Chapter No.61. BTK.

The summer was over, and James and Sylvia were ready to go back to high school. Janet was preparing to go back to her job as a credit union manager after an extended vacation.

"You don't have to ride on your Vespa to school," Robert told his son. "I put a car in the garage for you to use."

James's smile temporarily grew large before settling to a subtle smirk. "Cool!"

"I figured that you and Sylvia would be going together to school."

"Of course," he replied before he and Sylvia went off to the garage.

"Janet was ready to go to work. "So, what are you up to today?"

"I think I'll spend some time on the basement. I'd like to create a game room down there."

She offered him a smile. "Have fun."

After he was alone, Robert went to the basement and began a careful remodeling of the main part of the basement. He replaced the old stone walls with cement blocks and the floor with terrazzo tile. His next step was to begin a complete changeover of the electrical and plumbing, all of it by simply waving his hand.

He heard the landline phone ring and teleported to the kitchen to answer it. The call ID showed that it was the FBI.

"I see that you've moved," Mark said. "You're out in the Freemont area."

"Yeah, we decided that we want more privacy."

"We have a really difficult case on our table. We thought you might be interested because some of the crimes have been committed in the Freemont district."

"I would help you even it wasn't. I'll be there shortly."

He hung up and suddenly realized that he was still working in the basement. The incongruity of that situation surprised him.

He was greeted by Mark and Joe when he appeared in the FBI office.

"This is another serial killer case," Mark told him. "He's killing families, mostly women with children but no husband. To make matters worse he's binding them up and torturing them before killing them."

Robert rubbed his jaw. "Hmm, that sounds like the BTK killer."

"Yes, but in this case, he's not taunting the media," Mark said. "In some cases, we only find out about a crime when the local police discover it accidently."

"In other words, this is a lone wolf killer."

"Yes. He might not be a prominent member of society."

Suddenly, Robert was aware of his double at home answering the doorbell.

"I'm the septic tank inspector for the county," the man said. He was in his early fifties and had a nicely trimmed beard.

"It's over there next to that tree stump," Robert said, pointing to a large stump in the front yard.

"I don't see many men home at this hour."

Robert gave him a subtle grin. "My wife's the breadwinner. I was in a bad car accident and just recently recovered."

The man briefly smiled. "Okay, I get busy doing my job." He turned and walked over to the septic tank access.

"I think I might have found your killer. I just had a guy claiming to be a septic system inspector come to my door."

"When did this happen?" Mark asked.

"Right now."

"What do you mean?"

"One of my powers allows me to be in more than one place at a time."

Mark and Joe exchanged glances before Mark turned back to Robert. "What makes you think that he might be the killer?"

"Well, he's packing a Glock nine-millimeter with a noise suppressor. I don't think that's part of his equipment for doing his job."

"Did he give his name?"

"No, but I saw it on his badge. He's Carl Vasson."

Joe sat down at a computer and began a search. After several minutes, he had something. "He does work for the Freemont County and lives not too far from you."

"I can go sneak into his house and see if there is any incriminating evidence."

"That would help," Mark said. "We'd have to go through bureaucratic hell to get a court order, especially without any evidence."

"I shall return," Robert said before he vanished.

"Do you believe that he can be in two places at the same time?" Joe asked Mark.

"I've given up doubting him," Mark said. "It's best that we don't rock the boat. He has helped us with some very difficult cases that would not have been solved."

Joe had to agree with that.

Robert appeared inside Carl's house, an aging thirties craftsman sitting far enough back from the road to be nearly invisible. The inside was well kept but had a lot of aging signs. Robert couldn't find anything in the living areas, so he decided to search the basement. That's when he found a room that was sealed off from the main part of the basement.

He decided to use his new iPhone to photograph what he saw and then teleport back to the FBI office.

"I've taken some photos of a sealed off room in the basement. I believe there is sufficient evidence to convict him." Robert transferred his photos to the compute system.

"Holy shit!" Joe said. "The guy kept a photographic record of his crime victims."

Mark turned to Robert. "How did you get the videos?"

"They're in his computer. Evidently, he meticulously recorded his crimes."

Joe turned to Mark. "We're going to have trouble explaining how we got these."

"I think that I have a solution," Robert said. "He's made the mistake of robbing a gun store. He has an extensive collection of guns and ammunition. That would allow you to get a court order to get into his house."

"We don't have any evidence," Mark said.

"I think that fingerprints are on record for a theft of the Wilson Firearm Emporium. Vasson's fingerprints are on record for a previous crime of theft."

"How do you know that?" Mark asked.

"I can see what is hidden and discern what is secret," he said before he vanished.

Robert returned home and became one with his double.

When his wife, son and daughter returned home, Robert had a supper of sausages and potatoes salad waiting for them.

"How's the basement remodel coming?" Janet asked him.

"It's all done. I also helped Mark and Joe solve an especially terrible crime."

"You did all of that today?" she asked, squinting at him.

"Yeah, it appears that we have another power that's definitely going to change everything."

"Really?"

"Yes. You know how we keep saying that God exists everywhere and anywhere. Well, it turns out that we can be in more than one place at a time. It's almost as if we can clone ourselves and actually exist in more than one body at a time."

James turned to Sylvia. "Do you realize what this means! We can be off having fun while we're in school."

"The main thing is that you can remain doing what you do but can join me if I have to go on a mission."

"What case did you solve?" James asked.

"It was similar to the BTK killer case, except this was a guy doing septic system inspections for Freemont County. He preyed on mostly women with children, binding them before torturing them to death."

"Wow, that's close to us?"

"Yeah. He lived in a house down the road from us. It'll be in the news soon. Fortunately, I won't be mentioned."

"It's obvious that God has put us in the right places to solve these problems," Janet said.

They all agreed to that.