Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Three dead.
All on her watch.
And she wasn’t any closer to a viable suspect.
Greer closed her eyes as she leaned against her desk, images from the board following her into the darkness.
Pike had prioritized the autopsy, and the crime lab had fast-tracked the forensics.
Not that either had given much insight. She still had more questions than answers, and no way to guess who might be targeted next.
Other than Chase and his teammates.
The fact they’d gone twenty-four hours without another body only added to the tension because she knew the bastard wasn’t done. Hadn’t finished whatever mission he was on.
Hadn’t exacted enough vengeance based on the cruel nature of his kills.
Salvation.
His last message. Burned onto another blank dog tag, this time wrapped around Anna’s ankle.
What Greer assumed was the pair to the one the bastard had left with Stacey.
The single word pooling dread deep in her gut because she’d seen various interpretations of salvation while working the joint-task-force missions, and they’d all carried a heavy toll.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d barely slept in the past four days, and tonight wasn’t looking any better.
The door creaked, a horn blaring in the distance before it cut off. A voice tsked, the familiar tone curling around her heart — squeezing it until it barely moved. Took all her strength just to keep it beating. She’d thought the time and emotional distance would lessen her feelings.
She’d been wrong.
If anything, she’d fallen harder. Chase’s obvious pain tugging at the soul she’d left bleeding on her sleeve.
She scrubbed her hand across her face, putting her ever-present coffee mug down on her desk before glancing over at Chase and his buddies as they filed in. “Well?”
Foster stopped, looking over at Bodie as if the man held the answers before arching a brow. “Well, what?”
Greer resisted rolling her eyes. “Is everyone okay?”
He eased. “Fine.”
“No one got shot? Or poisoned? Maybe infected with some kind of deadly pathogen that’s about to wipe out my entire town?”
Zain coughed. “Is that even a thing?”
She stood, turned to face them. “Sadly, I’ve already lived that.”
He shook his head. “No wonder you have trust issues.”
“Just look me in the eyes and swear you didn’t just get back from dropping another body off at the morgue.”
Foster sighed. “If we’d had another body, we would’ve called you.”
“No, you would’ve called Jordan or Bodie.
Maybe Eli after he tackled me as soon as he heard that sniper shot the other day — as if I hadn’t been a federal agent for twelve years.
And you would’ve had one of them meet you at the hospital because you know, if one more person dies on my watch, I’m going to lose my shit. ”
Chase shook his head as he closed the distance and picked up her mug. “First, we need to switch you to decaf. Second, it was just a few routine calls. Nothing suspicious or deadly. And third, Eli’s a former Ranger. It’s in his blood.”
“Please, I saw the look you gave him. And the only thing keeping me awake is the endless supply of caffeine.”
“The only look was the one I give all my brothers if they’re backing you up, and for the record, I’d expect Eli to tackle my ass if the situation warranted it. But consuming nothing but coffee is the real problem.” He crossed his arms. “Have you eaten anything today?”
Greer pursed her lips, the half-eaten sandwich she’d gotten for breakfast lying accusingly off to her right. “I can eat when I stop this bastard. Sleep, then, too.”
“Or, you can pass out from hypoglycemia.”
“Are you always this dramatic?”
Chase leaned in close, sending a shiver down her spine. “Only when you’re being incredibly stubborn.”
“Says the man who hasn’t slept, either. In fact, no one here has.”
Bodie tsked. “You’ve been sending the rest of us home for regular breaks while you only catch a couple hours on your damn couch. And yeah, Chase ratted you out.”
Greer gave Chase her best stink eye. “And that’s the real reason I have trust issues.”
Chase smiled. Not much, but more than he’d shown since Rhett’s death. She gave him a quick once-over. He seemed… better. Not like before, but that death vibe had eased slightly, and he didn’t look as if he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.
Bodie joined them, leaning against the wall beside the whiteboard. “None of this is your fault.”
“My town, Bodie.” She tapped her chest. “Which means it’s my responsibility.”
“I realize we’re a relatively small county, but it’s still too large for us to adequately cover twenty-four, seven.” Bodie blew out a rough breath. “You’re doing the best you can.”
“And yet, I have the mayor questioning my competency on an hourly basis. And don’t even start in on me with the town council.”
“They’re scared.”
“They’re not the only ones.” She sighed, bracing herself against the edge of her desk. “I don’t suppose forensics called back with some damning piece of evidence they missed?”
Bodie shook his head. “Nothing. No fingerprints. No DNA. Not so much as a fiber. Just the dog tag with salvation burned onto the back, and the bullet with twenty-four carved into it.”
Zain walked over to the board. “You still think the numbers are coordinates?”
Bodie raked his hand through his hair. “I’ve run algorithms against other possibilities, but there’re either too many numbers, too few or the option involves letters. Though, if it’s some kind of file ID for a joint task, we’ll need some serious hacking power in order to match it.”
Greer tapped her desk. “I really doubt it’s anything that encoded.
This bastard’s going to some extreme measures to get our attention — ensure his victims are found before they die.
That takes timing. Preparation. Not to mention some brass balls.
He wants us to figure it out. He’s not going to make it some obscure reference we’d need to hack the freaking Pentagon in order to solve.
Though, it does bring up a disturbing fact. ”
Foster groaned. “He’s not done.”
“At the least, we need another number.” Greer let her head tilt back a bit. “At worst…”
Another three.
She didn’t say it out loud. Didn’t chance putting it out into the universe, but they all knew.
Foster glanced at his buddies, having another one of those creepy internal conversations before meeting her gaze.
“I don’t mean this the way it might sound.
You’re already spread thin, and if you keep up these insane hours, you’re gonna do this asshole’s job for him.
” He took a step closer. “You can’t keep running on empty. You need more manpower.”
She snorted. “If you’ve got a solution, I’m listening because I already have state running extra patrols along the main roads.
Not that our guy is gonna out himself that way, but at least the rest of the town is a bit safer.
And I’ve approved overtime and extra crews to process and gather evidence. ”
Foster inhaled, held it for a moment before sighing. “What about the bureau?”
“Wow.” She placed her hand on her chest. “Now, you’re just being mean.”
“Greer, I—”
“I already called.” She closed her eyes for a moment, reliving the roil of her stomach she’d experienced when she’d had to contact her old office. “Laid it all out. Requested assistance.”
“And?”
“Apparently, there’re another couple dozen sheriffs, police chiefs and joint task forces who all want help.
The BAU is swamped. Their local office is understaffed and overtaxed.
They did say I could use their lab if I needed it.
Run any possible suspects through their more advanced databases.
” She snorted, bouncing her fist on her thigh.
“Like that’s what’s holding me back from solving this thing. ”
She stood and paced across the room, resisting the urge to toss something at the wall. Expend a bit of her restless energy. “What I’m trying to say is, they turned me down.”
Bodie coughed. “That’s not what they said.”
“It resulted in the same outcome.”
“Except where they told you that you were already one of their best profilers, and if you couldn’t figure it out, none of their people could, either, and that other departments don’t have that advantage.”
“Not exactly earning that praise, am I?” She startled when her cell rang before glancing at the screen. Nick Colter — CIA operative and one of the few people outside this room who she truly trusted. “Finally.”
She put the call on speaker. “Nick. I hope this means you’ve got some good news for me.”
A laugh floated over the line. “You know, Greer, if you keep asking me for these kinds of favors, you’re gonna have to fly down to Langley and take me to dinner.”
She glanced at Chase, noting the hint of red on his cheeks. “You’re on speaker, jackass.”
“What’s wrong? Is there someone there you don’t want to get caught flirting in front of? Like that guy you’ve mentioned? The medic?”
“Glad you’re not making this awkward.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger, honey.” He sighed, the heavy sound crushing any lightness from the room.
“I went over your notes and all the evidence you sent, then scoured our joint operations. Based on those parameters, I narrowed the possible target groups down to two. You should have a file popping up on your encrypted server any second now.”
“Can you give me the Cliff Notes version?”