Alex started talking. “I used to work for the Agency. The senator recruited me to work for an organization called The Gateway Project which specializes in identifying serial killers and pedophiles and...neutralizing them,” Alex explained. Frazer’s face got paler and paler.
“This is fascinating, guys.” Chance jibed from the ground. “We could start a club.”
“Except we don’t kill innocent women and children. We only dispose of the dregs like you.”
“But you got busted, asshole, and now you’re gonna die just like me.” Leo’s lip curled, but Mallory remembered the young woman in the woods. How could she have forgotten her? “Oh, God. There’s a girl out here somewhere in the snow. She’s scared, but alive. She needs help.”
“I’ll go look for her,” Hanrahan offered.
Alex grunted.
“Wait.” Frazer was struggling to take it all in. He wasn’t the only one. “Why didn’t you tell me about your suspicions, sir?”
Hanrahan frowned. “I didn’t know who to trust—”
Frazer shook his head. “We could have run phone taps and set up a sting operation.” His eyes widened. “That was what this morning’s fiasco was about?”
“That was my idea,” Mallory admitted. May as well get it all out there.
“And yet we still never made any arrests? You took our phones and wiped the call history, but you didn’t take anyone into custody?”
“No one called!”
“Then why wipe the call history?” asked Mallory. Why would he do that?
“He’s the inside man,” said Alex. His gaze never wavered from Leo Chance who was watching the proceedings with glee from his prone position on the forest floor. “But he’d started to lose his nerve.”
“Is it true?” she asked Hanrahan, the man she’d admired. The man she’d trusted—and one who’d successfully isolated her from her colleagues, she realized now. “You were feeding The Gateway Project information?”
He’d drawn his weapon and the tension ratcheted up by about a million. “Your mother persuaded me to give out profiles and other classified information before the cops got it. We devised a warning system so her assassin wouldn’t get picked up by the cops, that was all.” His gaze swung wildly between them. “I didn’t know the assassin was your boyfriend.” He rubbed his hand over his brow. “Look, I served the justice system for nearly three decades and nothing ever got better. At first I thought killing these guys was the right choice to make, but then I kept worrying someone would shoot an innocent person and I couldn’t live with that.”
Wind rustled the dead leaves. Mallory felt cold down to her marrow.
“I wanted a way out.” He shrugged, his eyes holding an apology. “I figured the easiest way was if the assassin was caught.”
“So you started sending out the warnings later and later,” said Alex.
“Why didn’t you say something to me?” her mother asked Hanrahan.
Hanrahan shook his head, tears glistening in his eyes. “You wouldn’t listen to reason, Margret. There was nothing but vengeance in your heart and the hunger for blood in your soul.”
They meant something to one another, Mallory realized. Something special. “You’re all guilty of conspiracy to murder,” she stated. Christ. Should she arrest them? It was obvious they thought themselves so much better than Alex. But just because they didn’t do the deed didn’t mean they were any less culpable.
Hanrahan’s expression turned bitter. “You spotted the trend when no one else had. I had you transferred so I could keep an eye on you.”
“But the whole thing backfired when Rooney fell in love with your assassin,” Frazer said quietly.
She exchanged a glance with Alex and felt like her world was being torn in two. Frazer was the only one here not knee-deep in this mess. Her mother and the man she loved both faced possible execution if convicted. Her hands curved over her stomach. Frazer was too rigid to bend the rules. She felt sick. This was her worst nightmare.
Alex squeezed her shoulders. She quivered under his touch. “We need to find that girl who’s lost in the woods and get this asshole into custody. It’s time to decide who to trust and what you want to do, Frazer.”
Mallory grabbed Alex’s hand and pressed it to her stomach. “I love you.”
Alex smiled slowly and touched her face. “That’s more than I deserve.”
Frazer ground his teeth. “This is hardly the time.”
Tears flooded her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She forced out the words. “It’s probably the only time we have left. Or haven’t you figured that out yet?”
***
Dawn began to spread over the Appalachian Mountains. Special Agent Lincoln Frazer stood in the middle of a West Virginia forest holding a gun on a serial killer who’d killed at least seven people they knew about, an assassin who’d probably killed more, a corrupt senator, a dirty FBI SSA he’d spent his whole career trying to emulate, and a rookie agent whose instincts were a damn sight sharper than his own.
“Got your handcuffs, Rooney?”
“Deputy Chance is wearing them, sir.”
The “sir” was added as an afterthought. He hadn’t earned her respect. Hell. His mistrust had almost got her killed. He’d been way off in his judgment of her. Of everyone. He had one pair of cuffs and didn’t know which of his adversaries was more dangerous. Parker, in theory, but having spent time with the man he didn’t think he’d do anything to put Rooney in danger. He seemed like a good guy, for a killer.
“I need your weapon,” he told Hanrahan, hoping the man didn’t try anything stupid. “Empty the chamber and remove the clip and throw it over there in the snow.”
Hanrahan’s hands shook even as he obeyed.
“You’re all going down.” Deputy Chance was on his knees now, laughing. “I cannot wait to see what happens when the media gets hold of this shit. Every one of you can be charged with murder or conspiracy to murder. Except you.” His eyes turned to Mallory. “Payton would have been proud of you for not killing me. She loved me. She wouldn’t have wanted anyone to hurt me.”
Narcissistic prick.
The pain on Mallory’s face took his breath. But Frazer saw an opening when everyone else was too busy hurting. “Someone will need to tend Payton’s grave when you’re in prison. Where is she?”
Deputy Chances’ eyes flicked to the woodpile.
“She’s under there?” Frazer asked.
Deputy Chance nodded and swallowed hard. “I didn’t kill her. She died.”
“You killed her! You stole my baby.” The senator lunged for the man and Hanrahan grabbed hold of her.
“She got sick and died you stupid bitch! If she hadn’t died I wouldn’t have killed anyone else.” Deputy Chance spat out.
Now it was the girl’s fault? A girl he’d robbed of her freedom and ultimately her life?
“If you’d taken her to the hospital she might have survived. You never gave her that chance. You kept her like a dog for your own pleasure.” Mallory’s voice cracked and Alex Parker wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. Protecting her as much as he could for as long as he could.
God. All his years of service were being tested and he just wanted this mess to go away. The idea of locking these people up sat like gasoline in Frazer’s gut. But he didn’t make the rules, he followed them.
“I’m going to make a phone call. It’s in your best interests for you to let me.” The senator had regained her usual arrogant composure. She pulled out her cell phone, careful not to make any sudden moves. “Just wait a moment.”
They stood, freezing their asses off in the snow as she explained to someone what was happening. Then she held the phone out to him. Frazer frowned and slowly placed it to his ear. The person on the other end of the line identified himself even though his voice was easily recognizable. All the saliva in his mouth dried up.
“If this gets out the whole government could fall.” The voice on the phone was a low rumble. “Our enemies across t
he world would pounce on the scandal and it will destroy the BAU and the FBI.” Damn, Frazer wanted to close his eyes but didn’t dare let the players out of his sight. This would destroy the BAU’s reputation, something he cared deeply about. All their actions would be reviewed. All their cases would be reopened and reexamined. Lives dissected...
“No one else can know about this,” the man hissed.
Frazer looked around the group of five people who were all pretending not to eavesdrop.
“Do you understand?”
Shit. Was this guy serious? Frazer swallowed hard. “I’m not sure I do, sir. You want me to...”
“Make sure there are no loose ends, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Frazer.” The tone was harsh. “No loose ends.”
Assistant Special Agent in Charge? “And I do this with your blessing?”
A pause, probably pissed for making him spell it out even though he’d just had a crash course in reasons not to trust his superiors.
“Under my direct orders. And do it before the local cops turn up, else this will be the shortest promotion in history.”
Frazer stared at the phone. What this man was asking was inconceivable. It would make him just as flawed as the rest of them. Could he do it? Could he compromise his principles like that? Throw away his moral high ground? At what cost? But what would this scandal cost them? It might be enough to shut down the BAU forever.
Alex Parker shifted in front of Mallory. He still gripped his weapon and Frazer had no doubt he’d use it before he let anyone hurt her. The guy had amazing instincts. He considered himself a soldier, but he was working for the wrong team. It struck Frazer that Alex Parker could have shot him to protect himself at any time since they’d met up in the cabin, but he hadn’t.
The senator looked as if she was in a stupor, a broken woman as her plots and schemes came unraveled. At least now she knew where her daughter was buried. That was something. Hanrahan’s shoulders sagged, no doubt picturing his public disgrace and the very real danger of death and injury once incarcerated.
Leo Chance staggered to his feet and laughed. “You’re all finished. You’re all gonna die before I do, but don’t worry, I hear it’s relatively painless.”
Because the Bureau always followed the rules.
The killer’s lip curled. He was a big man. Six-two. Solid with muscle. The women he’d taken had never stood a chance. A man of reasonable intelligence but emotionally stunted by the events of his past. Probable abuse by someone he should have been able to trust, twisting his mind, destroying his ability to empathize. Some might feel pity, but he was a monster who’d made very deliberate choices to inflict pain and would never be rehabilitated. Serial rapists and killers were not redeemable. Killing for pleasure was not the same as killing because you were ordered to do so. Frazer’s gaze flicked to Alex Parker, and he finally understood what made a man kill in cold blood. He understood Alex Parker.
Frazer raised the gun.
Chance sneered. “You don’t have the balls.”
Frazer pulled the trigger and the sound ricocheted off the 480 million year old Appalachian rock. Crimson blood splattered against the snow. The air stank of piss and excrement.
He expected to feel remorse for taking a human life, but this man had been evil. He turned and looked Parker in the eye. “He shouldn’t have tried to escape.”
Parker said nothing. He eyed Frazer warily. Parker knew how this usually worked. No witnesses. He knew that the higher up you went, the more you could get away with. Frazer wasn’t that guy. He had better methods that didn’t involve more killing.
“The CIA agreed to transfer you to a consultancy position in the FBI, Mr. Parker.”
“What?” Mallory stepped forward, eyes wide.
Alex pushed her back behind him and huffed out a breath that might have been a laugh. “The CIA did?”
The sound of a siren wailed in the distance. The cavalry were finally coming.
“To plug certain holes in FBI security.” He nodded. “Are you going to accept the position?” Frazer asked him.
“Work for the feebs?” Alex eyed the gun in Frazer’s hand. His lips twitched. “Sure, if Mallory can stand having me around.”
She turned the man toward her and took his face in her hands and kissed him. Parker still kept one eye on him though. Smart man. Frazer figured he had their silence.
He looked at the senator. “You will step down due to ill health. You will hand over to me every piece of information you have on The Gateway Project and you will never interfere with law enforcement policy again or you will be arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.”
Her eyes drifted to the woodpile. “I’m done. I just want to bury my baby. You don’t need to worry about me any longer.”
Hanrahan stood looking at him like he’d won the lottery. Frazer pointed his finger at the man. He felt sickened by his betrayal.
“You just retired. You can go on your book tours and your fucking media circus but if you ever mention this, if you even hint at vigilante justice or corruption in the BAU, I will put a bullet in you myself. Now get your gun, and go with the senator to look for that missing girl. You weren’t here when Chance died. You know nothing about what happened. You went searching for the girl as soon as you heard she was out here. Go.”
They stumbled away.
He faced Mallory Rooney. What did he say to a woman who’d known something was going on from the moment she’d seen her first dead serial killer? A woman who’d been hunted by a madman, betrayed by her family, her lover, her boss? And had survived to prove she was a better person than all of them.
Judging from the way she clung to Parker’s hand, she’d managed to forgive him. Frazer had just executed a man in front of her in cold blood. Would she forgive him too? Or had he gone too far?
“Special Agent Rooney.”
“Yes, sir?” She stood straighter, bracing her shoulders, a defiant expression on her gamine face.
“Welcome to the team.”
She smiled at him, a sunburst of hope and thankfulness. He figured he had his answer.
Five days later...
Mallory stuffed her hands deep in the pockets of her new down winter jacket and stood at the top of the hill, looking down the track that led through the woods to her childhood home. The sun was rising to the east and she thought of her twin who’d been nearby for so many years, but oh so far away. One day she might be able to forgive herself for not finding her sooner, but not yet. Not yet.
She started walking down the hill toward the crime scene tape that surrounded the pit, wanting this to be over, needing this to be over.
Newly promoted ASAC Frazer had shut her and Alex out of the investigation and she was grateful. She was grateful to Lincoln Frazer for many things.
Deputy Sean Kennedy had been found alive inside the pit. Weak from dehydration and hypothermia, he’d survived his ordeal and was recovering in the hospital being praised for being the first to solve the case even though it had almost cost him his life. Amanda Collie—the young waitress—had managed to make her way to Eastborne and had called the cops. She was shaken up but Leo Chance hadn’t sexually assaulted her. He probably hadn’t had time. The town was aghast. The sheriff had been to see Mallory three times and every time he looked more distressed.
Hard to cope with the fact you’d been fooled so completely when you were supposed to be in charge of keeping the town safe. She knew he wouldn’t run for office again. She’d seen it in his eyes. Leo Chance’s crimes had destroyed many lives. Not only his victims and their families, but his remaining family who bore the brunt of the shame.
Bryce Keeble had spent many hours keeping her company during her vigil. They didn’t talk but they understood one another implicitly.
The buzz of a generator grew louder, industrial lights spilling over the area where the woodpile had once stood. The feds had relocated the whole thing a few hundred yards west, carefully examining each piece of wood for possible evidence. Yesterday
, they’d used ground penetrating radar to target the most likely resting place for Payton’s remains. Today they’d start digging.
The snow had melted again and Mallory trudged through the dark mud to resume her place on the sidelines. The only reason she went home was to sleep. Finding her lost twin was all she could think about right now. Alex took care of everything else, from procuring clothes suitable for standing in the winter woods all day long, to bringing her food, to making sure no evidence could rebound on them and destroy the bargain Frazer had so cleverly put together. He even dealt with her mother, who now deferred to him about everything from what to tell the press to how much caffeine to drink. Sublime to the ridiculous.
She arrived at the clearing and noted they’d already begun excavating. The crime scene technicians shot her a glance. Her mouth went dry. They’d told her they wouldn’t begin until noon and it was only dawn. They’d lied. They’d probably started as soon as she’d left around midnight. Part of her was furious but she understood them. She made them uncomfortable but she couldn’t stay away.
She felt Alex’s presence before she saw him. She still hadn’t told him about the baby but they were entering new territory now. She wanted to navigate it carefully. Her feelings went deeper than she’d believed possible. Knowing someone would kill for you, would give up their life for you, was sobering. It put their passion in a different light. Made it deeper, brighter, bolder, stronger.
She didn’t think he was a monster, just a man who’d gone off course while suffering the terrible effects of guilt and PTSD. She knew there could still be fallout. Knew they may never be completely safe from the shadowy figures who’d helped her mother set up this terrifying organization. But Alex said he’d arranged certain safeguards for their protection, and whoever ran the thing must know he was not the sort of man to take on unless they were willing to die for the cause. Given they all had so much to lose should the conspiracy come to light, she figured they were safe, for now.
He handed her a cup of steaming coffee in a travel mug.
“Promise you’ll never lie to me again,” she said quietly. By tacit agreement the five of them had agreed not to talk about what happened in the woods that day, but this was about the future not the past. “Not even for my own good.”
01 A Cold Dark Place Page 29
