Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

Highcastle chuckled. “I wouldn’t have flown in from Maryland if I thought I could have gotten away with that.”

“Then tell us,” Lynch said.

Highcastle let out a long sigh, then went into it. “There was a government intelligence group based here in San Diego. It was headed by an officer named Victor Krebb. He was a good man. They were extremely effective at hunting down spies, saboteurs, and other enemies of the United States, and their methods could be brutal when the situation demanded it. When there were concerns about possible foreign surveillance of the government building where they were based, they eventually moved some of their most sensitive operations to a house they rented in Coronado.”

“The Baum house,” Kendra said.

“Yes. That’s when they adopted the name the Dayton Group.”

“The Dayton Group…” Kendra said. “That’s the name they used to rent the house.”

Highcastle nodded. “Yes. Certain purchases and travel arrangements were made and expensed under that name. I still haven’t gotten a straight answer as to why they called themselves that, but creating corporate fronts for covert operations isn’t all that unusual. Anyway, it was around that time that a young man named Rod Wallace joined the team. He was an army vet, and his psych profiles were right on the edge of acceptability. But he was extremely good at what he did. He could be counted on to do what needed to be done, no matter how distasteful it may have been to other members of the team.”

“Charming,” Kendra said.

“Well, that wasn’t even the worst of it. Apparently, his work for the Dayton Group wasn’t enough to satisfy his appetites. Soon Krebb and his team discovered he was none other than the Bayside Strangler.”

Kendra slowly shook her head, sickened at what she was hearing. “So what happened?”

“He was arrested, of course, but no one quite knew what to do with him. There couldn’t be a public trial, because that would have meant revealing the activities of the Dayton Group. Eventually, it was decided that he would be held in one of our ‘partner prisons’ overseas.”

“Like the ones where we hold international terrorists for interrogation?” Kendra asked.

Highcastle nodded. “Those facilities serve an important and necessary purpose.”

“If you say so. Why isn’t he there now?”

Highcastle took a deep breath. “He never made it there. He escaped during the transfer process. He was familiar with our protocols, so it was probably too easy for him. The Dayton Group and their team leader, Krebb, immediately swung into action to track him down. Within two weeks, Krebb reported that Rod Wallace had been killed in a boat explosion. He even testified to it in a classified oversight hearing. What went unsaid is that the Dayton Group may have been responsible for his death, but no one was too upset about that.”

“Of course not,” Lynch said. “His death would solve a problem for everyone.”

“That’s what we thought. The Bayside Strangler murders stopped, and everyone went on with their lives. What we didn’t know is that Rod Wallace was alive and well, traveling through western and central Europe and continuing to do lethal jobs for Victor Krebb. We can’t prove it yet, but it appears that Krebb may have helped him escape and fake his death so that he could be Krebb’s own personal secret weapon. The Dayton Group was eventually disbanded, but our intelligence suggests that Krebb may now be in charge of his own team of mercenaries doing jobs for the highest bidder. No one seems keen to pursue charges against him, since he has knowledge of actions that would be embarrassing to many powerful people.”

“What happened to the Morgan sisters?” Kendra asked.

“Frankly, we don’t know. They may not even be alive.”

“I think they are,” Lynch said. “I spoke to Todd Williams just before he died yesterday. He wasn’t extremely coherent, but it seemed like whoever killed him was still looking for Chloe and Sloane.”

“Well, obviously we suspect it’s Krebb and his team who have been trying to hunt them down and seize the information they’ve gathered that exposes the involvement of the Bayside Strangler with the Dayton Group.”

Lynch nodded. “And you suspect that Krebb brought Wallace, the Bayside Strangler himself, back here to help in the search?”

“Surely it’s more than a coincidence that his killings have suddenly resumed after all this time. Our profilers think that being back in San Diego may have triggered a compulsion for Wallace to resume his most famous string of crimes.”

Lynch looked at Kendra for a long moment before turning back to Highcastle. “You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to tell us all this. Why?”

Highcastle shrugged. “Much of this went on under my DOJ, and I bear some responsibility. I’ve been brought in to consult on this case in the past week or so, and I understand what the two of you have been going through. You’ve been feeling your way in the dark, and in doing so, you risk exposing more than anyone in government wishes. Of course, the Department of Justice also values your relationship with them, Mr. Lynch. Naturally all our gratitude is very deep and sincere.”

Lynch was smiling but there was the faintest thread of sarcasm in his tone. “Thank you. I’m honored by your trust.”

“What now?” Kendra asked.

Highcastle stood. “That’s entirely up to you. I think you’re doing a noble thing by trying to find those women. We’ve been operating under the assumption that they’re probably dead, but your conversation with Todd Williams gives us alternatives to consider. If they are alive, it’s only a matter of time before Krebb, Wallace, and those mercenaries track them down.”

“That’s why it’s important that we find them first,” Kendra said.

Highcastle smiled. “Like I said, very noble of you. We know who the Bayside Strangler is, but until we catch him, there’s every possibility he’ll disappear again. He’s good at that, and who knows when he would ever reappear?” Highcastle straightened his jacket. “I trust you’ll appreciate the sensitivity of this information and not spread it unnecessarily. Nice to see you both.”