“Blake,” Malachi answered on the second ring.
“Hey Malachi.” I said quietly.
“How’s the new gig?” He was grinning, I could tell over the phone.
“Unbelievable. I need you to do me a huge favor. Kidnap Nyleena and keep her in my apartment or your house until further notice.”
“You say the most interesting things.”
“Seriously, Malachi, our past or rather, your past is coming back to haunt us. Remember that guy, Thompson, from the KMFDM concert?”
“Yes.”
“We are pretty sure his sister is our serial killer and she’s torturing women who look like Nyleena. So, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to be the one to protect her. I’m sure the federal officers are good at their job, but this might be a special breed of crazy and I don’t want to take any chances.”
“And?”
“And the girl has the same last name as Nyleena’s doctor friend. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but…”
“Better safe than sorry.” Malachi finished for me.
“Pretty much. I’m going to text Nyleena and tell her you are going to be her personal body guard. She’ll be expecting you. How long?”
“If you can get Mr. Evil to pull some strings, I can be officially assigned to her in thirty minutes. If you can’t, it might take as long as two hours.”
“Mr. Evil?”
“Your boss, Alejandro from Hell.”
“Not a fan?”
“Alejandro doesn’t have fans. If you weren’t as crazy as you are, I would suggest getting the hell out of there. However, since you aren’t normal, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just make sure you sleep with a gun under your pillow and a dagger strapped to your leg when he’s around. I’m not sure he’ll kill you being a member of his team, but I’ve been wrong before.”
“Encouraging.”
“Alejandro doesn’t like women. He really doesn’t like women who are strong willed, quick witted and easy to fire off their mouths. You, my dear, are all three. Think of him as a Puritan, women should be seen and not heard, they certainly shouldn’t have opinions and god forbid they know how to defend themselves.”
“I’ve talked to him.”
“And?”
“We agree that we aren’t going to get along.”
“Good to know, I’d prefer you survive the encounter. I like having you around. Now go talk to your boss and see what we can get done. Should I go to her office or the courthouse?”
“It’s Sunday, she’ll be in her office by now.”
“Got it,” Malachi hung up. I finished my cigarette.
“Can you arrange for Malachi to be on her security detail?” I asked Alejandro, who was already hanging up the phone.
“I did already,” Alejandro informed me, a scowl set deep on his face.
“Good.”
“SK knows us, might be related to Thompson disaster. Malachi headed your way.” I texted to Nyleena. It took less than sixty seconds for her to respond.
“Thompson? Now? Why?”
“I don’t know. Trust Malachi and don’t kill him.” I responded.
“Done,” I said, looking up. “Had to warn Nyleena about…
“Ew, oh my God, that’s just wrong and twisted and sick and now I know why she’s a serial killer.” Michael interrupted me with his exclamations.
“What?” Several of us said in unison.
“Poor Jessica had a tough run of it. She didn’t get divorced, the marriage was annulled.”
“Ok,” I looked at him sideways.
“Jessica met Marcus Welbourne the summer Malachi jack hammered her brother. They dated for a year and then married. The Thompsons carry a rare genetic disorder that affects infants and causes high infant mortality rates. After the two married, well had been married for a year, they both went for DNA testing to see if he also carried the disorder and get an understanding of the chances of their child having it. The DNA test showed they were related, half-brother and sister to be exact. An investigation was done and it turns out that before her parents married, her father got a woman pregnant. They split up; she put the baby boy up for adoption. The baby was Marcus Welbourne.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“After the annulment, she completely disappears.”
“That would be hard to live with.” Lucas stated.
“True, but it isn’t the first time it has happened. There are a few publicly known couples who are actually siblings or half-siblings and for whatever reason were unaware of it when they married. The most famous is in Germany.” Xavier noted.
“Does that help?” Alejandro asked.
“No, just a bit of information,” Xavier answered.
“If it isn’t relevant, don’t offer it up,” Alejandro shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
“She appears on the roster of two of my classes?” I frowned.
“Yes, but no one seems to have seen or heard from her during that time. Her parents listed her as missing.”
I sat and scanned my memory. If she just audited the class, she wouldn’t have had to turn in homework or anything. I wouldn’t have graded her papers; she wouldn’t have made much of an impression. Lots of people had audited classes I had been involved with.
Then a really scary thought entered my mind. I frowned.
“You realize the Butcher knows who our serial killer is?” I asked everyone.
“Yes.” Most agreed.
“That means he could be killing by proxy. Maybe that’s what the letters are. Maybe he stalks serial killers and tells me about what they have done. Serial killing by proxy. That means he could save these women and he’s not going to do it. Worse, he expects me to save them.”
“I had already thought of that.” Lucas sat down at the table next to me.
“Can we use that somehow?” I almost pleaded.
“Probably not, we would need more information about him. Information that we don’t have.”
“Shit. Ok then, let’s work with what we know.”
Chapter 41