Chapter 58 - NYPD has a Rat

Natalia and Hayden got the news the following morning. A woman was reported missing who matched the description of the women Jon had been killing. They knew it had to be him, and everyone was waiting for her body to show up. So far, there hadn't been anything.

Dennis and Andy were scrambling, trying to retrace the woman's steps to see where she had been taken from. That was the real reason they had contacted Natalia and Hayden. They were hoping they would share the information with Dorian so he could help in the search.

"Dorian, that was Dennis. He said a woman was reported missing last night by her husband. He didn't come out and ask for your help, but that's what he was hinting at. Here's the address she was last seen, and this is where she was headed to." Hayden laid down the paper he had written the two addresses on.

"What's her name?" Dorian asked as he opened his laptop. He and Krista had just arrived from her room downstairs. They'd had sex for the first time, and he was still reeling from the emotions it caused in him. All the other times he'd been with a woman, there was little feeling, but he cared for Krista. Being able to hold her in his arms all night when they were done had made his feelings for her even stronger.

"Her name is Hillary Monroe," Hayden replied as he walked back over to Natalia. They had been waiting for their breakfast to come when Dennis called them. He saw how this mess with Jon was getting to Natalia, and he would do whatever was necessary to make it stop. He knew his cousin felt the same way about Krista now. It was their job to keep their women safe.

Dorian quickly typed the woman's name into the computer. He pulled up a picture of her from her social media account. He and Krista exchanged a look. Hillary looked like she could be Natalia's sister.

"What is it?" Natalia asked, noticing the looks on their faces. Dorian turned the laptop toward her and Hayden.

"She looks almost exactly like you," Krista said softly. Natalia stared at the picture of the woman in disbelief.

Dorian turned the laptop back around and began doing a search from where she was last seen. He checked the cameras in the area so they would have a starting point. At the same time, Krista was on Dorian's backup laptop, searching to see if Hillary had any recent credit card activity.

"I found her leaving her job," Dorian said. Hayden pushed Natalia over to where he was sitting so they could watch. They saw Hillary leave her job and walk down the street, talking on her cell phone. It was almost like a movie playing out that they already knew the outcome of.

Natalia felt the tears running down her face as they watched the videos of Hillary. Dorian was so fast flipping from one camera to another that they barely missed a beat. All four were holding their breath as they waited for the inevitable encounter with Jon.

After about thirty minutes of following her on the cameras, they saw her stop. She had put her cell phone away and was standing as though she was waiting for someone. Dorian looked at the address she was supposedly headed to, and it was nowhere near where she was.

As they watched, she stood there for ten minutes. Hillary kept looking at her watch and then up and down the street. While she was waiting, they saw an old woman approach her. She was hunched over and walking with a walker. Natalia had an uneasy feeling as she watched Hillary walk with the woman.

They walked a couple of blocks, and they went down a side street. Dorian had a hard time keeping up with her because the side streets had less camera coverage than the main streets. Some of the shots were taken from a distance, but they could still see them.

Hillary and the old woman stopped about halfway down the street. The old woman opened the door to what looked like some sort of shop. They saw Hillary shake her head and try to walk away. That's when Jon showed himself. The old woman suddenly stood up to her full height and grabbed Hillary, pulling her through the door. They knew that it was actually Jon, just as they had feared.

Dorian sent the address where they last saw her to Dennis under his anonymous email. He would have sent his own men, but he knew most likely they were already too late.

Krista went back to looking for any activity on Hillary's credit cards. She had a knot in her stomach after seeing Jon pull the woman into the shop. She glanced at Natalia and saw the tears running down her face as Hayden tried to comfort her. Krista leaned against Dorian; just feeling him made her feel safe.

Now that they'd had sex, she felt more connected to him than ever. As she ran the checks on the credit cards, she thought about their night together. Dorian was so nervous that it was sweet, and she had to take the lead. Once they got started, he quickly snapped out of it. He had been so gentle and loving with her more than any man she'd ever been with. She'd never experienced anything like the way he made her feel. Krista shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she ran the search again to see if there was anything she had missed.

Dorian was scanning the cameras he'd found in the front and back of the shop Jon had taken Hillary into. He wanted to see where he went after he was finished with her. He fast-forwarded through hours of video. Their breakfast was delivered, and they ate while looking at the computers. No one spoke. It was as though they all felt the same melancholy feelings of despair, knowing what the result would be.

When Dorian got to the footage from just a few hours ago, near sunrise, Jon finally came out of the shop. He had been in there with Hillary for almost twelve hours. They couldn't make out his mask, but he no longer acted like the old woman. They followed him as he got back to the main street. Dorian was hoping Jon would lead them to a hotel or somewhere that he could send his men to put an end to him.

They saw him go into a restaurant to eat breakfast. When he came out an hour later, he continued down the street as though he didn't have a care in the world. Natalia felt sick seeing him as a free man to kill women as he pleased. Why did it always feel like he was one step ahead of them and able to slip through their fingers? She then had an idea that maybe he had someone else working with him. Someone that would be able to tell him when they were getting close.

"Dorian, would it be possible to look into the NYPD and see if anyone has had contact with Jon? I would think they would be in Dennis' precinct so they would have up-to-date information." Hayden looked at her in surprise.

"You think there's someone in the station that's helping him? What could they possibly gain from helping a murderer?" Hayden asked.

"Who knows, but we've seen others helping him that we wouldn't suspect. It could be like Linnette, and he's threatening them, or it could be for money. I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence that he keeps getting away." She looked at Dorian, who was staring at her.

"While I continue looking through the cameras, Krista can look through the NYPD, starting with those who work close to Dennis." He said. Krista nodded next to him, already getting started. Dorian had learned quickly that she was a pro on computers and hacking. She had to be in order to build online security systems.

Dorian went back to the cameras, and Krista started with the NYPD. She began with Dennis first, as he was the one on the investigation, and she didn't want to leave any stone unturned. After she cleared him, she moved on to those working close to him.

Meanwhile, Dorian watched Jon walking near NC. It almost seemed like he was taunting them by being near Natalia's office again. Natalia watched in horror as he spoke to her receptionist Annie. She answered whatever he asked and then continued inside. Natalia sighed in relief. Having him kill these other women was bad enough, but she would lose it if he killed someone she knew.

Krista felt like she was on to something. The person she was currently looking into had a secret email address and phone, but she found them easily. The emails sent back and forth were encrypted in a block cipher text. Krista had seen it before, so she was able to crack the code after a few minutes of playing around with it. When she was able to read all the emails, she felt a chill go up her spine. Natalia was right. Jon had someone else working with him.

"You guys, I found the rat in the NYPD." She said. They all looked at her in question hearing the dread in her voice.

"Who is it?" Natalia asked while gripping Hayden's hand.

"Captain Tim Clifton."