In Plain Sight Read online

  IN PLAIN SIGHT

  FBI MacGregor Series Book 1

  R. E. GAUTHIER

  2017© Nova Scotia, Canada

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty -One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  About the Author

  In Plain Sight

  Copyright © 2017 by Blue Dawg Press

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Blue Dawg Press

  First edition

  Blue Dawg Press

  C/o R. Gouchie

  597 Torbrook Road

  Torbrook, Nova Scotia, Canada

  B0P 1R0

  No part of the this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is in the case of brief quotation embodied in reviews.

  If in eBook form, this book is for your personal use only and not to be given away or sold to other people. If you would like to share this book, please purchase additional copies for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloging in Publication information is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-9958794-1-6

  This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies. Events or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by R.E.Gauthier and Blue Dawg Press

  I dedicate this book to all the girls and women of this world who may not believe in themselves. Never give up on your dreams, never let anyone say you’re not good enough or strong enough. Keep your dreams alive by believing in yourself and the power of positive thought. We all have what it takes to accomplish the impossible or the one thing you want most in your heart. You will find everything and everyone in your life to help you if you only are brave enough to look.

  To my wife more than anyone I thank you for being MY ANAM- CHARAID for being the person who shakes up my life, makes me think, feel and most of the person who stands by me while I discover my dream.

  I love you.

  Chapter One

  Friday, July 15, 2011

  “I can promise one day, I’ll be someone you’ll regret losing.”

  Climbing out of the car she turned to say thank you to... What was her name? She couldn’t remember and it really didn’t matter anyway. She didn’t care, faking a smile she got out her keys to enter through the side entrance to the kitchen.

  Without another thought for the woman who drove her home she headed past her car parked on the side of the road. Glancing at the dark condo before her, she frowned. No lights on, Miranda must be asleep already. Anger bubbled up when she thought of her, oh yeah she said she was leaving me. What a bitch, who leaves like that? I mean she yells at me at the restaurant in front of all my co-workers and servers and says, ‘I’m leaving you Kate’.

  Jerking open the unlocked door she switches on the light inside the kitchen and kicks off her shoes. Seeing the set of keys and the cell phone she gave Miranda on the island counter she knew she had really done it this time. She was gone.

  Making her way to the front staircase she saw other items that Miranda had left in her condo were now gone as well, she slowly turned to look around her immaculate abode, Good riddance, but you’ll be back to me again, you never can stay away. She flicked the switch that turned off the kitchen lights and turned on the front outside ones. Climbing slowly up the stairs she knew she would regret drinking so much when she woke up tomorrow morning.

  Heading for the bathroom, she took a couple aspirin out of the medicine cabinet and swallowed them with a glass of water. Thinking she should get a quick shower so that she had more time to sleep, she went into the bedroom to get her pajamas. A sharp pain in her neck and everything went black.

  Kate saw the evil in the eyes looking down at her, knew she looked into the eyes of her killer. Wishing now she had told her she loved her and listened to her more. Wished she hadn’t thought only of her own success and her career when she knew she needed more of her. I’m sorry Miranda, you deserved better. She wished she had more time to tell her parents she was sorry. Looking into the face of death made all her regrets and remorse hit full force like a slap to the face.

  Wrists and ankles hurt as the binds on them bit into her flesh each time she moved. Her mind cried out to flee but she couldn’t move her limbs. I don’t want to die. The tape covering her mouth blocked all air from passing and her stuffed up nose made breathing almost impossible. The pounding in her head threatened to cause her to black out. I have to fight it. I have to fight death.

  She had remembered coming home; entering the bedroom and the strike to her throat and blackness taking her. Now conscious she lay on her side with wrists and ankles bound. The soft wool of the rug beside the bed held her head and she tried to look beyond the evil look of the woman over her. Miranda loves this rug, I should have let her take it. Tears stung her eyes. I’m sorry Miranda, I’m sorry for everything. Knowing she wouldn’t have the time to change anything, she sobbed. She thought again about all she regretted not doing and remorseful for what she had done. Wanting to take it all back, making it all right. Her chest protested the rapid breathing of fear. Her nose hurt from trying to fill her lungs.

  Dressed in black and holding a knife, her killer squatted down beside her and mumbled something into her ear that her brain couldn’t decipher. The tears burning her eyes fell out and down her cheeks, what will I feel when I die? Will I feel pain? I don’t want to die, her mind pleaded.

  She knew who stood over her ready to end her life; she had seen those eyes before. She had never noticed her much but she had been there. Why so much hate? Why does she hate me, why is she going to kill me? Her brain rushed from one thought to another, part of her knew she panicked but she could do nothing to stop it, do nothing to keep from dying tonight. The knife looked sharp and the woman kept muttering and laughing. That laugh chilled her to her very core.

  Her killer answered her unspoken question with a mocking tone, “Katherine Montgomery you’re going to die tonight for all the bad things you have done. You made many people’s lives miserable b
ecause you thought it was funny, thought you were better and deserved more. Tonight I’m going to kill you for all those weak people who couldn’t take away your happiness, take away your pride and success. Tonight I’m taking back all that you took from others.”

  The hand gripped her chin and forced her up to her knees, the smell of mint and alcohol on her killer’s breath assaulted her nose.

  “Any last words Bitch?” The woman in black hissed. “Oh yeah you can’t talk, no matter because you have nothing important to say.”

  The blood began to drip down her neck before the pain from the blade registered in her brain. Struggling against her binds wildly she tried one last time to escape but they held tight.

  “Keep fighting, you stupid bitch. You’re only making your heart beat faster which makes you die faster”, the voice whispered in her ear but boomed in her head.

  The smell of her own blood leaking out made her stomach lurch. When she struggled to breathe through her nose, the killer ripped the tape off her mouth. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and began to bubble out, cutting off the air. Trying to scream she heard air rush out of her lungs without passing through her nose or mouth. Lightheaded now she watched as her killer looked down and then held the knife to her face. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t cry, her eyes were unfocused but saw the sickening smile near her face. She felt the burning in her chest as her blood trickled down her windpipe and choked off the oxygen. As the blackness began to engulf her she felt the distinct pain in her mouth and then a voice saying, “You’ll laugh no more.”

  ***

  What had she done? How was this happening? Oh my god, she thought, the knife cutting into her neck and blood ran out in tiny rivulets down her throat and her eyes went wide with pain. Why wasn’t she screaming? Why hadn’t she tried to get away? She just knelt there and the knife to her neck cut into her causing the trickle of blood to become a torrent. Now she could smell the blood to flow. She could almost taste it in her mouth; her brain registered a primal response to what happened in front of her. Flashes of blood, and her eyes were devoid of any feelings, this couldn’t be stopped, it was happening right in front of her. How can that be? How can I be watching this? Like watching a gruesome movie, you know you want to turn away from but sit riveted to your seat instead. The blood seeped from the body as the eyes of the one she once thought she loved were drained of all life.

  A sickening voice boomed in her head, laughing and laughing. Hissing out, you’ll laugh no more.

  Nauseated from the smell of the blood and the metallic taste the bile climbed up the back of her throat and she almost gagged. Her brain cleared somewhat and all she could think about was: run…run as fast as can, run and never look back.

  She climbed to her feet as her brain screamed “RUN, RUN NOW”. Somehow she managed to get out the adjoining door to the bathroom and scurried to the stairs before she heard the gurgling noise of a death rattle. That sound made her heart clinch, what am I doing? She ran and left her behind, how can I do this? Her brain asked her over and over again as she took the stairs down to the first floor, to the backdoor and to the escape her instinct demanded of her.

  I’m sorry Kate, I’m so sorry. Over and over, running and running not seeing the buildings or cars as they passed. Lungs felt like they would explode as they attempted to fill with precious oxygen. I must run and get away. I can’t help you any longer, I’m so sorry. I must get away.

  The smell of spices, urine and car exhaust mixed in the air making breathing harder and harder. Her brain tried to register where she was going. Lungs burning but I can’t stop, I don’t want to die. The taste of bile threatens to come up. I’m going to be sick. I mustn’t stop, mustn’t give in; I must keep running.

  Seconds turned to minutes as the pounding on the pavement continued, then without warning the meal eaten earlier came up. Retching and choking to gasp in air, falling to the ground and feeling the asphalt bite into her flesh, sharp reminders of life I am still alive. Where am I, what happened?

  She remembered the argument, the yelling and screaming so she knew she had finally left her. I’m not going back this time, I’ll never go back.

  Looking around she grappled with where she was and how she had gotten there; the street looked familiar. The smell of freshly cut grass, the rustling in the leaves on the many large trees surrounding her and the large concrete pillars in front of the stone stairs told her she stood at the entrance of Patterson Park on the corner of South Patterson Avenue and East Baltimore Street. How did I get here?

  Head pounding, everything is spinning and then all goes black.

  Chapter Two

  Monday, August 29, 2011

  “Focus on a want and attain what you focus on.”

  Fifteen stories overlooking the Baltimore Inner Harbor; Kelsey’s mind wandered yet again, she couldn’t focus today. It certainly isn’t because the case bored her or that the speaker wasn’t engaging enough; she just couldn’t keep her mind from speeding ahead to the next step. Briefing the entire taskforce wasn’t one of her strong points she would rather be jumping in head long into the investigation but the taskforce was expansive. It included three police investigation bureaus, their FBI forensic/behavioral team as well as the Baltimore FBI field office, three prosecuting attorneys from the Justice Department and their very own Public Information Officer who would not be sitting in on the briefings. Everyone needed to be on the same page and she had been named the lead investigator on this case by none other than her boss of bosses and the grandfather of the latest victim, US Attorney General Frank Montgomery.

  She wanted this chance for years and now that it sat in her lap, she grappled with the fact she may not be ready for it. Losing sleep anyway, she read the total case file forward and backward over the last two days and visited the latest crime scene that morning. Her theories for the killer banging around in her head, so she couldn’t think about anything else. She had picked her best friend and the most talented forensic and tech analyst the FBI had in its arsenal, Special Agent Nicole Hyland to be the one to brief this morning. All five feet two inches of Nikki’s frame exuded confidence and commanded respect; the respect needed to keep the room full of taskforce members in line.

  Nikki typed and her fingers flew across the windows on her tablet. The large monitor on the wall came to life with crime scene photos and file information.

  “As most of you know; if you have had time to review the files I have sent you, the crime scene in Summit, New Jersey on May 15th of last year in the New England Village apartment complex is the first presumably our killer committed,” she said clearly; making eye contact with each and every person in the room.

  “Cynthia Trenton and Jeremy Stanton were killed in their Summit apartment between the hours of 11pm and 1 am. No evidence of forced entry were found and neither of the victims had defensive wounds. The original investigation didn’t reveal a motive why these two individuals were targeted except to kill them.”

  Nikki paused and then close up photos of both victims’ neck wounds came up on the screen.

  “Both victims had their throats cut but Cynthia had also been mutilated with such brutality it could only point towards her being the killer’s primary target.”

  The photos on the monitor were of a nude blonde face down with blood pooling around her neck and shoulders. Others showed different angles of her face cut from ear to ear in a sickening smile.

  More photos came up of a massive wound on the head of the male victim. All these photos had been memorized in detail by Kelsey.

  “Autopsy results of the head wound recovered broken pieces of the wall sconce and the pathologists theorized that Jeremy had been knocked unconscious. It then appears he came to and made it to the end of the bed where the killer grabbed him and slit his throat.” Nikki put up a photo of a partially clothed sandy haired man faced down, in almost the exact position as Cynthia’s, blood pooling around his neck and shoulders and soaking into the carpet; absent were t
he zip ties.

  “If I may interrupt here I’d like to add that during our investigation we discovered that Jeremy planned on proposing to Cynthia that night, a balding, red-faced man said.

  Kelsey remembered the man’s name as Detective John Freeman from the Summit Investigation Bureau. She had noticed earlier he didn’t look happy but now he looked like he was about to blow a gasket. Great a hothead, just what I need on this case, we’ll be butting heads before too long.

  “Thank you Detective Freeman, we have that in our notes,” Nikki said.

  “Then I don’t know why we are rehashing the entire case when we have it all in our files. It is a total waste of our time.” The detective said his face getting redder by the minute.

  Kelsey didn’t need anyone to tell her he didn’t want to be here, she had seen him squirming with irritation from the moment he arrived. She didn’t want to be here either but she decided that everyone had to be on the same page and get a concise layout of the case before moving forward.

  “Detective Freeman I want us all to review the case so we can see if there are any holes in it that were overlooked. If you feel as though we are wasting your time as you put it, then by all means you can always be asked to be taken off of this taskforce. I am not sure how you do things in New Jersey but I like to lead my investigations by reviewing and then brainstorming with my colleagues. I can assure I do not need a colleague who doesn’t like to be a team player,” Kelsey said as evenly as possible. Her patience slipped and she couldn’t decide why. It had been years since she had allowed emotions to cloud her judgment and actions

  The red faced detective mumbled something and Kelsey strained to make out ViCAP not being such a perfect tool and the FBI taking over cases, his sarcastic tone evident from across the table. She felt Nikki tense and she reached out to grasp her friend’s arm. It’s best she nip this problem in the butt herself before it caused any further conflict.

  “Detective Freeman I know you are aware that your Investigation Bureau requested that the FBI be involved in this case early on when no leads or evidence could be found to facilitate solving these murders. Furthermore Violent Criminal Apprehension Program is the very program that your bureau has used many times in the past to help solve cases such as this one. I might add that the grandfather of the latest victim here in Baltimore is none other than US Attorney General Frank Montgomery and he personally gave me explicit instructions that this case be given top-priority and I was chosen personally as this taskforce’s leader so if you think that you can do a better job, by all means give Frank Montgomery a call and tell him Kelsey says hello.”