by Robin Mahle
When his ASAC assigned the team, Myers was at the top of the list. Nick knew who she was, of course. There weren’t that many “profilers,” as they’d become known, although that wasn’t actually an official FBI title. He agreed to the team and here they all were now, almost four weeks later and not much closer to knowing the identity of the killer, or killers, as Myers believed. He was becoming more convinced by the minute of her theory and was very impressed with her skills.
Nick finished his drink and set down the glass. This was probably a bad idea. Well, there was no “probably” about it. It was a bad idea, but Nick didn’t care. His thoughts were so consumed by this case that he desperately needed to focus on something else. And right now, that something else was a pretty redhead who seemed to have similar feelings.
“Come on.” He began to rise from the barstool and retrieved his wallet, dropping two twenties on the glass top.
She tossed back the last of her bourbon and followed him.
***
A call had come in to the station earlier this morning and Captain Hearn wanted to see Marshall first thing.
“I’ll let you know what’s going on after I talk to Hearn,” Marshall started. “Captain said they got a call from a frantic wife. Her husband hadn’t made it home last night and no one had seen him since he left for work. I’m gonna find out what’s going on. You heading into the office soon?”
“I won’t be far behind you,” Katie replied, still lying beneath the warm covers of their bed. “Be careful.”
Marshall bent down for a kiss. “Always. Love you.”
Katie watched Marshall leave their room and listened as he left the apartment. She rolled over to see the time. 6:30 a.m. She should have been up already, but the hour had been very late before the two went to sleep last night. And, like most nights when an idea delved its way into her mind, she found it difficult to find rest.
As daylight continued to surface, she tossed her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. The idea spread like a fire and it would not be stopped now. It seemed likely that Marshall was about to be assigned a new case. Lots of people went missing and that didn’t stop because one was busy on another case. Gibbons would still be working on the Shalot investigation, though. He too believed something wasn’t right. But first, Katie would take her own path, as she so often did, and work to find Shalot’s inner circle. That meant talking to Shaun Hudson.
***
Upon arrival at the station, Katie took to her habitual routine, which included checking in with Officer Sanderson, the lead CSI on the Brown case. Then she proceeded to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and finally sorted through the various emails that had made their way to her inbox over the past eight hours. There were surprisingly few today, but that was fine by her. She had other things to work on.
The expected call from Marshall hadn’t yet arrived, but Katie assumed he must have still been in with Captain Hearn. This gave her some pause. The captain was generally brief and to the point. Some might mistake his personality as curt, but Katie knew better. He’d been there for her, stood up for her when she had come forward with the revelation that she recalled the identity of Hendrickson.
The media, including Marc Aguilar, took to tearing her down quickly after that. Hearn shielded her from the brunt of it. He also saw the potential in her and gave her this job. She would be forever indebted to the man.
Still, she worked to put the concern to the back of her mind and instead focus on finding Shaun Hudson. He was a student and so the best place for her to start was social media. Twitter, Facebook – either one would likely reveal his whereabouts, as people were consumed with informing others of their daily activities and locations. Although Katie was only slightly older than those who took to offering such information, it was something she could not understand. Maybe it was the type of work she did. Maybe it was the fact that one could be so easily tracked down through the internet. Whatever the reason, she knew the risks and what happened when bad people wanted to find you.
A fake Facebook account had already been set up. She was not new to the usefulness the platform offered in her line of work. Logging in, she entered Shaun’s name in the search bar. And, again, like most twenty-somethings, his profile was public and there for all to see.
Twenty-one years old, third year undergrad, majoring in History. I’m sure his parents must be thrilled. By his most recent post, she figured his classes ended by early afternoon, where he then went off to work in Administration for the remainder of the day. “Trying to keep myself awake during Euro History lecture. Def gonna hit Starbuck’s before work!”
Katie shook her head, having already ascertained his itinerary for the day. She checked the time on her computer. Ten a.m. She had time yet to continue perusing the internet for more information: who his friends were, where he liked to hang out, whether or not he was dating anyone. So much could be discovered. Almost made a detective’s job obsolete.
Her cell phone buzzed with a text message from Marshall. “Just got new case. Need to talk to the wife of missing man. Call you later.”
People went missing every day and today seemed to be no exception. Until there was a body or a crime scene, she would not be asked to become involved. Her place was in the collection of evidence, not finding people, and since she was busy with the Brown case, Marshall, who would sometimes ask that she accompany him as a form of training, she would not be able to do so today.
Her first inclination was to phone Nick and let him know that she had a chance to look at the files he sent. She was a little surprised not to have heard from him yet and wondered how deep he was in it with the Phoenix victim.
The phone lay still on her desk. She stared at it, pondering the decision. Finally deciding that a quick call would be okay, she opened the screen to her contacts and pressed on Nick’s number.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“Nick, it’s me; Katie. You got a minute?”
“Just a quick minute. Agent Myers and I are on our way to the ME’s office. What’s up? Everything all right?”
Katie could tell that she was on speaker and recalled what Nick had said about keeping her receipt of the files under wraps. Yes, the situation had changed, but she wouldn’t risk it. So, rather than divulge the fact and possibly get him into trouble, she decided to fill him in on their progress instead.
“We’ve been able to get a little more information on Edward Shalot. You remember the pictures and blog posts Marc Aguilar handed over?”
“Yeah.”
“A few of the women in the surveillance pictures and posts talked to Detectives Gibbons and Avery last night. Turns out the guy leans a little too heavily on the side of aggression. He’s done a pretty good number of some of those women.”
“Okay. That doesn’t help me out much, Katie. He’s being held for murder. What else you got?” Scarborough replied.
The line was turning to static and so her next words came across in spurts. She essentially indicated her intention to talk to Shaun Hudson. For a moment, Katie was concerned he hadn’t heard any of it. Either that, or he was considering her idea.
“Is Gibbons going with you?”
“I’m going to the campus. I’m pretty sure I’ll be safe there.” She paused, waiting to see if he would continue to dissuade her, but he remained silent on the other end. “I just want to know how close he is to Shalot. If he has any personal information on him. That’s all.
“You’re on the right path, Katie. I think we know what we’re dealing with now. Agent Myers and I have had a chance to come together on a few of her ideas. Geographically and methodically, we are not dealing with one individual and Lindsay Brown may have been some sort of payback for Shalot. We don’t think she was supposed to be part of the five. There’s going to be another one; we just need to find out when and where. It can’t hurt to get a handle on who Shalot is. He’s tangled up in this shit; we just don’t know how yet.”
The five. Katie recalled Myers’ prof
ile, realizing they must have discovered more information leading them to believe there’d be another. “I think so too.”
“One last thing. Please be sure you let Avery or Gibbons know where you’re going. We’ve got to go now. Talk to you later.”
“Thanks, Nick. And thank you, Agent Myers.”
Nick ended the call.
“She calls you Nick?” Myers asked.
He turned his head slyly for a moment. “What? You jealous?”
“Not at all.” Myers returned her eyes to the road. “Just didn’t realize you two were chummy like that.”
“Georgia, Katie has been through a shit storm and back again.”
“I know. I’m familiar with her case and the fact that you were lead on it.”
“Then you know that it was me who put that bullet in her. I’ve never forgiven myself for that.”
“Christ, Nick, everyone knows what happened down there in that cellar. It was dark and the situation turned bad in a hurry. It was an accident. Plain and simple.”
“There’s nothing plain and simple about that day, Georgia. Or what happened after that.” He paused for a moment, staring at the lines on the road. “Katie is an amazing woman. Knowing what she went through and how she handled it, well, I respect the hell out of her. And yeah, we’re on a first-name basis. I consider her a friend. Even though before this, we hadn’t spoken much. Nothing can change the way I feel about her and the fact that I think she made a huge mistake not coming to work for us.”
“You asked her to join?”
“I did. She turned me down. Maybe she wasn’t ready, I don’t know. But I’m guessing Marshall Avery had a lot to do with her decision. And that’s okay. She deserves to be happy.”
“Well, maybe after getting a taste of it again; working with you, I mean. Maybe she’ll reconsider?” Myers said.
“Doubtful.” Nick pulled into the parking garage. “Let’s find out what the ME’s got. Hopefully, something that will help us catch these people.”
15
AS PER AGENT Scarborough’s request, Katie informed Detective Gibbons and Marshall of her intentions. Gibbons insisted on accompanying her, but she made a good case as to why it would likely scare Hudson off. If he believed he was being questioned in connection with Shalot, knowing he’d taken a payoff to copy her files, the guy probably wouldn’t answer anything. Not without a lawyer anyway.
Katie’s way, she convinced Gibbons, would make it appear to Hudson that he was helping to further indict Shalot. He had to know that the cops would find her file in Shalot’s possession. She would make it seem as though Shalot had used Hudson’s position to get information about her.
“Remind me, Ms. Reid, to never underestimate you,” Gibbons replied. “That being said, you need to contact me the moment you’re finished. Got it?”
“Understood.”
***
The sun hadn’t yet burned off the coastal clouds that were still looming overhead. Katie removed her sunglasses under the shade they offered. Ahead of her, about fifty feet or so, was a large industrial-looking building. She disliked contemporary architecture and preferred the Spanish-Colonial buildings that were prevalent throughout much of southern California. But this was a large campus, appealing to a world-wide student base and preferred to boast of its energy-efficiency and modern conveniences.
Katie continued her approach to the Administration building, where she would seek to find Shaun Hudson. Already somewhat familiar with its internal structure, as a result of attending registration, Katie knew that Student Records was on the third floor.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a sea of beige. Walls, tile, and even much of the hanging artwork consisted of varying shades of beige. The only splash of color came from the vase full of beautiful fall foliage, exploding in hues of orange, yellows, and fiery reds that sat on the front desk in the records office.
“May I help you?” A young woman, probably a student, greeted Katie with a pleasant smile.
“Yes, can you tell me if Shaun Hudson is working today? I needed to ask him if he could look up my file. I’ve misplaced last semester’s report card and I wanted to get another copy.”
“Oh sure. I can help you with that.” The girl began typing something into her computer. “What’s your last name?”
Shit. Katie needed another excuse, clearly overlooking the fact that others could offer assistance. “Um, actually, I kinda wanted to see Shaun, if I could.”
The girl raised an eyebrow, tilting her head as if somehow this would make her understand what Katie was saying.
“I mean…” She leaned over the raised reception desk and dropped her voice. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I met Shaun the other night and we seemed to hit it off pretty well. But I lost my nerve to ask for his cell number and he seemed a little shy too.” Katie darted her eyes as if confirming secrecy. “He mentioned he worked here in the afternoons. Do you think you could get him for me?”
The girl smiled wide, acknowledging Katie’s predicament. “Of course I can. And, don’t worry; I won’t say a thing.” She raised the receiver of her phone and dialed an extension. “Could you send Shaun up here for a moment? There’s a girl here who needs some assistance.” She replaced the receiver and looked back to Katie. “He’ll be right up.” The girl raised her shoulders and displayed a thumbs-up sign with each hand. “Good luck.”
Katie took a few steps back, glancing down the hall where she expected his approach. She would recognize him from his Facebook profile picture.
And it seemed, as Shaun Hudson walked down the corridor, he might have recognized her as well. Color drained from his face and he slowed his approach considerably.
Don’t spook him. “Shaun?” The most pleasing and non-threatening of smiles crossed her face as she moved towards him with an extended hand. “I’m Katie Reid.”
He cleared his throat and looked at the girl behind the front desk. She still had the enormous grin plastered on her face. He returned his attention to Katie and looked down at her hand. It seemed to have occurred to Shaun that he would have to respond and could not simply run away. Not with the girl at the desk watching so closely.
“Yes. Hi. I’m Shaun. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to talk to you for a minute, if you’ve got the time?” Katie replied.
“Um, yeah. Sure. We’ve got a small conference room down the hall, if you’d like to follow me.” Shaun cast another glance to the girl at the desk and led the way to the room. “Right in here, please.” He stood aside to let Katie enter first.
Shaun closed the door behind him. “So, Katie, how can I help you?”
He was still pretending he hadn’t a clue as to who she was. Katie waited for him to sit down. “I understand you’re friends with Edward Shalot?” she asked.
“I, um, hung out with him a few times, but I wouldn’t exactly call us friends.”
Katie would have to let him in on what brought her to him if she wanted answers in a timely manner. “Look, Shaun, I know Edward took some files from you. My files. I’m not here to blame you. I’m just here to find out what you know about him and why he would want my personal information.” She had to ensure he felt she wasn’t hurling accusations at him. That she believed he had been taken advantage of. It would be the only way he would talk. She was learning the art of manipulation with tremendous speed.
Shaun dropped his shoulders, sighing as he sat across the table. “I don’t know how it happened. He seemed pretty cool. We had a few beers a couple of times.”
Some of the color had returned to his face, but as Katie watched him speak, she noticed he was working hard not to make eye contact with her. If she was going to get any real information out of him, she would need to convince him she was on his side.
“Shaun,” she began, “did he steal your password? Is that how he got into the school’s files?”
That was enough to capture his attention. He was looking at her now, appearing hopeful that he wasn’t a
bout to lose his job, or worse.
“I’m sure you know that Edward’s been arrested for the murder of Lindsay Brown.” She paused for a moment, assessing his reaction. Of course he had known. Everyone on campus knew. Everyone in the city knew now that Scarborough and Hearn held the press conference yesterday before Nick left for Phoenix. “Shaun, what I need to know is why Edward wanted my file.” Katie called on a look of fear, as if she was in danger. “Do you know if I was to be next?”
He lowered his gaze. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. He just—really liked you, I guess. He wanted to know more about you.” Shaun leaned in. “Edward wanted you more than he wanted Lindsay Brown. She was just a distraction. She wasn’t even his type. Do they really think he killed her?”
“They’ve got some pretty compelling evidence, Shaun. That’s why I’m here. I need to understand Edward. Who he is. The things he likes. What he is into.”
At this, Shaun pulled back again. “What do you mean, ‘what he is into’?”
“The man is no angel, Shaun. He’s a murderer. But with no prior record, nothing to indicate this pattern of behavior, I know we’re missing something. And I think you, as an acquaintance, maybe even a reluctant friend, might be able to shed some light on him. Clearly, he displays obsessive behavior. Shaun, please. What do you know about him?”
The stocky, blonde-headed man flexed his biceps, appearing almost as if it had been a nervous tick. His fists curled, turning his knuckles white, as he began to shift his head slowly back and forth.
Katie had gotten to him and now she had to wait. The silence continued. She would not break it and used the quiet to make him even more uncomfortable.