place
I went was the FBI website. I was hoping to get a list of employees or, really, suspects. I figured the killer had to in some way be connected to the FBI. From the website I was able to look up the profiles of the agents I had already met as well as those I had not, but not who might have had access to the information I had given.

I had a list of seven names. I remembered that Agent Moore had mentioned a consultant. A
Google search revealed multiple consultant websites and articles. I had too many names. I had to narrow the list down. The majority of murders had occurred in the tri-state area, so I needed to find someone whose base was local. Additional murders had occurred in LA and DC. I found four names. I saved all of my search information so that I could access it later when I was not connected to the internet.

Looking through all of the reports I had gathered from my previous research
, there was very little about the suspect. One report indicated that the victims were seen with a dark-haired man (oh good, that limits it to several million). I figured the killer was probably in his early 50s. The first victim was killed in 1982. Witnesses reported seeing her with a dark-haired man. Not boy, man. So I figure the killer was probably in his early 20s when he killed the first girl. At low range, he might have been the same age (16) but I didn’t think it was too likely. I figured the first time he killed he must have been 16 to 26 (to be on the safe side.) Add 30 years to that and the age of the killer would be 46 to 56. In three separate cases, a “tall” man wearing a baseball cap was seen in the area the girls went missing. There was only one witness to identify a dark-haired man. Other than the one report, physical description was limited, but I knew approximate age, and I knew where he had been; I figured that gave me a place to start.

From there I drove to a gas station
, filled up and asked the attendant where I might find an office supply store.

At the office supply store
, I bought a portable printer, whiteboard, and easel, along with tape. Back in the motel room I set up the whiteboard and printer. I started looking through all my notes for any reference to the killer. I wanted some criteria to narrow my list down. I was also hoping to eliminate some suspects and have someone I could ask for help.

I printed out pictures of everyone on my list, and posted them on my white board. On the other side
of the board I listed my criteria. It didn’t give me much to go on, but at least it was a start.

I had eleven names
, eleven possible killers. All in all, that didn’t seem to be an overwhelming list. I was afraid I could have missed some suspects, but I figured right now I would just deal with what I had, and try ruling out suspects one at a time.

Of my eleven suspects
, I was able to rule out three right away.  They were too young or too old. The eight I had left included three of the consultants and five employees at the Philadelphia FBI office. There were four that I was unsure of their age. They were in that middle place where you couldn’t be quite sure how old they were, anywhere from the late thirties to mid-forties. I figured I could probably rule them out, but I wanted to get an exact age in order to be sure. Agent Jack Moore was among them.

_______

I needed to find out more information about the suspects left on my list. I needed to see if I could find out more about them. I needed to eliminate more suspects.

After pacing…looking at the pictures…pacing
, I figured I could try to create some more parameters based on height. I knew that the man who attacked me was at least a couple of inches taller than me. Since I am 5’5” he would have to be at least 5’7” or taller. I double-checked my suspects. I couldn’t eliminate any of them based on height. Okay. I needed to figure out more criteria to eliminate suspects. If I could figure out where the killer was I could maybe eliminate suspects if they were not in the places that the killer had been.

I pulled out my research and started creating a timeline
of where the killer had been and for how long. I added the timeline to my whiteboard. The killer didn’t seem to follow any particular pattern. Sometimes he killed in the same city twice in a row. Other times he killed in a different city each time. The murders always seemed to be several months to a year apart. The one exception was in 2000 when two girls were killed a month apart in Phoenix. Jamie Anderson was killed in April and found outside a mall. Laura Foster was killed in May and found in an alley behind a grocery store. That meant that the killer was in Phoenix for an extended period of time in the spring of 2000. If I could find out where my suspects were in the spring of 2000, I might be able to thin the pool.