Tolerance Book III

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Starting A New Case

Homeland Security Headquarters

The following morning found Jay sitting in Murphys' office with Parker and Voight present.  The AD knew the Sergeant had appraised the young Detective of the events leading up to the formation of the Joint Task Force but he had personally wanted to reiterate there was no intention on his part to force his attendance.  Jay had listened to the explanation from Voight the night before and then to Murphys' honest declaration and had without hesitation accepted same.  He knew the older man was genuine and was not one to hold a grudge. Parker also had offered an apology but Jay had brushed it aside stating he understood how office politics could run roughshod over people.

"Well Voight briefed you on the case," Murphy finally got down to business, "what's your read on the guy?"
"Might not be a guy."
"Why do you say that?" Parker was intrigued, they had all assumed given the extremely messy nature of the murders the Perpetrator had to be a male.
"Just a thought," Jay shrugged before continuing thoughtfully, "there's an awful lot of rage behind the crimes."
"Agreed," Murphy nodded thoughtfully.
"A woman scorned?" Voight offered a possible motive.
"Could be," Parker conceded.
"Have you found any other links between the Victims apart from Chicago?"
"None but I'd like you to go through the files. Maybe we're missing something," Parker spoke as he handed several folders to the Detective.
"Doubt I'll find something if you haven't," Jay said in depreciation.
"Worth a shot," the Psychologist shrugged before following up with an assurance, "but there's no pressure.  All we're looking for is a fresh pair of eyes. We don't expect miracles."
"Does Thompson know that?" Voight asked wrily.
"Probably not," Murphy admitted bluntly, he was not going to mislead the Chicago men who had become friends.
"Why do I get the idea this case is going to be made more complicated by Thompson?" Voight asked grimly.
"He's looking for results," Parker sighed, "unfortunately he's not too fussy how he gets them."
"Wonderful," Jay shook his head in disgust, "getting back to the Victims were they all originally from Chicago or had they simply been there for a while?"
"They were all born there," Murphy scratched his chin, "but they all had different backgrounds and their ages ranged from from thirty to fifty one."
"That's a pretty wide age range," Voight noted, "what about gender?"
"At the moment there are five of each."
"An equal opportunity Killer," Jay observed quietly, "that could simply be by design."
"Hadn't considered that," Murphy stated sharing a look with the Psychologist, they were lucky the Detective was on board.
"The main question to be answered is why explosives?" Jay spoke as he glanced through some gory crime scene photos contained in the first folder.
"Definitely extreme," Parker observed.
"What about a military connection?" the Detective checked knowing some investigation had already been done in the case prior to the Units' arrival.
"At the moment we have nothing," Murphy reluctantly stated with a heavy sigh, "there haven't been any reported thefts from Army bases."
"Well with the propensity for using explosives the UnSub clearly has a steady supply," Voight commented as he contemplated the matter, "could he or she be bringing them in from out of state?"
"It's a possibility," Murphy accepted as he considered the likelihood, "plenty of places to enter without being monitored."
"So you need to widen your search for thefts from bases to include neighbouring states," Jay put in as he closed the first file and then rose to his feet holding the files close to his chest, "I'm going to do some reading.   See you later."
"Sure," Murphy stood up in surprise at the abrupt departure but decided not to question it.
"We'll be in touch later this afternoon," Voight quickly stood and followed the Detective out grateful he hadn't been inundated with questions.

Following the fast moving auburn haired man the Sergeant wondered what had spooked him.  He had a sick feeling things had just got more complicated but he wasn't sure why.  The New Yorkers had been tactful in not asking questions but Voight needed answers.  He just hoped he didn't alienate the younger man as he pursued same.