Recycle - 6. Chapter 6

The next attack came in Holyoke. “Is this a pattern?” Ike asked. “Who followed us the last time?”

“Westfield,” Elena told him.

“Not a pattern,” he admitted, then added, “Who followed that?”

Elena checked. “Greenfield.”

“Pretty much random?”

She nodded, and Ike grinned.

“I should stay out of this.”

Still, Elena filled him and everyone else in on the details, making sure she had everything in place before she passed information on to the other police stations.

“What’s Holyoke doing?” Owen asked.

“Forwarding everything to us... to me... since we seem to be the default center.”

Owen laughed. “That’s good, and it’s bad.” He seemed to calculate. “Good, because we have their respect. Bad, to have the only responsibility.”

“And no budget,” Ike reminded him.

“I’m sure every chief’s thinking about that... all my friendly co-captains.” Owen grinned again. “Well, do what you can, Elena, without too much overtime. And without getting everyone else behind in their work.”

She nodded, and the next person she talked with was Jae – because she was the youngest and had most recently been a full-time student. They talked about the kind of person the shooter could be.

“If it’s a student?” Jae questioned.

“Yes.”

“Because that’s making an assumption.”

“I know... But it’s something Don suggested, and I think it might make sense... That the shooter only hits on students because that’s who it’s around.”

Jae nodded. “It’s logical that a student would be comfortable on campus. But so would a teacher be. Or any member of the staff.”

“Not some I remember.”

Jae smiled, not disagreeing. “Well, one of the younger ones – a grad student or one of the new adjuncts... Someone just finishing a degree.”

“You tell me,” Elena replied.

Jae considered again. “No,” she decided. “The shooter’s age seems less important than the things it knows... what it has access to.”

Elena waited. “Go on.”

“Like who has tranquilizer darts?” Jae asked. “The guns are easy... they’re air rifles, and you can buy them anywhere... even the more convenient air pistols. They’re smaller and easier to hide. And they’re all unlicensed – like you’ve said.”

Elena agreed.

“But someone who could get the tranquilizers,” Jae continued, “without being noticed. That’s who we’re after.”

“And someone who can shoot?”

Jae disagreed. “That may not be as important... at least, not at first. Anyone can practice. You don’t even need a target range or a gun club. That’s too bad, ‘cause it would be easy to trace – everyone has to register, and there’s only a handful of clubs around here. But to get better at shooting, you just need some old cans and a field. Or you can go out in the forest. And remember how easy it was to learn to shoot a .45.”

Elena frowned. “That’s still a bit tough for me.”

“‘Cause we’re both small. But look at Ike. He just stands there. No recoil.”

They laughed.

“The point is,” Jae went on, “you can’t fake the tranquilizers. Even if you make them yourself, you still need the drugs... and the prescriptions. Or access to the chemicals and knowing how to mix them.”

“A pharmacist?” Elena suggested. “Or a pharmacy student? Or chem student?”

“Or any of their teachers,” Jae agreed. “But I’ll bet these darts are store bought or come from online. That’s so much easier.”

“But it leaves a trail.”

“Then we need to find it.”

Elena laughed.

“Nothing?” Jae asked.

“Everything,” Elena corrected. “It’s a rabbit hole... down and down and wider and wider. That’s why I asked you – to try to narrow my approach.”

Jae thought. “What if the shooter used gift cards? – there are racks of them in supermarkets, and you can pay for them in cash. Then they can be used... anywhere... especially online.”

“So you stay anonymous.”

“Absolutely.”

“But you still need a prescription... which goes back to a trail. And I did some research on that... A lot of people can write a prescription – doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants – and even podiatrists, optometrists, and some midwives. But writing one for tranquilizer darts is restricted to veterinarians. And even then, people buying the darts often have to be licensed in their fields.”

“So it’s a smaller pool?”

“It’s tiny actually,” Elena confirmed. “But here’s a complication... Do you remember when the shootings started?”

Jae needed to think. “Seven or eight weeks ago?”

Elena nodded. “Even more than that – right after school began.” She waited for Jae to make the connection. “So even if we checked every local and even regional vet, and every related organization – animal shelters, wildlife rescue facilities, adoption agencies, the state troopers – there’s no saying the shooter didn’t come from farther away.”

“An out-of-state student?”

Elena agreed. “At least, we can eliminate international ones. It would be tough getting those darts through customs.”

“Canada and Mexico?” Jae suggested.

“And maybe every place south of Mexico – but mainly someone coming by car. It might be possible.”

“Which makes it too big.”

Elena grinned. “Way too big – so we may as well forget it. And that means – at least, temporarily – we should stop trying to trace a prescription trail and focus on what we have around us.”

“Makes sense,” Jae concurred. Then she again considered. “In that case, UMass might be the best place to start... it has the most students and programs. Definitely not Waldron... it has the worst students... the weakest. And the community colleges are uneven. And Smith and Amherst are better than Holyoke. And Hampshire’s kind of a joke – though its students are the most creative. But they’d probably end up tranqing themselves...”

“So UMass,” Elena decided.

“That’s what I think... but it could just be me. They have a vet program, too, so might have animal tranquilizers.”

“What about hunters?”

“I don’t think they get college credit,” Jae joked.

“I know that,” Elena said smiling. “But the criminal justice program...”

“Which we both know well.”

Elena nodded.

“Though do you ever remember learning about darts?” Jae went on.

“Just that they’re fake,” Elena admitted. “At least, the kind that turn up in movies – instant knock out drops.”

“Nothing’s changed in ten years,” Jae assured her. “Tranqs aren’t tasers... but who’d want to mess with them?”

“Fortunately, they’re not what the shooter has.”

“So tranquilizer darts... Find them, and you have the shooter... Maybe.”

“Yeah... I know... the ‘maybes.’”

Still, Elena went to UMass and did a week of exploring and asking questions before reporting back. “If the Internet’s a trap,” she began, “at least, in one way... darts get us in another.” She checked her notes. “The vet program has them... but they’re only for show. They don’t even demonstrate them anymore, considering the animal rights groups. And even in emergencies, the darts have to be so carefully signed for – documented and signed and co-signed – that the teachers say it’s easier to call the state troopers – they have darts for bears.”

“And for smaller animals,” Rob added, “like rabid dogs.”

“Also,” Elena continued, “when we were looking at what was locked up at UMass, we realized the prescriptions were so old... so often out of date... that the drugs should’ve been destroyed. They could weak and dangerous.”

“How do they get rid of them?” Owen asked.

“Good question,” Elena replied. “Because if they just recycle them – at a drug store or hazardous waste center – maybe that’s where we should be looking. The shooter could get them there.”

“Steal them?” Ike asked.

“Just slip them out,” Elena offered. “I’ll bet it’s like used batteries and burnt light bulbs... you drop ‘em in a bin, and no one keeps track.” She considered. “But who’d have that many? The shooter’s used at least eleven.”

“They could mount up,” Don suggested. “From the troopers, and private vets, and UMass, and even the local police stations – I think we’ve had one or two over the years. If each place even contributed one...”

“It could still take years,” Elena allowed. “And that takes us away from your suggestion of students – they’re not here long enough.”

“But there’s something else,” Jae reminded them. “If a pharmacy or chem student – like you thought, Elena – volunteered to work at one of these centers... or even worked part-time or did an internship in a drug store... And if even one tranquilizer dart came in, it might act as a suggestion... And maybe the student would know how to mix the other old drugs... sedatives and sleeping pills... to make new darts.”

“That would bypass a prescription,” Don admitted, “and eliminate a trail.”

“I wish we had just one of the darts,” Elena told them. “It would answer some questions... maybe give us a direction. I wonder if there’s any chance of finding the one our first kid threw away.”

“There’s no saying the shooter didn’t pick that up, too,” Rob pointed out. “Whoever it is has to be following pretty closely behind, waiting for his target to pass out.”

“That’s also putting a lot of hope on one dart,” Owen added on. “If it’s damaged, and the shooter has no back-up, the whole business stops – and that hasn’t happened. So this might be another good but time consuming lead.”

“We need more information,” Elena simply told him. She knew he was bright enough to follow that out.

He stood there then slowly blinked at her. “Yeah,” he admitted, partly grinning, “I’ve been thinking about that.” He hesitated again, then sighed. “I’ve been hoping to avoid it,” he finally began to commit, “because you all know what going to happen... But if you’re ready... and if it’s the next logical step... then going public might be the best way.”

They all laughed. Because they knew the fastest way to get Owen to do something was by having him suggest it himself.