Detective Sweeny looked across his desk at Special Agent Miles Hook as he set the folder down. He remembered the case. It was a number of years ago, but it had really struck a nerve with him at the time. An unsolved murder with massive implications that took place in his home town. Unfortunately, he had not been able to touch it. It was not a matter for local police, they had been informed. Sweeny and every other dedicated homicide detective had been forced to swallow their pride and stand aside while the FBI swarmed all over the place. The only vindication for Sweeny was that the feds had come up empty handed. At the time, he had gloated over their lack of success, but now he found himself wishing that they hadn't.
"If you had let us local 'slack jawed yokels' get involved in this from the beginning, maybe our friend wouldn't have been able to cause as much destruction as he has." Sweeny said. He almost regretted it, but not quite. It was late and he was grumpy. People were dead and their killer roamed about freely, and now he found out that the little shit had been doing this for years. On top of that, it seemed as if he had gotten his start right under Sweeny's nose without him being able to so much as get coffee for the men investigating it.
"That wasn't my decision." Miles said, his green eyes intensifying with the insult. "I was not yet assigned to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at the time that this took place. If you want to point fingers, you will have to point them in the direction of Washington. All that matters at this point, however, is that we catch this creep."
"I know." Sweeny said, but before he could follow that with an apology, Miles continued.
"In all honesty, I could have booted you off the case as soon as it was handed to me. This is not your jurisdiction anymore." Miles reminded him. "Unlike former federal agents, though, I recognize the benefit of including local law enforcement when it comes to solving a crime that has taken place in their back yard. So from now on, keep your observations about the past to yourself. None of that is going to help us nail this guy to wall."
"You're right." Sweeny said, letting a long sigh escape. "I didn't mean to offend you, Miles, I just wish that this guy had been caught a long time ago. Anderson was an ass, but he didn't deserve what happened to him. None of this guy's victims have. He is a sick bastard and I want to see him dead."
"Or arrested?" Miles asked, arching an eyebrow out of concern.
"If I have to settle for that." Sweeny answered. "Do you really think a guy like this will just throw up his hands and surrender though?"
"He might, and that is the part that can really grate on guys like us." Miles said. "He might come peacefully if he realizes he has no way out. A man like this is likely to plead and be granted insanity. After a while, he could prove himself to be 'cured' and be returned to society. Just because you and I know that he can never be cured, doesn't stop all the socially liberal people from thinking that he can. They would eventually turn him loose and let us mop up the mess."
"Exactly." Sweeny said. "That is why I would like to make surrender impossible for him. I don't want him to have the chance at reform. He doesn't deserve it. He deserves to die in a way that forces him to feel just as helpless as his victims."
"Careful." Miles cautioned him. "We have to walk a careful line on this. I want him just as bad as you do, but neither of us can go all 'rogue cop' with this guy. If the opportunity arises that we are able to take him out in a legal manner, great. If not, we have to rely on the court system even though we don't have a lot of faith in it."
"Why would we have faith in it?" Sweeny nearly exploded. "They let criminals walk all the time. I damn sure don't want to let this creep slip through the cracks of the 'justice' system."
"Look, even if we can't put a bullet through his head, at least we will know who he is." Miles said. "So even if the justice system lets us down, we will be able to keep tabs on him once he is let go. Right now, though, I don't want to think about what will happen after we catch him. I want to focus on the actual catching part. Can I rely on you to perform your duty without letting personal issues get in the way?"
"Yeah." Sweeny said, finally giving in. "I always put duty first. You can count on me. This guy just makes me so mad."
"He makes a lot of people mad." Miles grinned. "Why should you be so different?"
"Okay, so we know this jackass killed the senator seven years ago and made a pretty picture out of his insides. I have read and re-read this file to exhaustion. What else has the bastard done that makes you think we have the same guy?" Sweeny asked. It was late, but he did not want to go home yet.
"Do you really want me to let you know the rest?" Miles asked. "You have been pouring over this one all day and into the evening. I have a lot more where this came from. At the rate you are moving, you will still be sitting here this time next year."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Sweeny said. "I just focused so hard on this one because it took place right here in Grand Junction. Since I was not allowed to take part in the investigation at the time, I was hoping that I could pick up on something from the report that would clue me in on what this guy's real drive is."
"Did you get anything?" Miles asked.
"Not much." Sweeny admitted. "I may have spent too much time on it. It has been seven years after all. That is a lot of time for a trail to go cold. I do have a hunch about his motivation, though, and I want to see if I can back up my theory by looking at his other attempts at artwork."
"What would that be?" Miles asked, leaning forward.
"I think this guy just might be an anarchist." Sweeny answered. "I don't think he was working with Green Peace when he gutted this senator any more than I think he was representing a homophobic agenda when he killed the golfers. All of his killings that I have seen seem to leave a message, but none of the messages are the same."
"And you think this could be related to anarchy?"
"I don't know yet, but maybe the rest of your information on him will answer that." Sweeny said. "If there are more political messages and implications in his other acts, it would sure point to that. Think about it, why would he have so many different political viewpoints that he would be willing to kill for?"
"Maybe he is really into a lot of causes." Miles suggested half-heartedly.
"I doubt it." Sweeny answered. "I would be willing to bet that, at some point, his killings had messages that contradicted with other ones. I have a feeling that he is more about playing different sides against each other than he is about supporting one cause over another."
"He does something that is really shocking and starts a shooting war between different factions." Miles said, feeling like Sweeny was going somewhere with this. "While the fighting ignites, unity is thrown out the window. Chaos prevails. I think you just might have something here. Maybe the files we have on him will support your theory."
"I hope they do." Sweeny said. "Knowing what motivates a killer is the first step in bringing him down."
"What about his most recent killings, though?" Miles asked. "What were the messages in them? Why was the woman called a deceitful whore? What was the significance of the damage done to Detective Anderson?"
"I don't know yet." Sweeny said with a slight shrug. "But I sure as hell intend to find out."