by Rick Murcer
She’d scanned the CSI thoroughly, her eyes lingering at his bearded face—perhaps a little longer than she intended, Manny noticed.
She abruptly thrust out her hand. “I’m Agent Kimberly Wilkins. This is Agent Ryan Frost.”
Shaking their hands, Manny smiled. “I’m Manny Williams and this is Sophie Lee. I’d introduce Dean Mikus, but you obviously have met before.”
“Great to meet you, Agent Williams and you too, Agent Lee. I’ve heard a lot about you, and it’s good to have the BAU aboard for this case. And you’re right. Dean and I go back to LA.”
She glanced at Dean. “How have you been?”
Dean reached past her and shook Agent Frost’s hand, then stepped back. “I’m doing just fine, Kim. Much better than the last time I saw you. I didn’t know you’d been transferred to Vegas. And I didn’t know you and Josh were in the military together.”
“Yep. We were MPs on the same base. And I transferred almost a year ago. Talk about surprises. I had no idea you were with the BAU, or the FBI, for that matter. I guess I should read the staff roster information a tad closer.”
He nodded. “It was time to leave LA. For a lot of reasons.”
Her smiled faded ever so slightly. “I understand how staying could have been tough.”
“Tough? Like how?” asked Sophie, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer to Agent Wilkins.
“Ahh, well, that’s a bit personal, and you’re not here to discuss that,” Agent Wilkins said. “We should go. We have a meeting with four folks from the LVPD. They’re anxious for the BAU to do what you do and get them a profile. We get some doozy cases out here, but nothing like this one. Frost?”
She then spun on her heel and headed for the SUV.
“Okay. We’ll load you up and get you checked into the Egyptian, then head for the office and get this investigation started,” said Agent Frost.
He motioned for them to follow. Manny, Sophie, and Dean picked up their bags. Sophie and Dean were walking in front of him, talking low.
“What the hell is that about, Mikus?”
“Old history, Sophie. We can talk later, okay?”
“Ya think? I’m not blond, like your ‘friend’ up there. It didn’t look like old history to my Asian ass.”
“It is. Let’s drop this until later. Besides, who compares to you?”
“Oh. Good answer, but you still got some ’splainin’ to do, Lucy. She doesn’t even have slanted eyes like mine.”
Then Sophie strode ahead of Dean, stepped out into the Nevada heat where an FBI vehicle waited and threw her bag in the back before she climbed into the rear seat.
As they reached the SUV, Dean glanced at Manny and shrugged.
“She’ll be fine, you just need to talk to her,” said Manny softly.
He shook his head. “Yeah. You’re right. Besides, we’ve got more pressing matters than my old love life, right?”
Manny nodded, and then watched as Dean joined Sophie in the back seat.
“More pressing matters indeed,” he whispered, the perspiration already forming above his lip as he slammed the rear door of the SUV and climbed into the air-conditioned truck.
CHAPTER-21
“Are you ready for this, stud?”
Alex Downs reached over the armrest of the first-class seat and put his hand on his wife’s leg, then smiled. Barb had always been there for him, and today was no exception. An old-fashioned girl in a new-world package. She was simply incredible.
His gaze met hers. He, once again, was hit with what most people had to be thinking when he introduced her as his wife. Hell, he still thought the same thing.
How did he ever catch the eye of a woman like her?
Her face was like that of an actress. She had long, platinum-blonde hair and the body of a goddess. Throw in an impressive IQ, and there was the perfect woman, at least in his eyes. And the best part, the very best part, was her love for him—story-book like. Barb only had eyes for him, and he never once doubted that, even before they were married.
“Stud, huh?”
Smiling, she kissed him. “Yep. My stud.”
“You always make me feel better than I should, so I’ll try to temper my answer. I—”
“Wait. Before you respond to that, I’m still trying to deal with that stud comment,” said Josh Corner, sitting in the next seat over.
His grin was wide, and Alex couldn’t resist smiling back.
“Hey. Sophie’s on the way to Vegas—without us, I might add—so I thought I’d at least get to enjoy a flight without her smartass remarks.”
“Yeah. I’m her replacement. But I’ll be kinder, maybe.”
“You better be. I took a few lessons from Sophie and might be able to thump you,” said Barb, leaning past Alex.
“Got it. Who says I’m a slow learner?” answered Josh, grinning wider.
“We’re cops. We’re ALL slow learners, I’d say,” said Alex.
Josh’s expression grew more thoughtful, then he looked at Alex. “How are you doing, Alex?”
“I’m a wreck. Not so much because of the surgery and the testing, I guess. I mean, I’m feeling a ton of emotions with those possibilities too. It’s just that I’m thinking of those three in Vegas and that case and what it could mean. It’s been some time since we weren’t all together, and it makes me nervous.”
Josh exhaled. “I hear that. But they’ll do what they do and be home before you know it.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” answered Alex, realizing that Josh didn’t feel as confident as he sounded.
“I am. Let’s talk about your agenda.”
“Okay,” said Alex.
“We’ll be landing, then going straight to Walter Reed. They want to get you prepped for early morning surgery. It’ll take around six hours, and you should be back in the real world in eight.”
“I get that. I’m still trying to understand the procedure. I mean I get the phantom limb phenomenon and how that works, but this concept of targeted muscle re-innervation is a bit intimidating. They’re going to redirect electrical impulses through some electrodes to a healthy group of muscles that end up in the new hand?”
“I hear you, but according to the folks in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA for short, you’ll be able to move your hand by just thinking it. Not only that, you’ll be able to actually feel sensations.”
“Wow. It sounds like science fiction, for real. This is a prime example of what money and a few bright minds can accomplish,” said Barb.
Alex heard the small hitch in her voice and was bumped with a subtle reality. This wasn’t only for him, it was for her. Not for any selfish reasons on her part, but because she loved him and wanted him to have the best possible life. As much as he cared for Manny and Sophie and Dean, Barb was his first love and ultimate responsibility. Damn. He could be short-sighted and self-centered.
Dumbass.
He took Barb’s hand in his right one, his real one.
“We’ll get to see it first hand,” he said with a grin.
She winced and Josh groaned.
“Real cute,” said Barb.
She kissed him again and unbuckled her seat belt. “I have to powder my nose so you two will have a few minutes to talk about whatever my presence is keeping you two from discussing.”
With that, she walked to the restroom, leaving Alex wondering how she could be so perceptive along with everything else she had going for her.
“Smart woman,” said Josh.
“She is.”
The moment of awkward silence came and then left as soon as Josh spoke.
“This process doesn’t involve severing nerves and, if everything goes right, minimal cutting of your muscle tissue. Just adding electrodes and letting them pick up on—”
“The pulses that are already there, I know. I did my research too. What that means is I should be ready to start the testing in a couple of days and then get my fat ass out to Vegas, right?”
Josh
looked to the floor and then glanced back to Alex. “In a perfect world, maybe. But I’m not sure what the testing will mean. I won’t be there the whole time because I’ve got a couple of crosses to bear myself, so we’ll have to play it by ear.”
Alex nodded, but there was something in Josh’s voice he didn’t like. He looked toward the restroom and saw the “occupancy” sign was still lit.
“Look, you been acting a little weird and you explained why at Manny’s house, but there’s something else, right?”
Josh folded his hands together. “Yes. There is.”
Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“Haven’t you wondered how that text message where Manny announced that Chloe was pregnant got all of the way out to Las Vegas?”
“I thought it was strange, but that stuff can be hacked into, like Manny said, so that seemed feasible,” answered Alex.
“It sounded right, but the system that Manny’s phone, and the whole BAU, operates on is as secure as anything in the world. My people tell me it wasn’t hacked.”
Shifting in his seat, it was Alex’s turn to tilt closer. “You know what you’re saying?”
Clasping his hands together, Josh nodded.
“I do. We’re still checking out the nine people who received Manny’s text, but it appears someone on that list, somehow, was in contact with the man in Vegas.”
CHAPTER-22
Placing the last of the gauze around her cold hand, he backed away from her and took a picture with her cell phone. The scene was exact and the setting perfect. Each of the four alabaster Canopic jars, representing the four Sons of Horus, were placed at the precise position Egyptian history dictated. The fifth jar, a creation of his very own, did not fit with the fascinating tradition of the old world, but was nevertheless the pinnacle of his creation.
“Grace, you were perfect. May you rest knowing that,” he said, then tilted his head back, laughing out loud.
Reaching out, he took her cloth-covered hand in his.
“I’m afraid you don’t know much now, unless, of course you’d subscribed to some form of ancient religion that prescribes to any afterlife perception. I wish you the best of luck with that premise. He laughed again, a little louder. “I was the last and only god you’ll ever meet.”
Releasing her hand, he moved to the opposite side of the king bed. As he did, he noticed that the hot Vegas sun was beginning to set over the mountains. Its rays danced and reflected off the spring vegetation and, of course, off the millions of windows making up the city’s casinos and resorts.
For the first time in over a year, he nursed a sense of excitement. Not just with the prospect of ending the game—because it would end here, no doubting that—but also because of the steps he’d so painstakingly put into place to get to the end game. It was, as always, contingent on Special Agent Williams putting two and two together, no matter how clandestine the message. The agent’s ability was no match for his own; still, he needed to make sure there were no mistakes. And there hadn’t been any.
Without hesitation, Manfred Williams had figured out that Doctor Fredrick Argyle was not in the grave. Not the whole truth. Not by a longshot. And just as likely, the pathetic BAU had arrived believing they were going to squash the Good Doctor. Finally. Once and for all.
Except . . . that’s what they believed the last time, was it not?
“Soon enough, my friends, soon enough,” he whispered.
Continuing around the bed, he stopped, snapped another picture, then put the phone in his pocket. He reached a long arm over to the fifth jar, removed it from atop the dead woman’s mid-section, glanced inside, inhaled the scent one final time, then placed the finely crafted cover over the contents. He carefully placed the jar back on her stomach. It sat nicely over the strands of gauze that had been wrapped under and over the woman.
He stepped back again, took one more picture, ensuring an image of her face, and then strolled to the door.
As he reached the elevator, his wide smile returned.
It was incredibly difficult not to wonder what Agent Williams’s reaction would be when he saw his first modern-era mummy.
CHAPTER-23
The SUV curved past the busy intersection, turned north on Las Vegas Boulevard, and then sped up as Agent Frost maneuvered through the semi-thick traffic of the four lane.
Vegas. It was impossible for Manny to not feel the pure, raw energy and excitement of the city that truly never sleeps. Glittering lights and massive billboards with clever and racy displays encouraged everyone to attend a show or spend hard-earned cash in whatever endeavor was right for the customer. To take a chance on becoming filthy rich by dropping your money in their casino. To eat where health and conscience were not factors. To top it off by stepping into a fantasy, any fantasy, where you partake in a world and submit to an intoxicating energy and ambience like none other on the planet.
He could tell Dean and Sophie were sensing many of the same things. The atmosphere made it extremely tempting to forget why they were here and make the real world disappear, at least for a time.
“Pretty amazing place, huh?” said Agent Wilkins, her voice expressing some of that almost-unbridled excitement.
“Yeah, if money and morals were no object,” said Sophie, still staring out the side window.
“Oh, this glittering princess is far more than that. Most of the locals will attest to that. The shows can be the best in the world. There are a couple places designed just for families, and the cost of living is better than most think. And, although, it can become extremely hot for a few months, there’s no danger of snow, or hurricanes, or even earthquakes.”
“Damn, you sound like a tourist guide,” said Sophie, a tinge of cool in her words.
“Maybe, but I’ll retire here,” she said, smiling a little too quickly. She’d caught the expression in Sophie’s voice and chose to ignore it. Manny supposed that was a plus for her and this investigation.
“I guess we can discuss the pros and cons of Las Vegas at some point, but let’s discuss the local take on the cases that we’re here to help with,” said Manny.
“That sounds good, Agent Williams.”
“Manny is fine.”
Kim Wilkins smiled, a real one this time, and it made her face come alive, allowing her beauty to shine. Some women are pretty, some are cute, and some had a beauty that showed through in a more subtle way. Her smile had released that subtle beauty, and it wasn’t hard to see how Dean might have become enamored with her.
Not to mention, her expression told him a few things about her personality. She was genuine and very bright. He could sense she was not afraid to articulate what she was thinking, which told him she had no issues with confidence, toughness, or riding into the intense side of life.
He didn’t think details were her strength, but given the way Frost was driving and his quiet demeanor, Manny guessed she knew that and subsequently hired folks to work around her that made up for her deficiencies, real or perceived. That action alone molded her staff into more of a team. Not many people in authority recognized their weaknesses, let alone acted on mitigating them.
Yet she still had plenty of poise to lead. All good traits, in his estimation, which made her a great call to run the Vegas operation for the Bureau.
“Okay, Manny it is. And did I just get profiled from turning my head and speaking to you?”
Dean answered before Manny could. “Oh, you and your agent Frost both. He’s a profile addict but trying to quit.”
“That’s not really true, but sometimes it just happens,” said Manny, flashing a grin.
“I bet it comes in handy too,” said Agent Wilkins.
“Sometimes. Sometimes it’s a bit of a curse.”
“Well, I’d like to hear what you think, about both of us . . . maybe . . . but let’s get to your first question.”
The vehicle turned east on Tropicana as they swung away from the strip. He stared as they rolled past the MGM. It looked lik
e a modern-day emerald castle.
Shaking his head, he turned back to Agent Wilkins. “Talk to us. We’ve seen the reports and have a few ideas of our own, but paperwork can’t tell us what you all are seeing.”
She nodded. “It looks like the classic organ-stealing scenario. The kind they show you at Quantico when you go through agent training one-o-one. Bodies dumped in a secluded area after an organ or organs are removed. The incisions on the bodies are made with a professional precision that some drug-crazed layperson couldn’t have possibly done. Yada, yada, yada.”
Manny raised his eyebrows. Sophie giggled under her breath, and Dean leaned closer. She’d gotten all of their attentions.
“So I take it you’re not buying it?” asked Manny.
“No, I’m not. Two detectives began the investigation from the LVPD, who will be part of the meeting, and their captain contacted us because they believe this is an organ-trading operation connected with some highly organized gang or even the mob, but—”
“There are too many things that don’t add up?” finished Manny.
It was her turn to look surprised. She cocked her head to the left. “Yeah, that’s what I think.”
“You mean the randomness of the victims. The timing of each murder that seems far too close together for killings related to this type of criminal activity,” said Manny.
“Both of those. Plus, most times people aren’t killed for their kidneys. It a bit cliché, but folks are actually found in bathtubs filled with ice. They’re in rough shape, but usually alive.”
“And you’re struggling with the way the bodies have been mutilated. Like its overkill?” added Sophie.
“No denying that. Someone has anger issues,” said Agent Wilkins.
“Or wants us to think they do,” said Dean.
Kim Wilkins unbuckled her seatbelt and then turned completely around, her knees firmly planted in her seat, as she looked at Dean, then Sophie, then settled on Manny’s face with her dark eyes. The woman was shifting into a far more intense mode than anything he’d seen prior. He liked her mindset.