CHAPTER SEVEN
Alison reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through the hotel lobby.
The large reception desk sat to her right, and to the left was the hotel restaurant, where breakfast was served, with a coffee bar occupying the space between the two, serving hot drinks to restaurant patrons and those who sat in the large lobby.
Alison recognized Dr. Carver immediately. Carver stood as soon as she saw Alison, her eyes widening slightly and a slight smile crossing her lips. The movement immediately drew Alison’s attention, but she would have recognized her peer anyway.
What happened next shocked Alison.
But only a little.
Dr. Carver strode straight toward Alison and embraced her.
Alison hadn't expected the hug. It had been years since they had seen each other, their paths crossing in small ways after the Riverside Strangler case, but they had never been friends. They had barely been work colleagues.
"Thank you for seeing me," Carver said before breaking the embrace.
The next thing she said was almost as surprising as the embrace.
"They called me first," Carver said. "I was too busy to come in and work the case with them. I wanted you to know that."
Before Alison could respond to that, Carver spoke again, pointing behind her. "I’m right over here. Go and get a coffee and meet me back at my table."
She made it sound more like an order than a suggestion.
Perhaps she still saw herself as Alison’s senior.
Alison didn’t care about any of that; she was only glad to be talking to Dr. Carver before she left to drive to Boston with Hartley and Wolfe.
As she went to grab herself a coffee, she hoped Carver knew details about the Riverside case that might point them toward a suspect.
Alison ordered an extra-shot latte in a to-go cup so she could take the rest with her to the station to liaise with the special agent and detective before they headed out of town.
When she took her coffee back to the table, Carver gestured for Alison to sit.
Alison wasn’t sure whether it was intentional, but Carver sat with a straight, open posture, head tilted up slightly, and hand resting on the knee of the leg that crossed over the other, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
She was projecting control. Carver had called the meeting, and she was directing it now that she and Alison were face-to-face.
"So," Alison said, placing her coffee on the table. "You wanted to speak with me?"
"I don't like this investigation," Carver said. "Perhaps I should have agreed to consult on it."
"Okay," Alison said slowly. "What is it you don't like about it?"
"I was the lead profiler on the Strangler case," Carver said, shaking her head. "I spoke to Detective Vettle recently. You remember him, right?"
"Of course," Alison said. "He was the lead detective on the case."
"Yeah. He was a lead, I was a lead, and it’s a failure that’s haunted us for our careers. Let me ask you something. Is this the Strangler returned, or is this something else?"
"It’s something else," Alison admitted. "There was another case in—"
"Boston," Carver finished. "Yes, I know. I just needed to check. There was a moment when I first heard when I thought we might be able to catch him finally, but he’s long gone.
Eighteen years. The Riverside Strangler came along, killed three people, and was never heard from again. What a crapshoot."
"It’s exactly what the killer is focused on," Alison said. "They want to point out past mistakes."
"We made a lot of them, I’m sure. We didn't catch him, so there must have been something we missed. I firmly believe that there is enough evidence in every crime to find the killer. There had to have been something. Something we didn't think of or that we ignored at the time. I just—"
Dr. Carver ran her hands through her hair. "I apologize. I’m getting too emotional about this. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have a case haunt you for that long?"
Alison immediately thought about her sister. "I do." But she didn’t want to talk about that with a relative stranger. "I was also on the case, and I know I wasn’t around for long, but I feel some of the burden for us not catching the Strangler.|
"Oh, please," Carver complained. "You've got to stand up and say your piece, but it's not the same, and you know it.
I still remember you standing there, looking at me like you were intent on proving me wrong.
Seems like you made a name for yourself eventually, but you didn't make a name for yourself in that room.
Did you want to argue against me just for the thrill of it, or did you actually believe what you said back then?
Something about childhood trauma, right? "
Alison looked Dr. Carver in the eyes and took a breath in through her nose. "I didn't care about making anyone else look bad. I believed what I said."
"Then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought," Carver said. "If you believed what you said, then why didn't you push for it?"
"Do you think I was right back then?" Alison asked.
"No," Carver replied. "I believe I was right, and that you were putting us on the wrong track, and that’s why I would have fought for what I believed in if it were questioned. You didn't fight for what you believed in, and that’s a failing on your part. That’s why you feel the guilt after all these years. It’s not because we failed.
You didn't fail. We failed. We didn't catch the killer.
You didn't stand up for what you believed in. "
"I don’t—"
Dr. Carver didn't let Alison finish. "Let me ask you a question."
Alison didn't think she had an option to say no to that, so she raised her eyebrows for her counterpart to continue as she took a sip of her latte.
"Do you stand up for what you believe in now?" Carver asked.
"I do," Alison answered.
"Good," Carver said. "I’m glad you learned that, finally.
Look, I know people talked about me after the Riverside case.
No one said anything to my face, but it was obvious they thought I was to blame.
Not me personally, perhaps, but I was one of the main pieces of the task force that was put together, and we all failed together.
We all carried that around with us. I don't care about the past being dredged up.
I have the same guilt now as I had back then.
The one thing I don't want is to be blamed for this murder, these murders. "
"The killer is referencing the original murders," Alison said. "You’re connected to one of them, but not the other."
"What I’m saying is, I failed eighteen years ago. No matter how you look at it, I failed. I don't want to fail again. So, I’m asking you if you’ll catch this killer?"
Alison couldn’t make promises. They still had no idea who they were dealing with.
Dr. Carver cut in again before Alison could answer.
"I could have come running when that special agent called me, but I didn't want to revisit the past. If the killing continued, or, God forbid, the killer is never caught, perhaps my name won't be in the media, but I will shoulder the blame.
If you don't catch this killer, then I will always wonder if I could have.
Please don't let me shoulder more guilt. "
"That’s a weight you’re putting on me, and I don't know if that’s fair," Alison said.
"I don't care about fairness," Dr. Carver replied, scolding and shaking her head. "We care about justice, but that doesn’t mean there’s fairness in this world.
I worked my ass off, and we didn't catch the Strangler. Is that fair? It’s not.
Now, my photo is pinned to a dead body. I want this killer caught, so my face is not plastered all over the news.
I know you can't promise that, but I want assurances that you’ll live up to your reputation. "
"I always have," Alison countered.
Dr. Carver held Alison’s gaze, scrutinizing her, Carver’s eyes searching Alison’s eyes and then her face for some sort of guarantee.
"I suppose that’ll have to do," Dr. Carver said. "If not, I will take over from you. I have contacts in the Department of Justice, and I won't hesitate to use them if you are failing."
Alison wanted to snap back at her former colleague, but she bit her tongue.
"Whatever is best for the case," Alison said. "You might not believe that I’m as invested in this case as you are, but I am. I will stop at nothing to catch this killer. I do feel guilt, and it’s because the Strangler was never caught.
I don't think we have a chance to catch the Strangler now, but we do have a chance to stop this killer. "
Dr. Carver didn't seem to be paying Alison much attention as she gestured to the coffee bar for them to bring her another coffee.
"This is all on your tab, by the way," Carver said.
Alison almost laughed at that. It was made more humorous by the fact that the FBI was paying for Alison’s room, which meant they were now also paying for Dr. Carver’s coffees.
"I was going to reach out to you," Alison told Carver, who was looking toward the coffee bar as she waited for her drink to be brought over.
"I know you were the lead on the case and that I was around for a short time. I was hoping you might know something about the case that I don’t.
Or know why my picture was on the body too.
I do feel guilty about the case, but I don't understand why the killer would place me there with you and Detective Vettle.
I was hoping you might have some insight? "
"My first insight is that you’re already lost in this case if you’re looking elsewhere for answers," Carver said.
"You were part of the case back then, even if you only played a small part.
To be honest, I didn't concern myself with you back then, so I don't have an answer for you.
If your photo was included with the body, then the killer believes you were to blame in some way. Only you know what your failings were."
"Yeah," Alison replied.
She had thought long and hard about it, as she’d tried to get to sleep the previous night.
She blamed herself for not catching the killer, but she couldn’t pinpoint why.
She’d been a part of the case, and the killer was not caught.
She assumed some of the blame. The killer also blamed her in some way.
Did that mean the killer was guessing at who was to blame for the failures, or did they pick people to display after researching them?
Am I a mistaken inclusion, or am I to blame in the killer’s eyes?
"I should go," Dr. Carver said. "I don’t like to give warnings, but if you don't catch this killer soon, I will step in. I won't repeat the mistakes of the past."
"I understand," Alison said as she stood. Her teeth clamped together, and she did her best not to bare them in front of Dr. Carver. She also understood why Carver wanted to take over the case. Alison had no intention of letting that happen, but knew it might also be out of her control.
She wondered if there would be an embrace at the end of their interaction, just like at the beginning. She didn't have to wonder for long. As soon as the coffee was delivered to the table, Dr. Carver took it and left the table without saying goodbye.
Allison watched her go. Then she picked up her coffee and left the building to hail a cab. The next stop was Dr. Cowan, the lead profiler on the Fenway Slasher case. Would he also try to take over the case from Alison?
A threat like the one from Dr. Carver might be taken with a grain of salt, but not after what Alison had seen in the woman’s eyes. Dr. Carver felt deep guilt about her past failure, and if Alison didn't find the killer soon, Carver would take over.
Perhaps Carver was right about Alison not standing up for what she believed in the past, but she wasn’t that young, naive woman any longer. If Carver came back for Alison’s position on the case, Alison wouldn’t let her take it without a fight.