by Penny Childs
“Mmmm…I like you right here.” He began letting his hand wander.
“I like me right here too, but Bill sure in the hell won’t.”
“Who cares?”
Now she rolled onto her back so she could look at him. Almost a mistake if she really intended to climb out of his bed. He had the bluest eyes she thought she had ever seen, paired with dark, almost black hair which liked to be unruly at times like these. “Trevor, seriously. He’ll kick one of off this. And since he’s your best friend’s brother, I’m guessing the ass in question will be mine.” Wiggling away from him, she finally managed to get to the edge of the bed and out as he made one more grab at her.
“He already knows anyway,” he told her as he watched her get into her jeans and pull a sweater over her head. He wondered if she had any idea what it was she did to him, how she made him feel.
“Knowing something and having it flung in your face are two different things. He expects us to act like professionals when we’re on a case.”
“I’m not on his clock right now, Mel.”
She smiled at him. “I’m going back to my room.” She pulled her boots on while he watched, then shrugged into her shoulder holster. “I’ll see you in a few hours at breakfast.” Giving him one final kiss and pulling out of his hands again, she left his room, closing the door softly behind herself.
A left would take her to her room, if she took a right she could walk around the entire hotel and come back to her room. She had been doing this for the last three mornings and had felt the madman’s presence more than once. This was a fact she did not share with either Bill or Trevor, for fear they would pull her and send her home to safety. Safety was the last thing she wanted. Arresting a lunatic… now that had appeal.
Only considering for a millisecond, she took a right. If she could just get him close enough, she would know him the moment she saw him and she could arrest him on the spot. There was no way he could know this. He would think he had the advantage of surprise.
She concentrated on her surroundings and on him in particular, a frown coming to her face as she walked along. This morning would be a bust, she felt absolutely nothing. Still keeping her mind open, but also letting it drift, she was thinking of Trevor when she almost walked into the woman coming out of her room.
They both jumped and apologized at the same time, then as Mel moved on the woman called out to her.
“Excuse me,” she called almost tentatively. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
Turning, Mel smiled at her, and saw her gaze go to her sidearm. “It’s okay,” she told her. “I’m with the FBI.”
The woman’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you here to find that crazy guy who’s killing all of those women?”
Mel nodded. “What can I help you with?”
“I was wondering if you could give me directions to the airport. I’m supposed to leave for home this morning and lost the map I had.” She sighed. “My friends keep telling me I should get one of those fancy new phones that do everything but make breakfast for you, then I could use it for directions. I just can’t seem to give up my old flip phone though.”
Mel had to smile. Some people pulled away from the new technology. “It’s no problem. I know the way. You just take a left out of the parking lot, go to the first light and hang another left…”
The woman blinked rapidly and shook her head. “I don’t have a very good memory. I’ll never remember all of that.” She set her suitcase down on the ground. “There’s a pen and paper on the desk in my room. Maybe you could write it down for me?”
Mel felt a little tingle then, a fuzziness unlike anything she had ever felt before. Later it would be something she would reflect on, a feeling she would wish she had tried harder to understand or at least take heed of. But she ignored it at the time. After all, this woman needed help and the killer was nowhere within killing distance. She chalked it up to paranoia and said, “Sure, I guess I can do that.”
The woman smiled in relief and slid her card through the reader on the door, opening it. “I was really dreading asking that creepy little guy in the lobby of the hotel.” She shivered. “He likes to stare way too much.” Closing the door behind them she turned on the bedside lamp with a switch.
Since the room looked just like Mel’s she went right to the small desk and sat down, picking up the pen and paper. “I hope you can read my handwriting.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Agent Rhodes.” The voice was distinctly male.
At the use of her name, she suddenly knew what the little tickle had been. She felt him now with such power that she nearly felt smothered by it. Dropping the pen to the floor, she reached for her sidearm only to have someone lean over her from behind and clamp a strong hand around her wrist.
With his other hand he lifted her from the chair and threw her to the floor, jumping on top of her and drawing her sidearm out to point it at her face. With an absurd grin he said, “Hello, beautiful. I’ve been dreaming about you.”
She had no idea how he had gotten this close without her knowing it. She could always feel them, damnit. Always. She saw a movement and looked up at the woman she had tried to help. She was staring down at her with a smile. “I love this next part,” she said as the killer, one Julius Becker, ripped open her shirt.
Waking with a start, barely able to stifle a scream, Mel sat up in bed, quaking. She felt something hot and wet on her cheeks and realized that she was crying. She hated crying. Swiping at the tears, she climbed out of bed and looked at the clock. Well, at least it wasn’t so bad. She would have only slept for another hour anyway. She would just go in early. The guys had gotten used to seeing her at all hours the past week or so. They had even quit commenting on it.
Snagging her shoulder holster, she carried it with her down the stairs of the old farmhouse she lived in. In the kitchen she slung the holster over the back of another chair. She found herself not wanting the weapon very far away from her lately. She needed coffee, a shower and some breakfast. Coffee first. She had gotten the coffee pot ready the night before, so just pushed the button to start it brewing and then walked into the living room where she turned on the television to an all-news station.
Leaning over the back of the loveseat she watched the usual crap. War, the bad economy, more war and celebrities that couldn’t seem to keep themselves from doing stupid shit and getting themselves in trouble. More celebrities that couldn’t seem to keep their private parts private. She was only mildly surprised to see three pictures flash onto the screen. The three women that had been found dead. In these photos they had been alive and well, happy and smiling for the camera. She turned up the volume in time to hear:
“No statements have been given by the police yet, but we have been able to confirm the FBI has been called in to help with the investigation. We have not received confirmation a serial killer is at work. But one of the FBI agents that has arrived is Special Agent Trevor Giles, who we know works almost exclusively on cases involving serial killers. We also know at least one of the victims, Beth Montgomery, the last of the three, was rescued from a serial killer by Agent Giles four years ago in San Diego California.
“The other two victims, Carly Richards and Donna Berkley were also survivors of previous attacks by serial killers.”
And now Mel saw her own photo flash on the screen. Her graduation photo from the academy. She almost muted it and went for her coffee. But she figured she better know what kind of trash they were spreading about her. Her guys would now find out about her past. They would be full of questions, she was sure.
“We have also learned today that Sheriff Melanie Rhodes, of Babcock County, where the murdered women are turning up, is also the survivor of an attack by a serial killer. Could this put her in the killer’s sights?”
Mel groaned. “Nothin’ like putting the idea in his head, you dumb bitch,” she muttered at the newscaster.
“Sheriff Rhodes was an FBI agent before becoming sheriff of Ba
bcock County. She left the FBI shortly after the serial killer she and her partner were tracking turned the tables on them and abducted her. She was rescued literally inches from death, brutally raped--”
Mel stabbed the power button on the remote and shut the television off, having heard enough. She knew damn well how that particular story ended. Padding into the kitchen, she rubbed her forehead, feeling the headache coming on. Her hope was the caffeine and ibuprofen would knock it back to at least a dull roar.
An hour later, she arrived at the station, trying without much success to smile at Vincent Gray as she passed the front desk.
“Agent Giles is in the conference room,” he told her.
Mel stopped short and turned. It was only five o’clock in the morning. “What time did he get here?”
“Oh, about forty-five minutes ago.” He shrugged. “Said something about getting a wall together. I don’t know what the hell that even means. He’s got the door shut and the blinds closed too,” he added with a sour look.
Mel sighed. She knew exactly what that meant. “All right. Is Agent Marshall with him?”
“Nope. Seems she’s the only one can sleep, I guess.”
“It would seem so. Anything else?”
“Nah, quiet as a morgue in here last night. Not one call.” He grinned. “Just the way I like it.”
With a grunt of agreement, Mel turned and started for the conference room, the largest area in the entire building. She found it just as Vincent had described; door closed and blinds closed over windows which went from floor to ceiling. She thought she heard a voice from within as she opened the door.
He was sitting on the edge of the table, palms on either side of his thighs, staring at the wall across from him. And he was talking to himself. This did not surprise her in the least. He’d always had a habit of working things out aloud. What did surprise her was her own reaction to seeing him sitting there. It was a reaction she had no control of for the briefest of seconds. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt a warmth flow through her. And when he looked over at her, blue eyes intense, she was sure she almost forgot to breathe. Until she remembered why she was angry with him. She gritted her teeth. She was not going to let him take her breath away anymore. “You’re up early,” she said mildly, closing the door behind herself and walking over so she could see what he had done.
“Couldn’t sleep. What about you?”
“Same.” She had no intention of sharing the fact that it had been nightmares of the past that had kept her from sleep.
He had several photos of each of the women pinned to the wall, both when they were alive and when they were not. Each woman had her own section and were put up in the order that they had been killed. He had stats and information pinned to the wall under each as well.
“Feel free to make any additions you feel might help,” he offered. “You know how this works.”
“I remember,” she agreed without enthusiasm.
“Vincent was kind enough to set me up with a coffee maker in here. I made a pot if you want some.”
She didn’t like him being nice to her and wanted to scowl at him. Instead, she went to the corner of the room and poured coffee into a paper cup. When she turned around she found him watching her. His eyes held concern. And something else she did not want to ponder too closely. “What, Trevor?”
“I’m just wondering how you’re holding up.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” she said tightly. She tilted her head and with a half-amused smile asked, “Since when did you become Special?” A subject change was in order.
Puzzled by the question, he asked, “Excuse me?”
“Special Agent. I saw it on the news this morning.”
He nodded, getting it. “A couple years ago.” Taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee he turned his gaze back to the wall. “You saw that piece on the all-news channel then?”
“I did.” She sighed. “It did remind me I really do need to set up a press conference for some time today. The newsies are starting to speculate without having information, which is never a good thing.”
“A press conference is probably a good idea.” Without looking at her, he said. “We have time before he kills another one. I want to go to each of the hometowns of these women. I want to talk to anyone and everyone that knew them. I want to spend an entire day in each town. Most of all, I want to make sure no one has missed anything.”
Mel almost sighed relief. He would be away for a while. She would get a break. “That sounds like a fair place to start.”
“I want you to come with me.”
She jerked as though he had goosed her, almost spilling her coffee. “You want what?”
Finally he turned back to her and leveled his gaze at her, his blue eyes intense. “You heard me.”
“You have a partner, Trevor. Take her.”
“I’ve talked to Bill. He agrees. You come with me. I’ll leave Agent Marshall here, in case anything breaks loose.”
“Nothing is going to break loose here and I’m not going anywhere with you.” The very thought of traveling with him again sent shivers up her spine and had her head spinning.
“Do you want to stop this bastard or not?”
“Of course I do,” she hissed, offended by the question.
“Then we have to do it this way. You have more experience than she does and that’s what I need right now. Time is running out for another woman, Mel.”
“You don’t have to remind me, I know how it works.” She set her coffee down, afraid that she would slosh it all over herself and the floor. Her hands had started shaking. She did not do serial killers. She had come here, to this small rural town to escape that part of the job.
“As much as you hate it, I need to keep you close, too. We’ve got to figure out why he chose your town and how you fit into this.” He offered her a tight smile. “Other than the obvious reason, of course.”
She shook her head. She did not want to fit into this. She didn’t want to be in a killer’s sights again. She didn’t want to be in Trevor’s sights again either. “I’m not sure I agree with the theory that I am of any interest to this guy. It really could be a coincidence. They do happen, you know.”
“It would be a huge leap, and you know it.”
“What I know is now is not the time for me to be leaving town. My duty is here, Trevor. I get paid to protect the people of this town.”
“Bill said he would talk to the mayor if you think he’ll get upset. He’ll stress to him that we are leaving a federal agent here in your absence.”
A junior agent, she wanted to fire back at him. But she knew it would do no good. Glaring at him, she said, “Wow, you and Bill had quite the conversation already this morning, didn’t you?”
“He’s an early riser.” Getting up, he went to the wall and stared at one of the photos, his back to her. “Let me know when you’re ready to go. We’ll drop by your place so you can pack and hit the airport from there.”
Gritting her teeth, she was about to tell him she had not agreed to go anywhere with him but instead, glared at his back and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind herself.
He squeezed his eyes shut when the door slammed. Her temper had not changed much over the last seven years, at any rate.
Entering her office, Mel slammed that door too and pulled her phone from her belt clip. She dialed and cursed at the same time. A different curse word for each of the eleven numbers she punched out on the keypad. “Are you insane, Bill?” she asked when he answered the phone.
“It has been rumored,” he answered. “I’m going to assume by your attitude that you and Trevor have talked this morning.”
“Oh, we talked.” She went to her window and stared out at the approaching dawn. “You sent him here. Okay, I can deal with that. But now you think I’m going to go gallivanting across the country with him? Bill, in case you’ve forgotten, I don’t work for you anymore.”
“I haven’t forgotten, Mel. I just ha
ppen to think it’s a good idea. I would have suggested it if he hadn’t asked first.”
“I left for a reason, Bill.”
“I know that.”
“I do not appreciate you trying to fix me. Especially with him.”
Bill sighed. “I’m not trying to fix you, Mel. Jesus, Trevor is good at what he does. Let him do it.”
“I don’t have a problem letting him do his job. What I’m having a problem with is having to do it with him.”
“Well, I suggest you get over it. He’s who I sent. I’m not replacing him.” Tough. Firm. Boss man Bill.
“Damnit, Bill.” She traced her scar with a fingertip.
“Mel, figure out a way to reconcile your past. If you continue to let it affect you for the rest of your life you’ll never be free.”
“I thought you weren’t trying to fix me,” she reminded him.
“I’m not, I’m just giving you some friendly advice.”
Frowning, she turned from the window, not sure if she believed him or not. “I was fine with my past till you shoved him back in my face, Bill.” But that was a lie and she knew it. She had been anything but fine.
Five
She got the press conference set up for ten o’clock in the morning and was standing on the front steps of the village hall in the sunshine, talking amiably with the members of the press. She had already confirmed they felt they had a serial killer on their hands and told them of the victim profile, so anyone matching it could take heed.
Trevor watched her from the sidelines, impressed with her rapport with the reporters. He also couldn’t help noticing, once again, just how beautiful she still was and how much he realized he had missed her. He found himself wanting, more and more, to do the one thing he could not do after she had been attacked. He wanted to touch her. A cheek. The graceful curve of her neck. Her soft, raven hair. He wanted to dive his fingers into that hair. He still remembered the way it felt, soft, silken. And the way it smelled. Clean and wonderful.