Deep in the Night Ch. 07

Jordan's mind was whirling again, where have I heard this stuff before? She thought for a while but couldn't get a grasp on it. "So, if we assume that this different bacterium that sickened the victims is a product of the killer's experimentation, why would he stab them?" Jordan thought aloud. She continued, "And, how did he infect them in the first place?"

"It would be easy to make a few people sick with a bioweapon. It is a large mass of people that causes the difficulty. You have to engineer the germs so that they can survive for a while on a vector, that is, something that will carry them to their host.

"And," the Doctor continued, "The vector has to function properly to deliver the bacteria. For example, maybe one of the victims had some candy delivered to her door...with an injection of the strep. So she eats it and gets sick. Or, maybe one of them was sitting in the diner and while she gets up to go to the bathroom, the killer discreetly slips some "dust" on her food as he walks by her table. There are a number of possibilities. As for why he stabbed them, that's for you to figure out, Agent Connor and Sheriff Hagan."

She began to think aloud again, "Perhaps the germ he created wasn't right. They didn't behave as he intended. He picked the women to be his guinea pigs and was just testing it on the victims and he stabbed them to cover up his real crime. He assumed no one would ever find out about the new streptococcus strain."

"Yes, and we have requested DNA gel kits from Atlanta. We can use them to determine if all three of the victim's were infected with the same sample."

Just then a light bulb went off in Jordan's head, "Bill, what is that game your son was playing that night when I came to your house for dinner?" "God only knows Jordan. I don't know what all those video games are. He requested them for his birthday and it took Evelyn and me half a day in Wal-Mart to make sure we were getting the right thing."

"Well, it was something to do with a bioweapon. How ironic that this case is evolving itself into a pattern that parallels a video game. But the perpetrator in this situation isn't a monster or alien, but an everyday citizen of Shawnee."

"Correction." One of the doctors spoke up, "He is a monster in a certain sense. Just disguised as a human."

"I want to check the town census again." She directed her comment to Gary and Casey who had finally arrived. "I believe it contains some information about profession."

"Yes, but that was an optional question on the census, Jordan," said Gary, "Not everyone reported what they do for a living."

"Nevertheless, I want you to check it. Dr. Kraft, thank you for your time, please let me know what you come up with when the other tests are complete."

"Of course, Agent Connor."

After the meeting, Jordan was left in the conference room after the others had filed out and her thoughts returned to Raven. She dialed the motel and heard Raven's voice answer, "Shawnee Inn."

Jordan decided to have some fun with her, "I'm looking for the owner of the inn." Raven recognized Jordan's voice and played along, "Tell me what she looks like."

"Let's see...a good looking woman, sexy long hair, a gorgeous body, alluring dark eyes, smells very nice, and...oh, how could I forget, she's a fantastic kisser."

"I think there is someone here that fits that description. Who shall I tell her is calling?"

"Tell her, it's the sender of the roses." Jordan continued.

"Would the sender like to leave her a message as well?"

"Yes, tell her the sender is so looking forward to seeing her tonight and is very anxious that the hours aren't passing by sooner."

"I can tell you that the owner is very excited about seeing the sender tonight too!" Jordan hung up the phone, tingling with anticipation.

Casey walked through the open door of the conference room, "Jordan, we looked at the census. There's only one man who lists a profession that might be who we are looking for."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Tom Harding. He's a retired professor from the University of New Mexico."

"Okay, then lets pay Mr. Harding a visit." Jordan announced.

As Jordan and Casey were arriving at Tom Harding's house, Raven was making her way through the isles of the Wynn-Dixie, Shawnee's lone grocery store. She decided to grill chicken for their evening dinner and was absorbed in picking out the best cuts of boneless breasts she could find. She never noticed that a man of medium height and wispy, reddish hair had been following her through the store.

Now, as she bent over the meat cooler, the man quickly passed her cart and dumped a powder-like substance over a head of lettuce sitting among her groceries. He was gone by the time Raven placed a package of chicken in her cart.

(To be continued)