THIRTY-SEVEN

Kaely stared at her boss, trying to understand what he’d just said. She grabbed the edge of a nearby chair to steady herself. “What do you mean he’s gone?” she asked, her voice shaking like an old woman’s. “Is he . . . is he dead?”

Solomon’s eyes widened. “No. No, Kaely. I’m sorry. Let me start again. Alex left the hospital.”

“How is that possible?” Noah asked. “We had an agent stationed outside his door.”

Solomon grunted. “Seems Alex talked the agent, a friend of his, into getting him a milkshake from the cafeteria. Our agent felt it would be okay since he wouldn’t be gone long and the nurses’ station was nearby. We think Alex slipped out right after he left. No one noticed him take off.”

Noah blew out a quick breath of air. “So, what does this mean? Why would he do something like this?”

“I talked to the SAC in Detroit. He couldn’t get Alex to explain the reason for his leave of absence. He’s worried that Alex is in crisis.”

Solomon pulled out a chair and sat down while Kaely slipped back into her own chair. What was going on? This wasn’t Alex. He’d always been her rock, so steady and reliable.

Kaely noticed Jeff headed toward them, but Solomon glared at him and waved him away. It was clear he wasn’t ready to bring this new situation to the team. Jeff stopped in his tracks, and then turned around and hurried back to his desk.

Noah cleared his throat. “I really hate to say this, but I have some concerns as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Kaely demanded.

Noah closed the file in front of him and then swiveled his chair toward her. “Look, Kaely. The scenario with the swing. It really bothers me. If he was really unconscious, he would have choked to death.”

“Explain what you mean,” Solomon said.

“Whoever set up the swing carefully constructed it so that if the victim slumped even a little, the chain would cut off his air supply. So how could Alex have been unconscious when we arrived? Or how could he have been unconscious when he was attached to the swing? Shouldn’t he have been dead?”

“Now wait a minute,” Kaely interjected, unable to keep the anger from her voice. “He obviously passed out right before we got there. There’s no other explanation. We saved his life. Why are you trying to make it sound like something else?”

“You’re probably right, but there’s another explanation. One you won’t want to consider.”

She could hear the suspicion in his tone, and indignation rushed through her. “You think Alex is our UNSUB? That’s ridiculous.” She turned toward Solomon. “Tell him. Tell him it couldn’t possibly be Alex.”

Solomon paused for a moment. Not long, but just long enough for Kaely to understand the implications.

“How could you possibly—”

“Now hold on a moment,” Solomon said harshly. “Don’t tell me what I’m thinking. I can do that for myself, thank you.”

Kaely was ready with a sharp retort, but when she saw the look on Solomon’s face, she clamped her lips together. Solomon rarely got angry with his agents, but when he did, it was time to shut up.

“You profiled this UNSUB as very organized,” Solomon said. “You said he could get around easily in public. That he’s smart.”

“And you called him creative,” Noah said, picking up Solomon’s thought. “Successful. Had a good job. Something that people respected.” He leaned toward her. “You said something happened to him lately. A stressor that set him off. That he could have a grudge against you. That what set him off could have been the loss of someone close to him. And that he may have recently taken off time from his job.”

“You also said we’d be surprised when we caught him, Kaely,” Solomon said more gently.

Kaely took a deep breath, trying to rein in the anger that threatened to break through. How could they think Alex had anything to do with killing innocent people? Didn’t Solomon know him better than this? “I remember what I said,” she said evenly. “I also profiled our UNSUB as a psychopath.” She caught Solomon’s eye. “Do you really believe Alex Cartwright is the kind of person who would kill innocent people just because I wouldn’t date him?”

Solomon frowned at her. “Did you think your father was a serial killer?”

The impact of his statement was like a punch to the stomach. It took her breath away. She wanted to respond, wanted to yell at him, but she couldn’t find her voice.

Noah picked up on her distress. “That’s not really fair,” he said to Solomon.

“Maybe not,” he agreed. “But I want her to understand that no matter how smart we are, how well trained we are . . . even if we have incredible natural talent . . . we can be fooled. It’s happened to me. It’s happened to you.” He stared at Kaely for a moment. “I’m not trying to be harsh. I’m really not. But I want you to be prepared.”

“For what?” Kaely managed to croak out. She cleared her throat. “So, is my brother trying to kill me? Or one of my very best friends? Which should I hope for?”

“It might not be either one of them,” Noah said gently. “We have other suspects.”

“And one by one we’re eliminating them.” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m afraid to look at who’s left.”

“Right now we have to consider the possibility that our UNSUB plans to come after you. He certainly has confrontation as part of his end game.”

“He can’t touch me,” Kaely said. “I’m around you guys all the time, and when I’m not with you I go home to a gated community. Our UNSUB can’t get in. There’s a guard at the gate.” Even as she said the words, she wondered. Ernie had allowed Alex in. Of course, he knew Alex and he thought he was protecting her. Would he let someone else in without her permission? Should she worry?

“I’m going to send someone out to talk to the guard and to make sure you’re safe,” Solomon said.

His declaration didn’t leave an option for discussion. Solomon said it as if he were quoting the law—and he was. The law of Solomon. Kaely kept her mouth shut.

Solomon stood. Kaely could see the conflict on his face. This was hard for him.

“I need you to be as professional as you can, Kaely,” Solomon said. “Put your personal feelings aside. You’ve always been good at that.” He shook his finger at her. “I need Special Agent Kaely Quinn to show up and do her job. I know I’m asking a lot, but I’m certain you can do this. I have absolute faith in you. Always have. After filling Ron in about what’s happened, I’m going back to the office. If I hear anything else or if we find Alex, I’ll let you know immediately.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Kaely feeling somewhat shell-shocked. Still, she understood exactly what Solomon meant. She prided herself on being analytical, not swayed by unhelpful emotions. This case had ignited something inside her she hadn’t known existed. She had to get a grip. If she couldn’t, she was useless. More people would die.

“Look, Kaely,” Noah said. “Solomon wasn’t trying to be unkind. . . .”

Kaely held up her hand to stop him. “I know, and he’s right. About everything.” She paused for a moment, thinking. Finally, she said, “I’m going home. I need some quiet time to regroup and think everything through. Right now my thoughts are jumbled up and confused. I have to sort them out. Make sense of this case. Of myself.” She offered Noah a small smile. “I’m not any good to you right now, Noah.”

“I think taking some time for yourself is a great idea,” Noah said, “but I don’t want you leaving until your security guard has been interviewed and your place has been cleared.” He pointed at her. “You stay right here. Don’t go anywhere. Drink some coffee. There’s still some barbeque left from supper.”

She nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Just chilling out, okay?”

“Okay.” After staring at her for several seconds, Noah turned and walked into the main room where people were working hard, trying to bring this nightmare to an end.

Once she was certain Noah was busy, Kaely pulled some files close to her. She’d been over and over the information, but she still felt there was something she wasn’t seeing. Going over these again wouldn’t hurt.

She jumped when her phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket. Richard. She answered.

“Hey,” he said. “How’s it going?”

“Not well. I’m actually going home in a bit. I need a break.”

“Well, this may be perfect timing,” he said. “Remember how you said you wanted to have me over for supper?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy, there just hasn’t been time.”

“I know that,” he said. “So why don’t I bring supper to you? Tonight? I could be there by the time you get home with nice, hot Chinese food. My treat. And if you’re too tired to visit, that’s fine. I’ll leave the food and take off.”

She started to turn him down, but at the last second she realized his suggestion sounded wonderful. One of her best friends, her favorite food, and no strings. “You know what? That sounds awesome. You’ve got a deal.”

“Good. When will you be home?”

“Believe it or not, my place is being secured. It shouldn’t take more than an hour before they allow me to leave here.”

“Secured?” Richard said. “Is everything okay?”

“Sure. Just protocol. Nothing to be concerned about.” Richard was already worried about her. The last thing she wanted to do was make him any more paranoid.

“Okay, if you say so,” he said skeptically. “I’ll be there in an hour or so. See you then.”

“See you,” she said. “And Richard?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Kaely. Happy I can do something to make you feel better.”

She chuckled. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Good-bye, honey.”

“Bye.” She disconnected the phone call and smiled to herself. A few hours to rest her mind and enjoy Richard’s company sounded fantastic. She not only liked being around him, she could talk to him about anything. Maybe he could give her a new perspective. She so desperately needed the kind of help he could give her.

About an hour later, Noah came back. “Your place has been checked out. You can go home now.”

She stood up. “Thanks. I’ll be back tomorrow. I know we don’t have a lot of time.” She reached over and put her hand on his arm. “If you hear anything about Alex . . .”

“I’ll call you right away.”

“Thank you. I still don’t believe—”

“I know. You’re probably right.” He offered her a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

“As if that’s possible.” Kaely strode toward the back door, grabbing her coat on the way out. She ignored the eyes that followed her. She had to figure this out and fast. Not only for anyone else targeted for death, but also for Alex. She needed to clear him . . . or stop him. And right now she wasn’t completely sure which scenario she’d have to face.

He watched her leave. Although he was too far away to see the expression on her face, he was certain she was confused. Good. That was exactly what he wanted. If he could get her to look in the wrong direction, she’d never see him coming. Kaely Quinn was too smart for her own good. He’d never be able to defeat her head-on. The only way to bring her down was to distract her—and then pounce when she wasn’t looking.

The time had almost come. The end of Jessica Oliphant.

Although it wasn’t his job, Reinhardt offered to go with some of the detectives who planned to look for recent large sales of potassium cyanide. Research had given them several local leads. Although, as Reinhardt had said, it was probably a waste of time, they had to do something. It was possible they might get lucky and find that proverbial needle in the haystack.

Several other detectives were working the phones, contacting hospitals, pharmacies, and grocery stores. The list of places was long and would take some time.

Noah wasn’t ignoring what Kaely had said—that product tampering was a red herring, something that would distract them from what was important, but they had to act as if the threat were real. They had no choice. But if she was right, what was it the UNSUB didn’t want them to see? Noah riffled through the files on the table, looking for something . . . anything . . . that would give him some clarity. He’d noticed Kaely doing the same thing. If there was something they’d missed, he wasn’t seeing it. Who hated Kaely so much he’d go to this much trouble? The hate would have to be strong. Really strong.

“Excuse me.”

Noah jumped at the sound of Ron’s voice. He hadn’t seen the ASAC approach the table. “Sorry,” he said. “I’ve been going through these files again, hoping to find something that will send us in the right direction, but so far, it hasn’t happened.”

“We’re all doing the best we can,” Ron said, patting him on the shoulder. “We’ll get him. I’m certain of it.”

Noah leaned back in his chair. He’d been fighting a stress headache all day and had been popping over-the-counter pain meds, trying to win the battle in his head. Unfortunately, he seemed to be losing. “I hope you’re right,” he said.

“Kaely went home?”

Noah nodded. “She needed some time by herself to think through the case. She’s our best weapon. If she can just figure this out, we really will catch this guy.”

Ron sat down in the chair next to Noah. He noticed Ron’s bloodshot eyes and the tension in his face. Obviously, the stress was getting to him too. Ron was a nice-looking man with an old-fashioned burr cut, lean and fit for forty-eight. But today he looked a lot older. Noah understood. He felt as if he’d aged a few years himself.

“I’m glad Reinhardt’s out for a while,” Ron said. “Between you and me, he’s driving me nuts. He seems to think he should be in charge of this investigation.”

“I know. I’m trying to handle him, but I really didn’t appreciate his profile. I’m relying on Kaely’s input. Not his.”

Ron nodded. “Good. I agree. I think Lela and Beau are afraid to disagree with him. We’ll get a break when he goes back to Quantico, but they have to face him every day.”

“Yeah, you’re right. That must be tough.”

“I still find it strange that he arrived in town just three days before the letter arrived.”

Noah felt his stomach clench. “What are you talking about?”

Ron frowned at him. “I said several things. What are you referring to?”

“I thought Reinhardt came to town after someone at the police department contacted him about the first murder.”

“No. He called me on Monday. Told me he’d flown into town on Sunday. He just happened to be here when the first murder occurred.”

Noah tried to digest what Ron had told him. “Did he say why he was here?”

Ron’s eyes narrowed. “No. To be honest, I didn’t think much about it. He has several friends here.” He paused a moment. “Did he tell you he got here on Tuesday?”

Noah shook his head. “No. I got that from Solomon.”

“He told Solomon he arrived on Tuesday?”

“I don’t know,” Noah said. “But we’d better find out how he anticipated murders that hadn’t happened yet.”

Ron’s face went white for the second time that night, and he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.