Page 32 of Just Right

“So, they noticed it?” Connor asked.

“Yes. And they are divided about how they see him, but it doesn't look as if he's done anything else since coming out of jail."

It was interesting to read the historic chit-chat, Cami realized. Neighborhood groups were definitely a fount of helpful information. As well as unwanted opinions, and several clear instances of defamation that she could see within a minute.People really needed to be more careful online,Cami thought, shaking her head at how misguided society could be when they got in front of a keyboard and had the world, or part of it, as their audience.

"He might not have had time to do anything else since he’s been out," Connor said.

"If he'd been planning these crimes in jail?"

Connor nodded. "I'm the first to say, as an FBI agent, that going to jail is not the solution for everyone.” He gave Cami a sidelong glance, knowing that it had almost been a solution for her.

“Really?” she asked guardedly.

“Yes, it's punishment, and it gets criminals out of circulation so they can't be a danger to society. But sometimes, people who've had mild psychological problems and go inside can come out with them worsened. For obvious reasons. If he'd been battling with that before his prison sentence, he might have tipped over the edge afterward."

"So, he might have been angry and vengeful toward society," Cami said. It was a chilling thought, to be confronted with the fact that someone with a mental health issue might be out there in the world, with only the barest sliver of control over their actions.

"Or feel compelled to recreate the scene that had affected him psychologically," Connor suggested.

Cami thought that was a very valid point. Undoubtedly, this was a highly damaged man.

He could be dangerous. And he could have killed these women, playing out the nightmare that was now lodged in his head, while heading back on a route that took him to the accident scene.

If he feels compelled to recreate the scene, then he must be thinking about that family's death. He must be thinking about what happened to them, and why it happened. He's reliving the trauma, trying to make sense of it for himself."

"And then he's taking his anger out on society by killing people," Connor said.

Cami hoped that he was right. That they'd found their criminal.

Connor slowed the car as it approached the house. Cami took a look at the street. It was a quiet, residential area, with neat houses set back from the road with well-kept gardens. She wondered what James had thought, coming out of prison and then returning to this ordered and attractive place. It clearly hadn't done much to calm his mind if he'd embarked on a killing spree.

They stopped the car outside and climbed out. They walked up the path to the door.

Cami wondered if she'd ever stop feeling a thrill of fear and anticipation at this moment, knowing that they were about to come face to face with a criminal strongly suspected of committing murder. She'd already seen how things could go wrong. She hoped this wasn't going to be another one of those times.

But it seemed that instead of a confrontation with an angry killer, they were going to be disappointed in other ways. Because nobody was coming to the door. The doors and windows of this house were closed up tightly. And it seemed that James wasn’t home.

"He's not here," Connor said, sounding frustrated. "I'm going to call Ethan and see if there's any recorded place of work listed. He might even be at a parole check-in. Ironic if he went there from a killing site," he added.

"I'll keep looking online." Cami walked back to the car with Connor. Surely there must be some hint, some clue online about where this man was. He could have briefly veered back toward normality after his killing spree. He could be reporting to the police station or job hunting or visiting friends. There was nothing to stop a criminal from returning to ordinary behavior after a crime had been committed, and in fact, as she'd learned, many of them did.

So, assuming that he'd fled the latest murder scene and returned home again, where might he be now, and could she find any clue to it online?

Cami searched, sitting quietly in the car, using her laptop as well as her phone so that she had all available devices focused on the job.

She wasn't picking up anything from his own social media. That had stayed dark and unused since he'd come out of prison. People were talking about him, not to him. And not very kindly, either. Like this thread of conversation that she'd just picked up now.

"Would that be our resident parolee?"

Parolee. Cami pricked up her ears, reading more carefully. Undoubtedly, they were discussing James in this conversation thread, which looked to be current.

"I guess so."

"Doing it again?"

"Doing it again, yes."

"Should we call the police?"

---