The Monster Hunter Ch. 11-20

"Heading up to Gettysburg?" She caught the look in his eye. "Did you even CALL the poor girl back?"

"I did. Amber has to work for the next couple of days. I'm heading up Friday morning to take her riding until she goes to work Sunday at noon." His grin told her that she would be riding more than his motorcycle.

"Lots of scenery up there in the fall, but be careful of the fallen leaves on the road," she warned him.

"You should get Das D to pick you up and join us. There are lots of winding roads up by Camp David, and I don't mind."

Angel thought about it; she would have to work Friday, and for all her harassment of her brother, she hadn't talked to Daniel either. "I'll see if we are working Saturday, then I'll give him a call."

They'd polished off the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans while they'd been talking. "Did you get any dessert?"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Of course. You'll have to work out extra if you eat it, though." He went to the refrigerator and pulled out the small blueberry cheesecake. Angel thanked him for her piece and raised her eyebrow at his plate, which had TWO pieces on it. "I already worked out today," he said with a shrug.

While they finished up, Angel told him about the issues they were having and her assignment. "My boss had us do a presentation today to any agent he could shake loose." She told him about the presentation she made. "The Monster Hunter is damn good at not leaving evidence behind; that's why the Philadelphia crime scene stood out like a sore thumb. If our guy had done it, he'd have been in a Tyvek suit, and he wouldn't leave fingerprints. He wouldn't throw up at the sight of blood, either. There was only one piece of forensic evidence in the scene I briefed, and it was the tread of a commonly-used work boot. Everything else turned out to be nothing. That was one more piece than we found at most of the scenes. So far, we've failed to find DNA evidence, fingerprints, video, phone records, or anything else. Even if we catch the guy, I don't know how we tie him to previous killings unless he confesses to them." She blew a stray hair out of her face. "Maybe he's right, and I'm too close. We need a fresh way to look at the evidence."

Michael sat back with his coffee. "What did you do to investigate the guy in Philadelphia?"

"I knew it wasn't him, so I proved it," Angel replied.

"You're spending so much time trying to figure out who it is that you're not spending enough time figuring out who it's NOT." She froze, his words hitting her like a slap. "These killings started what, six years ago?"

"Yeah. Since then, one to three a year."

"The first killing is the key. THAT act of revenge was the personal one. The Monster Hunter didn't pick that target at random; the guy he tortured and killed abused his child, or grandchild, or friend."

"What about the other guys?"

"He found out he LIKED it, Angel. The bad guy got punished, the people around him thought it was a good thing, and the cops weren't too concerned with finding him. He got to live out his sadistic fantasies and still feel like he was a good guy."

Angel put her head in her hands; it was simple and obvious. It got missed because when the Task Force started, he'd just killed his third victim. The team focused on the most recent because that was the first they directly investigated. "So I make a list of all those possible suspects around the first dead guy?"

Michael nodded. "Then you do the same thing you did with Philadelphia. Dig in and find something that positively excludes the person from involvement in one or more murders. Focus on the ones you can't exclude."

Angel stood up and picked up the plates. "You cooked, so I'll clean up. Thank you, Michael. You've been a big help."

"I wasn't just a fancy guard, Angel. I was a Federal Agent too. I know a few things because I've seen a few things. I'll grab some beers and meet you in the hot tub."

Angel's phone rang; she looked at it and smiled, seeing who it was. "Go, this is private," she said with a smile. "Hi, Daniel."

"Hey, beautiful. How was your Monday?"

"Hard and long," Angel replied with a smile. "And not in a good way this time."

"I'm sorry. Mine wasn't much better. For some reason, I was distracted by naughty thoughts all day. I spent more of my lecture time sitting down than ever before."

"Poor guy. I wish I could be with you right now; I know just how to help you with your painful swelling. Since that won't happen, I'll have to rehabilitate my sore ass in the hot tub."

That got him laughing. "Extended deep tissue massage can be a big help there."

Angel laughed as she finished the few dishes. "Hey, what are you doing Saturday?"

"I'm free," he said. "There's a Club charity run, but I could miss it if you don't want to go."

Angel told him about her brother's offer to meet them in western Maryland. "He's staying through Sunday with his girl, so I'll have my hot tub all to myself Saturday night."

"What time can I pick you up?" They talked for a few more minutes before saying goodnight. Angel was smiling as she changed into her suit and walked out to the hot tub.

Ch. 14

The next morning, Supervisory Special Agent Dan Robinson brought his entire team into the conference room. On the walls were blank Post-It sheets. "I gave you all an assignment," he reminded them. "Each of you put up your idea on one of the posters, then stand by it." Angel wrote 'Review and eliminate persons related to the first case' on hers. It took a minute until they were all done.

Their boss had his laptop open. "I received multiple emails overnight. We are going to go through them and see if they are new or redundant. If an idea is close to yours, add any new details or ideas to your poster. If it is unique, we'll put it on a new poster. What we will NOT do is judge any idea's merit. We get them all out, organize them, and get them where we can see them. Any questions?"

It took another thirty minutes to go through all the emails. Angel wasn't the only one with that idea, so she added a few things to her poster. One idea Angel wrote on her page was to screen all family members of all the victims for military or police service based on the FBI's profile, then look for other ties.

When they finished screening the ideas, twenty-two posters were on the wall. The next step was to review each as a group, looking for improvements or problems. Each agent presented their idea and wrote down the issues, knowing that the group would decide on one or more to pursue further in the end.

Angel was third to speak. "My brother gave me this idea when we were talking about work last night. We believe from the profile that the Monster Hunter is related to a victim of a child abuser. The victim is most likely related to the first of the victims, not the most recent. When I asked him why he'd keep killing after getting his revenge, he said the answer was two-fold. He thought he was doing society good by killing them, and he liked doing it. His idea was to go back and do a detailed look at the victims of his first victims, then do what we did in Philadelphia. Look for evidence proving each person could NOT have been involved in the other killings, and see who is left."

Fred spoke first. "The first victim abused dozens of children. You're looking at a hundred or more potentials to screen, with no probable cause for search warrants."

"Public information sources don't require a warrant," Angel replied. "News, social media posts and the like. We have specific time frames and locations for the crimes. Once we find evidence the person couldn't have done it, we scratch their name off and move on."

Another agent piped up. "What if the victim didn't report his or her assault? We could go through all this work and not have a complete list of names."

"Then it won't work," she said.

They kicked around ideas for another two minutes before Ken spoke up. "What if the first Monster Hunter victim we have wasn't his first?" That shut everyone up. "We see how his crimes changed as he used more diabolical torture methods over the years, keeping them in pain longer and longer before death. What if his first victim didn't get tortured? Maybe he choked him to death, or beat him with a bat, or ran him over. Maybe he decided that they didn't suffer enough, and that's why he started killing them this way?"

"Fuck," Robinson said. "Get that idea up on a new poster. We need to go back two or three years from the first killing we've attributed to the Monster Hunter and look for unsolved cases of child abusers getting killed."

The meeting continued all morning. In the end, three ideas stood out, and the boss wanted to pursue all three. "Angel, Mark, Fred, Mary, you guys will take on Angel's idea of looking at people associated with his first known victim. I want the list by the end of the day; I'll talk to the brass about getting administrative help or junior agents to work through the screenings."

Dan Robinson looked at Ken next. "Ken, you'll use Theresa and Chantelle to look for other potential victims of the Monster Hunter before our first known case." The three accepted the assignment.

"Brian, your idea is both the most interesting and the most problematic. I love the concept; waiting for him to screw up isn't working, so setting an ambush could work. I want you to figure out a way to get the bait. The known abusers are afraid of the Monster Hunter with good reason. Find a way to get one of them to agree to be the cheese in the mousetrap."

Brian nodded in agreement. "The only ones who might be willing to risk it are in prison. I'll need help from the Justice Department and maybe a state Attorney General to pull this off."

Dan Robinson knew it would be a hard sell to give leniency to a child molester, even if he did risk himself. He would have to run the idea past the Special Agent In Charge before he moved forward. "The best candidates are either facing trial or near the end of their sentences. These guys don't have it easy in prison; they spend their time in protective custody or solitary, knowing they wouldn't last a day in General Population. Remember, they need to be heinous enough to attract the Monster Hunter's attention. We'll keep enough surveillance and agents around to stop the Monster Hunter when he shows, but no plan is perfect. The convicts and their lawyers will know they are risking their lives and will want something in return."

"I'll see who I can find, Boss."

"Team leaders are to update me on progress at the end of each day and brief the rest of the team each morning. Now get to work, and let's catch this sicko."

Angel stayed behind with Mark, Fred, and Mary to go over the first steps. "I know what the profile says, but we're going to cast a wide net with this one," Angel started. "Any male or female over sixteen who is closely related to any of the victims. I'll upload the names and relations to a shared spreadsheet we can all work off. On the sheet, I'll put each of the Monster Hunter's murders' date and times. If you find evidence that the person couldn't have done it, put an 'X' on the murder, add the reason in the notes on the right, and grey out the name."

"How do you want to divvy up the searches," Mark asked.

"You start from the top with the males, and Fred at the bottom. Mary, you take all of the women."

"It seems like a waste of time, given how big some of these guys were and the positions the Monster Hunter tortured them in," she complained.

"I know it's not as likely, but a woman could use drugs or a threat to get them secured. It's also possible she had help. We're trying to be thorough." Mary nodded. "I'll go back to the files and start pulling names, updating them onto the spreadsheet as I go."

That was the rest of Angel's day. She dug through the electronic records, starting with the people mentioned in the reports on the victims. That gave her eighty-seven names; the rest of the team began their work as soon as the first name appeared. Angel went back to the list and into social media and records, going past the parents or guardians to other family members. Older brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, they all went on the list. By the end of the week, their spreadsheet had grown to over a thousand names. Angel's other three team members, assisted by five administrative aides and two junior agents loaned to the Task Force, had grayed out over four hundred names already.

The other groups had been productive as well. Ken and his team had found three possible Monster Hunter targets before the first attributed to him. The three were out of the office, doing a re-investigation with local law enforcement to see if they could make any ties. Brian was also out of the office Friday, meeting with the Assistant US Attorney of Ohio. He was in negotiations with the lawyer for a convicted human trafficker that would make a perfect Monster Hunter bait.

Angel was in a good mood as she drove home through the DC traffic. Daniel's last class ended at three, and he was going to get packed and ride to her place by seven. She had a whole night alone with Das D before the two headed to Thurmont to meet Michael and Amber.

If she could walk normally to the motorcycle, she'd be disappointed.

Ch. 15

Angel got home at six-thirty and went straight to her bedroom to get ready. Her badge and pistol went on top of the dresser, the jacket and dress slacks on hangers for the dry cleaner, and the sensible underwear in the hamper. She had just enough time to hop in the shower before pulling on a long T-shirt. There was no point in more, as it wouldn't be on long.

The doorbell rang; it was the food she'd ordered just before arriving home from the local Thai restaurant. She put it on the table and started setting the places when she heard a Harley pull in and stop. She smiled, checking her hair in the mirror near the door before opening it. "Damn," Das D said as he looked at her. Angel's bare legs were showing off, and her erect nipples were poking at the front of the white shirt.

"Hey lover," Angel said as she grabbed the lapel of his jacket and pulled him inside. "I've missed you." She closed the door as he took his jacket off, leaving only the T-shirt and jeans.

He pulled Angel into a kiss, his hands exploring her body as their tongues dueled. Daniel's eyes got wider as his hands reached the bottom of the T-shirt and started going back up, as he realized she was naked underneath. He pulled the shirt over her head, leaving her body exposed to him. His strong hands worked around the cheeks of her ass, one finger testing her slit and finding it hot and wet. He picked her up without breaking the kiss, and Angel wrapped her legs around his waist as he went over to the couch. He set her down with her ass just off the cushions, then moved her legs to his shoulders and put his face between them. "Oh FUCK," Angel said as his tongue plunged into her steaming pussy, licking her up to her clit.

"Soon," Daniel said before going back in for more. He held her labia apart with his left hand for his tongue, continuing to lick up and down. His is right hand pressed a finger inside, feeling inside her for the rough spot at the top. She started to move against him, lifting her hips to force his tongue to where she wanted it. Daniel circled her clit with his tongue three times, then sucked it between his lips and bit down gently.

"DANIEL!" The orgasm hit Angel like a train wreck. Her legs squeezed his head as her hips lifted, and he held her in place with his hands as the spasms continued. With her legs over his shoulders, he knelt up until only Angel's shoulders and head were on the cushion before continuing his oral assault. His tongue kept going, plunging into her core over and over as she thrashed about on it. The second orgasm came quickly, triggered by a timely pinch of her left nipple. This time, her body was suspended and helpless. Daniel held onto her hips and drank down her fluids as she squirted her release. Her body flailed about until it went limp, and Daniel's mouth finally pulled away.

He slowly turned and lowered her to the couch, smiling as he watched her try to recover from the intense feelings he'd given her. Daniel was one of those rare guys who would rather make their partner orgasm than satisfy themselves; turning a woman into a twitching puddle was almost a spiritual experience for him. He loved seeing his partner lost in the orgasmic haze like this, and he hadn't even taken his clothes off yet.

Angel's body continued to twitch and move as she came out of it. By the time she opened her eyes, he'd gotten his clothes off. She looked up at him, a goofy smile on her face. "Jesus, Daniel. What do you do to me?"

"I'll have to keep doing it until you figure it out," he said with a grin. He picked Angel up, her head resting against his shoulder. "Bedroom?"

"Upstairs to the right," she told him.

He walked past the dining room, and the smells reminded Angel of dinner. "We should eat first."

"I just had my dessert, and the rest will reheat," Daniel said as he started up the stairs. "There's something that needs to be taken care of first."

"I can feel it against my hip," she answered back.

He set her down on the bed, and she rolled onto her back with her head over the edge. "I love this position," she told him as he moved closer. "It lets me take you deep and gives you access to all my fun spots at the same time." She reached back and grabbed his cock, guiding it into her mouth. It was thicker than any cock she'd taken before, stretching her mouth and throat as it went in. She moved her hands to his hips, pulling them closer until he was deep in her throat, and her nose touched his balls.

"Damn, Angel," Daniel said as her throat swallowed around his length. He could easily reach her tits and pussy this way, so he played with her as she gave him a killer blowjob. She kept him there for a few more seconds, then pushed him back out so she could breathe. Angel licked around his head, then pulled him into her throat again. She kept repeating this as saliva covered her face.

"Fuck my face," she told him.

"I won't last long," he warned. He moved his hands to the sides of Angel's head and held her in place as he started to push his way into her throat. He picked up the rhythm, and the only sound you could hear was the 'gack-gurk-gack' noise as he entered her throat. Daniel felt his balls tighten and knew he was close. "I'm cumming," he said. Pushing deep into her throat, a week's worth of backup started to let loose. He plunged his fingers in and out of her pussy before taking them out and smacking her hard, triggering another orgasm as she continued to swallow his load.

She pushed her hand against his hip, and he pulled out of her throat. The last of his spurts ended up on the wet mess of her face and dribbled into her hair. Angel was gasping for breath as her body quivered in the last of her orgasm.

She wiped her hand across her face to keep it out of her eyes before Daniel lifted her to a sitting position. Angel looked at her reflection in the mirror over the dresser and laughed. "I just took a shower an hour ago, and I'm a mess," she told him.

"You're so damn beautiful it shouldn't be legal," Daniel responded. "Come on." He helped her up, and they walked to her bathroom and turned on the shower. Angel got in and washed the mess off her face and hair. Daniel helped her shampoo it, then got her clean before she returned the favor. He thought about taking her here, but he didn't bring a condom, and she must be hungry. "Why don't we eat first; you'll need your strength for riding time."

"Promise?" They dried off, and Angel pulled on a fresh T-shirt.

"My spare clothes are still on my bike," Daniel said.

"I'll grab something out of Michael's room," she replied. Walking across the hall, she opened his door and walked to his closet. She grabbed a pair of athletic shorts and a Marines T-shirt off the shelf when something caught her eyes at the back. Kneeling, she picked up an old pair of brown work boots.