Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Straight, Nancy (read full novel .txt) 📗

evaluation. A social worker had stopped by and made the awful discovery. A phone call had been placed to the local Sherriff’s office yesterday afternoon, but not on the emergency line. Dennis had been one of the first on the scene this morning. The chief looked at Dennis, “Sergeant Thornton, nice of you to join us. Do you have anything to share regarding the second crime scene?”

“Yes, Sir, the murder in the parking lot occurred at 9:23 p.m. last night. The perpetrator was a white male, no accomplices. He used a large knife to attack victim 1, named Kyle Jenkins first, then victim 2 named Terrell Stevenson immediately after. An eye witness is known to have seen the perpetrator but has not yet been identified.”

This description was news to everyone in the room, as Dennis hadn’t had a chance to even type up his notes. The chief looked at him in disbelief, “9:23 p.m.?”

“Yes, chief, I was late because I just reviewed video of the murders. We have a graphic of the perpetrator, but I didn’t have a chance to route the video to the crime lab for enhancement or to validate the time stamp. We should have a photo we can go with as soon as I can get with the lab to have them print the still image.”

“What the hell are you waiting for? Go!”

Dennis ran out of the room. As he did, he bumped into Detective Ross just walking through the door. Dennis smiled at his friend. Bert did not return the silent greeting.

*****

In five minutes time, Dennis was re-entering the room to the briefing with hard copies of the photograph from the video. The pain in the pit of his stomach had migrated to a rock as he stared down at the enhanced photo in his hand.

Bert was defending himself, “…No, I didn’t Mirandize him. He wasn’t even a suspect.”

The chief sighed in frustration, “Was a parent or guardian in the room?”

Bert was irritated, “As I said, he was not a suspect. I was simply trying to ascertain whether Jimmy Jacobs knew the victims. He invited me into his home and gave me a blow-by-blow, or rather a slice-by-slice account of the murders.”

The chief looked down at the podium, whispers erupting in the room. Dennis, while still clenching the photo in his hand, leaned over to the officer on his right and whispered, “What the hell is going on?”

Bob Bishop mumbled, “Bert was asking some kid who skipped school if he knew the victims and the kid confessed everything. All of ‘em. The seven people in the Camden house and the two in the parking lot. Said he was going to build a bomb to take out the school.”

Dennis looked at the pile of papers in his hands, the grainy face staring back at him had been enhanced by the technician before printing the copies. Thinking to himself, “Frickin’ great, there aren’t two Jimmy Jacobs in this town.”

The chief noticed Dennis’ reappearance in the room, “Sergeant Thornton, you said you had a photo of the perpetrator? Bring it up.”

Dennis walked to the front of the room. Bert stood up and followed him to the chief’s podium. Bert was thrilled when he looked at the stack of photos, “That’s him! That’s Jimmy Jacobs. He’s in the holding cell right now, waiting for his mom to arrive.”

The chief grabbed a lungful of air, announcing to the room full of police, “Okay folks, let’s regroup in two hours. We may not need the whole task force after all.” The chief looked at Dennis and Bert, “You two, don’t go anywhere.”

In the space of two hours, Jimmy’s mother had arrived, Jimmy had repeated his story between sobs, signed a statement, and would be charged as an adult for nine counts of murder. It was the fastest open and shut case any one of them had ever known. Dennis knew without the confession they would have pieced the information together enough to overcome reasonable doubt. The city attorney, the police, the crime labs, and everyone else involved had done everything by the book. This morning they had all been nauseated by the scene. As the day progressed, the violence seemed to grow with every body they uncovered. This morning Dennis believed this would be the investigation that finally gave him the experience he needed to make detective. He was pleased now that this wasn’t the case. He didn’t want for this one to make his career. Although an asset to the investigation – he was not the one who closed the case.

Dennis made his way to Bert’s desk, relieved that a full-blown panic by the residents of Greenville had been avoided. “Great work, Bert, you didn’t even have to beat it out of him.”

Bert looked up from his desk, recognition of his friend was absent, “Yes, that wasn’t necessary this time.” He looked back at his paperwork.

Dennis was briefly put off by his friend’s icy response. Bert was absent even an ounce of humor. Dennis stammered, “You want to go get a bite or something?”

Bert looked up again, this time with a more friendly response, “I’ll have to pass. The chief wants this report turned in before I go tonight. He was none too thrilled that the kid just confessed when he wasn’t being interrogated. Maybe another night?”

Dennis thought to himself, “Yeah, that’s the reason Bert made detective and I didn’t. I’d better finish my report, too.”

Chapter 9

Lauren

I sat frozen, “What does the paper say? Where did it happen?”

“Here,” Max handed me the newspaper, “You read it.”

The headline read: “Teen snaps and kills nine people.”

Wednesday, Jimmy Jacobs, a senior in Greenville, went on a killing spree. He murdered two other high school seniors and a sophomore after school. In the same location two adults and two young children were also stabbed to death. In a second location two others were also fatally stabbed. All victims’ names are being withheld pending notification of