Blake Pierce - The Making of Riley Paige - 4 - Taking

by Blake Pierce

  Maybe something personal was bothering him.

  In any case, Riley didn’t feel like it was a good idea to ask.

  She just sat quietly in the car, trying to focus on the most amazing things

  about today—she was an FBI agent, she was on a case, and she was partnered

  with one of the most respected agents in the BAU.

  When they got to the airport, Crivaro rushed them through the check-in.

  She had to hurry to keep up as they practically ran all the way to the gate.

  Breathless from their dash through the concourse, they got there just in

  time for the last call for passengers on their flight. Riley remembered how

  Crivaro had looked at his watch when she’d arrived at his office and

  grumbled …

  “It’s about time you got here.”

  Now Riley understood why Crivaro had been so agitated about the time,

  If they’d gotten to the gate a couple of minutes later, they would have

  missed the flight completely. She wished he had explained things to her

  instead of just expecting her to follow along without question.

  He’d told her he had trouble working with partners. So, now that she was a

  partner and not just a trainee, what did that mean she’d be in for?

  Riley reminded herself that Crivaro must have had to plan this trip hastily.

  He probably hadn’t known about it himself until the last minute.

  This must be about something really urgent, she thought with a slight thrill of excitement.

  After they boarded, Crivaro sat in a window seat and stared outside as the

  plane took off. Sitting next to him, Riley was still wondering what was on his

  mind and why they’d been in such a rush. When the plane reached cruising

  altitude, Crivaro tilted back his seat and kept staring out the window. The

  light on his face revealed lines etched by years of difficult cases.

  Riley felt sure that whatever this one might be, she was going to learn a lot

  about tracking criminal behavior. When she’d worked with him before, she

  had been yanked out of whatever was supposed to be her normal routine—

  college, internship, Academy training. Now that she was actually assigned to

  the job, she’d have more time to understand what was going on.

  But when would she find out what that was? Surely she also had more

  right to information now.

  Finally she summoned up the courage to ask him …

  “Uh, are you going to tell me anything about the case we’ll be working

  on?”

  Crivaro’s lips twisted a little. He looked as though he wasn’t sure how to

  answer that question.

  Then he said, “Possibly—just possibly—we’ve got a serial killer to catch.”

  Riley thought she detected more than a little skepticism in his voice, as if

  he didn’t believe any such thing.

  Crivaro paused, then continued, “About a year ago, a young woman’s

  body was found on a hiking trail in Dyson Park in Colorado. Yesterday

  another woman’s body was found on another hiking trail in Arizona. She died

  under … well, similar circumstances. We’re going to Arizona to check and

  see if there’s really any connection.”

  Crivaro looked out the window again, as if there were nothing more to

  say.

  “Is there anything else?” Riley asked.

  “Not really,” Crivaro said, still looking out the window.

  Riley felt thoroughly confused now. This might be her first day on the job,

  but she knew perfectly well that Crivaro ought to know more than he was

  telling her. In fact, he ought to have had a folder full of materials to show her to bring her up to date. They should be poring over that stuff right now.

  She asked, “What were the victims’ names?”

  Crivaro shrugged slightly. “I don’t remember the name of the victim in

  Colorado. Nobody’s told me the name of the one in Arizona.”

  Riley couldn’t believe her ears.

  What does he mean, nobody’s told him?

  What does he mean, he doesn’t remember?

  Was he being secretive, or …?

  Her eyes widened as she got a strong hunch about what was going on with

  him.

  She said to Crivaro …

  “This isn’t an official BAU case, is it?”

  Crivaro said with a slight growl, “It doesn’t matter.”

  Riley felt a flash of anger.

  She said, “I kind of think it does matter, Agent Crivaro. This is my first day as a BAU agent. What am I even doing here? I think I have a right to

  know more than you’re telling me.”

  Crivaro shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “Riley Sweeney, one of these days those instincts of yours are going to get

  you in serious trouble.”

  Then he turned toward her in his seat. Keeping his voice low, he started to

  explain.

  “Look, early this morning I got a call from an old friend. Harry Carnes is

  his name. He used to be a cop in LA, and we worked on a case together there.

  He retired and moved to Colorado. A year ago a woman got murdered near

  where he lived—the first of the two women I just mentioned. He tried to help

  out the local cops, but they never solved the case.”

  “And?” Riley asked.

  “And—Harry and his wife are traveling through the Southwest this winter,

  and he heard about this new murder in Arizona, and he thought there might

  be a connection with what happened in Colorado. So he called me to come

  out and check things out.”

  Riley felt more baffled by the second.

  “Identical murders,” she said. “So why isn’t this an FBI case?”

  Crivaro shook his head and said, “I didn’t go through official channels. It

  doesn’t sound to me like something the FBI would get mixed up in. I don’t

  even know how identical they are, and some of the details just aren’t all that

  unusual anyhow. In fact, I suspect there’s probably no connection between the two murders at all.”

  Riley squinted hard at Crivaro and said …

  “So what you’re telling me is, you’re flying out to Arizona just as a favor

  to this old friend of yours.”

  “You got it,” Crivaro said.

  Riley struggled to make sense of what she was hearing.

  She asked, “Why are you dragging me along?”

  “You’re my partner,” Crivaro said.

  “But this isn’t even a real case!”

  Crivaro shrugged. “We don’t know that. Maybe we’ll find out that Harry’s right and the two murders are connected, and we have a real serial killer to

  hunt down. If so, it will wind up being a BAU case. You wouldn’t want to miss out on that, would you? Anyway, I thought … well, I thought maybe

  this would be a good chance for the two of us to, you know, get used to

  working with each other.”

  Riley almost blurted aloud …

  We’ve already worked three murder cases together!

  But she quickly reminded herself that there had been plenty of friction

  between them during those early cases. And she hadn’t been an agent then.

  Maybe Agent Crivaro was right.

  Maybe they did need a little time to get used to working together in their

  new roles. But was this non-official and possibly even nonexistent case really

  the way to do it?

  She asked, “Who’s paying for this trip, anyway?”

  “I am, OK?” Crivaro grunted. “Of course
I might get reimbursed if it turns

  out to be a real case.”

  Riley said, “So you’re telling me—what? That we’re sort of on vacation

  together?”

  Crivaro chuckled awkwardly. “Hey, the weather in Arizona this time of

  year is sure a lot nicer than it is in Virginia. Don’t bother to thank me for a change of scenery.”

  “I don’t think this is funny,” Riley said, trying not to sound as irritated as

  she felt. “You could have at least told me from the start what this was all

  about.”

  Crivaro said defensively, “Well, I was in kind of a rush. And it’s not like

  you were going to have any work to do in Quantico while I was gone. You might as well be with me, at least trying to get something done. We will be doing some investigating while we’re there. It might even be a good learning

  experience for you. So what’s the problem?”

  “I’ll tell you what the problem is,” Riley said. “I’ve got a fiancé back

  home who’s pissed off that I’m taking off like this all of a sudden. Do you

  think he’s going to be less angry to hear I’m not even on a real case?”

  Crivaro sighed guiltily. “And you’re going to tell him that?”

  Riley was startled. She hadn’t even considered not telling Ryan all about

  her activities while she was away from him.

  “Of course,” she snapped.

  “Sorry about that,” Crivaro said. “I guess you’re right, I should have asked

  you first.”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Crivaro looked at her more sympathetically and said, “Look, if you want

  out of this whole thing, I’ll understand. When we get to Phoenix, you can

  catch the first flight back if you want. I’ll even pay for the ticket. Is that what you want to do?”

  Riley felt startled anew by his offer, and she didn’t know what to say.

  Shouldn’t I take him up on it? she wondered.

  For a moment the choice seemed obvious. Crivaro had no business

  dragging her across the country on this possibly pointless errand. And

  heading straight back home might be a good way to patch things up with

  Ryan—especially if she wound up with another day or two before she really

  had to start work at Quantico. It might be just what she and Ryan needed.

  Then she quickly remembered the anger in Ryan’s voice when he’d asked

  her over the phone …

  “What about my car? How long am I going to have to do without it?”

  Riley stifled a growl of irritation.

  That damned car, she thought.

  Not having that car around mattered more to Ryan than Riley not being

  there.

  It really pissed her off.

  Suddenly Riley didn’t feel in the mood to patch things up with Ryan. And

  as far as Crivaro was concerned …

  Well, at least he’s showing some interest in me.

  Besides, Crivaro was right about one thing. They’d surely be doing a little investigating, even if it was only to find out there was nothing to investigate.

  It might turn out to be a good experience after all. She might actually learn

  something.

  Finally Riley said, “It’s OK. I’ll stay with you.”

  Crivaro’s eyes brightened.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Riley smirked a little and said, “I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

  Crivaro grinned. “Well, the offer still stands, if you want to get the hell

  away from me. At least as far as this trip is concerned. When we start

  working cases together officially, you’ll be stuck with me.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Riley said.

  Crivaro leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, apparently about to

  take a nap.

  Riley took a flight magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her and

  started to browse through it.

  She found herself mulling over what she’d just done.

  I chose work over Ryan.

  And to her surprise, she felt good about it.

  What does that say about me? she wondered. And our future?

  Then her mind turned to speculation about the present.

  Arizona.

  She really knew nothing about it.

  She’d spent most of her life in the green hills of Virginia. What might

  such a different part of the country have in store for her?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  When the flight landed in Phoenix, Riley and Crivaro got their go-bags out

  of the overhead bin and made their way through the boarding bridge into the

  terminal. About twenty people were waiting for the passengers from their

  flight, but there was no question about who was there to meet them.

  A hearty-looking guy with a ruddy expression was waving vigorously at

  Crivaro. Riley knew that had to be Harry Carnes. The equally sturdy woman

  standing beside him with crossed arms and a frown on her face must be

  Harry’s wife, and she was not looking happy at the moment.

  The man welcomed Crivaro with a big hug, and Crivaro introduced Riley

  to the couple. The wife’s name was Jillian. Riley guessed them to be about

  Agent Crivaro’s age or maybe just a little bit older.

  For a moment, she was startled to see that both of them were wearing T-

  shirts, jean short, and sandals. She and Crivaro still had on their jackets and clothes suitable for colder weather.

  “Luggage?” Harry asked, eyeing their outfits.

  “No, just these,” Jake replied, holding up his go-bag.

  Harry laughed and said, “Well, that’s something you can take care of soon

  enough.”

  She remembered what Crivaro had said during the flight.

  “The weather in Arizona this year is sure a lot nicer than it is in

  Virginia.”

  She definitely wasn’t prepared for the weather here. They’d been in so

  much of a hurry to leave, she’d given no thought to packing a different

  wardrobe. She wondered if she was going to have to buy some new things for

  herself. Her budget sure wouldn’t cover much.

  Maybe it won’t matter, she thought. If they headed back to Quantico soon, she could probably make do with what she had.

  Harry led the way to the nearest food court, where they sat at a table and

  ordered sandwiches for lunch.

  Crivaro said to Harry, “So here I am. Now tell me everything you know.”

  Harry shrugged. “I don’t know much except what I told you over the

  phone. A woman was found dead yesterday on a hiking trail near Tunsboro, a

  town north of here. Her name was Brett Parma. When I heard about it on the

  news, I got curious and called the Tunsboro police chief. I had trouble getting him to open up, but I managed to pry a little out of him. He did mention the

  slashes on the woman’s arms—and also that she’d bled to death somewhere

  before her body had been left on that trail. Then he basically told me to keep

  out of the way of his investigation.”

  “Which is what we’re going to do,” Jillian commented.

  Harry leaned across the table toward Crivaro. “Jake, it all just gave me the

  weirdest feeling. It was like Erin Gibney’s murder a year ago all over again. I started flashing back to how I’d tried to help the cops in Gladwin solve the

  case, and how we’d failed.”

  Harry lowered his eyes and muttered, “We never even came close to

  finding out who did that one.”

  Jillian sighed unhappily and said to Crivaro, “Harry’
s feeling all guilty

  about this whole thing. He says if he’d solved that case back in Colorado,

  maybe this new murder wouldn’t have happened. Of course that’s ridiculous.

  Jake, can you talk some sense into him? Tell him he’s got no reason to feel

  that way.”

  Crivaro gazed at Harry sympathetically.

  He said, “Jillian’s right. You can’t beat yourself up about that. Even if

  there is a connection between the two murders—”

  Harry interrupted, “Jake, there is a connection. I feel it in my bones.”

  Riley could see a world of skepticism in Crivaro’s face.

  “Harry, I’ve worked a lot more homicide cases than you have,” Crivaro

  said. “I know what it’s like to feel responsible for those deaths, for not being able to catch a killer. But you can’t let it get the best of you.”

  He reached out and put a hand on his friend’s arm.

  “You didn’t kill anybody, Harry. You’re not responsible for that. It’s not your fault. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

  Harry heaved a long, bitter sigh, then said to Jake and Riley, “Well, I was

  a cop long enough to know that. We never solve them all. But I was also out

  there long enough to recognize when my cop’s instinct is likely to be right.

  This thing, this latest murder, is really ringing some alarms for me.”

  He put his unfinished sandwich back on the plate and pushed it away.

  “I’m glad you two came out here to check things out,” he continued. “That

  makes me feel a whole lot better. Finish your sandwiches and I’ll drive you to

  Tunsboro.”

  Jillian poked him in the arm and said almost in a whisper, “Wait a minute, Harry. You’re not driving anyone anywhere. We’ve got to get back to the

  campground.”

  Harry gave his wife a pleading look.

  “Come on, honey,” he whispered back. “We’re not in that much of a

  hurry. And Tunsboro’s just a short drive.”

  “They can rent a car,” Jillian said. “Remember, we’ve got a deal.”

  Harry looked embarrassed. Riley wondered what was going on between

  them. She saw that Crivaro seemed uncertain about what to say next.

  Finally Jillian looked sternly at Jake and said …

  “Harry’s not getting mixed up in this—this—whatever it is. He’s retired.

  We’re on vacation. I don’t want him getting all worked up about the Erin