Coming from anyone else she’d have taken it in stride. After all, she’d trained with the best, but coming from him it was different, and she couldn’t find words, just stood there staring stupidly.
For a moment they were connecting on levels that had nothing to do with chasing suspects, or following procedure. And then it was gone as if it had never existed, the cold wind blowing it away in a whisper of fall leaves.
“We’d better get down.” He started his descent, and she stood for a moment looking out over the rooftops, knowing that something had changed between them, something core-deep and unimpeachable. The thought elated her. And scared her to death.
And so, in the way that she’d handled most everything tricky in her life, she chose to ignore it, instead concentrating on matters at hand. With a sigh, she abandoned the roof to follow him down the ladder.
* * *
“You saw nothing at all?” Gabe tried to contain his fury. This was quickly turning into a farce, someone leading them around by the nose with gleeful intent.
“Not a thing. The alley was deserted the whole time.” Nigel sat on the arm of what passed for a sofa.
The apartment was furnished, although the word was more a euphemism than a reality. There was a table and a couple of chairs, along with the decrepit sofa and the mattress on the floor of the bedroom.
“No other means of egress? What about the windows and door opening off the alley?”
“All duly checked, I assure you. The door was locked, and two of the windows were barred. The third window only opened about six inches, which means unless the man was a contortionist he didn’t get out that way.”
“He didn’t come my way, either.” Payton leaned, arms crossed, against the battered table. “The only way out was the front door or the alley and the only person I saw there was Nigel.”
“So that leaves the roof,” Madison said with a sigh. “Except that there wasn’t any sign of him up there.”
“Well, he had to have gone somewhere.” Gabe ran a hand through his hair, knowing his frustration showed in every gesture. But it couldn’t be helped. There were answers to be found. And, damn it, he was in charge of finding them.
“If he was here at all.” Payton put voice to the thought they’d all been avoiding.
“Someone was here,” Madison insisted, tilting her head toward the bedroom. “I definitely heard the window go up.”
“I heard it, too,” Gabe confirmed.
“But did you actually see anyone?” Payton asked.
They shook their heads almost in tandem. “Still, the window didn’t open itself. Someone was here,” Madison said, walking over to the bedroom door. Tracy’s techs were still in there, scouring the room for tangible evidence of the room’s occupant.
“Someone who’s obviously having a bit of fun at our expense.” Nigel frowned. “Anything from the bedroom?”
As if on command, one of the techs walked into the living room. “Place is clean. No personal possessions. No hint of occupancy at all. And to top it off the room’s been wiped down.”
“So no fingerprints.” Gabe’s comment was meant to be rhetorical, but the tech answered anyway.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Although they’re still dusting the window ledge and the fire escape.”
“I doubt you’ll find anything there but my prints,” Madison said, an edge of disgust in her voice. “I wasn’t exactly careful when I hopped over the sill.”
“You were just doing your job.” Gabe wasn’t sure why he felt the need to reassure her, but now that it was said there was no taking it back. “Besides, I was right behind you.”
Madison’s eyes widened in surprise, the look on her face almost worth the price of his conciliatory action.
“So where the hell do we go from here?” Nigel asked. “We’ve got a string of seven dead, all of them invested, to more or less degree, in the consortium and the accord. M.O. seems to change at random, repeating at will, and then veering off into something different, the latest out-and-out homicide. We’ve got a bloke hacking into our computer conceivably from Virginia, but then the man turns up on the phone records of our seventh victim—here in New York. And when we try to track him down he disappears like Casper the fucking ghost.”
“What’s interesting to me,” Payton said, “is the fact that there’s nothing here. Nothing personal. So if the guy really rented the place, where’s his stuff?”
“He moved out.” Gabe shrugged.
“And then what?” Payton asked. “Came back to wait for us to drop by? I find it difficult enough to accept that he just vanished into thin air. When you add luggage to the picture, I’d say it’s impossible.”
“There’s no reason to believe he’d have had personal effects here. In fact, we don’t even know that he was here at all. Maybe we scared a vagrant,” Gabe said. The option had a certain merit. “People like that survive by knowing how to fade into the woodwork.”
“So you’re saying our target, if he ever was here, was long gone by the time we arrived. And that all we’ve been doing is chasing our tails?” Payton flushed with anger, his scar white by contrast.
“It’s possible.” Gabe lifted his hands in defeat.
“It seems to me then that the pressing issue is to figure out who W. Smith is.” Madison stood up. “So far he’s done a pretty good job of covering his tracks. But everyone makes mistakes. We just need to find his weakness.”
“Before someone else winds up dead,” Nigel agreed.
* * *
“So what happened?” Harrison was following her around like an eager puppy dog, and although normally she was glad of his company, at the moment she needed time to think. To try and find logic where seemingly there was none.
“He got away,” she said with a sigh, “or was never there to begin with.”
“Was the apartment registered to W. Smith?”
“Yes. Three months, paid in cash.” They were walking along the corridor to Cullen’s office. Madison hadn’t even known she was going there, but suddenly she liked the idea. Surely Cullen could help her make heads or tails of the whole thing.
“Did the manager give you a description?”
“What?” Madison pulled herself out of her thoughts, scrambling to remember what Harrison had asked. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit distracted.”
“I asked if you got a description.”
“From the manager? No. Everything was done by mail. It wasn’t exactly a check-your-credentials kind of place.”
“So we really have nothing.” Harrison’s frustration mirrored her own.
“That’s not true.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Thanks to you we have a connection between the hacker and Candace Patterson. She obviously knew him. And I think it’s valid to assume that he may have killed her. That’s a heck of a lot more than we knew this morning.”
“Yes, but it still doesn’t get us any closer to finding the man. And if the pattern holds true, there will be more murders.”
“Any luck with the alias angle?”
Harrison shook his head. “I’m still working on it. And Payton has feelers out with some of his colleagues. But nothing so far. Gabe’s given me access to the antiterrorism database. I suspect it’s got more concise information than anything I’ve been able to look at so far.”
“I’m surprised he agreed. The man guards his territory with the ferocity of a pit bull.”
“Maybe where you’re concerned.” Harrison’s smile was sly. “But he’s seemed happy enough to help me. Maybe it’s all in the way one asks.” His tone was teasing, but there was a message there, as well.
Something about drawing flies with honey…
She shook the thought away. “Have you started your search?” The question was brusque, but then Harrison had been baiting her.
“Not yet.” His expression turned serious. “I was waiting to see if you all found anything. Guess I’d best get at it.”
Madison smiled and reached for his hand
. “Sorry I snapped. I’m afraid we’re all running on a bit of a short fuse these days.”
“And will be until we get to the bottom of this.” He squeezed her hand. “No worries.”
“I think that’s a bit of an understatement.” Gabriel walked out of Cullen’s office, his expression thunderous. “Looks like the two of you have been busy.” His tone was snide, his gaze locked on their clasped hands.
Madison flushed, dropping Harrison’s hand like a hot potato, feeling all of about twelve.
“She was filling me in on what happened in the Village,” Harrison said, apparently unaffected by Gabriel’s implication. But then of course he would be. “Sorry you didn’t catch the bastard,” he continued. “But we’ll get him next time. I was just heading for the operations room to start searching the Homeland Security computers. Hopefully that’ll turn up something.”
Gabriel nodded, seeming to find focus. Madison, still tongue-tied, was grateful for the reprieve. “I’ve just been talking to Cullen. It seems the Chinese are threatening to walk.” Gabriel included them both in his somber gaze, his anger vanishing as quickly as it had come.
“That’s what Jeremy said,” Madison responded, delighted to hear that her voice sounded normal, “but Cullen assured him it was more talk than action.”
“Not anymore. Kingston evidently got a call an hour ago. And unless we get things under wraps fast, all bets are off. As you can imagine, Cullen’s fit to be tied.”
“Did you talk to him about adding security? I’d say he’s as likely a target as anyone.” Harrison as usual cut right to the chase.
“He’s already got quite a bit, but he’s aware of the need. We need to talk to Kingston and Jeremy. They’re also likely targets.”
“Security might not matter much,” Madison said, a new thought pushing its way front and center. “I’m sure we’ve all thought it. But no one has said it out loud. If Candace Patterson knew W. Smith, then it’s possible that Cullen and crew do, too.” She paused, her gaze encompassing them both. “And if it’s truly an inside job, he’s already got access.”
* * *
“Yes.” Nigel moved farther into the shadows of the alleyway, his cell phone held tightly in one gloved hand. “Everything’s going as planned. They have no idea.”
He listened to the voice on the other end of the line, wishing that someone else could have been chosen for the job. His loyalty was clear, but his conscience was not.
People were dying. And while he knew it was the price of the game, he didn’t have to like it.
“Yes, yes, I will.” He nodded to no one in particular. “It’s all in place. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s not exactly my first mission, is it? I’m very good at what I do. Plus I have the added advantage of knowing how the man works.” He clicked off the phone, swallowing a surge of disgust.
Oh, yes, he knew how he worked. For the last decade he’d even called the man friend. But then, in this business, there really was no such thing.
Chapter Fifteen
“I would have taken you to Nino’s, you know.” Philip Merrick laid down the plastic fork and shot his daughter a frown.
“I know.” Madison shrugged. Nino’s, an Italian restaurant on First Avenue, was a favorite, but when her father offered to take her there, it invariably meant he wanted something, and tonight she wasn’t up to the fight. “I just thought it would be better if we ate here.”
“So you could keep on working.” It wasn’t a question, and his voice held a note of frustration. “You work too much.”
“People’s lives are at stake, Dad. It’s not exactly a situation I can control.” She pushed away her plate, suddenly losing her appetite. The ops room was empty, everyone gone for the night. If she’d had her way, she wouldn’t have stopped for dinner, but her father had been insistent, and this was the compromise.
“Which is exactly why I think you’re out of your league. You’re supposed to be holed up in Virginia probing into the psychological whys and wherefores. Not on the front lines here in the city. Cullen told me what happened today. Hell, Madison, you could have been killed.” Philip’s expression darkened, his gray eyes the mirror image of Madison’s, and she realized that she’d made a tactical error. Nino’s was a public place and her father would never make a scene. Here, on the other hand…
She sighed. “There was no one there. I couldn’t have been hurt.”
“You didn’t know that. Cullen said—”
“Cullen should mind his own business.” She cut him off with the wave of an arm. It was an old argument, but she never seemed to quit rising to the bait. If her father had it his way, she’d be home baking cookies for his grandchildren. “Besides, he’s the one who got me into this.”
“I know. And believe me, I’ve given him a piece of my mind on that subject. But unfortunately, neither of you has ever listened to a word I say. Sometimes I think you’re more his daughter than mine.” If Madison hadn’t known better, she’d have said there was a touch of jealousy in his tone, but Philip Merrick wasn’t the jealous type. He just liked maintaining control.
“Look, this case is no different from any of the others I’ve worked on. There’s always some degree of danger, and you know it. But I’m careful.”
“It’s not you I worry about.” Their gazes met and held. “I had the men you’re working with investigated. A bunch of hotheaded daredevils. According to the information I got, they’re not exactly play-by-the-rules kind of guys.”
“They walk the line, I’ll grant you that.” She fought to keep her tone even. No sense starting a fight. “But they’re trained professionals, and Cullen’s worked with them before.”
“Cullen wants what he wants.” Her father waved a dismissive hand. “But that doesn’t give him the right to put you in danger. There’s a murderer out there, Madison, and now, thanks to Cullen, you’re in the line of fire.”
“I can take care of myself.” She sighed, silently counting to ten. “If you’d pay any attention at all, you’d realize that I’m not a little girl anymore. This is what I do, and it doesn’t matter if it’s for the FBI or Cullen Pulaski. Either way, the job is the same. I’m out there to stop the bad guys. An honorable ambition, surely.”
“Not if it gets you killed.” Her father had crossed his arms, his expression mutinous.
“I’m not going to get killed. And I’m not going to quit the team, either. So you might as well give it up. Nothing you say will make a difference.”
“What about your mother? Shouldn’t you be thinking of her?”
Leave it to her father to try every angle. “Mother doesn’t care what I do. She’s far too busy fighting for the Ganges mountain beetle or whatever cause she’s adopted of late. Besides, unlike you, she’s accepted that I make my own decisions.”
“Well, I don’t know why that should surprise me. She never did have the sense God gave a goose.” Despite their divorce, Madison’s parents were actually quite comfortable with each other. Time, it seemed, did in fact heal all wounds. “And just because she doesn’t see the risk doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“Dad,” Madison ground out, her patience stretched to the limit, “I’ll be fine.”
“What about this Gabriel Roarke person? He sounds just like Rick.”
There were similarities to her ex, but Madison wasn’t about to discuss them with her father. Besides, she was beginning to think that maybe she’d underestimated the man, and quite honestly, she wasn’t about to admit that, either. “It’s not the same. For one thing, I’m not involved with Gabriel.” At least not yet. The thought caught her by surprise, the accompanying rush of heat telling. “He’s a colleague. Like Harrison.”
Her father’s expression said it all. In his world there could be only one relationship between a man and a woman—a horizontal one.
“I’m not interested in Gabriel Roarke. And even if I were, it has nothing to do with my ability to do my job.” She loved her father, really she did, but sometimes she wan
ted to throttle him.
“I just want what’s best for you, Madison.” There was real concern in his eyes now, and Madison felt a rush of guilt.
“I know you do, Dad. But you’ve got to accept that I’m not going to change my mind about what I do.”
“Maybe not. But it’s my duty as your father to make sure you don’t get in over your head. Even if it makes you angry.”
“I’m not quitting the task force.” They were at an impasse again. God save her from overbearing men.
“Fine.” Her father stood up, his face flushed with anger. “Then I’ll just have to talk to Cullen.”
“Do what you have to do. But it’s not going to change anything.” She was wasting her breath—he’d already pushed past her, heading for the door. It swung open and her father barreled right into Gabriel. The two men stopped for a moment, assessing each other, and then her father shouldered by him, dismissing Gabriel with the gesture.
“Not a happy camper.” Gabriel’s dark brow arced upward, his expression amused.
“My father,” Madison admitted, crossing her arms to hide the fact that they were shaking. “It seems the two of you have something in common.” She fought against her anger, knowing it wouldn’t solve anything, but she’d simply had enough. “He wants me off the task force, too.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I never said that I wanted you off the team. I just don’t like the idea of sharing command.”
“It’s more than that and you know it,” Madison snapped, common sense taking a back seat to her indignation. “You think what I do is a waste of time. That I’m nothing more than a woman with a crystal ball.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” He frowned, his anger rising to match hers. “I’ll admit I’m a bit skeptical about profiling as a valid tool, especially with regard to terrorists. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place.”
“In the back room of some flophouse.”
“Madison,” he reached out to take hold of her shoulders. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you’re mad at your father, not me.”
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