Multiples of Six Read Free Page A

And, that was why they would probably kill him. He just didn’t really care anymore.
    He watched the screen of his laptop; the one luxury he had allowed himself over the years. Even that was looking tired now. The five-year-old computer had been trucked in and out of cars and hotel rooms in all kinds of weather. It had been left on for days at a time in his futile attempt at keeping an eye on his enemy. As if they might signal him via an ad on the internet or an email letting him know they were on their way. He understood his own potential for insanity, but the glowing screen was the only thing that brought him any comfort. He hated it and loved it all at once. He wouldn’t know what to do without it. He had set up a simple program to search for certain terms every five minutes. He had developed a filter that provided him with only the most likely of hits so if James Masterson or Robert Paynter appeared anywhere, it would show him right away. It was the same for the other names on the list. That was why he flinched when the hit suddenly popped on the screen. He clicked on the link.
    Police had found a woman in her fifties, Agnes Richardson, dead in her home. There were no immediate signs of forced entry, but the death had been ruled a homicide because of “her manner of death.” Investigators were able to identify footprints that possibly belonged to the killer, but even canine units lost the trail. They were looking for anyone with information to come forward. Taylor knew there would be no one. They didn’t mess around. The coroner had determined the time of death to be 2:33 pm on Friday, December 15, 2006. Taylor looked at the clock in the corner of the screen. It was Saturday, December 16th and the time was 8:32 pm . That meant the killer had over 29 hours on Taylor. If he was next, it might already be too late. Texas wasn’t that far off for a determined individual.
    He leaned back in his chair. The sound of the wood creaking made him turn quickly. He tried to shake off the fear that had squeezed his insides tight. He pressed the wire-frame glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and eyed the window. He had unlocked it upon coming in. It would remain that way in case he had to make a quick exit. The second floor window looked out onto a patch of bushes below. At best, he would walk away bruised. At worst, he would break his hip and have a heart attack. Then he wouldn’t really care if someone killed him. He chuckled in the silence of the room at his own madness. He was mad, but in acknowledging so, he allowed himself a little relief.
    How else might someone explain this diminutive man, who sat fully dressed, long coat and all, in front of a laptop computer for most of the waking day? He left for certain meals, skipped others, and made damn sure that his schedule was never the same in a two-week period. He checked the parking lot every ten to twenty-minutes and never from the same spot at the window. He never answered the phone and always paid in cash. He had a dozen IDs he had crafted over the years. He cycled through them at each hotel, motel, boarding house, or hostel. He had several bank accounts, none of which were under his actual name.
    Now, he turned off his laptop, folded the screen down, and packed it into the lone bag he carried with him. He wasn’t going to run anymore. It was time to pay a visit to a boy he had not seen in twenty-four years. He had no idea what he was going to do, but his hand instinctively found the handle of the .44-caliber revolver in his pocket. He would think of something.
     

 
    Chapter 4
    James and Nicole sat together on the love seat in the living room looking at the man named Kevin as he lay quietly on the sofa. He was lucky to have only been knocked unconscious. Using the training that had been useless in saving his mother, James had checked his vitals and guessed that Kevin would be ok. They had an icepack propped on his head, as the cast iron pan had caused quite the