by Blake Pierce
Riley felt slightly unsettled. She’d suspected as much about Jenn for a long time.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Riley said.
“No, you deserve it. I’ll tell you—when I’m ready.”
They didn’t say anything for a minute or so.
Then Riley said, “You know, every time we’ve sat down to coffee or something to eat, we’ve been interrupted. Let’s go get something to eat.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Judd Griggs stared at Riley in stunned amazement.
“Under arrest?” he gasped. “For what? This is crazy!”
Riley glanced at Jenn, who looked startled. Nevertheless, Jenn took her cue and got out her handcuffs.
Fortunately, Griggs seemed too badly shaken to put up any resistance.
As Jenn pulled Griggs’s arms behind him and put on the handcuffs, Riley said …
“You are under arrest for identity theft.”
“What?”
“I think you heard me. Agent Roston, read him his rights.”
Jenn read him his rights as she maneuvered him into the chief’s SUV.
Renee Griggs was jabbering and weeping and pacing back and forth.
“What’s going on? This is crazy! Why are you doing this?”
Chief Sinard tugged Riley away from the others.
He whispered angrily, “Agent Paige, what in the hell is this all about?”
“I thought I was pretty clear,” Riley said.
Sinard just stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Let’s get him down to the station,” Riley said.
Sinard shook his head and climbed into the SUV behind the wheel.
Riley joined the rest of the team in back with Griggs.
The door slid shut, and Sinard backed the vehicle out of the driveway.
Renee Griggs was pounding on the side of the SUV screaming at the top of her lungs.
“You’re making a terrible mistake! I’m calling our lawyer! You’ll be sorry you did this!”
As they pulled out into the street and left the woman behind, Riley realized that she did feel sorry.
She felt sorry for poor Renee Griggs, who clearly had no idea that she was married to a monster.
She’s in for an ugly awakening, Riley thought.
*
A short while later, Riley, Jenn, and Chief Sinard escorted Judd Griggs into the station’s interview room and seated him at the gray table. Before they could start asking him any questions, a heavyset man burst into the room, looking highly agitated.
He said, “I’m Hunter Grunewald, Mr. Griggs’s attorney. And I demand to know why you have arrested my client.”
Riley looked the man in the eye.
She said, “He’s under arrest for violation of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act.”
“The what?” the lawyer said.
Riley said, “It’s a law that was passed in 1998. Violation carries a maximum term of fifteen years imprisonment.”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with that law,” the attorney said. “But what the hell does it have to do with my client?”
Riley set her laptop computer on the table and opened it. She laid out all the evidence they had against Griggs—birth and death certificates, newspaper articles, forged credentials, and assorted documents.
Through it all, the lawyer stared at the computer screen in astonished silence.
But as Riley laid out more and more information, Griggs started to weep quietly.
He kept saying over and over again …
“Oh, God …Oh, God … Oh, God.”
When Riley finished, the lawyer struggled to gather his wits.
“I don’t care what he did all those years ago,” he blustered. “You’re still making a mistake. The 1998 law doesn’t say that identity theft is illegal, per se. It has to be carried out with intent to aid or abet some other unlawful activity.”
Riley was a bit taken aback.
In her haste to act, she hadn’t thought through all those details.
But now that she did …
“He did have illegal intent,” she said. “Remember, he forged teaching credentials. He’s been using his stolen identity for fraudulent purposes for twenty years. He’s got no business teaching in a classroom or coaching a soccer team. We’ve got him dead to rights. And before long, we’ll have him for first-degree murder as well.”
The lawyer’s mouth dropped open.
“Murder? What murder?”
Riley said, “The rapes and murders of Katy Philbin, Holly Struthers, and Camryn Mays.”
Grunewald turned pale.
Then he said to his client, “I order you not to say anything at all. Don’t answer any questions.”
Griggs was shaking all over now.
“No, no,” he sobbed. “I’ve been carrying this around too long. I’m tired of running away from it.”
Riley exhaled sharply.
Was he about to confess to everything?
“It’s true,” Griggs said. “About the pornography, I mean. I was young and stupid and … not mentally well. And after I was caught, I was so ashamed, so disgraced. I lost my job, lost all my friends, lost everything, and I deserved it, but …”
He choked on a sob.
“But I’d learned my lesson. I wanted to turn my life around. Around that time, Judd Griggs died, and nobody thought much of him. He flunked out of school, and he couldn’t hold onto a job or a relationship, and he drank much too much. He was drunk when he crashed his car. And after that happened, I …”
He seemed to be struggling to put his thoughts into words.
“I had … some idea … that I could find some kind of redemption … for us both.”
Griggs’s eyes darted around the people in the room.
“I thought … maybe if I just took his name and started over … I could make everything right after all.”
He shook his head miserably.
“But over the years, I’ve realized … a lie is a lie. I’ve tried to be the best man I could be. But I was still living a lie. And it’s been eating me up inside for all this time. And I can’t begin to tell you … what a relief it is … to finally just come out and say …”
He was seized by a spasm of sobs.
“But I never physically harmed a single human soul. Not back then, not ever since. I swear to God I didn’t.”
Chief Sinard hadn’t said anything so far.
Finally he said, “How does your wife figure into this whole story?”
Griggs’s lawyer touched him on the shoulder.
“That’s enough,” he said. “Not another word.”
Judd Griggs nodded mutely, his tears falling on the table.
Riley could tell that he had said all he was going to say—for the time being, at least.
The lawyer said to the others present, “That’s all the time you get with my client. I demand some time alone with him.”
Riley, Jenn, and Sinard had no choice but to leave the interrogation room. As they walked down the hall, a tall, angry man came striding toward them.
Riley recognized him right away.
It was Mayor Daggett.
In a sharp, raspy voice, he said, “I just got a call from Judge Finn, then another from Hunter Grunewald. What in the name of God do you people think you’re doing?”
Chief Sinard stepped toward him and said, “We’ve arrested Judd Griggs.”
Riley sensed that Sinard was cowed by the mayor’s arrival but was trying to sound and look more assertive than he felt.
“What on earth for?” the mayor asked.
Sinard said, “We’re going to charge him for identity theft. And we’re holding him on suspicion of murder.”
The mayor’s eyes bulged with disbelief.
“Murder?” he said to Sinard. “The three girls, you mean? You’re crazy. I’ve known Judd for years, ever since he came to Angier. He’s no murderer. He’s the finest man I know.”
Then he turned to Riley and Jen
n.
“This is all your doing,” he told them. “You two feds have been nothing but trouble since you came here. You’ve got no respect for the Constitution, conducting illegal searches and beating up suspects, and the county ME says you made a nuisance of yourselves at another crime scene.”
He wagged his finger at them.
“And you’ve got no idea the trouble you’re in now, arresting a man as decent and good as Judd Griggs. This whole town is going to explode right in your face. Your superiors are going to hear about it, believe me. And you’ll lose your badges if I’ve got anything to say about it.”
Riley felt a surge of anger. She moved directly into the mayor’s personal space.
“Mr. Mayor, the last time we met, you told us there was no serial killer. Things like that don’t happen in Angier, you said. It’s such a peaceable town with happy people, you said.”
Riley leaned closer to his face and spoke even more sharply.
“Well, it’s not so peaceable, and not so happy. We’ve got three corpses to account for now—three raped and murdered women. You’d better hope we’ve got the right man, or else there will be others.”
Riley pushed past him and continued on her way down the hall, joined by Jenn and Chief Sinard.
Sinard murmured to her quietly, “I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.”
Riley said nothing in reply. There was nothing to say—and nothing more for her and Jenn to do. She knew they might as well head back to their motel.
As she and Jenn walked back to their car, something started nagging her.
Could they have gotten the wrong man?
But no, that was impossible. In the heat of the arrest, she was letting herself get irrational.
Still, she sensed that her doubts weren’t going to go away. She would have to find out the truth.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
Riley and Jenn got into the car, and Riley started driving back to the motel. It was early evening now. Riley’s head was still spinning from all that had happened this afternoon.
And that nagging feeling of doubt wouldn’t go away.
Was it possible—just dimly possible—that the coach wasn’t the killer?
“So what now?” Jenn said as Riley drove.
Riley glanced toward her and shrugged.
“Well, you know the procedure. The district attorney has to review the evidence and decide about charges. Chief Sinard is probably in touch with him right now, getting that ball rolling. It probably won’t get done today, though. Tomorrow the suspect will appear before a judge and there will be talk about bail, but considering the murder charge …”
Jenn interrupted her with a chuckle.
“I know all that. I mean what about us? We’ve closed the case, there’s no need for us hang around. The locals can take it from here. So we’ll be flying back home tomorrow, I guess. I’ll sure be glad to get out of this town. I’m sure you feel the same way.”
“Yeah,” Riley said quietly. “I do feel the same way.”
She decided not to mention the vague and shapeless doubts that were floating around in her mind.
After all, they didn’t make sense—not even to her.
Gazing out the window, Jenn said, “I’ve never worked a case like this one before. I expect a real crash will kick in soon, huh? I’m already starting to feel myself falling into a state of collapse. Even so, I still feel high from it—how we pulled it off, I mean, worked together as a team. I can’t wait for the next case.”
Jenn fell quiet for a moment.
Finally she said, “I can’t tell you what a great experience this has been for me. It’s been such an honor working with you.”
Riley felt momentarily tongue-tied. She knew that she ought to return the compliment. Regardless of her own lurking doubts, Jenn had earned a pat on the back.
“You’ve done great work, Jenn,” she finally said.
It sounded lame, and Riley knew that Jenn deserved better. She really had done superb work. But Riley couldn’t think of anything better to say. She was too distracted.
She kept thinking about Judd Griggs, and his tearful confession.
He had seemed so utterly, painfully sincere. And maybe he had put all that delinquent behavior behind him.
Of course, that didn’t mean much.
Riley knew from long experience that murderers could feign sincerity quite brilliantly.
But her mind was still in turmoil. How certain were they, really, that he was the murderer?
Wasn’t it possible that Griggs was simply a good but flawed man desperately trying to put his shameful past behind him?
If so, what business did they have destroying everything he had done to redeem himself, humiliating him all over again among a whole community of people who had come to admire and love him?
Stop it, Riley thought. Don’t do this to yourself.
After all, her gut had told her that Griggs was their man.
And her gut was very seldom wrong.
*
With nothing else demanding their attention, Riley and Jenn went to Riley’s room, ordered a pizza and some beer, and started watching a movie. Riley remained distracted and had trouble paying attention to the story, but Jenn kept chattering about what was going on in it, at least for an hour or so.
Then Jenn got quieter and started to yawn from time to time.
“Wow, I really am starting to crash,” she finally said, stretching her arms and letting out a huge yawn. “I had no idea how tired I was. I don’t think I can even stay awake for the rest of this.”
“That’s OK,” Riley said. “Go get a good night’s sleep. You deserve it.”
Jenn headed back to her own room, leaving Riley alone.
Riley stared at the TV screen until the rest of the movie finished. She had no idea what was going on in it, and she didn’t really care. When it was over, Riley turned off the TV. She realized that she had already forgotten how the plot had unfolded.
She fetched the bottle of bourbon she’d bought a couple of days ago and poured herself a glass, reminding herself to go easy with it. She was feeling strangely gloomy already, and getting drunk wouldn’t make her feel any better.
As she sat sipping her drink, she realized she hadn’t communicated with her family since she’d left home yesterday.
She picked up her cell phone and punched in the house number, and April answered.
“Hey, Mom! Have you cracked the case yet?”
Riley suppressed a sigh.
“I think so. Maybe.”
April laughed a little.
“You don’t sound exactly enthused.”
Riley forced a chuckle.
“It’s been a long day, I guess. Is everything OK there?”
“Just fine. We miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“When will you be coming home?”
Riley hesitated, then said, “Tomorrow, I think.”
“Great! We’ll see you then! Love you, Mom.”
“I love you too,” Riley said.
They ended the call, and Riley suddenly realized how relieved she was that everyone at home was safe and sound.
She sent a text to Blaine.
Miss you. Hope to be back soon.
There was just one more thing she wanted to check on.
She sent a text to Bill.
Any news about Hatcher?
The message was marked “delivered,” then “read,” and then came Bill’s reply.
Things are just the same. I’ll let you know what happens. Don’t worry.
Riley frowned.
Don’t worry. Fat chance of that.
But she typed back …
I won’t. Thanks for everything.
Bill replied.
Glad to help.
Riley finished her drink, took a shower, and climbed into bed.
She was tired, but for some reason she didn’t feel ready to sleep yet. Slowly, it began to dawn on her what she was missing.
That hadn’t happened on this case. She’d had only vaguest of impressions about this killer.
Maybe it was overdue. Could she make it happen now?
She stretched out under the covers, breathed slowly and deeply, closed her eyes, and started to imagine and visualize climbing into the killer’s very body.
First she chose the time and setting.
It was mid-afternoon, and he was sitting in the stands watching the girls practice soccer.
His eyes lighted on young Katy Philbin.
Such a star, he thought with fatherly admiration.
So much promise.
But as he watched her, his thoughts darkened.
He felt familiar surge of ugly lust welling up inside him.
No, he told himself with dread.
Not this time.
Not her.
Not Katy.
After what he’d done to the other girl, he’d promised himself …
Never again.
He tried to fight it down, but that feeling kept getting stronger.
Finally, he gave up fighting it, surrendered to it, let the lust sweep through him.
His lust mingled with another terrible emotion—implacable, inexplicable hatred.
It was an exhilarating feeling, intoxicating, addicting.
It was an irresistible call to evil.
A quiet snarl curled up inside his throat.
His face twisted itself into an ugly, vicious sneer …
Riley’s eyes snapped open.
She realized that she’d snarled aloud, and she could still feel the shape of that hateful emotion on her own face.
But something felt wrong.
She pictured Judd Griggs in her mind. She tried to imagine that same expression on his face.
She couldn’t do it.
