Episode 37 Obsession (part 1/3) (Patreon)

Episode 37

Jack Routh

The pool area behind the hotel had been cleared hours ago as the organizers rushed to calm the panicked girls. Task force members dressed as maintenance workers sealed off the site that night as an emergency meeting took place inside one of the rooms.

He didn’t join the meeting, preferring to take a closer look at the collapsed metal tower that was supposed to hold the lighting, cameras, and sound systems for the pageant.

“Someone took off the bolts.” One of the experts brought in frowned beside him.

“How did it remain standing before it fell?” He asked.

“Whoever did this knew what they were doing.” The structural engineer replied and pointed to a few bent metal poles. “See those pipes? They’ve been sawed off partially, drastically reducing their strength. Just kick this one truss off and the whole thing collapses.”

“We didn’t get anything substantial.” One of the FBI agents added.

“No cameras on who did it?” He turned to look at the other members of the task force sorting through the wreckage, looking for clues.

“The tower was meant to hold the cameras for the overhead shot.” The agent added. “Besides, everyone was focused on the swimsuit event.”

“No shit.” The engineer replied. “Everyone would be looking at those girls if they’re wearing skimpy bikinis.”

It looked like it was a dead end here. He stood up and dusted the dirt and sand that got on his pants. He was about to leave when a glint of something shiny caught his eye, and he focused his flashlight so that he could see what it was.

He knelt on the grass and moved his flashlight closer to the shiny object.

“What is it?” One of the agents asked him.

“I’m not sure.” He replied. Whatever it is, it was partially buried in the ground and covered by blades of grass. It was a wonder he was able to spot it. “Take a few photos of it first, and then let’s get it off the dirt.”

“On it.” The FBI agent quickly stood up and called for assistance.

It was a gold tooth cap.

It was getting late, but he still waited for the analysis from the FBI’s field office, and the results confused him even more. They were able to retrieve trace amounts of DNA from the object. No records matched, but they were able to confirm that it came from a male. It might not feel like it was related to the incident earlier, but so far, this was his only clue.

He headed to the lobby, eager to get home and get some rest, but was surprised to see Angela eating a sandwich with Nyla Harper at one of the tables.

“What are you two doing here?” He asked.

“Look who it is.” Angela gave him a warm greeting while Nyla just waved since her mouth was busy chewing.

“Mister big shot judge himself.” Nyla added after she swallowed.

“I’m just a preliminary judge.” He replied.

“Still a judge.” Angela winked. “What county caught your attention?”

“The Butte girl has a nice figure.” Nyla shared. “She rocked that bikini.”

“I like the one from Glenn.” His former T.O. replied. “Why don’t you take a seat Jack, and get something to eat yourself. You look like you need it.”

He was hungry, and with a quick glance at the menu on the table, decided on a simple roast beef sandwich with fries on the side, and quickly got the attention of a nearby waiter and gave his order.

“We’re just here taking a break after investigating a news paparazzi.” Angle revealed in a lower tone of voice. “That man gives me the creeps.”

“What did he do?”

“We suspect him of tampering with crime scenes and then he sells them to the late-night news channels.” Nyla looked disgusted. “Angela doesn’t have any firm evidence to charge him yet, hence the surveillance operation.”

“And he’s here covering the pageant?” He asked, staring at the faces of the two detectives.

“I know, and it’s out of character for him. He usually covers more violent crime scenes.” Angela revealed. “The more bloody and disturbing, the better it is for him.”

“There nearly was one here hours ago.” Nyla mused. “Was that really an accident?”

He stilled, realizing there could be a connection between Angela’s target and the domestic terrorist they were hunting.

“Do you have pictures of this person?” He asked.

“Sure.” Angle handed him her phone, and he took a look at the picture of the man. He was looking at whoever took the picture, a friendly smile on his face. He had long, greasy hair combed back, deep sunken eyes, and a thin face.

He immediately picked up details and noticed the man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. It was a strange look, and he had never seen anyone capable of smiling like that before. The facial muscles weren’t quite right, no crinkled corners in the eyes, the eyebrows were the same, and it was like only his mouth and cheeks were moving while he was smiling.

He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the glint of gold clearly visible in his upper teeth. He had a possible suspect.

He ignored the waiter when he arrived with his food and took out his phone to call Garza immediately.

“Jack, what’s wrong?” Angela looked worried.

“I’ll tell you later.” It took five rings until his call was finally picked up. Garza sounded like he just woke up.

“What is it Routh?”

“I need to bring in two officers into the task force.” He replied. With strict operational security procedures in the FBI-led operation, he couldn’t just share what he was working on, even though he was close to Angela.

“You trust them?” Garza asked.

“They’re detectives assigned to Mid-Wilshire. What they’re investigating might be related to what we’re doing.”

“Fine. Your call. Bring them up to speed.”

“Thanks.” He ended the call and stared at the two women, their faces full of curiosity and intrigue. He took out two twenties from his wallet and placed them under the plate, and grabbed his sandwich.

“Come on, I’m going to take you to a place that’s more secure.” The FBI had booked several rooms in the hotel where the pageant was taking place, and they were even generous enough to provide him with a room of his own.

Angela and Harper were silent as they followed them up the elevator, and a few minutes later, they were in his barely used hotel room.

“Nice.” Nyla commented as she took in the view from the window.

“Spill.” Angela looked eager. “It looks like we stumbled into something big.”

“There’s a domestic terrorist who calls himself the gentleman. He already made an attempt on one of the candidates with an IED, and he wants to stop the pageant using any means.” He revealed. Angela and Nyla suddenly looked concerned and shared a look. “That utility tower that collapsed a few hours ago? That was deliberate.”

“You mean the guy I’m investigating…” Angela looked thoughtful.

“…Is the only suspect we have so far.” He finished for her and showed a photo of the gold cap from his phone. “I found this while we’re sorting through the debris, and when I saw Bloom’s picture.”

“It’s possible.” Harper nodded in agreement. “You said something about a Task Force earlier. Who are we working with?”

“The FBI is taking the lead, supported by DHS and the LAPD.” He answered. “I’m working as a consultant for the Bureau, and they brought me in because of the Gentleman’s letter since it contained an older variation of the English Language.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Angela asked. “Do you need help here?”

He shook his head. “There are more agents here from both agencies working on surveillance. If you can, try to investigate more about this Lou Bloom and his past. You might find something that can connect him to all of this.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll keep my eyes open here and work with the feds.” He added.

“Got it.” Angela stood up from the chair she was sitting on and stretched. “We’ll keep you updated, and thanks for bringing us in.”

“We appreciate it.” Harper smiled. "Haven't worked on a multi-agency task force for nearly a year now. At least this is different."

Miranda Priestly

She rarely drank alcohol, but for tonight she had already drunk a glass and was about to finish the second. She nearly died and quickly realized that if Jack was even a second too late in getting to her, her girls would lose their mother.

She quickly dismissed her two assistants after the incident and locked herself up in her suite once she got inside. She didn’t waste any time and immediately called on her babies, not caring for the time difference. She just needed to see them, see their smiles and hear their voices.

Caroline grumbled after being forced away from her favorite show, but sweet Cassidy was eager to demonstrate what she learned from her piano lessons. Half an hour later, and once the call ended, she opened the complimentary champagne the hotel staff had left for her suite and started drinking.

Her recent brush with death gave her a wake-up call, and it changed the approach and angle she was planning she had planned in her head regarding her target, Jack Routh. She initially wanted to focus on his lineage, but after spending time with him, she realized she wanted to focus on the man himself.

He was a cop from the city, yet the FBI asked for his help, and based on the whispers she was hearing, he had already helped the Bureau in catching a serial killer. She knew he was a decorated police officer, and she wanted to focus more on that. He had saved her life, and she wanted to know what made Routh wake up every day and knowingly put himself in harm’s way. She wanted to know his motivations, his goals, and his inspirations. What made him choose this career? With his looks, various talents, and academic background, he could have picked a safer career path that paid more than a cop's salary.

She sent a message to the other Emily and tapped her fingers, waiting for her assistant to arrive. God, they were so slow.

A few minutes later, her door opened and she pinned her gaze on Emily. Her assistant was wearing a robe, and it looked like she had just showered with how wet her hair was.

“You called for me, Miranda?” The young brunette asked.

“I need you to do extensive research on Officer Routh’s career as a police officer. His record, the charity organization he started, everything.” She replied. “You like this type of work, correct?”

“Yes! My article on the labor union strike required…”

“Get to it then.” She cut her off. “That’s all.”

Andrea Sachs took two steps back and silently left her room.

Angela Page

She left the gaggle of girls behind before breakfast even finished and headed down a hallway to one of the business centers. A couple of men in business looked up when she entered the room, but they ignored her and went back to working on their paperwork as she moved past them and opened a door on the other side.

The briefing was well underway, with Garza giving instructions since he wanted to assign more surveillance units around the hotel complex. A few agents gave her a friendly greeting as she made her way past them and sat on one of the couches, and took off her stupid sash. Miranda Priestly had already scolded her for allowing it to get wrinkled on her first day, and she didn’t want a repeat. Speaking of the devil… she was surprised that the woman was present for the morning briefing.

Normally, the woman would appear just before lunch during her training period to become a believable pageant contestant. This time, Miranda Priestly sat in the front row, just in front of the task force commander, giving off an aura that screamed bitch.

She looked around, wondering why the man she wanted to see the most wasn’t present. She heard his name so many times from her fellow contestants ever since it was officially announced that he would be a judge for the preliminary rounds.

Having Routh and the other judges join the contestants for breakfast just before the swimsuit and talent competition was incredibly funny. Nearly everyone watched the judges' table, specifically him, but no one dared to approach him so far. If they only knew what she knew, having spent some time with the famous cop, thanks to her previous assignment on doing security background checks on Howard’s close friends.

His presence and friendship with the scientists assured her that Wolowitz wasn’t some foreign agent and that he could be trustworthy. After her report, some defense contractors approached Wolowitz, eager to collaborate and develop new technologies for the military.

Howard and his friends were at first unsure of lending their expertise to develop weapons, but they didn’t have any problems trying to create a prototype exosuit. She knew they had a good chance to create a viable prototype, seeing Howard’s engineering talents firsthand.

“Sorry for coming late.”

Routh arrived with a stack of folders tucked underneath his arm. “We identified a possible suspect who can be the gentleman.”

Backs straightened, heads turned, and immediately the boring atmosphere of the morning briefing turned tense. Every eye watched as Jack handed a data stick to the tech that had his laptop hooked up to the overhead projector and then handed the stack of folders he had with him to Garza.

“Is this related to that call you made last night?” Their task force commander asked.

“Yes.” Jack nodded. “With the help of a few detectives, we made a connection from our suspect to one of the contestants and a possible motive.”

“Let’s hear it then.” Garza replied and stepped off the podium, and gave Routh the floor.

The overhead lights near the white screen shut off, and Jack gave a nod to the tech person seated at the side. An image appeared, showing a picture of a man smiling. She couldn’t tell his age accurately, given how thin and gaunt his face was. His hair was black, with deep-set eyes that were looking right at the camera, at her. That smile wasn’t right.

“This is Louis Bloom, age 33, from Figueroa Terrace at the Echo Park neighborhood. He owns Video Production News, and they mostly get footage of crime scenes and then send them to news networks.” Jack revealed. “He’s suspected of tampering with evidence at crime scenes, and that’s why Detective Lopez from Mid-Wilshire was investigating him.”

“How is he related to the gentleman?” One of the agents asked.

“Last night, we found a gold tooth cap near the base of the collapsed tower.” A picture of a gold tooth cap appeared on the screen with a white background and a ruler beside it to show how big it was.

“Structural analysis from our expert stated that it had been compromised, with bolts removed and struts sawed off. We found this gold tooth right there.” The image flickered, showing images of the tampered steel tube struts.

“Anyone else could have owned that.” Garza pointed out.

“True.” Jack nodded in his direction. “But, early morning, I had Detective Lopez follow Bloom discreetly as he submitted his own footage of the tower collapse to KWLA.”

Another picture of Louis Bloom appeared, this time without a gold tooth cap in his teeth as he spoke to what appeared to be a staff member at the news station.

“Bloom was close to the previous morning news director, Nina Romina.” Jack continued speaking, and she noticed he was looking in her direction. That surname sounded familiar. Wait.

"Are they dating?" An agent asked.

"We're not sure about that yet, and the detectives are investigating the matter. She passed away two months ago from a drug overdose, but she had a daughter, who is also a participant in Miss California.”

“She’s my roommate.” She replied. “Rachel Romina, from Orange County.”

“Then that’s your focus now, Agent Page.” Garza looked at her briefly and turned back to look at Routh. “Do you have any profile about this suspect?”

“He’s a chameleon.” Jack looked like he was deep in thought. “There are suspicions about evidence tampering and how his first employee died after trying to take footage of a suspect running away from the police. He still got away without any charges.”

“He filmed his own employee getting killed and sold the footage for profit within the hour.” Jack looked around, meeting everyone’s eyes. “This is not an ordinary criminal. Before he started his business, he had a record for burglary, arson, and assault. To be able to start a profitable business using the death and suffering of others means he’s resourceful and intelligent.”

“What about that letter?” Garza asked. “It doesn’t seem like that’s his style.”

“Like I said before in my analysis, whoever wrote it didn’t seem like a genuine scholar, just someone who used a translation tool.” Routh replied. “It’s possible Bloom manufactured this identity to get more news for his business. I’m not yet sure about his motivations aside from money. It’s possible he knows Romina’s daughter, and he doesn’t want her to participate in the pageant.”

“I’ll try to befriend her and get her to talk, see if she knows Bloom.” She replied.

“In the meantime, we’ll increase our surveillance the moment Bloom appears in the hotel.” Garza ordered. “I want multiple eyes on him, parabolic microphones, the works. Routh, I want a more detailed profile for this guy. Work with my analysts and see if you can form a more comprehensive character profile for our new suspect. Dismissed.”

Everyone stood up, some approaching Jack to ask for clarification about his presentation. She finally understood why the bureau wanted him so badly.