Chasing Constellations: The UGS Constellation Series, #1

Prologue

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The rain splashed off the window in front of Elisa, creating little rivers that wound their way down beyond the glass to the small ledge before falling to the ground.

With a soft sigh, she picked up her cup of coffee and read the article in the Los Angeles Times. Although it was a copy of an older edition, one she managed to get her hands on much later, this one was from March Thirteenth. The article had run eight years previously, in Nineteen Seventy-One.

Another double murder headlined the paper; no one knew who the killer was or if he was going be stopped, everyone was baffled, even the police. This time the killer touted his rage at the editor, proclaiming additional killings if the letters aren’t in the paper.

Elisa didn’t know what to think; there’d already been several killings, and each letter was signed with a segmented circle that looked almost like a target. A few times the mysterious perpetrator had sent in a strange code, a cypher that only he knew the meaning of. Even though the person seemed sure that the police and the public would understand.

Watching out the window as the rain mixed with snow outside the Detroit Diner, people were bustling about their lives in an endless stream of bundled traffic. It wasn’t uncommon for there to be snow in early October, but it wasn’t exactly common either, and apparently, many of the people outside were caught unaware of the incoming storm.

The sensationalism of the first reports was slowly dying, being replaced by other reports gradually. Elisa knew people would never begin to wonder. The younger generation might never learn of these heinous acts except occasionally in some crime related classroom, and the older generation would unfortunately eventually forget. It might pass into myth much like Jack the Ripper.

It wasn’t often that a serial killer was able to undermine the work of so many normal officers, never mind the FBI was also attempting to catch the killer or killers. In the letter written to the paper, the person proclaimed killing at least seventeen people and possibly more.

Why haven’t they caught you yet? What are you trying to tell everyone in your cipher? Muttering softly Elisa scanned her eyes down from the window to glance at the stacks of papers littered about the table, surrounding the remains of her early morning breakfast. She sighed softly as she rifled through them, once again picking up the old newspaper clippings that held the ciphers in them and holding them up to the various letters and public police records. What are you trying to prove? Why did these people have to die? Was there something you’re not saying? All questions that rattled around in her mind repeatedly. I’m sure the police and the FBI have asked this as well.

With a shake of her head she set the cipher and newspaper clippings down and lifted the pages lumped together of her own notes, scanning them again to see if there was anything she had left out.

Haven’t you given up on this yet? They’re never going to catch him and you’re not either. What makes you think some woman can do what the FBI can’t even manage? Yeah, it’s nineteen seventy-one, but that doesn’t mean they are gunna want some woman helping them. The gruff voice of Alex Stenza interrupted her thoughts. His heavy belly scraping and knocking papers off the far edge of the table as he dropped into the booth without even a ‘by your leave’, never asking if she would mind first.

With a snort and barely contained sneer, Elisa bent over to retrieve the papers. Go away Alex. I told you I never wanted to see you again. Popping back up with the papers in hand, Elisa had no idea what she ever saw in Alex in the first place. At one time, she might have considered him cute, like a lost little puppy, but those days were long gone. Back in college he’d been in decent shape from all the sports he’d played, but that shape had gotten considerably more... round. His shaggy brown hair, nondescript brown eyes and five o’clock shadow, his mismatched light blue shirt and dark green pants that showed several stains, all attested to his lack of personal hygiene.

How did I not smell him before he sat down? No wonder he’s on the prowl for a wife, a slave to wash his clothing and get rid of the stains because he can’t eat without dribbling like the pig he is! I’m so glad I saw him for what he is, now if only he’d take the hint and leave me alone, you’d think a size seven shoes for the boys would drive the point home that I want nothing to do with him.

I don’t care. You’re a woman and don’t know what you want. Or what’s good for you. Reaching out he snatched her notes from her hand and started reading them. You’ve been following this serial killer creep for years now, even wrote your paper on him. Give it up. It’s not healthy! Someone as nice as you, following some jerk like your life revolved around it. Slapping the papers down onto the table, Alex leaned forward and brushed a finger down the side of her face. Someone as pretty as you should be considering having babies and keeping house, not chasing dreams that’ll never happen.

With a growl, Elisa snatched her papers back, his grip so tight on them that a portion of them had ripped, before throwing them down in front of her. Get out of here Alex! I mean it! Leave me alone; go back to your stupid floozy and alcohol! I am not interested in you, and I never will be again. In her anger, Elisa began to throw her papers into a cloth bag. She didn’t care how they ended up inside it, so long as she could get them away from his greasy hands.

You’re fooling yourself if you think anyone is going to listen to you. The only thing you’re good for is warming my bed and making my dinner. With a shove, he lurched out of the booth, making sure to jostle the table just hard enough to slosh the hot coffee all over the remaining papers before waddling his way out of the small diner. Just remember, I ain't gunna wait around for you forever! This here is prime real estate that’s up for sale and someone is bound to snatch it up!

As if she’d want that chunk of blubber. But saying that was a waste of air, one that Alex would never listen to.

I have to get out of here. Maybe if I go out to California I can better piece together what happened. With that thought in mind, Elisa raced home to pack her bags. Being sure to include her notes, Elisa arranged things for the open-ended trip. She never thought once about leaving everything behind. She had no family to worry about her vanishing, her friend and roommate had already planned to leave at the end of the month to move in with her fiancés family and without Elisa there they could have the apartment until she returned, she had no real job as she’d just graduated college with her journalism degree, and she had no pets to concern herself with.

Chapter 1

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Elisa never knew how hard it would be; she never guessed how people in California would scoff at a single woman intending to investigate the murders, how she would be treated with such indifference. Even though women’s lib had supposedly made them equal to men, at least in some respects, it was still frowned upon for a woman to do certain things. Thankfully, she had the money to fund her searches; she had rented a time share apartment and a car for however long she needed them.

Slowly she walked to the wall covered in papers, a timeline of information, photos, and letters from the killer calling themselves the Zodiac. She wondered yet again why the police didn’t see the connection. It was all there, spread out before her. There was a list of suspects, but all had been cleared for one reason or another, although the police didn’t have one name listed. Chase Ricter’s photo stood front and center, placed higher than the other suspects on the wall. Not a common name and not a common person from everything that Elisa was able to piece together. With a sigh, she shook her head and turned to head towards the small table beside the door where she kept her purse and keys, her note pad digging into her side as she juggled it and her purse while leaving the temporary abode.

Sometime later, Elisa stood in the waiting room of the local police department. Her annoyance at the officer on duty at the front desk had shown in small ways, namely how she ground out her reasons for needing to speak with someone. I know you don’t believe me Officer... Elisa was getting annoyed with the men in the world not believing her, with a huff she leaned forward and peered at the desk clerk’s name. Officer Smitty? Are you serious? OK, it doesn’t matter; I need to speak with the detective in charge of the Zodiac murders. Now! It’s important!

Look, Miss. I know you think it’s important, but the detective isn’t going to just want to speak to some young child, from out of town, that plays at doing his job. So why don’t you just pack up your pricey, high maintenance ass and head back to wherever you came from and let a real man do the work. Shouldn’t you be at home playing with your dolls anyway? With a sneer the officer returned to doing whatever it was he happened to be doing before Elisa showed up, which turned out to be a crossword puzzle from the local paper.

With a soft growl, Elisa turned around and started to head towards the door when a commotion brought her to a stop. Three officers brought in a man struggling and nearly knocking them off their feet. Get the door, Charlie! This one’s not coming easy! The tallest of the three cops shouted and Elisa assumed correctly that he was talking to the desk cop as the man jumped out of his chair and raced to the door leading to the jail cells.

Let me go! You don’t know what he’s going to do! Twisting and turning the man fought with the officers as much as he could with his hands cuffed behind his back. Turning rapidly from left to right, he managed to break the hold of the one on the left, then drove the man on his right man off his feet. Taking the opportunity to make a run for it, the male charged towards Elisa with his head bent and body doubled over. Not paying attention to his surroundings, Elisa was too stunned to move out of the way, and his head connected with the left side of her ribs and sent them both sprawling down to the cold hard black and white checkered floor.

Her papers gently fluttering to the ground around them like snowflakes, Elisa didn’t even have the chance to scream as his heavy weight pinned her down.

Get off me, jackass! Shoving and pushing against his considerable weight lead to nothing more than the man dropping further down onto her. The suddenness knocked what little breath she had left out of her lungs.

You have to get them to let me go before he kills more people! I swear I didn’t do it! Please! Let me go, I can stop it before it is too late! With a toss of blue-black hair, the man lying across Elisa lifted his head and beseeched her with his piercing blue eyes.

Eyes so blue they were almost white.

Faster than she could blink, Elisa felt the man’s lips brush lightly against her own, a feather-light touch of the skin that sent a sizzle of awareness down her spine, and blocked out the rest of the chaos around them. It wasn’t until he pushed for entrance, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth and leaving a stinging sensation against the corner of her lip, that she realized just what was happening and began to struggle.

With a choked off scream, Elisa began to push at the man’s chest and kick at his legs, anything to get out from under the one man that sent a zing of awareness through her entire body.

Get off me! Get off! Get off, get-off-get-off-me!!!! Not caring that she was repeating herself, Elisa simply wanted to get the man away from her. She didn’t even notice as officers charged forward to pull the man from her, more running in from other doors that lined the hallway on either side, and finally wrestling the heavy man from her small five-foot three-inch frame.

Gratefully the weight lifted from her and she could finally scramble in a rushed crabwalk backwards. She only stopped when her back thumped, with an echo, against the pulpit used for the front desk.

Her papers lay scattered everywhere, being trampled and some torn, as the writhing mass of arms and legs began to sort themselves out into actual people. It was so reminiscent of a cartoon fight that Elisa couldn’t help a weak giggle that soon turned into an almost hysterical laugh.

A scathing glare from one of the men dressed in an ill-fitting three-piece suit gave her the incentive to finally stop laughing, although a few hiccupped giggles escaped as one of the uniformed officers slipped on a loose piece of paper and nearly crashed to the floor. Slowly, the man in the too-large suit with a rather large bow tie, reached down and lifted one of her pages and read over the notes she’d written. A bushy brow lifted while he cut his eyes towards her. Unruly dark curly hair cut high over expressive brown eyes; lead into a slightly larger nose that had seen a few breaks over time.

I’m Detective David Toschi, lead investigator on the Zodiac case and I think you and I need to talk, Miss...?

Elisa canted her head to the side for a moment as she studied him, noticed how confidence exuded from him, and his soft voice seemed almost deceptive with how calm he appeared in the chaos.

Elisa watched as the man reached his right hand out to her, waiting for her to uncurl her body. She smiled slightly as her small hand vanished inside of his larger one, then noticed how the man smirked when he noticed it as well as he hauled her to her feet.

Miss Jones. Elisa Jones. I... I was talking to Officer Smitty and trying to get in to see a detective in charge of the Zodiac case when that... that monster collided with me. She knew she was stammering and didn’t care.

Quickly she bent to start gathering her papers when a searing pain in her side stopped her. Sucking in a breath, she let it out in a rushed gasp. Ow. I think... I think I cracked my ribs. Bending over once again more slowly, this time the papers littering the floor were forgotten, as both hands pressed against the side of her rib cage where the man’s head had connected forcefully against her side.

Easy. Let’s get you over to the bench there and you can sit down while I gather these up, then we’ll go to my office to talk. David was almost like a father as he gathered Elisa and helped her take a seat, before turning back to pile the papers on the floor and he picks them up.

Elisa watched as he tucked the pages under his left arm and reached out to help her to her feet with his right.

Once she was standing again, he curled his hand about her shoulders and guided her out of the main lobby of the precinct.