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CHAPTER 22
Miranda glanced at her watch. It was already seven thirty in the morning; where was Qui
Because she’d left her truck at the University, she was dependent on Qui
You were exhausted . Yes, she had feared she would fall asleep at the wheel. Nearly two weeks of virtually sleepless nights had taken their toll.
She’d slept surprisingly well last night. No nightmares, no interruptions. But when she woke up in the morning, she remembered a conversation she’d had with Qui
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning,” Qui
“Tomorrow? I thought you had a week off.”
“I did, but something’s come up.”
His tone clued her to the truth. “A murder.”
“You don’t want to hear about it.”
“Yes I do.”
“Miranda, why do you do this to yourself?”
They were sitting on the front porch of the Lodge. It was late evening and most of the guests had retired, or were having a final drink before the bar closed at eleven.
“I’m going to be an FBI agent, Qui
“You keep talking about it.”
“I told you my plans.”
“You did. I just thought you’d change your mind.”
“Why?” Had she given him the impression she was flaky? She hoped not.
He looked at her, his dark eyes holding so much emotion she felt wonderfully, completely drowned in him. “I’ve been amazed by you for a year, Miranda. You’ve inspired me when I was becoming jaded with the job. Not catching the bastard who hurt you-” He swallowed and glanced away, but not before she caught a glimmer of moisture in his eyes.
“That’s not your fault. He will be stopped. Someday we will find him.”
Qui
“I’ll prove to you I’m capable.” Did she sound panicked? No, just emphatic. “You said you’d give me a letter of recommendation. But if you don’t want to, I can get others.”
“I promised you a letter, and you’ll get it.”
“Besides, I won’t be entering the Academy for nearly a year.” She paused. “You didn’t tell me about your case.”
He held her close to his side and they watched the shadows. She’d bundled in four layers of clothing and had a blanket around her legs. Here, with Qui
“The victim is a child,” he said softly. “They’re the worst cases.”
“Miranda?”
She jumped, startled. Qui
“Ready?” he asked.
“Let’s go.”
She should have read between the lines back then. Thinking back on that night, she realized that Qui
She’d been so certain she’d wanted to be in the FBI. Listening to Qui
But there was only one bad guy she really wanted-needed-to defeat. Not for the first time, she feared the shrink might have been right. Her determination to capture the Butcher drove her, had led her to the FBI. She wouldn’t have called it obsession, but she focused on little else. How could she give up when he still hunted women?
In the car, Qui
“What?”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.” Was it that obvious? She shot Qui
“Glad to hear it. You needed it.” He turned onto the main highway. She glanced at the dashboard clock: 7:50. She started pla
“Does it even help?” she said.
“Excuse me?”
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud. “I was just thinking about the searches. Every time another woman is abducted, I pull out all the stops and scour thousands of acres. But does it help? We’ve never found one in time. We couldn’t save Rebecca. Why did I ever think we could?”
“Don’t second-guess yourself, Miranda. Nick was doing that yesterday because the press jumped all over him. You are an expert in search and rescue. I looked over your methods and routes and I would have done the exact same thing with the people and resources you had.”
“You would have?”
“Absolutely. And if it weren’t for your methodical searches, we’d never have found some of the bodies.”
“But it was too late.” They’d found the Croft sisters four weeks after they’d been killed. Rebecca less than a day. But it would have been weeks if Judge Parker’s son hadn’t stumbled across her body.
“I talked to Olivia last night.”
“And? Did she find out something? She wouldn’t have called if she didn’t have news. What is it?”
“I called her,” Qui
“Red?” She thought back to her geology classes. “I don’t think so. Not around here.” She bit her lip. “Red clay? I could talk to someone in the geology department, they might have an idea.”
“Why don’t you ask-discreetly-when I drop you off at MSU? I’d come with you, but I need to meet with Nick about the University’s records. We’re going to split up the remaining stack. It’ll be about three dozen men to check out, but right now it’s the only thing we’ve got until Olivia comes up with something definitive.”
Miranda glanced at Qui
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“Trusting me.”
He paused. “Just be careful.”
The Bitch was going to skin him alive.
But what was he supposed to do? The damn cop was snooping around. What if he’d decided to break all those search and seizure laws and go into the cabin?
Well, he couldn’t really say anything to The Bitch about that. She didn’t know about everything he’d kept. She wouldn’t understand. He needed a co
No, The Bitch wouldn’t understand.
But he had to get rid of the cop’s damn truck. Run it off the side of the road maybe. Or ditch it where it could be easily found. Better to hide it or have it discovered?
He didn’t know. That’s why he’d called her in the first place.
She drove up the narrow driveway faster than she should, her wheels spi
“You fucking idiot !”
“He was snooping.”
“We gotta go.” She stomped up the stairs and strode over to the door. “Where is he? What did you do with the body? Bury him?”
“He’s with the girl.”
She blinked, then her eyes widened. “Why the fuck would you drag his body miles away? Why not just bury him here?”
“I don’t think he’s dead.”
“Why the hell not?”
He shrugged. He hadn’t pla
Oh, well. He’d never pla
“You are an idiot. You’re stupid, stupid! We have to go, leave Montana. You’ve ruined my life. Damn, damn, damn!”
The Bitch stomped and paced, pulling at her hair. He shrank against the wall of the house. There was no telling what she’d do in this mood.
She muttered and swore for ten minutes before turning around and pointing her long, bony finger at him. “Pack up. We’re going. Leave the girl, leave Nick Thomas. They’ll be dead before anyone finds them. I have some money put aside. We’ll get new identities, maybe in California. Yeah, California is good. Los Angeles is a big city, and we’ll lay low.”
“No.”
She stopped talking and stared at him. “What?”
“I’m not going. Theron and Aglaia have eggs. I can’t go until they’ve hatched.”
“You’re going to jeopardize everything because of some stupid fucking birds ?”
He tensed. “They’re not stupid.”
“They’re birds . And didn’t you tell me once that they’re everywhere, even breeding on the ledges of skyscrapers in Los Angeles? If you need to go see the stupid things, you can just walk down the street rather than traipsing through muck in the middle of nowhere. Dammit, this is serious! You kidnapped the sheriff; we can’t stay here. We have to go. And you will come with me.”
Her disdain for Theron and Aglaia ate at him as The Bitch went on and on, making plans about what she would tell her husband, how they were going to buy new driver’s licenses, when they would leave.