Dead End

He drained the coffee in the cup and left a ten on the table with the bill for his breakfast. Once outside in the swelter of an early August Virginia morning, he paused and took a deep cleansing breath, just as he’d been instructed to do.

To have a good day, keep the anger at bay.

It had become his mantra. Not that it always worked, but today, it was good enough to take the edge off. He got into his car and prepared for his meeting.

Then it was off with the Rolex, on with the Timex.

Damn, but he loved that gold watch with the diamonds, loved the feel of it on his wrist, loved the way it looked, so classy, so expensive. With a sigh, he dropped it into its box and placed it in his briefcase.

He had yet to meet the FBI agent who could afford a watch like that. The watch, the house in Myrtle Beach, the condo in Manhattan, the apartments in Paris and London-all real estate in his mother’s name, of course-the new Jaguar… who could live like that on what the government paid?

He wondered idly how his good friend Agent Shields spent his share of the money they’d made since he’d recruited him three years ago. He hoped Shields was as smart about it as he himself had been. Maybe he should have a chat soon, find out where it was stashed. In the unfortunate event that something should happen to his good buddy, shouldn’t someone know where to find the cash?

After all, in their line of work-legitimate as well as illegal-an untimely accident could occur at any time.

And as far as Luther was concerned, Co

Maybe sooner.

6

A

In her hand she held the master list of the contents of the file. She’d read through the reports of Dylan’s death many times, but this time she thought she’d put them in the same order in which they appeared on the list. It would be easier for Evan, who’d be taking his first look at the records this weekend. It would go a lot faster if he could just follow along and check off each report as he read it. Unfortunately, the file had been taken apart and read by so many people over the past two years, nothing was where she’d expected it to be.

The photos were easy to put in order. They were numbered in chronological order. The witness statements were a little more challenging. It seemed that few of them had been returned to their rightful place.

No time like the present, she told herself as she proceeded to search the file for the first report on the list. She found it near the bottom of the stack. She checked it off, then went on to the next. Three hours later, she had most of the reports where they should be. There were three, however, she’d not been able to find.

One was a report attributed to Co

If he hadn’t been there, hadn’t been involved, what could he possibly have contributed to the investigation?

She was tempted to call and ask him, then thought better of it. Who knew where he was, or with whom? Better to send an e-mail that he could read at his leisure.

She opened her laptop and typed her message.

TO: CShields00721

From: AMMccall00913

RE: Report

Hey, Co

Just curious-would like to tidy up the file, as well as try to find some closure. I guess we all would like that.

A

She turned her attention back to the file and its master list, which continued to guide her in her quest to put the file in perfect order before sharing its contents with Evan. Some minutes later, she heard the ping that a

To: AMMccall00913

From: CShields00721

Re: Yours

Hey, A

Anything I can help you with, any other questions, I’m here.

Co

A

A

Or had she? In the dense fog of confusion and pain she’d been trapped in for weeks after Dylan’s death, had someone mentioned this?

Maybe.

She doubted it, but then again, there was much from that time she couldn’t remember. She was hard-pressed to remember Dylan’s funeral, had little recollection of the viewing, and none whatsoever of the graveside services, though certainly she’d been there. Maybe someone had mentioned that Co

She drummed her fingers on the side of her laptop, trying to determine the importance of this new information.

She dialed Evan’s number and was grateful that he picked up on the second ring. She told him about the e-mail from Co

“I guess the only way to answer that is to know what else Co

“You mean, if he’d been involved in something someone might have wanted to kill him for?” She laughed roughly. “That’s every assignment Co

“Look, why not just ask him if there was anything going on back then that sticks in his memory.”

“Even if there was, he wouldn’t be able to tell me.”

“Maybe not, but maybe it’s something he can look into himself. You won’t know if you don’t ask.”

“True. Maybe I’ll just e-mail him…” She opened her laptop and debated on how best to put forth the question.

“Good idea. Bring it all with you this weekend and we’ll toss it around a little more.”

“How’s your case going?”

“Not well.” His voice dropped with something more than disappointment. “In the past week, we’ve had three victims. I was going to call and ask for your opinion on this. Have you ever known a serial killer to target different types the way this guy is? I mean, two distinctly different types of victims? This guy is going back and forth between the pampered and privileged to girls who haven’t even been reported missing a week after we’ve found their bodies. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”