Once Hunted

by Blake Pierce

  Dr. Sloat patted April’s hand and smiled at Riley and Ryan.

  She said, “I guess what April’s trying to say is that she’s turned a corner.”

  Riley saw Ryan take out a handkerchief and dab his eyes. She’d very rarely ever seen him cry. But she understood how he felt. She felt her own throat catch. It was Gabriela—not Riley or Ryan—who had made April see the light.

  Even so, Riley felt incredibly grateful that her family would be together and in good health for Christmas. She ignored the dread that lurked deep down inside, the awful feeling that the monsters in her life were going to take away her holiday.

  CHAPTER THREE

  When Shane Hatcher walked into the prison library on Christmas Day, the wall clock showed that it was exactly two minutes before the hour.

  Perfect timing, he thought.

  In a few minutes, he was going to break free.

  He was amused to see Christmas decorations hung here and there—all made of colored Styrofoam, of course, nothing hard or with edges or useful as rope. Hatcher had spent a lot of Christmas holidays in Sing Sing, and the idea of trying to evoke the holiday spirit here always struck him as absurd. He almost laughed aloud when he saw Freddy, the taciturn prison librarian, wearing a red Santa hat.

  Sitting at his desk, Freddy turned toward him and smiled a cadaverous smile. That smile told Hatcher that everything was set to go as planned. Hatcher silently nodded and smiled back at him. Then Hatcher walked between two shelves and waited.

  Just as the clock ticked the hour, Hatcher heard the sound of the loading dock door opening at the far end of the library. In just a few moments, a truck driver came in pushing a large plastic bin on wheels. The dock door closed noisily behind him.

  “Whatcha got for me this week, Bader?” Freddy asked.

  “What do you think I’ve got?” the driver said. “Books, books, books.”

  The driver took a quick peek in Hatcher’s direction, then turned away. The driver, of course, was in on the plan. From that moment on, both the driver and Freddy treated Hatcher as if he weren’t there at all.

  Excellent, Hatcher thought.

  Together, Bader and Freddy unloaded the books onto a wheeled steel table.

  “How’s about a cup of coffee over in the commissary?” Freddy said to the driver. “Or maybe some hot eggnog? They’re serving it for the holiday.”

  “Sounds great.”

  The two men chatted casually as they disappeared through the swinging double doors out of the library.

  Hatcher stood quietly for a moment, studying the exact position of the bin. He’d paid off a guard to nudge a surveillance camera little by little over a period of days until there was a blind spot in the library—one that the guards who watched the monitors hadn’t yet noticed. It looked like the driver had hit the mark perfectly.

  Hatcher silently stepped out from between the shelves and climbed inside the bin. The driver had left a coarse, heavy packing blanket at the bottom. Hatcher pulled the blanket over himself.

  Now was the only phase of Hatcher’s plan when he thought that anything could possibly go wrong. But even if somebody came into the library, he doubted that they would bother to look inside the bin. Others who might ordinarily have checked the book truck closely as it left had been paid off too.

  Not that he was worried or nervous. He hadn’t felt such emotions for some three decades now. A man who had nothing to lose in life had no cause for anxiety or unease. The only thing that could arouse his interest was the promise of the unknown.

  He lay underneath the blanket, listening closely. He heard the wall clock tick the minute.

  Five more minutes, he thought.

  That was the plan. Those five minutes would give Freddy deniability. He could honestly say that he hadn’t seen Hatcher climb into the bin. He could say he’d thought Hatcher had actually left the library earlier. When five minutes were up, Freddy and the driver would return, and Hatcher would be carted out of the library and then driven out of the prison.

  Meanwhile, Hatcher allowed his thoughts to stray to what he was going to do with his freedom. He had recently heard some news that made the risk worthwhile—even interesting.

  Hatcher smiled when he thought about another person who would take keen interest in his escape. He wished he could see Riley Paige’s face when she found out he was at large.

  He chuckled ever so softly.

  It was going to be nice to see her again.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Riley watched as April opened the box containing the Christmas present that Ryan had bought for her. She wondered just how in tune Ryan was with his daughter’s taste these days.

  April smiled as she took out a bangle bracelet.

  “It’s beautiful, Daddy!” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  “I hear it’s quite the style these days,” Ryan said.

  “It is!” April said. “Thanks!”

  Then she gave Riley a barely noticeable wink. Riley suppressed a chuckle. Just a few days ago, April had told Riley how much she hated these silly bracelets that all the girls were wearing. In spite of that, April was doing a great job of acting enthusiastic.

  Of course, Riley knew that it wasn’t entirely an act. She could see that April was pleased that her father had at least made an effort to buy a Christmas present that she would like.

  Riley felt much the same way about the expensive handbag Ryan had bought for her. It wasn’t her style at all, and she’d never use it—except when she knew Ryan would be around. And for all she knew, Ryan felt exactly the same way about the wallet she and April had bought for him.

  We’re trying to be a family again, Riley thought.

  And for the moment, they seemed to be succeeding.

  It was Christmas morning, and Ryan had just come over to spend the day with them. Riley, April, Ryan, and Gabriela were all sitting near the roaring fireplace sipping on hot chocolate. The delicious smell of Gabriela’s grand Christmas dinner wafted in from the kitchen.

  Riley, April, and Ryan were all wearing the scarves that Gabriela had made for them, and Gabriela was wearing fluffy slippers that April and Riley had bought for her.

  The doorbell rang, and Riley went over to answer it. Her neighbor, Blaine, and his teenage daughter, Crystal, were standing outside.

  Riley was at once delighted and uneasy to see them. In the past, Ryan had shown more than a little jealousy toward Blaine—and not without reason, Riley had to admit. The truth was, she found him quite attractive.

  Riley couldn’t help mentally comparing him to both Bill and Ryan. Blaine was a couple of years younger than she was, lean and fit, and she liked the fact that he wasn’t vain enough to disguise his receding hairline.

  “Come on in!” Riley said.

  “Sorry, I can’t,” Blaine said. “I’ve got to get over to the restaurant. I brought Crystal by, though.”

  Blaine owned a popular restaurant downtown. Riley realized that she shouldn’t be surprised that it was open on Christmas day. Today’s holiday dinner at Blaine’s Grill must be delicious.

  Crystal hurried inside and joined the group at the fireplace. Giggling, she and April immediately tore into presents they had bought for each other.

  Riley and Blaine discreetly exchanged their Christmas cards, then Blaine left. When Riley rejoined the group, Ryan was looking rather sour. Riley tucked the card away without opening it. She’d wait until after Ryan was gone.

  My life certainly is complicated, she thought. But it was beginning to feel like an almost normal life, a version of life that she could enjoy.

  *

  Riley’s footsteps echoed through a large dark room. Suddenly, there came the noisy crack of breaker switches. Lights came on, blinding her for a few seconds.

  Riley found herself in the corridor of what seemed to be a wax museum filled with grisly exhibits. To her right was a naked woman’s corpse, splayed doll-like against a tree. To her left was a dead woman wrapped in chains and hangin
g from a lamppost. An exhibit farther on displayed several women’s corpses with their arms bound behind their backs. Beyond that were starved dead bodies with their limbs grotesquely arranged.

  Riley recognized every scene. They were all cases she had worked on in the past. She had entered her own personal chamber of horrors.

  But what was she doing here?

  Suddenly she heard a young voice call out with terror.

  “Riley, help me!”

  She looked straight ahead and saw the silhouette of a young girl holding out her arms in desperate appeal.

  It looked like Jilly. She was in trouble again.

  Riley broke into a run toward her. But then another light came on and showed that the silhouette wasn’t Jilly at all.

  It was a grizzled old man wearing the full dress uniform of a Marine colonel.

  It was Riley’s own father. And he was laughing at Riley’s mistake.

  “You didn’t expect to find anybody alive, did you?” he said. “You’re no good to anybody unless they’re dead. How many times do I have to tell you?”

  Riley was puzzled. Her father had died months ago. She didn’t miss him. She did her best never to think about him. He’d always been a hard man who had never given her anything but pain.

  “What are you doing here?” Riley asked.

  “Just passing through.” He chuckled. “Checking in to see how you’re botching your life. Same as always, I see.”

  Riley wanted to lunge at him. She wanted hit him as hard as she could. But she found herself frozen where she stood.

  Then came a loud buzzing sound.

  “Wish we could chat,” he said. “But you’ve got other business.”

  The buzzing became louder and louder. Her father turned and walked away.

  “You never did anybody a lick of good,” he said. “Not even yourself.”

  Riley’s eyes snapped open. She realized that her phone was ringing. The clock showed that it was 6:00 a.m.

  She saw that the call was from Quantico. A call at this hour had to mean something dire.

  She answered the phone and heard the stern voice of her team chief, Special Agent in Charge Brent Meredith.

  “Agent Paige, I need you in my office right now,” he said. “That’s an order.”

  Riley rubbed her eyes.

  “What’s it about?” she asked.

  There was a short pause.

  “We’ll have to discuss it in person,” he said.

  He ended the call. For a groggy moment, Riley wondered if she might be in for a reprimand for her behavior. But no, she’d been off duty for months now. A call from Meredith could only mean one thing.

  It’s a case, Riley thought.

  He wouldn’t call her on a holiday for any other reason.

  And from Meredith’s tone of voice, she felt sure it was going to be big—maybe even life-changing.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Riley’s apprehension mounted as she entered the BAU building. When she walked into Brent Meredith’s office, the chief was at his desk waiting for her. A big man with angular, African-American features, Meredith was always an imposing presence. Right now he also looked worried.

  Bill was there as well. Riley could see by his expression that he didn’t yet know what the meeting was about.

  “Have a seat, Agent Paige,” Meredith said.

  Riley sat down in a free chair.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt your holidays,” Meredith said to Riley. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked. How are you doing?”

  Riley was taken aback. It wasn’t Meredith’s style to start a meeting this way—with an apology and a query about her well-being. He normally got right to the point. Of course, he knew that she’d been on leave because of the crisis with April. Riley understood that Meredith was genuinely concerned. Even so, this struck her as odd.

  “I’m doing better, thanks,” she said.

  “And your daughter?” Meredith asked.

  “She’s recovering well, thank you,” Riley said.

  Meredith fixed his gaze on her in silence for a moment.

  “I hope you’re ready to come back to work,” Meredith said. “Because if we’ve ever needed you on a case, it’s this one.”

  Riley’s imagination boggled as she waited for him to explain.

  Finally, Meredith said, “Shane Hatcher has escaped from the Sing Sing Correctional Facility.”

  His words hit her like a ton of bricks. Riley was glad she was sitting down.

  “My God,” Bill said, looking equally stunned.

  Riley knew Shane Hatcher well—too well for her own liking. He had been serving life without possibility of parole for decades now. During his time in prison, he’d become an expert in criminology. He’d published articles in scholarly magazines and had actually taught classes in the prison’s academic programs. Several times now, Riley had visited him in Sing Sing, seeking advice on current cases.

  The visits had always been disturbing. Hatcher seemed to feel a special affinity for her. And Riley knew that, deep down, she was more fascinated with him than she ought to be. She thought that he was probably the most intelligent man that she had ever met—and also probably the most dangerous.

  She’d sworn after every visit never to see him again. Now she remembered all too well the last time she’d left the Sing Sing visiting room.

  “I won’t come back here to see you again,” she’d told him.

  “You might not have to come back here to see me,” he’d replied.

  Now those words seemed disturbingly prescient.

  “How did he escape?” Riley asked Meredith.

  “I don’t have many details,” Meredith said. “But as you probably know, he spent a lot of time in the prison library, and he often worked there as an assistant. Yesterday he was there when a book delivery came in. He must have slipped away on the truck that brought the books. Late last night, about the time guards noticed that he was missing, the truck was found abandoned a few miles outside of Ossining. There was no sign of the driver.”

  Meredith fell silent again. Riley could easily believe that Hatcher had staged such a daring escape. As for the driver, Riley hated to think of what might have become of him.

  Meredith leaned across his desk toward Riley.

  “Agent Paige, you know Hatcher better than maybe anybody else. What can you tell us about him?”

  Still reeling from the news, Riley took a deep breath.

  She said, “In his youth, Hatcher was a gangbanger in Syracuse. He was unusually vicious even for a hardened criminal. People called him ‘Shane the Chain’ because he liked to beat gang rivals to death with chains.”

  Riley paused, remembering what Shane had told her.

  “A certain beat cop made it his personal mission to bring Hatcher down. Hatcher retaliated by pulverizing him to an unrecognizable pulp with tire chains. He left his mangled body on his front porch for his family to find. That’s when Hatcher got caught. He’s been in prison now for thirty years. He was never supposed to get out.”

  Another silence fell.

  “He’s fifty-five years old now,” Meredith said. “I’d think that after thirty years in prison, he wouldn’t be as dangerous as he was when he was young.”

  Riley shook her head.

  “You’d be thinking wrong,” she said. “Back then, he was just an ignorant punk. He had no idea of his own potential. But over the years he’s acquired a vast store of knowledge. He knows he’s a genius. And he’s never shown any real remorse. Oh, he’s developed a polished persona over the years. And he’s behaved himself in prison—it gets him privileges even if it won’t shorten his sentence. But I’m sure he’s more vicious and dangerous than ever.”

  Riley thought for a moment. Something was bothering her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  “Does anybody know why?” she asked.

  “Why what?” Bill said.

  “Why he escaped.”

  Bill and Meredith exchang
ed puzzled looks.

  “Why does anybody escape from prison?” Bill asked.

  Riley understood how strange her question sounded. She remembered one time when Bill went with her to talk with Hatcher.

  “Bill, you met him,” she said. “Did he strike you as—well, dissatisfied? Restless?”

  Bill knitted his brow in thought.

  “No, actually he seemed …”

  His voice trailed off.

  “Almost contented, maybe?” Riley said, finishing his thought. “Prison seems to suit him. I’ve never gotten the feeling that he even wants freedom. There’s something almost Zen-like about him, his non-attachment to anything in life. He’s got no desires that I know of. Freedom has nothing to offer him that he wants. And now he’s on the run, a wanted man. So why did he decide to escape? And why now?”

  Meredith drummed his fingers on his desk.

  “How did you leave things the last time you saw him?” he asked. “Did you part on good terms?”

  Riley barely suppressed a wry smile.

  “We never part on good terms,” she said.

  Then after a pause, she added, “I understand what you’re getting at. You’re wondering if I’m his target.”

  “Is it possible?” Bill asked.

  Riley didn’t reply. Again, she remembered what Hatcher had said to her.

  “You might not have to come back here to see me.”

  Had it been a threat? Riley didn’t know.

  Meredith said, “Agent Paige, I don’t need to tell you that this is going to be a high-pressure, high-profile case. Even as we speak, news is getting out to the media. Prison escapes are always big news. They can even cause public panic. Whatever it is he’s up to, we’ve got to stop him fast. I wish you didn’t have to come back to a case this dangerous and hard. Do you feel ready? Do you feel up to it?”