Friday, 3 November 2000 (continued)
The agents discuss Eisenstein's revelations and plan their next
moves. The group are on three weeks compassionate leave (which ends
on 11 November 2000), although they can take up to six weeks. Black
wants to pursue the Joker matter. Black was born in Chicago which
could be the link that Harlow was thinking of - Alfred Brickman
was based in Chicago. He commissions a genealogist (Chris Walcott)
to see if there is any link between him and the Axe Man or Joker.
Jane wants to leave for Pecos immediately and see Kirsty's parents
Richard and Justine (aka Dick and Tina). Jane is forbidden to going
to Texas on her own, and therefore calls ahead to the Apache Joe
investigation to warn them she is going. Vitrano and Lavin refuse
to speak to her, so she leaves a message.
At the airport in Pecos Jane is met by Todd O'Connell. Todd is
a psychologist and a enormous fan of Artemis Black and his ability
to think "outside the box". Todd is also a blabber-mouth.
He reveals that he is not thought of very highly by Vitrano and
Lavin. Todd joined the team only recently. He replaced Special Agent
Julie Lyons who was shot and killed when the team were briefly seconded
to act as strategic back-up in a bank siege. None of the team really
like Todd, and don't listen to his ideas on the case.
Jane sees an opportunity to pump Todd for all the information she
can on Apache Joe. Todd is only too happy to oblige. He says that
Vitrano and Lavin were about 100 miles away in Monahans, but they
left this morning on a ten hour train journey to Colorado City.
They got a tip-off that another body had been discovered that might
be an Apache Joe victim. Jane and Todd discuss the case at length
in the car. Todd thinks that the gaps in Apache Joe's pattern are
a sign of his attention waning, perhaps due to autism. Every time
he messes up a pattern he starts a new one. Also, if Joe does miss
a day to kill he is willing to wait and do it the right day on the
following year. This explains the long gaps in the kill cycles.
They arrive at the Faber residence. Jane's reunion with Kirsty's
parents is extremely tearful. Todd politely waits outside. Counsellor,
Elizabeth Siemanski is talking to the Fabers but she is not much
help. She is the same woman who counselled Jane after her ordeal
at the hands of Apache Joe.
Jane begins her own investigation in secret. Dick says that they
both saw Kirsty at 10:00 yesterday. She had bought some paint (burnt
sienna) to do up her new practice in town. She had hoped Jane would
run it with her, and was going to contact her about it. Kirsty split
up with her latest boyfriend a month ago, and wasn't seeing anyone
else. Jane agrees to clear Kirsty's stuff out of the practice so
the parents do not have to. Jane warns Dick against "doing
anything stupid" to find Apache Joe. Dick is utterly dismayed
with the FBI investigation. Jane tells him (confidentially) that
she has some leads, and hopefully Kirsty will be the last victim.
In Wichita, Elise and Blackthorne have spent the day analysing
the Apache Joe data. Nathan did a lot of work collating this information
before he died, and Elise has a real talent for putting it all together.
Elise thinks there is a missing victim between Michaella LeBlanc
(d. 18/09/92) and Amy-May Ford (d. 05/12/92). If there is it proves
that Apache Joe's patterns bleed into one another.
Blackthorne sees a link between all the locations. Each place Apache
Joe has killed used to have an old Texas Ranger station based there.
There were more than a hundred places in Texas that had these stations
in the 1850s, so it does not immediately narrow down the search
but it is a new lead. Elise says that Harlow spotted all the locations
were a meeting point for three major transport routes (road, rail,
air or river).
In the afternoon Artemis Black receives the Celaeno Fragments
and gives it a cursory glance. He also hears back from his genealogist.
Apparently, his maternal grandmother was a flapper in the 1920s.
It seems that the person Artemis always thought was his maternal
grandfather is not actually related to him. So, who is Black's maternal
grandfather. This must be his link to the Joker. Black telephones
his mother who sounds distinctly more Italian than he remembers
her. He asks to go home and look through his grandmother's diaries
in the hope of finding something out about his lineage. His mother
organises a family reunion around the event. At this point, Blackthorne
is rushed to hospital again with further what turns out to be a
stomach ulcer.
Jane phones the office in Wichita. The agents exchange information.
This new body could plug the gap in Apache Joe's pattern that Elise
has deduced. Jane tells Elise and Black if they hurry they can charter
a plane and beat Vitrano and Lavin to Colorado City. The pair leave
Wichita by plane at 14:00 arriving in Colorado City at 16:00 - six
hours before Vitrano and Lavin are due.
The pair head to the crime seen. Black smarms his way into the
police's confidence - he reveals they are FBI agents but keeps their
names secret. The remains were concealed under a sand dune, that
bad weather has only recently revealed. The body is little more
than a pile of bones, although the it was definitely scalped. According
to the driving licence found with the bones, this is Susan Lomax.
She graduated from school with high honours in December 1992 and
promptly vanished. She would have been eighteen years old. This
is the missing victim that Elise pointed out earlier in the day.
Black and Elise quickly excuse themselves (with Black dropping a
hint about the ranger station hoping it will find its way to Vitrano's
ears).
Once the plane is airborne they phone Jane and tell her the news.
Not long after the plane flies straight into Hurricane Hilda. The
plane is hit by lightning and the pilot knocked unconscious. The
plane crashes into the mountains.
Saturday, 4 November 2000
Miraculously both Black and Steiger survive the crash, although
the pilot is killed. They are marooned in the Glass Mountains in
a terrible snow storm. Artemis calls up the ghost of Nathan Harlow
on his mobile phone. Harlow appears, but can't really help. He says
that he will pass on their predicament if anyone else contacts him.
The pair begin a long trek to Val Verda (the nearest piece of civilisation).
Meanwhile in Pecos, Jane goes to the practice that Kirsty was about
to open. It is a harrowing experience. Kirsty obviously expected
Jane to share this place with her. Todd tries to stay out from under
foot.
Sunday, 5 November 2000
Todd tells Jane the news of what happened in Colorado City. Vitrano
is enraged that others got to the body before he did. He suspects
Jane's hand in it, but Jane was with Todd the entire time and therefore
has an unbreakable alibi. Todd tells Jane that the plane was chartered
from Wichita which has led Vitrano to suspect the mid-west evidence
response team. However, the plan went down in the hurricane and
so there is no evidence of their involvement.
Jane cannot hide her shock at this news. Todd is incisive enough
to notice this and goes to make a phone call to Vitrano. Jane recovers
herself and telephones Nathan Harlow. Harlow tells her that they
are alive. Relieved, Jane phones Eisenstein. He is a little annoyed
that the team need his help so soon after his meetings with them,
but he agrees to remove Black and Steiger to safety and cover the
matter up.
Monday, 6 November 2000
A dishevelled Artemis Black and a perky Elise Steiger finally reach
Val Verda on foot. They are picked up by men loyal to Eisenstein
who transport them back to Wichita. They are assured Eisenstein
will clear up the mess of the plane crash.
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