Organized Crime: Unorganized

Chapter 18

Grace awoke to James's alarm ringing on the bedside table, James switched it off with a light groan before he pulled Grace lightly into his chest.
"5 more minutes" James groaned.
"We need to get up, we don't want to get caught" she reminded him.
"Your the one that didn't care about getting caught last night" he reminded her.
"I'm getting up" Grace told him but James tightened the grip he had on her waist, stopping her from moving.
"5 more minutes" he repeated sleepily before Grace moved his hands off her and quickly moved out of his reach "No fair" James frowned, sitting up in bed, he watched as Grace moved around the room and put her lingerie back on.
"Enjoying the view?" she teased.
"Immensely" he smirked before Grace threw his boxers at him.
"Get dressed" Grace ordered messing up Marco's bed earning a strange look from James "It has to actually look like I slept in his bed rather than yours" she reminded him. The door opened but was stopped from fully opening by the chain that James had put on the night before.
"James you awake?" Marco called into the room, sending Grace scrambling for her robe and James for his pants and a shirt.
"One minute" James called, hearing Marco shut the door "Go in the bathroom, pretend your using it when I let Marco in" he whispered, sending Grace into the bathroom as he answered the door.
"Good morning" Marco smiled, entering the room, looking over the beds.
"Morning" James nodded as Grace came out of the bathroom.
"Good morning Marco, is it safe to go back into my room" Grace teased him lightly.
"Of course. I was a perfect gentleman all night, Diane and I are just good friends" Marco assured her.
"Sure, and the pope takes Sundays off" Grace teased "I'll see you guys later"
"See you later" James called after her.
"Good night?" Marco asked, cocking his eyebrow suggestively.
"We're colleagues. I'm her superior. We slept, in separate beds, that's it Marco" James assured him.
"Where's the fun in that?" Marco teased.
"What about you and Diane?" James teased back.
"On that note, I'm going to use the bathroom" Marco laughed lightly as he closed the door behind him.

"Almost all of the bodies have been identified, young, blonde women who were all valued members of their communities" Diane explained.
"Well liked women-" Lilly was cut off by the ringing of James's phone.
"We've got another victim" James announced.
"I need to get to that body, he only kills twice a year. We need all hands on deck for this one" Diane told them.

"Another blonde" James commented as Diane knelt by the body.
"I've got a puncture wound on the neck just like the others" Oliver added.
"By the look of things she's been raped too just like the others" Diane commented bagging the torn panties that were next to the body.
"Except she wasn't buried with the others, we disturbed his dumping ground" Lorenzo added.
"We've angered him, he'll pick up the pace" James told them.
"You think he'll murder more?" Lorenzo asked.
"Most definitely. Something is different about this victim, we just need to prove it" James told them.

"You got anything?" Grace called to Marco.
"No, you?"
"Nothing but trees and leaves" Grace sighed "Hey, wait, I think I see something" Grace pulled some fabric off a tree branch "Looks expensive, high quality" Grace commented studying the fabric.
"It is. It's Italian made, very expensive but worth it. How did you know?"
"I grew up with money, I know my brands" Grace shrugged.
"Your my kind of woman" Marco smiled earning one back from Grace.

"Did you find anything?" James called out to Grace and Marco as they approached the others.
"Fabric. The expensive kind" Marco told him.
"I'll have Sadie try to find a match to the exact brand and clothing type" James told them.
"Lorenzo, Lilly, Marco, I want you to talk to the victims families. Grace, I want you to offer Diane and Oliver insight to the victims and the care that was taken with them, profile them" James ordered.

"You don't flinch" Oliver commented.
"What do you mean?" Grace asked, getting up close to a somewhat decomposed body.
"Most agents at least pinch their nose or vomit when they see, let alone smell, a body" he commented.
"I used to hang out in a junk yard as a teenager, I got used to the smell" Grace shrugged as she moved to the next table.
"Makes perfect sense" Oliver said sarcastically "As a teenager I used to hang out in science club with my teacher" Oliver laughed lightly at himself.
"It's sweet. So, how did you get this job?" Grace asked, moving to the final table, the final victim of their serial killer.
"I used to have a different job but... it didn't work out" he shrugged rubbing the back of his neck. Grace recognised his demeanour, his shy shrug, he reminded her of Lilly, they had the same innocent look in their eyes.
"Long story?" Oliver nodded "I understand. We all have a past. If you need to talk, I'm here, no judgements" Grace assured him.
"Thanks" he smiled shyly.
"At least down here, you don't have to worry about offending anyone" Grace smiled cheekily.
"Yeah, that's definitely a plus. I'm lucky though, Diane is a wonderful teacher, I've learned a lot from her" He smiled slightly at the woman across the room.
"Look" Grace said, lifting the hand of the body with her gloved hand "She scratched him"
"We have DNA! Hopefully" He added as he took out a swab to extract the DNA for testing.
"Good work Grace. Anytime you want to work in the morgue your welcome to" Diane smiled kindly.
"Thank you but I kind of like you live ones" she smiled "I'll go tell James that we found something"

"We've got him! Michael Kales" Diane announced as she burst through the door to the conference room.
"Father of two, married, and get this, his mother used to look like the victims" Sadie announced after a quick type on her computer.
"Used to?" Lorenzo asked.
"Well yeah, she's old now" Sadie told him.
"I'll take Grace to talk to the wife, Lorenzo and Marco can back us up outside if we need it" James ordered.

"Mrs Kales were with the FBI" James told her.
"The FBI? What's this all about?" Samantha asked.
"Can we talk inside?" Grace asked kindly, giving the older woman a small reassuring smile. Samantha stepped aside, letting them both enter the house.
"What's this all about?" Samantha asked.
"Do you know where your husband is?" James asked.
"Why? He hasn't done anything. He's a salesman and a father" Samantha ranted in nervousness.
"We've found your husbands DNA at a crime scene" Grace told her gently.
"That killers burial ground they found? You think that was Michael? No! He couldn't have done this! He's caring and he shows up and we never argue!" Samantha argued.
"We know that Michael did this and yet you still continue to protect him, why?" Grace asked.
"He's my husband! The father of my children! I know him and he couldn't have done this!" Samantha cried harder into her hands.
"You can't choose who you fall in love with" Grace muttered, just loud enough for them to hear "I bet he comes home and is the perfect husband and father, but he has an anger towards blonde women, most likely stemming from his mother. I think Michael loves you, and your daughters but, he's hurt women, he has murdered and raped them. He needs to be stopped. Help us to protect others, helps us to protect your daughters" Grace tried.
"His mother used to touch him, she was blonde. He might have gone to see her, she lives in the next town, about 20 minutes from here" Samantha sighed deeply.
"Thank you" Grace offered her a kind smile, squeezing her hands lightly.
"Be gentle with him. He's not all bad" Samantha frowned as Grace and James left the house.

Grace and James prepared to move through the front door as Marco and Lorenzo took the back.
"Ready?" James asked, his gun at the ready.
"Ready" Grace nodded watching as James opened the front door before she headed inside with him close behind her. They moved through the lower part of the house before they headed upstairs, eventually ending up in the master bedroom where Michael was holding his mother with a gun to her head.
"Get back or I'll kill her!" he threatened.
"Michael we need to talk" James tried.
"NO! I make the rules here!" he shouted, grabbing his mother tighter.
"Michael, I'm going to put my gun away" Grace told him, keeping her eyes on him as she put her gun away "I know what she did to you. Your wife told us-"
"You don't know anything!" he shouted grabbing the old woman tighter.
"I know what's its like to be seen as nothing more than an object. I also know what's its like to be seen for who you really are. What she did to you was awful and wrong and it never should've happened but, you had a wife and two kids, who loved you and who would never hurt you. You threw it all away for the past but, let me tell you, the past doesn't have to define who you are" she assured him.
"It's too late for that! I've already killed those women!" Michael cried, tears streaming down his face.
"I don't mean that. Despite what you've done, your still a father, you're still a husband. Despite everything, they still love you, and I've come to realise that love can get you through anything" Grace told him.
"What about her? She deserves to die"
"Yes she does. And I can't tell you what it would be like to kill her because the bastard that hurt me still gets to walk free but, I don't think killing her will help you. I think there's been enough blood shed, let's end this" Grace told him gently, stepping towards him. Michael began crying, his whole body shaking, he dropped his arm from around his mother before he dropped the gun to the ground, falling into Grace's arms as he continued to cry, letting out over 20 years of supressed hatred, anger and self resentment "It's all over now" Grace assured him, her arms holding him tightly as James watched from across the room "It's all over"