Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Durham, New Hampshire
Thursday, October 10
8:41 a.m.
Pierce Morrow was under arrest.
Well, confined to one of the classrooms on the main floor by force. Turned out, those handcuffs did come in handy. Leigh could still hear her former mentor yelling as she and Ford made their way back toward the lobby. Students and staff alike tried to keep their stares brief, but there was no hiding the shock. Or the confusion plastered on Ava’s face. One of this university’s professors may have been involved in the deaths of two students. Officially, they couldn’t charge Morrow with anything until the storm retreated and they got him to the station, but cuffing the man who’d used her profiling insights without giving her credit to solve those fifty-plus cases he’d bragged about sure put an extra pep in her step.
“Anything from the forensic techs?” She’d been so focused on not dying from hypothermia, she’d almost forgotten the evidence they’d pulled from the basement. Priority number one: avoid any and all reflective surfaces. She didn’t want to think about what she looked like right then in mismatched sweats, frizzed-out hair, black semicircles under eyes, and with a permanent blue tint to her skin. Probably less FBI agent, more carnival psycho. It was a promising career change.
“Not yet.” Ford angled around the nearest grouping of students. In vain. They parted as effectively as the Red Sea as he approached. “Seems the killer made sure not to leave his prints behind on the bleach and dish soap containers. Without a way to access Alice Dietz’s devices, we have no way of knowing if he tried to erase evidence of contacting her, but they’re still trying to pull DNA off her belongings. My guess, he was wearing gloves when he killed her, but we didn’t recover any from the room, which means he most likely took them with him to dispose at a separate location.”
It would’ve been the smart move. Couldn’t have all the evidence in one location. That would make it too easy.
Ford motioned her ahead of him as they crossed the main floor back toward what was now their favorite spot by the lobby doors. The perfect perspective to keep an eye on civilians and the storm alike. “There’s a chance he wasn’t so careful with the newspaper clippings. If we can get even a single print, we’ll have what we need to bring charges.”
Except the man who’d led her to the kill room hadn’t been Morrow. She would’ve recognized him, right? Though the more she tried to recall details of those tense minutes face to face with a potential killer, the hazier her memory became. Her brain took the opportunity to let her know Pierce Morrow wouldn’t have been caught dead in a flooded basement, and his clothing hadn’t shown any signs of distress. Unlike hers, which had practically fallen apart by the time she’d changed. But who else would’ve known the location of where Alice Dietz had been killed if not the man who’d killed her? A partner? Morrow didn’t like those either. “Have the techs been able to get anything else from the room?”
The marshal took position at her side, keeping an eye on the rest of the main level. “Water’s too deep, but there were no signs of blood.”
“There wouldn’t be.” A different kind of energy shifted within the huddled masses. Leigh could feel it as she watched them, the glances in her direction, the questions on their faces. Up until now, it would’ve been easy to pretend this investigation hadn’t hit close to home. But the students and staff couldn’t ignore it now. At least not with Morrow still shouting his innocence from down the hall. Did the man have to be so dramatic? “Teshia Elborne’s killer was careful, almost gentlemanly about the way she was handled. The body had been washed and cleaned before he’d left her in the courtyard, but the medical examiner never found lacerations or bruising. Not even tape residue around her mouth, wrists, or ankles. The ME believed the killer used padded handcuffs, but there weren’t any recovered with the remains or on campus.”
“You accused the professor of taking credit for your insights on the Elborne case. I assume that means he was consulting and gave you a peek at the investigation file.” Ford turned that dark gaze on her. More intense than she expected. That same energy coursing through the crowd had finally reached him. Restlessness. Confusion. Anger. This case was getting to him. More so now than before, and something inside her wanted to soothe that itch he suffered from. “We could use those insights now. What’s standing out to you?”
Apart from the fact that she’d been sleeping with a murderer? “Teshia Elborne’s killer cared about her. Maybe even loved her. I would go as far as to say she knew him. Trusted him enough to let him get close. But the way he left her exposed to the elements also testified to his anger. He cared about her, but he wanted to see her punished. As much as I hate to say it, Morrow isn’t in it for love. He uses people. And Dean…”
“Teshia cheated on him.” It wasn’t a question. Ford had already written Groves as their villain. And Leigh couldn’t deny the similarities between this case and the Elborne investigation. Couldn’t deny she’d seen Dean Groves in this very lobby twenty-four hours ago either.
His involvement was the most likely explanation. But there were still too many missing pieces to the puzzle. She couldn’t pick out the pattern. Why come back after all these years? Why risk exposing himself now for a murder he’d already gotten away with?
“It was a good theory at the time.” But was it the right theory? Their only connection between the past and the present was Pierce Morrow, and he’d made his feelings more than clear about helping her since she put him in cuffs.
A male student broke away from the pack. “Hey, agent lady, when are we getting out of here? You can’t keep us here forever.”
More students joined in agreement, and, in an instant, she and Ford were facing a wall of unrest. Shouts hiked her blood pressure higher as she scanned the crowd for that one familiar face. Ava. Where was Ava? Leigh caught sight of her adopted daughter’s gaze toward the back, her chest squeezing with the anxiety written there. “The shelter in place order hasn’t been lifted. We need to stay indoors until the police tell us otherwise. Besides, it’s hailing golf balls out there. Where are you going to go?”
“We have a right to leave!”
“What are we supposed to eat?”
“Yeah. Let us go home!”
Administration and staff tried to raise their voices over the throng of panicking students, but they were greatly outnumbered. There was no getting through. No logic involved. The lobby doors shuddered as though the storm had picked up on the collective emotions of its prisoners.
“Stay alert. I’m not sure this is going to end well,” she said to Ford. Leigh could feel the electricity coming off the students in waves. “For them, I mean. We’ll be fine. We’ve got tasers.”
Ford looked her up and down. “You have a taser in that getup?”
“Don’t you?” She suddenly didn’t feel so self-conscious in the sweats she’d borrowed with him looking at her like he wanted to search her for weapons himself.
He patted the back of his suit jacket. “Must’ve lost it chasing you down into the basement.”
“That’s unfortunate, because I really don’t want to use my tactical baton. We have one taser between the two of us.” Leigh eyed the two campus police officers shifting their weight between their feet at the outer edges of the crowd. One wrong move and this could turn deadly if they weren’t careful. “And nearly forty students who want out of this building.”
“Please, everyone needs to remain calm. We will get through this together.” The president’s voice of reason failed, his power stripped from him when he needed it the most. Hurricanes didn’t care about authority, and neither did these kids right now.
The first student raced straight past Leigh. She caught him by his coat collar before he hit the doors. The shelter in place order was for everyone’s safety. There was no way she would let him put the rest of these people at risk. “Come on. You don’t want to do this. It’s not safe.”
She shoved him back a few feet.
Her warning had little effect. She braced her legs as much as possible as his head collided with her belly in an attempted tackle. If she still had a uterus, he might’ve taken her down. Training and instinct had her thrusting her hips forward. Leigh used his own momentum to shove his face into the floor, landing on his back. Knee positioned into his spine, she grabbed for both of the student’s wrists and pinned them to his frame.
It was over within seconds.
Blowing her hair out of her face, she wished Morrow wasn’t currently occupying her only set of cuffs. A pair penetrated the edges of her vision, and she looked up to find Ford staring down at her in approval. She grabbed for his cuffs and ratcheted them around the student’s wrists. The two campus police officers moved forward to take custody. They’d put him in the same room as Morrow. Maybe then the professor would stop trying to get attention. “Thank you.”
Leigh shoved to stand and faced the now silent crowd staring wide-eyed and a little nervously at her. “Right. Anyone else want to put the lives of all your fellow students and teachers in danger by opening those doors?” She waited a beat. The doors weren’t shuddering anymore, but she could still feel every thrust of wind like a pulse at her back. “No? Great. Nobody else do that. I’m running out of handcuffs.”
Pinpricks in her hands told her the adrenaline would take a while to drain from her system, and she forced herself to breathe through the encroaching nausea. She turned toward Ford. “You wouldn’t happen to have saltines or some other kind of cracker in that magic suit jacket, would you? Oh, how about more candy?”
“I’m not sure I’d consider it magic.” The marshal drove his hands into another pocket and pulled free a stick of silver-wrapped gum. “But it does its job, and I think if you eat any more candy, you’re going to end up in a hyperglycemic coma.”
She took the stick, instantly drawn by the heavy scent of mint as she unwrapped it and folded it into her mouth. The effect was instant. Calming. Just like him. Her heart rate would take a couple more minutes to settle, but her stomach seemed happy for the time being. “Lifesaver.”
“Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you.” That crooked smile was back, like he was trying to keep it to himself and failing. It fit his personality with a little bit of bad boy flair. Every schoolgirl’s fantasy and every father’s nightmare. She could imagine a younger version of him. All charm and no rules to hold him back. The kind of guy who wouldn’t lift a finger if told what to do. Interesting that he’d chosen the US Marshals Service. Then again, Ford mostly worked alone from what she’d observed. No partner. Free to chase fugitives across the country. His own boss, in a way. “That was impressive.”
“You can’t blame them for being scared.” Leigh buried the urge to swipe invisible dust off her sweats. What was the point? “But I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble. Now that they’ve seen what will happen if they turn on us, I doubt they’ll want to end up in the same room as Morrow. He’s not the best company right now.”
“You didn’t answer me before,” Ford said. “Go out with me.”
“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that. Probably makes you perfect for this job.” A flush that had nothing to do with adrenaline heated her skin. She was stalling, and they both knew it.
“I know you’re committed to your career, and we both travel for work. I know you’re trying to figure out how to be a mom, and this is a terrible idea.” Ford cocked his head slightly. As though she was something worth studying. “But I’ve got to be honest, I’ve never met anyone like you. And I want to know more. Just one date.”
“Weren’t you paying attention? My entire life story is in the hands of the forensic techs down the hall right now. All you have to do is read it.” Nerves coated her hands in a thin layer of sweat. She had no reason to decline. She was single. He was single. They had the same interests… in that they enjoyed chasing killers. She could do this. She could move on. Start a new chapter. When else would she get the shot? “All right. One date. After the case is finished.”
“It’s a deal.” Ford nodded.
Ava shoved through the horde of students.
Nerves contorted into full-blown concern as Leigh closed the distance between them, Ford pressing in at her back. Her senses scanned the room for the next threat. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Tamra. I can’t find her anywhere.” Out of breath, Ava dug her nails into Leigh’s arm. “She’s gone.”