Watching

by Blake Pierce

  I know exactly what it’s like.

  Then Hayman said, “Of course, Dr. Zimmerman need never know the lengths I went to carry out his study. One day the killings will stop, and no one will know why. No one need ever know the truth—except you, of course.”

  As Riley listened, she slowly brought her breath under control …

  Find that ch’i energy, she kept telling herself.

  … until she mustered enough strength to shift her body abruptly, sending Hayman slightly off balance so she could slip out from under his foot. She started to rise to her feet and he grabbed her by the arm. An Aikido move flashed through her mind …

  … a turn of the hand in a graceful semicircle …

  … but as she tried to execute the move, Hayman’s arm remained immobile.

  He sneered at her and said, “Don’t try that move with me—I taught it to you.”

  Then she remembered her father’s lessons …

  … attack the most sensitive parts of the body …

  Hayman’s throat was exposed and vulnerable.

  Riley raised her free hand, formed a fist, and struck out—but the blow was weak. Hayman caught her fist with his own free hand and held it fast.

  He snickered now.

  “A street fighter, eh? I can do that too.”

  He released her hands, but before she could make another move, he punched her brutally in the forehead, and the back of her head crashed against the floor again.

  The world swirled around her again, and Riley felt too weak to make another attempt to fight back.

  She couldn’t hold back a groan of despair.

  She remembered something her father had said up at the cabin when he’d first taken her by surprise and struck her down …

  “You’re dead, girl. Or at least you should be. I’d say you deserve to be.”

  It was no use.

  She couldn’t save herself.

  She couldn’t even keep her eyes open.

  Stay awake, damn it, she told herself. Don’t give up!

  She forced her eyes open and everything looked blurry for a moment. But as her vision cleared, she saw that Hayman was crouched over her holding a large, gleaming knife near her throat.

  He said, “But you do present me with a bit of a problem, don’t you, Riley? You got too close to the truth, and that sealed your fate. But I can’t very well do to you what I did to the others. The circumstances are different—and totally unplanned. Your body mustn’t be found here. And anyway, I don’t want my office drenched in your blood. I’d never get things clean. And I’m rather obsessed by tidiness.”

  He tilted his head in thought.

  “Still, I’m sure I can make good use of you. On top of the routine slashings—the two coeds so far, and the others yet to come—how will my experimental community respond to the mysterious disappearance of another coed? Especially one who was known to be too curious for her own good—a would-be Nancy Drew, if you will? Would it discourage others from following in her ill-fated footsteps? I’d like to think so.”

  To Riley’s surprise, Hayman raised the knife toward his own throat.

  Has he gone crazy? she wondered. Is he going to kill himself?

  Instead, he slipped the blade under his collar and slashed through his necktie.

  The only thing she could think was how sharp that blade must be.

  He chuckled grimly and said, “An expensive tie—but any sacrifice for the cause of science.”

  He held a long piece of the severed tie in his hands.

  Now Riley understood.

  He wouldn’t use the blade on her. He was going to strangle her and dispose of her body where it would never be found.

  Before she could summon up strength for a final burst of resistance, he flipped her over on her face again, pulled the tie around her neck, and yanked hard.

  Riley couldn’t breathe, and she felt as though she were leaving her body.

  Her head filled up with what sounded like radio static, and the world rapidly slipped away.

  She thought the familiar voice she heard must be another hallucination,

  “Let go of her! And get on your feet!”

  … then everything went black and she was gone.

  *

  When Riley’s eyes opened again, she seemed to be surrounded by a deep, thick fog.

  She heard the weirdly noisy sound of her own breathing.

  “She’s coming to,” a male voice said.

  “Take off the oxygen mask,” another said.

  Riley felt the release of some physical pressure around her mouth and nose.

  Her vision became clearer, and she found herself looking up into the faces of three men.

  Two were dressed in white uniforms.

  The third was Agent Crivaro.

  Then she became aware of the sound of a siren and the rumble of a vehicle’s engine.

  I’m in an ambulance, she realized.

  Crivaro smiled and stroked her hair gently and said, “You’re going to be OK, Riley. But damn, you had us scared for a little while.”

  Riley managed to say just one word …

  “How?”

  Her throat hurt badly uttering the word. In fact, it was painful to breathe.

  Crivaro shook his head and said, “No, don’t try to talk now. Save your energy.”

  Riley felt a flash of anger.

  To hell with not talking, she thought. I want some answers!

  She managed to croak out …

  “How did you … find me … in time?”

  Crivaro said, “I’d been following you all morning.”

  Riley began, “I didn’t …”

  “Yeah, I know—you didn’t see me. I can be pretty stealthy when I want to be. I had a feeling you were on to something—I didn’t know what, but I knew you might get yourself in trouble. Then you followed Hayman into the building, and I got worried, and I called for backup. I broke into the building and heard sounds of struggle. That’s how we got to you. And not a second too soon.”

  Riley could remember none of it.

  She asked, “What about Professor Hayman?”

  “Don’t worry, we’ve got him in custody. And his office was full of incriminating evidence—piles of notes describing the murders, even the murder weapon. We’ve got him cold.”

  Riley’s thoughts were still vague and uncertain.

  She found herself thinking about all the blunders she’d made—first thinking that the killer was Leon, and then …

  She said to Crivaro, “I thought … the killer … was Dr. Zimmerman.”

  Crivaro chuckled a little.

  “We all make mistakes,” he said.

  Riley tried to shake her head, but found that it was in a brace.

  “But Agent Crivaro … I was wrong … about everything.”

  Crivaro laughed heartily.

  Then he said, “Riley, read my lips …”

  He said slowly and deliberately, “You … led … me … straight … to … the … killer.”

  He stroked her hair again and added, “Your conclusions weren’t perfect, but your instincts were right on the money. Do you realize how amazing that is, for someone with no training in law enforcement? Later on you’re going to have to tell me exactly how you did it.”

  Now Riley remembered finding those words in Dr. Zimmerman’s book …

  One cannot very well turn a serial killer loose among a group of people just to find out how that group will react.

  She’d taken that as a clue …

  … and I was right!

  It was like Agent Crivaro had just said—faulty conclusions, but perfect instincts.

  Now Crivaro was gazing at her with open admiration.

  He said, “You’re a diamond in the rough, Riley Sweeney. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’d make one hell of an FBI agent. Now, I don’t know what kind of plans you’ve got for your career, but …”

  One of the paramedics interrupted and said, “It’s really best f
or her to keep quiet right now.”

  Crivaro’s smile broadened and he said to Riley, “Well, those are the doctor’s orders. And he’s the one who gives the orders—at least for the time being.”

  Crivaro fell silent and seemed to be deep in thought.

  Riley wished she knew what was on her mind.

  She had a feeling whatever he was thinking was going to have a huge effect on her own future.

  Then her mind began to wander, and she found herself wondering about something that seemed oddly trivial and irrelevant under the present circumstances …

  Why did I get so sick at the Centaur’s Den?

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  Riley sat on her folding chair flanked by other students. They were all wearing their graduation robes. She was also still wearing a neck brace, which made her feel especially stiff and awkward. But she had made it through college, and at this point that seemed fairly miraculous.

  Even though she was glad to be here, Riley she couldn’t keep her mind on what the guest speaker was saying. He was a prominent and well-respected businessman, and it seemed a shame to miss out on his sage advice.

  She caught enough of it to know that he was telling the graduates what a wonderful future awaited them, and how prepared they were go out into the world.

  Prepared, ha! Riley thought.

  She was anything but prepared for the future.

  Her GPA certainly wasn’t the problem.

  Despite her recent ordeal, she’d done fine on her final exams—at least her academic ones.

  Her results on another kind of test had been a different story.

  She’d bought the test kit from the drug store, and hadn’t believe what it told her.

  So she’d taken another test … then another …

  The results were the same.

  Just as she’d feared when she missed her period, she was pregnant.

  She and Ryan hadn’t been careful enough during their first night together.

  So what was she going to do with her life now?

  She hadn’t been in touch with Ryan since their bitter parting, so of course he didn’t know.

  Should she contact him somehow?

  Should she tell him?

  Again, she remembered something her father had said …

  “You’re dead, girl. Or at least you should be. I’d say you deserve to be.”

  Those words now seemed too true for comfort—figuratively speaking, anyway.

  Of course her father hadn’t come to the graduation, and Riley was just as happy about that given the circumstances. He hadn’t even been in touch since she’d helped catch Brant Hayman, who was due to be tried for murder soon and might well face the death penalty.

  Does Daddy even know what happened?

  She was sure he did. During her last visit to his cabin, he seemed to be keeping up with the news coming out of Lanton.

  She wondered how he felt about what she’d done?

  Was he proud of her, maybe relieved that she’d survived, or was he totally unimpressed?

  He probably doesn’t know himself, Riley thought.

  And honestly, she wasn’t sure that she cared one way or the other.

  And right now, that seemed like a healthy thing.

  She remembered what Professor Hayman had said to her …

  “You have no idea what it’s like, not having a mother—just a father whose expectations are impossible to fulfill.”

  Of course, she did know exactly what that was like.

  But it hadn’t turned her into a murderer.

  She wondered …

  What made the difference?

  Riley certainly didn’t feel like the picture of mental health, but …

  Why did Hayman become so horribly twisted?

  She stifled a sigh and thought …

  Maybe someday I’ll understand.

  The ceremony passed much too slowly for Riley’s taste. When her name was called, she mechanically got to her feet and walked up on the stage to receive her diploma. Then she joined all the other graduates in the orderly procession out of the large hall while the school band played “Pomp and Circumstance.”

  At the end of the procession, friends and relatives were waiting eagerly for the new graduates, and there were lots of hugs and kisses and congratulations being exchanged. Even though she hadn’t expected anyone to be here especially for her, Riley felt a pang of sadness as she wended her way through the crowd.

  But then she glimpsed a familiar face beaming at her.

  It was Dr. Zimmerman, looking his rumpled and pleasant self.

  Riley was thrilled—and relieved.

  She’d heard that Dr. Zimmerman had stopped teaching his classes and had even stopped coming to campus after he’d gotten word about what his protégé Brant Hayman had done. Rumor had it that he felt personally responsible for planting such a ghastly idea in Hayman’s sick mind.

  But here he was—beckoning to Riley as though he was a family member.

  Then she saw another familiar face.

  Agent Crivaro was standing next to the professor.

  Riley was truly surprised now. The last she’d heard, Crivaro and his team had gone back to Quantico because their work here in Lanton was finished. And now here he was, in Dr. Zimmerman’s company.

  What’s up? she wondered.

  She walked up to Dr. Zimmerman, who shook her hand warmly.

  He said, “Riley, you’ve made me so proud—so very proud.”

  Then his expression saddened and he added, “I’m just sorry that …”

  His voice faded. Riley gripped his hand with both of hers.

  She said, “It wasn’t your fault, Dr. Zimmerman. None of it was your fault.”

  Zimmerman smiled a bittersweet smile.

  “So everybody keeps telling me,” he said. “Maybe someday I’ll believe it.”

  Then, without warning, he wrapped his arms around Riley in a big hug.

  Riley laughed as he held onto her tightly.

  “Careful,” she said. “My neck’s still pretty sore.”

  Zimmerman released her and said, “Oops. So sorry.”

  “It’s OK,” Riley said. “But I thought you didn’t hug students.”

  “You’re not a student anymore,” Zimmerman said.

  Then with a sly grin he added, “Besides, as you know, I am a bit of a sadist!”

  He and Riley both laughed.

  Then with a sideways nod toward Crivaro, Zimmerman said to her, “But I’d better get out of your way. This gentleman needs to talk over a few plans with you.”

  Plans? Riley wondered.

  What had the two men been discussing?

  Zimmerman went away and Crivaro walked up to Riley.

  He shook her hand and said, “First of all, congratulations. On your graduation, I mean.”

  Riley thanked him, although she sensed that he had things other than her graduation on his mind.

  Then Crivaro handed her a manila envelope.

  “This is for you,” he said.

  “What is it?” Riley said as she took it.

  “Papers to apply to FBI Honors Internship Program. It’s a great opportunity, Riley, and it’s only for very select college students and recent graduates. It’ll be ten weeks during this summer. You’ll get paid to learn.”

  Riley was confused. “You want me to apply for this?” she asked. “You think I’d be accepted?”

  “I’ve already put in a strong recommendation for you. You’re in.”

  Riley’s mouth dropped open.

  I’m in?

  She wasn’t sure what that even meant.

  She began, “But where would it be?”

  “There a several locations,” Jake replied. “I think the best one for you would be FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.”

  She sputtered, “But what if I don’t even want—”

  Crivaro interrupted, “Think hard about it, Riley. Think really, really hard. And don’t expect me to take no fo
r an answer. The FBI needs young people like you—especially women. You’d make a very fine BAU agent.”

  “BAU?” Riley asked.

  She’d couldn’t remember ever hearing of that.

  “The Behavioral Analysis Unit. It’s a part of the FBI that uses behavioral sciences to help with investigations. Your psych degree gives you a great head start. And believe me, you’ll be perfect for it.”

  Riley asked, “Is that what you work for—the BAU?”

  “For the time being,” Crivaro said. “I’m eligible for retirement, but I might stay on for a while to help someone like you get started. And I’d like to see you get started right away.”

  Ten weeks during this summer, Riley reminded herself.

  She wondered if she should ask …

  “What if I’m pregnant?”

  But she figured that shouldn’t be a problem—not during the early months, anyway.

  The real question was …

  Is this what I really want?

  Crivaro said, “Think about it. And say yes.”

  Then he added with a chuckle, “Otherwise, I’ll have to lean on you. And when I lean, I drill for oil. It won’t be pretty, believe me.”

  Without another word, he turned and walked away.

  Riley just stood there for a moment with her mouth hanging open.

  What just happened? she wondered.

  Did I just get drafted into something called the BAU?

  Do I have any choice?

  Just then she saw someone else weaving through the crowd toward her. A familiar tall figure. She felt a surge of excitement when she realized who it was.

  “Ryan!” she cried, “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard what happened,” he replied. “At least some of it. I didn’t realize you’d been hurt,” he added, looking at the brace on her neck.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “This will come off soon.”

  Then there was an awkward silence. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and shuffled his feet.

  Riley felt an urge to throw her arms around him, but she wasn’t sure how he’d react.

  Ryan spoke fast, “I just couldn’t leave things like … well, like we left them. I can’t get you out of my mind, Riley. And listen, I’ve landed a new job with a really good D.C. law firm. I guess this sounds crazy, but I want you to come with me. I want us to live together. Or maybe even …”