Chapter 11
Eleven
I drove slowly by the large brick house.
Things were progressing perfectly. The last killing was the most important, but they wouldn’t realize it for a while.
My next step? To shine the spotlight on my mission.
My obsession. The world needed to know about me.
I was something new. Something different.
Even the incredible Kaely Quinn couldn’t unmask me, but I looked forward to her attempt.
I planned to get close to her—and to Erin.
Closer than they could possibly imagine.
People would be amazed at how brilliant I’d been.
I laughed softly. What was it Sherlock Holmes used to say?
The phrase popped into my mind, and I sighed with pleasure. Then I whispered, “The game is afoot.”
Kaely and Erin were both in bed when Noah called.
Erin was tired after her drive, and Kaely wanted to go over her notes about the case before she went to sleep.
She’d grabbed her notebook and propped herself up in bed so she could read through them and add any thoughts that popped into her head.
Although Nick had taken his files with him, Kaely could clearly remember what she’d seen.
Although they might cause some people nightmares, Kaely was used to the evil that people were capable of.
It probably wasn’t a good thing, but in her mind, every crime scene was a puzzle waiting to be solved.
Agents in the FBI, and especially in the BAU, battled wickedness daily, working hard to bring justice to those who needed it.
It was a high calling. Something that God had summoned her and Noah to do.
Even though she’d left the BAU because they wanted a baby, and Kaely felt the need to distance herself from the FBI so that could happen, she still liked to keep her head in the game.
Working with Erin on her books had provided that for her.
She pushed her notebook away and got out of bed.
Mr. Hoover opened one eye to check on her and then went back to sleep.
Although he liked to snooze on the bed with them, he wasn’t really a cuddler.
Once in a while, he’d move closer, but if they tried to pet him too much, or God forbid, attempted to put their arms around him, he’d wiggle out of their grasp and move to the foot of the bed.
Even though tonight wasn’t the best time for Lee to stay with them, Kaely agreed with Noah that allowing him to sleep in his car wasn’t something they could accept while trying to be good examples of God’s love. Helping him was something they felt they had to do.
She walked quietly downstairs, trying not to wake Erin.
She looked forward to spending time with her, but she wished it wasn’t under these circumstances.
Although Erin was a fighter, it was obvious that looking at the photos and reading that awful poem had upset her.
Erin was already dealing with a lot in her life. Adding this seemed like too much.
She’d prayed about it. Asked God to ease Erin’s burden and keep her safe, both physically and emotionally. Although she hadn’t heard His voice, a sense of peace had fallen over her as she’d prayed. Kaely took it as a sign that He would protect Erin and bring something good out of this horror.
When she reached the basement, she turned on the light and was able to quickly find their fold-up cot.
It was actually very nice. Thankfully, they’d covered it with a blanket to keep it from getting dusty.
She took the blanket off and carried the cot up to Noah’s office.
Fifteen minutes later, she’d put on sheets and a clean blanket, found a good pillow, and placed it at one end.
The cot had a nice, thick pad that helped to make it comfortable.
She looked around the room. None of Noah’s notes were visible.
She wondered for just a second if she should check to make sure his filing cabinet was locked.
Although he wasn’t allowed to bring files home from the BAU, he did make notes about his cases.
He was pretty careful about keeping them locked up, so she decided not to worry about it.
Besides, he had the only key with him, so there wasn’t much she could do anyway.
If it wasn’t locked, he’d probably take care of it when he got home.
She left the office and went into the bathroom across the hall.
She put out fresh towels and washrags. She also removed a fresh bar of soap from under the sink and put it on the counter, next to the bottle of hand soap.
Lee might not want to take a shower, but just in case, he’d have what he needed.
After she was satisfied that she’d done everything she could, she went back to their bedroom.
She didn’t know Lee very well, but if Noah felt okay having him stay in their house, she wasn’t worried.
Besides, she and Noah were trained agents and could handle themselves.
After thinking about it, though, she got up, went to the closet, and unlocked the case that held her gun.
She could have felt guilty, but she didn’t.
Being prepared was second nature to her and to Noah.
It didn’t mean she didn’t trust Lee. It just meant that her training told her to always be ready for any potential problems. She sent Erin a quick text to let her know Lee was staying the night.
They probably wouldn’t run into each other, since the guest room was downstairs, and she used a different bathroom.
However, she felt it was a good idea to let Erin know there was someone she didn’t know in the house.
After that, she crawled back into bed, grabbed her notebook, and began to go over each murder in her mind, trying to find something that would make sense to her. This killer needed to be stopped before anyone else died.
After talking to Lee for about an hour, they finally left the restaurant and headed home.
Noah was so tired he could barely think.
When they reached the house, Lee parked his car in the driveway next to Noah’s SUV.
They went inside, and Noah took him into his office where Kaely had already set up the cot.
He was grateful he didn’t have to do it.
“It’s actually pretty comfortable,” he said to Lee.
“Looks great,” Lee responded. “You have a beautiful home.”
Noah felt a little guilty when he compared his home with Lee’s gloomy place. Was Lee comparing his life to Noah’s? Did he resent him? Noah hoped not, but if Lee did, he could understand it.
“Kaely said she put some fresh towels and soap in the bathroom if you want to take a shower. Is there anything else you need? How about something to drink? Soda? A bottle of water?”
“Water would be great,” Lee said. “Again, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Seriously, it’s nothing.”
Lee looked down at the floor. When he looked up, Noah was surprised to see tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t used to think God was real. I told you about my father.
How he always told me that only feeble-minded people believe in some kind of old man in the sky.
He was a mean, mean human being. But you and Kaely have shown me who God is.
He’s someone who acts like you.” He held out his hand.
“You’ve made me believe. Thank you, Noah. ”
Now it was Noah’s turn to get emotional. Here he was worrying about how tired he was, while God was using him to touch another human being with His love.
“You’re very welcome,” he said, shaking Lee’s hand.
“I’m happy we’re friends. You’ve blessed me too.
” He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he just nodded and left the room, feeling embarrassed for only thinking about himself instead of realizing how much God was reaching out to a man who really needed Him.
He went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator, and then took it to Lee, who accepted it gratefully.
Then he walked down the hall and opened his bedroom door, expecting to see Kaely sound asleep.
But instead, she was sitting up in bed, scribbling in her notebook.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he leaned down and kissed her.
“Just going over the murders,” she said after she returned his kiss.
Noah took off his clothes, hung them up, and then pulled on his sweats and a T-shirt. “How’s Erin doing?”
“I think she’s freaked out,” Kaely said. “I mean, wouldn’t you be? She writes a book, and a serial killer uses it to murder someone? That would severely upset anyone.”
Noah sat down on the edge of the bed. “I hear you.” He sighed. “Full house tonight. Thanks for letting Lee stay here. He was willing to sleep in his car, but I just couldn’t let him do it.”
“You did the right thing. I wish we knew him a little better, though.”
Noah sighed. “He told me tonight that he’s learning to believe in God because of the love we’ve shown him. I really haven’t spent that much time with him. Hard to believe that so little effort impacted him this much.”
“I’m so proud of you, Noah,” Kaely said, her eyes shiny with emotion.
“Well, don’t be.” He pulled the covers down and slid between the sheets. “At the restaurant, I was thinking about how tired I was, not how important it was to help him.”
“What a shock,” Kaely said, laughing lightly. “You found out that you’re human?”
“Or selfish.”
“You’re not the least bit selfish, my dear husband,” Kaely said gently. “You’re just tired. Get some sleep.”
Those were the last words Noah heard before he drifted off.
Lee listened at the door, waiting until he couldn’t hear them talking anymore.
Then he took a small flashlight from his pocket and began searching Noah’s office carefully.
When he tried the drawers to the filing cabinets, he was surprised to find them unlocked.
He put the flashlight in his mouth and began to look through the files.
When he finally found what he was searching for, he removed the papers from the file, laid them on the desk, and took pictures of each page.
Then he returned them to the filing cabinet.
After that, he put the flashlight, and his phone, back in his jacket pocket and lay down on the cot.
It really was comfortable. He smiled as he waited for sleep to come.