Logan didn’t say anything as Alex called Harrison, but he tended to agree with Monty. Finding some old cabin that could have been torn down years ago wasn’t as important as saving a woman’s life and stopping Walker from releasing his superbug.
Alex put her phone on the table and pressed the speaker so they could all hear. When Harrison answered, he sounded rushed and aggravated. Alex quickly explained about the cabin.
“We don’t have time to try to find a record of this cabin, especially on a Sunday,” she told him. “So I think you need to send some people out to Lake Lotawana and see if you can locate it.”
He was quiet for a moment before cursing loudly. “Listen to me, Agent Donovan. We’re trying to warn churches in Walker’s hunting ground. If we can stop him from this next killing, we’ve stopped him from using that virus . . . at least for a while. He has to have the last sacrifice before he begins to infect people. I don’t have the time or the personnel to send on some wild goose chase.” He took a deep breath. “Look, I appreciate the effort, but this isn’t important right now.”
“I disagree, sir,” Alex said sharply. “Maybe that’s where Walker and his parents lived after they left Kansas City and before he and his father lived alone in Independence. And if that’s the last place his mother was with him . . . I think it could be his sacred place. The spot where he plans to offer his holy sacrifice.”
“But you don’t know that,” Harrison said, anger obvious in his tone. “And you’ve said yourself it’s far more likely he’d stay in his comfort zone.”
“I don’t know, but let us check it out,” Alex said, pleading now. “The three of us. We’re just sitting here. We could do it.”
“You’re not field agents. You’re behavioral analysts. You don’t belong out there.”
“Is that your final word?” Alex asked.
“Yes.”
Harrison hung up. Alex stared at her phone as if she’d never seen it before. Finally, she clicked it off. “He’s wrong,” she said. “We need to find that cabin.”
“Absolutely not,” Logan said just as sharply as she’d spoken to Harrison. “He told us to stay here, Alex. And he’s right. I know you’ve spent a lot of time in the field, but now you’re part of the BAU. What you’re suggesting . . . We could lose our jobs.” He hated telling her not to follow her gut. He couldn’t be sure she was wrong. What if she wasn’t? Still, he couldn’t disobey Harrison’s order. None of them could.
“I agree with Logan,” Monty said. “The Bureau has assigned agents to different divisions. We each have to do what we’re called to do. If we don’t, we cause confusion. You gave him the information. We need to stay here and wait.”
“He may think about what you said and change his mind,” Logan added. “Let’s just sit tight for a while, okay?”
The expression on Alex’s face changed. Logan had seen this look before. Stoic. Unreadable. He didn’t care as long as she listened. If she went against the ASAC she could be out of the FBI. They ran a tight ship. Going against orders wasn’t looked upon kindly.
“Okay,” she said. “I just hope he does change his mind.” Her eyes locked with Logan’s. “I’m right about this.”
“Maybe you are. But we can’t go rogue. Let the system work.” He glared at her. “I mean it, Alex. Leave it alone.”
She walked to the table with the coffee and poured a cup, then stayed there for a while, just sipping her drink. Finally, she turned around. “Let’s at least talk about this cabin. I doubt he’d take his wife and kids to a ramshackle place like that, but it sounds like he may have spent time there as a child. How would that affect him?”
Monty started to answer her, but Alex shook her head. “Hey, can you hold that thought? I need to make a run to the little girl’s room. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.”
After Alex left, Monty leaned closer to Logan. “Do you think she’s right?”
“I don’t know. The cabin could be important. Unfortunately, it’s not my job to determine what’s important and what isn’t. We’ve got to follow orders. We have no choice.”
“But it is our job to understand this guy—to understand him so the agents in the field can find him.”
Logan shook his head, but his gut told him Alex was right. She had an amazing instinct for understanding criminals.
“What should we do?” Monty asked.
“I think I’ll call Harrison myself and try to impress on him that this could be really important. Ask him again to find some people to send out to the lake.” He shuffled through the papers on the table. “The KCPD looked up Walker’s car registration, right?”
Monty nodded. “I think he has a silver Honda Accord, although none of the alerts have turned it up. My guess is he may be using a different car now. He has to know we’re looking for it.”
“Yeah, here it is. A 2016 model.” Logan stared at the information for a moment, then looked at Monty. “I agree with you. Maybe he parked it at the cabin. If we spotted it, we’d have that clue we need.”
“Look, Logan, I’m willing to stick my neck out if I have to. But this does seem like a wild goose chase. This cabin might not be standing anymore. We’re going on just a hunch.”
“I know, but it’s Alex’s hunch, and she’s done some incredible work in the past.” He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before saying, “Walker is looking for a holy place for the last sacrifice. What if Alex is right? What if . . .”
Logan felt like a diver getting ready to jump off a high board. Alex was in the water, and Logan was next in line to take a leap.
“Walker’s mother had disappeared by the time he and his father moved to Independence, the place he lied about Agnes leaving them. What if the family lived in that cabin those missing five years? And what if Charles killed Agnes?”
He took in a deep breath. “And what if Adam saw that killing as somehow holy based on The Book’s teachings? Maybe something like that could have set a twelve-year-old on the path Walker’s on now. Propelled him toward this book his family believed in. And now, here he is, fulfilling his so-called destiny. So he takes this sixth victim to the place where everything changed for him. He offers her as a sacrifice where he became the Train Man. Everything has come full circle.”
Monty leaned back in his chair and studied Logan. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “A lot of what ifs in your supposition. Not sure this has anything to do with behavioral analysis.”
“Sure it does,” Logan said more harshly than he meant to. “We create profiles so law enforcement can capture criminals. If we have an idea where one might be, based on our training and experience—”
Monty made a fist and hit the top of the table. “But that’s the problem. This is a guess, nothing more. If we keep pushing this—”
Logan stood. “I’m calling Harrison. I’ll make sure he knows you’re not in agreement with us.”
“Don’t do that,” Monty said with a sigh. “I’m in. I just hope this doesn’t go badly.” He pointed a finger at Logan. “My Chinese grandmother will get very upset if I get kicked out of the FBI. If that happens, you will explain it to her. And trust me, you’ve never faced anything as scary as my grandmother when she’s angry.”
Logan laughed. “Okay, I’ll face her if I have to. So you’re in?”
“God help me, yes.”
“Okay, I’m going to ask him once more if we can try to locate the cabin. We’re just spinning our wheels here. If he says no, I’ll tell him we’ve done everything we can for now, and we want the rest of the day off. Then we’ll look for the cabin on our own time. Maybe that will protect us in the end.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I’ll call Grandmother and set a date for your meeting.”
“Let’s wait a bit on that,” Logan said with a grin.
He took his phone from his pocket and called Harrison. His call went straight to voice mail. Should he leave a message? As busy as Harrison was right now, it seemed all right to let him know they were taking off. When he heard the beep, though, he felt a sense of panic. Was he making a mistake?
“Sorry I missed you,” Logan said. “Hey, I really think Alex is on to something about that cabin. I know you’re super busy, but this actually could be important. Just thought you should know that Monty and I agree with Alex. Well, we’re not accomplishing anything here, Boss, so we’re taking off. I’ll keep my phone with me, so call me if you need to. Anything more we can do, just let us know.”
Logan quickly hung up. He didn’t actually say they were going to look for the cabin, but Harrison was no fool. He’d figure it out. Was Logan about to throw away his career? This was all he ever wanted to be. But he felt something stirring inside him. Was God telling him to keep going? It sure felt like it. God had protected him many times by telling him to stay away from certain things or particular people. And a few times he’d experienced a tangible sense of peace when he prayed about something in his life he wanted to do. That peace was always right.
He walked back toward the coffee counter to pray silently. As he finished, that sense of peace enveloped him, and he knew he was supposed to look for the cabin.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said to Monty. “I guess we’ll search the south side of Lake Lotawana, and maybe we’ll find a silver Honda Accord parked next to a cabin.” He frowned. “This is a great way to spend our time off, huh?”
Monty didn’t respond to the sarcasm, and his expression was grim.
“Have you changed your mind?” Logan asked.
“No, but where is Alex? Unless she has some kind of physical problem, shouldn’t she have been back from the bathroom already?”
Now it was Logan’s turn to be concerned. He’d started for the restroom when he noticed the keys to their rental car weren’t on the table where he’d left them.
“Did you pick up my car keys?” he asked Monty.
“Of course not.”
“Where’s Alex’s purse?” It was more like a satchel. She carried personal items in it as well as case notes and research documents. He looked next to her chair and was relieved to find it. “It’s here,” he said. Why had both of them jumped to the conclusion that Alex had taken off on her own? He knew the answer before he even asked the question. When Alex made up her mind about something, it was almost impossible to get her to change it.
Monty stood and grabbed the bag from Logan’s hand. Then he put it on the table and unzipped it.
“What are you doing?” Logan said. “That’s Alex’s personal property. I don’t think—”
Monty pushed the bag toward Logan. “Where’s her wallet? You’ve seen it when she pays for anything. It’s purple. She has her credit cards and her driver’s license in it. It’s not here.”
Even before Monty finished, Logan realized Alex was really gone. She’d taken the car and was headed to Lake Lotawana to find that cabin—and Adam Walker.