“Give yourself a break, kid,” Claire chimed. “The asshole who did this? Well… Sometimes there’s good reason to be creeped out.”
Alex smiled at Claire and gripped Donovan’s shoulder. “Yeah, you should have seen Agent Brackett up there earlier today.”
Claire glared at Alex.
Donovan chuckled. “Sorry that I couldn’t help more.”
“Don’t be,” Alex said. “You’ve helped a lot. Call if you think of anything.”
“Agent Toles… I mean, Alex?” he called to her before she could leave.
“Yeah?”
“Was it the same guy? I mean, those bodies you found—was it the same guy who killed Kaylee?”
“I don’t know that yet, Donovan,” Alex answered. “But, I promise you; Agent Brackett and I will figure that out.”
***
Alex shook her head in frustration. “I wish we could get those IDs.” She threw her coffee cup in the garbage.” We need facts. I hate working on theory.”
“Well, you’ll hate this then.”
“What?” Alex asked Claire as she opened the car door.
“He was up on that rock watching.”
“You mean Kaylee,” Alex surmised.
Claire slid into the passenger’s seat. “Maybe not just Kaylee.”
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. She had been thinking the same thing. Whoever their killer was, he had spent time at Flat Rock. There was no question in her mind about it. That area would have provided the perfect vantage point throughout a good part of the year to see far in the distance without fear of being seen. That made her question the entire case. What if they were dealing with two killers? What if Kaylee’s killer had been watching the man who had buried the first two victims?
“You think we have a copycat?”
“Whether Kaylee’s killer killed those two women or not; whoever killed Kaylee had been on that rock. I guarantee it.”
Alex groaned and rubbed her eyes. “Not a speck of physical evidence. Those kids were on their way up there. We both know that means that spot has gradually returned to a teenage hangout. How in the hell could there be nothing there—not a beer can, a cigarette butt, a gum wrapper—nothing?”
“Or maybe we weren’t looking in the right place,” Claire suggested.
Alex pulled her hand away from her face and looked at Claire.
Claire shrugged. “Donovan said two kids fell off the edge; right?”
“Yeah?”
“Must’ve hurt.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the snake ran over my foot, and I jumped? You were standing on the rock. I was—what would you say? A foot from the edge?”
“Probably.”
“Right. I looked down; it isn’t a straight drop—not where I was standing.”
Alex’s brow furrowed.
“There’s a tree growing out of the side of the hill. Wide enough to support someone.”
“You think he might have been sitting there.”
“I think we should test the theory,” Claire replied.
“Beats looking at nothing,” Alex turned the key in the ignition.
“Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“If there are two…”
“I know; Kaylee’s killer might be the clue to the other.”
***
“No, thanks for the offer. I need to take a look at this one myself,” Bryce Duncan told his assistant.
“I know it’s a big account.”
“It’s an account the secures many other accounts,” Bryce replied. “It has to be right. And, trust me on this one—no one is more thorough than Alexis Toles.”
“You mean you’d rather deal with Krause?”
Bryce laughed. He had been at the helm of Gestalt Industrial Security’s Special Accounts Division for ten years. Gestalt enjoyed a reputation nearly beyond reproach in the security business. The company provided systems and service for everyone from the Department of State to some of the largest prisons in the United States. Gestalt employed experts on both the technical and human side of security. Bryce’s grandfather had started the company with a handful of security guards back in the 1950s. By the 1980s, Gestalt had grown into a national force, breaking barriers with new technology and safeguarding some of the nation’s most prized documents and most secretive facilities. Carecom, like many of its CIA counterparts was one more feather in the cap of the security giant. The endorsement of people like Jonathan Krause and Alex Toles bolstered Gestalt’s already shiny credibility, and ensure that the behemoth would only continue to grow. One thing that Bryce Duncan understood was that one slip up, one breach in trust or integrity, and it could all go to hell in an instant. Safeguarding the powerful left no room for mistakes. He’d known Alex Toles for nearly ten years. He respected her attention to detail. There would be no T’s left uncrossed or I’s left without dots in her presence.
“Let’s just say that she checks everything and forgets nothing,” Bryce said.
“Should I wish you luck?”
“Luck never got anyone anywhere, David. Planning and execution—that is what you need. If you want to graduate from assistant to leader, stop looking for luck.”
***
Cassidy threw her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. It had been a long day already and it wasn’t even dinner time. Abby had come down with a nasty cold, Connor was already sneezing, Mackenzie needed to get to soccer practice, Dylan had a track meet, and all she wanted was a glass of wine—something she would be foregoing in the foreseeable future. “Well, at least I’m not throwing up,” Cassidy giggled. She sighed when her phone rang and answered it without looking. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Alex’s replied.
“Uh-oh,” Cassidy detected the fatigue in Alex’s voice.
“Going to be a late night.”
Cassidy sighed.
“I’m sorry, Cass.”
“It’s okay,” Cassidy promised. “I hope that means you’ve made some progress.”
“I’m not sure I’d define it as progress, but we are definitely moving.”
“Do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Eat.”
Alex laughed.
“I’m serious,” Cassidy said.
“I know.”
“That doesn’t mean coffee, Agent.” Cassidy heard Alex’s faint chuckling. “Alex, I mean it. I know you. By the time you get home, you’ll have a raging headache—eat.”
“I promise. How’s Abby?”
“Not complaining about her wrist, if that’s what you mean.”
“Something wrong?” Alex asked.
“No,” Cassidy replied. “Just an average day.”
“Cass?”
“Alex, honestly, it’s a typical day.”
“Are you feeling okay? I mean, are you…”
“So far, I have not had the need to count the tiles on the bathroom floor.”
Alex laughed. “That’s good.”
“Be careful.”
“I’ll see you later.” Alex disconnected the call and looked ahead at the forest in front of her. “Here we go again.” Her phone buzzed again and she lifted it without thinking. “I promise; I will eat.”
“All that hiking worked up an appetite?” the voice answered.
Alex groaned. “Assistant Director.”
“Sorry, I’m not calling to deliver you a pizza.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“They were able to get a match,” Bower said.
Let me put you on speaker. “Go ahead.”
“Your suspicion was correct. Melissa Evans and Darla Maynard were the victims you found.”
Alex closed her eyes. “I wish I could say thanks.”
“I happened to be in a meeting with Agent Eaves when she got the call,” he explained.
“Well, it certainly gives us some direction to follow,” Alex replied.
“Alex,” he lowered his voice. “This could get b
ig faster than we’d like.”
Claire spoke up. “Why is that?”
“It’s not just that Slocum’s father is a friend of Governor Reid. Darla Maynard’s mother is Jed Ritchie’s sister.”
“As in the CEO of Interstellar?” Alex asked.
“That would be the one—yes. Seems he’s spent a considerable amount on private investigators over the years trying to locate his niece. I put a call into Hawk. She’s talking to the director.”
“You think Ritchie might make waves for the FBI?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know. Ritchie is anti-establishment. He doesn’t have much positive light to throw on anything he views as part of that establishment. That includes the FBI. With you in Connecticut, I thought it best to send Agent Morales and Agent Carver to make the notification to the families—waiting is too much of a gamble.”
Alex reached for her temple. Investigating any homicide was daunting; investigating multiple murders that might be the work of two separate killers with two distinct motives was new territory even for Alex. The possibility that the case could become politicized added another dimension to an already complicated case. “I agree.”
“I’ll move on the establishment of the task force,” he said. “Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Any leads at all,” he began.
“You’ll be the first to know,” Alex promised and placed the phone back into her pocket.
“Well, look at the bright side,” Claire commented.
“There’s a bright side?”
Claire lifted her cell phone to Alex. “Yeah, you get to have dinner with me.”
Alex shook her head and laughed at the text message displayed on Claire’s phone:
Make her eat something. And, that goes for you too.
“Always something to be grateful for,” Alex laughed.
***
The road seemed to stretch on forever. No matter how many years he traveled this long expanse of farms and fields, he never tired of it. It was quiet, and it allowed him time to think. He reached beside him and lifted a cooling cup of coffee to his lips. He groaned with dissatisfaction but sipped greedily anyway. The sun was just beginning to set in front of him, making the road ahead difficult to see. He lowered the visor to throw a small amount of shade. Off in the distance, a growing figure caught his attention and he smiled. How he loved this mundane stretch of road. As familiar as it seemed, he had learned long ago that it could offer the unexpected.
“Always something to be grateful for.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alex began to lower herself onto a large tree branch that sat just below the edge of the hillside overlooking a pond.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Claire grabbed hold of Alex’s arm.
“What does it look like?”
“I’ll go.”
“Why you?”
“I don’t have a pregnant wife.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “And, somehow that makes you more athletic?”
“No, but it makes me more expendable.”
Alex shook her head. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
“What’s that?”
“You promised Cass you’d feed me.”
Claire groaned.
“Listen, if either one of us comes home broken or bruised, we’re both going to land in time-out,” Alex joked. “I’ll go first. I’d like to think I can still keep up with partying teenagers.”
“Fine, but if you fall, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Alex chuckled at Claire’s empty threat. She made her way back to the edge of the hillside, grabbed hold of a massive rock, and gently lowered herself onto the branch below.
“See anything?” Claire called down.
Alex was engaged in an exploration of the small ledge that sat just below the branch. It was wider than it had appeared from above. She was certain this would be a place that partying teenagers would find enticing. It provided just enough risk to make it alluring without being so dangerous that it would deter a person from making the climb. She shimmied herself across the log until she could gain a footing on the dirt beneath. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing of interest—dirt and rocks. She looked underneath the tree branch and shook her head at the tangle of weeds and roots. Nothing jumped out at her. There were no cans, no evidence of anyone smoking anything. That did not add up in Alex’s mind. She doubted anyone, even their potential killer would have taken the time to clean the entire area of garbage. And, Alex was positive that people had been here recently. There were marks in the tree that she immediately recognized as crude carvings of initials, probably with a key—that was her best guess. That might prove valuable. Nothing else was there. She shook her head.
“Not possible,” Alex muttered. “There has to be some footprint left behind.” She turned carefully to look down from her vantage point.
“Toles?!”
Alex startled, grabbed onto a large root growing near the branch to steady herself, and glared up at Claire. “Could you maybe not scare the shit out of me when I’m standing on a six-inch ledge?”
“Told you I would go down there. What’d you find?”
Alex did not answer immediately.
“Well?”
Alex hoisted herself back onto the branch and accepted Claire’s hand.
“Nothing there?” Claire asked.
“No,” Alex said. “But below?” She pointed the ledge.
“Yeah?”
“Go down and take a look yourself.”
Claire eased herself off the large flat rock and down the side of the hill onto the branch. She looked out across the pond and then followed the same steps Alex had taken to gauge the height of the location. She let her eyes fall directly below. “Son of a bitch,” she said.
“Right?”
Claire looked up at Alex. “You know, it’d be hard to see anyone here unless they were standing right where I am.”
“Sure would,” Alex agreed.
Claire accepted Alex’s hand and hopped back up onto the rock. “The water isn’t very deep below.” She had been able to make out what she guessed were a few cans toward the edge of the pond.
“No, it isn’t, and we’ve had a lot of rain in the last month. I’m betting that when there isn’t much rain, there’s little to no water at all below us.”
Claire tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth as she contemplated Alex’s train of thought. The pond water was murky. She had been able to discern the outline of a fallen tree branch beneath the water’s surface. If she and Alex had been able to note that from their considerable distance, the water had to be shallow. If she and Alex were following the same line of thinking, the question they were both asking was if there might be evidence beneath the water—evidence of who might have been sitting in this place. Alex had suggested dragging the pond days earlier and had been rebuffed. Assistant Director Bower had deemed it unlikely to produce any evidence and therefore an unnecessary expenditure.
“You want to drag the pond,” Claire said.
Alex grinned. “Well, how about we start with what’s below us,” Alex said. “See what we get.”
“You’re the boss.”
Alex’s brow shot up into her hairline.
“Aw, don’t get all cocky,” Claire waved off her partner.
Alex laughed and then sobered almost immediately.
“We’ll figure it out,” Claire said.
“Yeah. I just wish we didn’t have to follow a trail of bodies to do that.”
“Maybe we won’t.”
Alex raised her brow again.
“I said maybe,” Claire rolled her eyes. “Come on. I promised to feed you.” She walked ahead of Alex.
Alex smiled as she watched Claire go. She had the fleeting thought that Claire was growing on her. Nah.
***
“Mmm,” the man groaned with satisfaction. He looked down at the innocent face below him. She had regaled him with colorful storie
s for hours before he brought her here. For a breath, he had considered sparing her this time as a reward for his amusement. No. She was like all the others. Fairy tales were not meant to have happy endings. She was as pure as the driven snow. Perhaps, purer than Snow White herself. A smile tugged at his lips as he considered the dark head of hair that stood in contrast to her milky white skin. So many lessons he had to teach. He cocked his head curiously. Would they ever learn? No matter. He cherished a deep breath as he admired the red splash across her cheek. He bent down and nuzzled her neck with his nose.
A maniacal laugh escaped his throat when she pulled against her restraints. “Tsk. Tsk. Don’t you remember?” he asked her. “Ring around the rosy,” he cooed in her ear. She pulled away as far as she could. He nipped at the flesh of her neck and grabbed her right wrist. His fingertip traced her bindings gently. He smiled down at her as if to offer comfort. In an instant, his smile transformed into a sneer. “Ring around the rosy,” he repeated. He sat back on his haunches above her. “And you know what comes next; don’t you?” His hand came back and he reached for the knife in his pants. “Ashes, ashes,” he sang to her. “Oh, we all fall down.”
***
Alex took a sip from her can of Diet Coke, set it aside and lifted the piece of pizza in front of her into her mouth, never removing her gaze from her computer. She caught Claire’s reflection in the screen. “What the hell are you doing?” Alex asked.
“Proof,” Claire explained. She typed a few words into the phone and moved to show Alex the text message she had just sent to Cassidy.
“Clever,” Alex replied.
Claire shrugged, admittedly pleased with herself. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
Claire loomed over Alex’s shoulder.
Alex stilled her temper. Yeah, she’s growing on me—like a fungus.
“Hey,” Claire’s arm draped over Alex’s shoulder, and Alex moved to bat it away. “Hey!” Claire scolded Alex and then grabbed a picture from the table, placing in front of Alex. “Look,” she said.
Untold (Alex and Cassidy Book 5) Page 19
