TWENTY-THREE

He sat outside the FBI building in St. Louis, watching the entrance. He would wait until Kaely came out—no matter how long it took. Wherever she went, he would be there. Ernie kept him up to date on her comings and goings. Noah Hunter was next on his list. Their worlds were getting ready to collide.

“Read it again,” Kaely said.

Noah sighed. “Five little elephants playing on the swings. One grabbed a rope and ended up choked. Four little elephants called it a day. They packed up their trunks and they all ran away.”

She knew he was getting tired of repeating the stanza, but she was trying to see if there was something she’d missed. Finally, part of the verse got her attention. “‘One grabbed a rope and ended up choked,’” she said. “That doesn’t sound like murder, does it? I mean, if the victim grabbed the rope and ended up choked . . .”

“It sounds like an accident,” Noah said, frowning. “Or maybe the poem just sounded better written that way. How can we be sure?”

“We can’t. Read the rest of the poem again.” Kaely had memorized the entire thing, but having Noah read it out loud helped her zero in on the words.

Noah sighed once more, but he kept reading. “Four little elephants playing with matches. One built a pyre and set himself on fire. Three little elephants called it a day. They packed up their trunks and they all ran away. Three little elephants sat down for a meal. One took a bite and then said good night. Two little elephants called it a day. They packed up their trunks and they all ran away. Two little elephants playing all alone. One knew the truth and told it to the sleuth. One little elephant called it a day. She packed up her trunk and ran far away. One last elephant facing final judgment. She was found guilty and given no pity. Jessica Oliphant called it a day. She picked up a gun and blew herself away.”

His voice got so soft by the end of the verse she barely heard the last part. “Something wrong with your voice?” she asked.

“No, Kaely. Maybe I don’t like reading things like this over and over. Some insane person wrote it. It’s evil. I’m starting to hear this in my mind at night when I try to sleep. It seems nothing gets to you, but it’s beginning to drive me nuts.”

She was surprised by his reaction. “I . . . I didn’t realize. I mean, it’s just a clue, Noah. Something we have to crack. It’s not personal.”

His eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open. “It’s not personal? Are you crazy? The guy is threatening you. It’s incredibly personal. I mean, I know you. It’s not like he’s targeting someone I’ve never met.”

As soon as the last word left his mouth, Kaely felt something akin to an electric shock go through her. “Someone I’ve never met . . .” she echoed.

Noah frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The first victim. Albert Lawson.” She got up and hurried out of the room. She could barely breathe as she ran to her office, pulled her filing cabinet open, and searched for a particular file. When she found it, she put it down on her desk, stood there a moment trying to calm her adrenaline-charged body, and then opened the file. Sure enough, there it was. She picked up the file and headed back to the conference room. Noah sat in the same place, looking puzzled.

“How about a heads-up before you run out of the room and leave me here wondering what’s going on? It’s disconcerting.”

“Sorry. I . . . I’m a little impulsive sometimes.”

“You think?”

She sat down, opened the file, and pushed it over toward him, pointing at one of the papers. “Remember the guy we found who was planning to bomb City Hall six months ago?”

Noah nodded. “Yeah. The one who wanted to join ISIS?”

“Yeah. Look at the list of attorneys assigned to the case. One of them was . . .”

“Albert Lawson,” Noah said, his eyes widening. “Could be a coincidence.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so.” She got up and walked to the dry-erase board. “Eleanor Duncan. A waitress in Illinois. How could I possibly know her?”

“You have a great memory. Are you sure the name doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Yeah.” She ran the name Eleanor over and over in her mind. What was the nickname for Eleanor? Ellie? She didn’t know an Ellie either.

“What about the last name?” Noah asked. “Duncan.”

“No, I . . .” As she stared at Noah, she felt as if she was going to be sick. It must have shown on her face.

“What?” Noah asked. “What are you thinking?”

“Hold on a minute.” Kaely’s fingers trembled as she fished her cell phone from her purse. She punched in a number and waited. When the phone was answered, she took a deep breath. “Hi, Marlene,” she said. “I . . . I need to ask you a question. . . . What was the name of the woman who lived in my condo before I moved in?”

Although she knew what the condominium association manager was going to say, she prayed she was wrong. She wasn’t. When Marlene responded, Kaely thanked her and disconnected. She stared at the phone, unable to meet Noah’s eyes for some reason.

“Let me guess. Eleanor Duncan?” he asked softly.

She nodded.

“But you never met this Eleanor Duncan, did you? What about Albert Lawson?”

She shook her head. “No. I had nothing to do with the court case. I never met him either.”

“So why is our UNSUB picking these people?”

Finally, Kaely found the guts to look at her partner. “He’s researched my life, and he wants me to know that. He’s not just picking cases I’ve worked, he’s choosing people connected to me in some way. He’s breaching my personal boundaries. Taking away the distance between us.”

“But who could do this, Kaely?”

“Anyone could find out who the trial attorneys were for the bomber case. And it’s not difficult to get the name of the person who lived in my condo. This doesn’t put us any closer to an ID.”

“Didn’t you mention some guy named Richard? Doesn’t he know a lot about you?”

“You mean the man who’s given up everything to support me? Who has taken the place of my father?”

“I don’t care about that. We need to check him out.”

“You can do that, Noah, but he was out of town during the first murder. He couldn’t have had anything to do with it.”

“He says he was out of town. I’m going to follow up. We have to be sure, Kaely.”

She tried to dismiss her growing irritation. Noah was only doing his job. He’d rule Richard out, and Richard would never know they’d looked at him. It was best to just go along with Noah at this point, and keep her personal feelings out of it. She prided herself on being analytical and unemotional when it came to her job, but she’d never been a potential victim in a case before. She didn’t like the way it made her feel.

“And we need to find out where your brother is.”

“I understand, but I’m sure he’s not involved.” Even as she defended Jason, she had to admit there was a little niggling doubt somewhere in her brain. The truth was, she needed it not to be him. She loved her brother. Even though he’d walked away from her, she believed someday they’d be reunited. She hated thinking that Jason had followed in her father’s footsteps. It couldn’t happen twice in one family. . . . Could it?

“You don’t have to talk to Jason,” Noah said, “but we need to locate him. If he needs to be questioned, I’ll do it.”

Kaely faltered. She wanted to see her brother, but she was afraid she’d find out something she didn’t want to know. If he was innocent but found out she suspected him of murder, it could destroy any slight chance they had of reconciliation.

“And then there’s the elephant in the room,” Noah said. “Pun intended.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jerry Acosta. It’s obvious, isn’t it? I mean, the guy stalks you. Has tried to hurt you. And he wants to interview you for his book. . . .”

“He won’t get much from me if I’m dead.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It kind of is.”

“Touché. But seriously, we need to check this guy out. Couldn’t a newspaper reporter be considered a sleuth?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think he fits the profile,” Kaely said. “He certainly has given up a lot to follow me from Virginia to St. Louis though, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, he has.”

“Look, he wants that interview with me so he can write his book. But like I said, I really can’t help him if I’m dead. I don’t think he’d try to kill me.”

“I’m not so sure of that. I don’t want to gamble with your life just to prove a point.”

Kaely nodded. “Okay. He stays on the list for now.”

Kaely and Noah both sat down at the table. Noah picked up their copy of the poem. “Who could be called a sleuth besides Acosta?”

Kaely held her hands up in mock surrender. “As I pointed out before, I’m surrounded by sleuths, aren’t I? Not sure that narrows it down much.” She put her hands down and clasped them together. “The reference about fire bothers me. I told you about my friend Louis and his son.”

“The guy who owns the restaurant?”

“Yeah.”

“You think it refers to him?”

“I hope not, but it concerns me. I think we need to consider it. I don’t want anything to happen to Louis.”

“You know everyone here was pretty impressed when you nailed that arsonist.”

“Yeah? Well, it sure didn’t seem to make me any friends.”

Noah was quiet for a moment. “Kaely, I’m sorry people haven’t treated you kindly. Maybe if you tried again . . .”

Resentment spilled out before she could stop it. “If I tried. You talk as if it was my fault. When I got to St. Louis, I got the cold shoulder, save for Solomon and Grace. Besides, I had friends at Quantico. Thanks. Been there, done that. Don’t want to do it again.”

“Sometimes life is about taking chances. Without doing that we just exist.”

Kaely ignored his comment and steered the conversation back to the case. She didn’t need friends, yet somewhere deep inside, she wanted them. She was angry with Noah for stirring up feelings she had no time to deal with. Getting distracted now could cost lives, and she was determined to save everyone she could.

“I’ve been told the command post will definitely be ready by Monday morning,” Noah said. “Solomon wants us to take the weekend off and start in again on Monday. I think we’ve done everything we can for now. I know we’ll both be reviewing the case over the weekend, but maybe some time apart to think on our own is what we need.”

Kaely frowned at him. She’d figured they’d at least work on Saturday. “Are you sure . . .”

“No sense in arguing about it. We’re stalled. If you come up with anything, call me. Otherwise, I’ll meet you here first thing Monday. We’ll move our stuff to the CP and start working from there.”

“You need to be careful, Noah. Really careful. Promise me.”

“I promise,” he said softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. You stay safe too, okay?”

She didn’t say anything, just nodded. As she stood up and prepared to leave, she wondered if their UNSUB was taking the weekend off.

She seriously doubted it.