QR Code Killer (19 page)

“Madelyn, I...”

Erik didn’t get to finish his thought as
Danny and Aubrey burst through the kitchen door.

“We found Greg,” Danny said, looking pale,
nearly as white as Aubrey.

“From the looks on your faces, I don’t’ know
if I want to hear what comes next,” Maddie said, stepping away from
Erik. She felt the need to brace herself for the news Danny was
about to share.

“He was out at the wind machines,” Danny
said, unable to make eye contact with her, his jaw clenched.

“And?” Maddie asked.

“He was tied to one of the machines, throat
cut. How Zeus got him up there, I don’t know,” Danny said,
squeezing Aubrey’s hand. “I called John and Tom. John will be back
out here soon. In the meantime, I’m going to take Aubrey to the
airport. I don’t want her in the middle of this when she doesn’t
need to be.”

“I could stay,” Aubrey said. “I want to stay,
but someone is being rather stubborn about what I will and won’t
do.”

Maddie hugged her and gave her back a pat. “I
don’t want to worry about what he could do to you, too, Aubrey. Go
home and be safe. Hopefully this will all be over soon and you’ll
have Danny back where he belongs.”

“I hope so,” Aubrey said, letting a sparkle
of humor light her pale gray eyes. “It is somewhat challenging to
plan a wedding with an absentee future-groom.”

“Go on, Danny, we’ll be fine until you get
back.”

Danny helped Aubrey pack her bag then the
women exchanged another round of hugs. Erik shook her hand and
extended his pleasure in meeting her.

“It’s nice to know Tex, here, has a fine lady
waiting for him to come home. Be safe,” Erik said as he walked them
to the door.

Once they left, Maddie sat back down at the
table, methodically looking at each photo and scrap of information
trying to find the missing piece that would pull this puzzle
together. Something kept tugging at the corners of her mind, but
she couldn’t snatch it before it flew away. The nagging sensation
that there was some major clue she was overlooking wouldn’t let her
rest.

Erik made them sandwiches and they ate
quietly, each contemplating what Zeus would possibly do next.

They were just rinsing off their dishes when
Maddie’s new phone rang.

“Hey, Tom. How’s Zach? Is he doing okay?”

“He’s going to be just fine. He’s got a few
burns that are going to leave scars, but he’s going to be fine in
no time at all. I’d say if you survive an explosion with just a few
cracked ribs and a little singed spot or two, it’s a good day.”

“That’s great news. Is he resting
comfortably? Do you have a guard stationed with him?”

“Yes, Maddie. We are keeping a close watch
over him and they should release him tomorrow. I’ll take him to
stay with Lena until this thing is finished.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Maddie smiled.
“I’m sure Lena will take great care of him. Zach won’t know what to
do with her undivided attention.”

“Probably not. She’s been about to climb the
walls and told me to tell you city life is not all it’s cracked up
to be.”

Maddie laughed. “That sounds like Aunt Lena.
You think she could just sit back and relax. Enjoy her luxurious
exile.”

“You Webers just don’t seem to have a ‘relax
and be pampered gene’ in your DNA.”

“Well, there are worse things,” Maddie said.
“Speaking of worse things, I’ve gone through all this information
until I can’t see straight and something keeps hounding me, but I
can’t figure out what. I’m missing something, Tom. Something
major.”

“Just keep mulling it over, Maddie. It will
come to you. Ask Erik to help. He’s clever and might have a
different perspective,” Tom said, offering encouragement.

“That hasn’t worked so well,” Maddie said,
looking at Erik who was wiping down the counters and sink. “So far
he’s managed to tease me mercilessly about my birthmark and asked
to visually verify its existence.”

Tom laughed. “Told you he was smart.”

“Joking aside, I just can’t figure out how
Zeus knows me. Knows so much about me. Wouldn’t I have noticed
someone watching me that close. Or if he had a camera stashed in my
apartment. It just doesn’t make any sense at all. And all the
photos taken at my apartment were before Devin died. If he had the
apartment bugged, or was watching me, wouldn’t there be a series of
photos with some that were more current? Why would he take so many
photos and then suddenly stop?”

“Keep digging, Maddie. I think you are
heading down the right path with those questions. Things just don’t
jive. We are hoping to have a breakthrough soon with his phone
number, so hang in there. If possible, you guys stay close to the
house today. I don’t want him to have any open targets. Just stay
on guard and be ready.”

“Believe me, we are. Danny took Aubrey back
to the airport so we are just sitting tight.”

“Good. I’ll call as soon as I have anything
new,” Tom said, disconnecting the call.

Going into the pantry, Maddie returned with a
roll of butcher paper and taped a large piece to the back of the
cupboards facing the table. She started taping up photos and
snippets of paper with key information in groupings. When she was
done, she and Erik stood staring at it for a while.

“I keep coming back to why all the photos in
your apartment and the personal info were gathered a couple years
ago. He still kept stalking you, just not at such an intimate
level,” Erik said running thoughts through his head. “What was the
difference? Why did he suddenly stay out of your apartment?”

“That’s the question I keep juggling around
in my head. It just doesn’t flow. Why? Why? Why?”

Running his hand through his already tousled
hair, Erik blew out his breath. “Let’s go through this from start
to end one more time.”

Danny arrived at the same time John did, so
the two of them went out to where the officer met his untimely
death at the hand of Zeus.

Maddie and Erik kept taking apart the
information they knew piece-by-piece and examining it in
excruciating detail.

“Why the name Zeus?” Erik asked, studying the
name he had written multiple times across a notebook page.

“What?” Maddie asked, looking up from the
papers in her hand. She was mad, frustrated and weary. They were no
closer to an answer than they had been hours ago. The sense of loss
and agony that threatened to suck her into her grief and not let
her go was hovering closer than ever. They had to catch Zeus.
Soon.

“Why Zeus? Of all the names he could choose,
why did he pick that one?”

“I assume it is because Zeus, in a
mythological sense, is referred to as the Father of all Gods. He
fancies himself above all others, as the one who controls everyone
else.”

“So what drove our Zeus to that place? Normal
people don’t think in terms of being above others or playing God.
What made him decide to become Zeus, do you suppose? And how do you
play into it?”

“All I know is that three years ago, when his
name first started circulating in the crime scene, it was a name
that created a mixture of terror and awe among the other drug
dealers. They are all frightened of him, and yet most of them have
never come face to face with him. They treat him like a fearsome
deity.”

“Interesting,” Erik said. “But still, what
made him come after you?”

“I guess because I was the one tracking him
down, trying to blow his cover and bring justice. I guess I got too
close one too many times. That’s when he started sending me the QR
codes.”

“But the last few warnings have been verbal
instead of with a code. Why do you think he resorted to calls?
You’ve said he uses a fake accent and it slipped in the last call.
Why take the chance?”

“I think he’s getting desperate and sloppy
because we are so close to exposing his true identity and nailing
his slimy hide to the wall.”

“Then what?” Erik asked.

“Pardon?” Maddie said, caught off guard by
the question.

“Then what? What do you do when you catch
him? When he’s dead, or sentenced to life in prison with no hope of
release, or facing the death penalty, then what do you do? You’ve
spent more than three years consumed by this case. How do you focus
on something else? What will you focus on?”

“I don’t know,” Maddie said honestly. “I
can’t think beyond catching him. Once that happens, I’ll decide
what to do. But I might put in for some real time off. My supposed
leave to heal from my wound hasn’t exactly been peaceful or
relaxing.”

Erik put his hand on top of Maddie’s and gave
it a squeeze. “I’d like to spend some of that time with you, if you
are interested.”

Maddie felt her heart melt and gazed up into
Erik’s eyes, molten like warm honey. “I think I might like that,
too. But first, I have to keep focused and finish this.”

<><><>

John and Danny returned to the house looking
grim and tired. The coroner took the body to the morgue and John
secured the area. He planned to return in the morning and he and
Danny would make sure no clue had been missed.

Refusing an offer to stay for dinner, John
decided to go home to his wife, hoping to shake the visions of what
this day had wrought from his head.

Danny and Erik went out and fed the animals,
then brought Boone and Rose back in the house with them when they
returned. The dogs seemed to pick up on their tension and had a
hard time settling down. They both finally crawled under the
kitchen table and lay with their heads on their front paws,
watchful.

After a simple dinner, Danny, Erik and Maddie
sat around the table looking at the information, trying again to
find the piece of information Maddie was convinced would be the key
to unlocking Zeus’ secrets.

Finally, Erik went to the office and Googled
the word Zeus. From there, he went through a number of searches and
various websites.

Reading up on mythology, a few thoughts
struck Erik, so he jotted down some notes and returned to where
Maddie and Danny sat in the kitchen.

“I don’t know if this means anything,” Erik
said, “but did Tom say if they looked over the art in the gallery
below Zeus’ apartment?”

“No, he didn’t say. The gallery itself seemed
legitimate enough,” Maddie said. “Why?”

“The information I was just reading said the
eagle and oak are symbols of Zeus. In theory, what if there was a
piece of art in the gallery that was a symbol of Zeus. You did say
some of the pieces in the gallery were for display only and not for
sale. Maybe I’ve watched too many crime shows, but what if one of
those pieces held the truth to Zeus’s identity.”

“You’re a genius!” Maddie said, throwing her
arms around Erik and kissing his cheek. “I’m calling Tom right
now.”

While Maddie was on the phone, Danny and Erik
went over the list of information found in Zeus’ apartment. Other
than the passports, there was nothing that alluded to him
personally. And each passport had a fake name as well as identity.
It would be hard to tell which one of the many photos was the real
Zeus, if any of them were.

Before Maddie hung up the phone, Danny
signaled that he wanted to talk to the boss.

“Tom, I’m sure you’ve already done this, but
can you run all the passport photos through facial recognition
again. The one thing that is consistent in all the photos is the
shape of his face around his eyes. Can they focus in on that
specific area and see if they find anything?”

“We’ll run them again, thanks for thinking of
it,” Tom said. “See if you can get Maddie to rest and make sure
Erik has a gun. Zeus is getting more unpredictable and antsy.”

“Will do, Tom. Goodnight.”

Turning to Maddie, Danny shot her one of his
trademark grins. “The boss said to tell you to get some rest and to
listen to everything I tell you to do.”

“Why don’t I believe you, Danny Boy?” Maddie
said, her head cocked to one side.

“I don’t know why, but I think you should
bring both of us a big bowl of ice cream and then belt out a few
choruses from
West Side Story
, or maybe
Oklahoma!
,”
Danny teased. “Don’t you think so, Erik?”

“Absolutely,” Erik agreed, leaning back in
his chair far enough that the front legs came up off the floor.
Maddie stomped over to him and shoved the chair back down.

“There will be no manly breaking of chair
legs, no singing and if you want ice cream you two can just get it
yourself.”

“I’m not sure what your opinion is Maddie.
Maybe you need to speak more clearly for us,” Danny said with a
roguish smile.

“How does Aubrey put up with you?” Maddie
asked, feigning annoyance. “Does she truly realize what she is
getting into saddling herself with you for the rest of
forever?”

“I think she’s got a pretty good idea,” Danny
said, sending Maddie a wink.

Maddie gave him a shove along with a
smile.

“I don’t think any of us are going to sleep
soundly tonight and I’m all for someone being on watch. I’ll
volunteer to go first.”

“Fine, Maddie, but I think we should all
sleep down here tonight,” Erik said, standing up from the table and
stretching. “Danny could stay in Lena’s room and I can sleep on the
couch.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Danny said,
walking down the hall. “Just wake me up when you want me to take a
turn. Erik, Tom said to be sure you’ve got a gun on you. If you
don’t have one, borrow one from Maddie. There are more guns than a
dirty pawn shop could unload hidden around this house.”

“That is not true,” Maddie said. “Only half
that many.”

Giving Erik Zach’s pistol and finding bedding
for the couch, she gave Erik a quick kiss goodnight before
returning to the kitchen.