CHAPTER TWENTY
“Rhodes is going to be okay,” Webb said casually.
“She passed out and dislocated her shoulder when she collapsed. But the EMTs say she’s stable.
They’ve given her a sedative to help with the pain and anxiety of the situation.
Fresno PD is with her at the hospital and will take her to a safe house after that. ”
Jessie forced herself not to say what she was thinking: that if the agent had handled his conversation with Ally Rhodes better, she wouldn’t have needed medical attention in the first place.
That was the reason that she’d insisted on calling Nicole Thorington to break the news to her.
And it was why she was currently on a private jet with Webb.
He’d said that he was going to visit each woman personally, starting with Thorington as she was currently unmedicated and fully alert. When Jessie demanded to come too, he’d initially looked hesitant.
“With all due respect, Special Agent Webb,” she said.
“Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired. Don’t you think it would be helpful to have someone with you who could smooth over the emotional stuff?
These women are hurting. They thought they were in stable, loving marriages.
Now everything is turned upside down. Maybe having someone with you who happens to be female, married, and a criminal profiler to boot would come in handy. ”
He'd reluctantly agreed, which was why they were on a California Bureau of Justice plane streaking north through the sky toward Santa Cruz. It was currently 11:57 and they were scheduled to land in just under an hour.
“I’m glad that she’s on the mend,” Jessie said in reference to Ally Rhodes. “Hopefully by the time we get to her, she’ll be able to help. In the meantime, we can focus on Nicole Thorington. Based on my conversation with her, she sounded like she might be a tough nut to crack.”
“What do you mean?” Webb asked.
Before she could answer, the flight attendant came over to ask if she wanted anything.
Jessie glanced at the laminated menu. Webb might be unimpressive but his resources were not.
Taking a private jet with plush swivel chairs and getting snack offers from the attendant who was here just for the two of them was not on her Bingo card when she woke up this morning.
“I’ll take a coffee and a smoked salmon bagel sandwich, thanks.”
She waited for Webb to place his order before answering his question. He had been in the police station restroom when she called Thorington and missed their brief chat.
“Once she processed what I was telling her,” she explained, “she sounded way more pissed off than depressed. The phrase ‘I’m going to gut that bastard like a pig’ was used. She wanted me to put him on the line so she could ream him out.”
“But you didn’t,” Webb said, suddenly concerned.
“No, Special Agent Webb,” she said, trying and failing to keep the irritation at the stupid question out of her voice, “I didn’t put a person of interest in these crimes on the line with a potential victim.
I did however tell her to lock her doors and turn on her alarm until the Santa Cruz PD arrived. ”
“Good, good,” Webb said, relieved. “And please just call me Webb. I can hear the disdain when you use my full title.”
She was a little surprised that he had picked up on it, considering his clumsiness with social cues so far.
“Okay, Webb.”
They were quiet for a moment. Jessie could sense that the man wanted to say something but hadn’t figured out how to get it out. She let him work it out on his own while the flight attendant brought over the coffee.
“Thanks,” she said, ripping open a couple of sugars and dumping them in the cup.
“Ms. Hunt,” Webb said. “I know we didn’t start off on the best of terms. Dropping your partner was probably tough for you. But I’d like to change that. I value your input.”
“Why?” she asked flatly.
He seemed briefly taken aback. It took a few seconds for him to reply.
“Because I know who you are—your personal history and your professional exploits,” he said with more admiration than she would have expected.
“I know your father was a serial killer and that you and your half-sister were nearly killed by him before taking him down. I know that your ex-husband was a sociopath who tried to frame you for killing the mistress that he actually murdered and then tried to kill you too when you found out. I know that he got out of prison on a technicality and subsequently killed your profiling mentor, Garland Moses. I know that an obsessed stalker kidnapped you on your wedding night and that she later tried to blow you both up in an abandoned desert mine.”
“Wow, when you lay it all out like that, it sounds like I’ve been through a lot,” she told him, impressed and a little unsettled by his deep knowledge of her background.
“It is a lot,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t know how you’re able to function after all of it.
And that doesn’t even include your cases.
By my count, you’ve caught over 40 murderers, a number of them serial killers, in less than three years working as a profiler.
That’s an incredible record. So, I think having you as an asset on this case will be invaluable. ”
“Thank you,” she said, unwrapping the bagel sandwich that the flight attendant had just given her and taking a bite. As she lifted it to her mouth with her left hand, she noted that the twinge of discomfort from the letter opener shoulder injury that she’d suffered last week was nearly gone.
“Can I make a confession?” he asked nervously.
Jessie’s mouth was full so she shrugged.
“I’ve been a special agent with the Bureau of Investigation for four years, and in that time I’ve handled several multi-jurisdictional cases, including multiple murders. But this is my first serial killer case. It’s not my area of expertise.”
Jessie took her time chewing her bite to allow herself a few extra seconds to come up with the right response.
“In light of that, may I make what I hope is a constructive suggestion which could be helpful in this case and more generally?”
He nodded apprehensively.
“Speaking strictly from a profiling perspective, maybe you don’t need to always come in so hot.
We’re dealing with a volatile situation and people in emotional crisis.
Oftentimes that can serve as an opportunity to get insight into who they are, and maybe better gauge their credibility and sincerity.
But if you come barreling in, asserting your authority over every situation, you blunt their natural reaction.
Instead of responding to the circumstances or our questions, they’re immediately in a defensive crouch and it’s hard to discern what’s really going on with them.
People will reveal things to you if you let them.
But if you come at them too hard, too fast, those subtle revelations might never emerge. ”
She watched as Webb tried to take in what she was saying while still retaining some semblance of authority. He didn’t seem to know how best to do that.
“I’ll take it under advisement,” he said with a hint of defensiveness. “That being said, I’ve got a stellar close rate on my cases and have received multiple commendations from the Bureau.”
Jessie sighed silently. It appeared that Webb’s moment of humility was going to be short-lived.
“I have no doubt,” she said. “And I’m sure they were all well-deserved.”
She left it at that as she took another bite of the bagel. For a moment, she thought they might have found a productive way forward. But that hope was fading fast.
Now she had a new hope: that Webb’s prickly pride didn’t cost anyone their life.