Once Shunned

by Blake Pierce

  He would like to find out.

  He wondered if maybe he should target her next, after this victim.

  Or maybe he should leave this one alone, go after Riley Paige much more promptly.

  The notion of luring one of them to some more private place was beginning to appeal to him. It would be entertaining to toy with his prey for a while. That would certainly be a change of pace, a way to keep things fresh and interesting.

  But he reminded himself that he wasn’t doing this for his own gratification.

  He was performing a service to humanity.

  Of course he couldn’t begin to rid the world of all its flawed people. But it was his duty to do so whenever and wherever he could.

  It seemed sad that no one would ever know the good he was doing for the world. But it had to be sufficient that he knew, and that he could take satisfaction in his work.

  It’s lonely work, he thought. But it has to be done.

  And anyway, he did get one private reward.

  As soon as he killed, the pain would ebb. He’d feel fine, at least for a time.

  That’s something to look forward to, he thought with a smile.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Riley sat across the table from Wesley Mannis, breathlessly waiting for him to speak again. He’d just said he thought could tell her …

  “… something … I’ve never told anybody else.”

  But then he’d stopped.

  He was just staring at the tabletop, saying nothing.

  His lingering silence worried her. She wondered whether she should call Dr. Rhind and his mother back into the room to see if they could help.

  No, Wesley had made one thing clear. He felt some rare sort of personal connection with Riley. He thought that he could communicate with her in a way he couldn’t communicate with others.

  Riley knew she had to wait until he was ready to say whatever was on his mind.

  Did he want to tell her exactly what he’d seen on the night when Robin Scoville had been killed? If so, could he really do it? Was he capable of communicating anything so profoundly traumatic? She’d interviewed people with far fewer cognitive problems who had trouble recalling, much less describing, such disturbing experiences.

  If that’s what Wesley was trying to do, she had to help him through it without any outside assistance.

  She couldn’t remember ever feeling so daunted by an interview, so desperately out of her depth.

  To make matters worse, Wesley seemed to her to be slipping away into his own world again. She wished she could simply pressure him into make eye contact, like she would with any normal interview subject.

  But of course she remembered what Dr. Rhind had said about eye contact.

  “Just trying to make that kind of personal connection overloads him, sends him into a meltdown.”

  She remembered his last meltdown with dread. Anything like that would put an end to his attempt to communicate.

  Don’t push things, she thought.

  She saw that the “squeeze box” was still in the room, ready and available in case he did have a meltdown. But she also remembered how skillfully Dr. Bayle had coaxed him into the contraption. Bayle wasn’t here now to do that. Was Dr. Rhind up to the task?

  And where the hell is Bayle, anyway?

  Dr. Rhind had said about Bayle, “He comes and goes a lot, seemingly at random.”

  The more Riley thought about Dr. Bayle, the more uneasy she felt about him—and vaguely suspicious as well. But now was no time to let herself worry about the peculiar therapist …

  Keep focused.

  The best tactic seemed to be to stay alert, attentive, and silent, and let Wesley speak whenever he felt ready.

  Finally Wesley muttered …

  “There was a cage.”

  Those four words rattled through Riley’s head …

  A cage?

  What did a cage have to do with Robin Scoville’s death?

  Then Wesley said …

  “There was a cage. There was a window.”

  Riley’s mind clicked away, trying to make sense of this …

  A cage? A window?

  Then she reminded herself of how she’d hoped to get through to Wesley. If she could find common ground, some shared experience, he might trust her enough to share what he had witnessed.

  She gulped hard when she realized …

  A cage.

  Yes, she knew something about cages.

  But should she tell him about that terrible episode in her own life? Would it help get him to open up to her?

  I’ve got to try, she thought.

  In a slow, cautious voice, she said, “Wesley—I’ve been locked in a cage.”

  Wesley lifted his head—and for what seemed like a fraction of a second, his eyes actually met Riley’s.

  Looking down at the table again, he said, “Tell me about it.”

  Riley’s mind boggled. Where could she even begin? Sam Peterson had been a sadistic madman who had captured and tormented women until he finally killed them.

  One of the women he had captured had been Riley herself.

  His last intended victim had been April.

  Then Riley and April had killed him together.

  Both of them had suffered from terrible PTSD during the weeks afterward. Even now those memories were raw and terrifying when they surfaced. What could Riley say about that hideous experience without becoming very shaky right here and now?

  Forcing herself to speak calmly, she said, “A terrible man locked me in a cage. He kept me in total darkness for days at a time. He … threatened me with a blowtorch, which was the only light I ever saw while I was his prisoner. I didn’t think I’d ever get out. I thought I was going to die horribly.”

  But I did get out, Riley thought.

  Then later, after she’d saved April from Peterson’s clutches, she’d savagely and vengefully beaten him to death. April had helped her get the better of him and watched while she stuck him down.

  Was she going to have to tell Wesley about all that?

  What possible good could it do?

  She was relieved when Wesley spoke quietly.

  “That must have been terrible.”

  Riley nodded and said, “It was terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever been through anything worse. And I don’t talk about it to most people.”

  Wesley ran his finger back and forth across the table, watching it closely.

  He’s stimming again, Riley realized.

  Then he said, “It was different for me. You were inside a cage. I was not inside. I was outside. And I …”

  His voice trailed away.

  “Tell me,” Riley said.

  He squinted and knitted his brow, as if deep in thought.

  “I was nine years old,” he said. “I was looking out the living room window. It was a sunny day. In the yard next to ours, Mrs. Roberts’s roses were blooming. She had watered them earlier that morning. There were two cars parked on the street, a blue Chevrolet and a black Volkswagen. The Volkswagen needed washing. I could see three boys across the street—they were bullies who always treated me badly. They had a small cage with a puppy locked inside. They were … tormenting the puppy, teasing it, poking it with a stick through the cage. And I …”

  Even though Wesley described all the details in the same flat tone, Riley sensed that he was struggling hard with the memory.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I stayed inside looking out the window. I didn’t go out and try to stop them. I didn’t go out because Mom told me to stay inside the house. I wasn’t supposed to go out because the boys were bad to me. But I …”

  He paused again, then spoke in a tight voice …

  “I should have gone outside anyway. I should have stopped them from doing what they were doing. They bullied me all the time, but that wasn’t as bad as what they were doing to the puppy. The puppy didn’t deserve it.”

  Riley was shocked by his comment.

  �
�You didn’t deserve it either, Wesley,” she said.

  “Maybe not,” Wesley said. “But I could at least figure out why they hated me. They hated me because I was different, and they didn’t understand why I was different. I didn’t understand them either. But the puppy didn’t understand anything. The puppy had no idea why it was being mistreated. What the boys were doing was wrong. I should have done something.”

  His body slouched a little, as if he were letting go of some inner burden.

  Riley felt heartbroken with pity for the poor young man. He’d been carrying this guilt around inside himself for many years. He’d lived with some form of PTSD far longer than she had, and of course it had been made worse by his inability to tell anyone about it. Both Riley and April had sought out a therapist in order to regain balance in their lives. Wesley had seen plenty of therapists, but had never made full use of their skills.

  Whatever he’d seen in Robin Scoville’s window had renewed his trauma with even greater force.

  And the reason he was able to tell Riley was because …

  He knows something about me.

  He knows that I also understand how cruel people can be.

  People have been cruel to him all his life.

  Like him, I’ve looked into an abyss.

  Riley could sense a deep pain in the convoluted mind of this young man, different from the darkness that she sometimes encountered in herself. For a moment, she felt herself recoil as she watched him try to find his way through a strange jungle of emotions and confused thoughts.

  But in spite of her own qualms, she had to keep him moving toward a specific event …

  She remembered something he’d said at the beginning of their conversation about windows.

  “The first time I was looking out. The last time I was looking in.”

  Something was beginning to make sense to her.

  He’d been trying to say that he’d had two traumatic experiences looking through windows. The first time he’d been looking out—that was when he’d been a child watching those bullies torment the puppy.

  The second time he’d been looking in …

  At Robin Scoville’s murder.

  As he continued running his finger back and forth across the table, Riley wanted to reach out and squeeze him gently by the hand.

  But she remembered something Dr. Rhind had said about autistic people like Wesley.

  “They desperately need physical security, an embrace or a hug—and yet they can’t tolerate human contact.”

  Don’t touch him, Riley told herself.

  He’d surely have a meltdown if she did.

  She said to him, “Wesley, can you tell me about the second time you looked through a window—when you were looking in? Can you tell me what you saw?”

  His face tightened, as if he were trying to summon his courage and resolve.

  But then he went slack again.

  “It’s no use, Agent Paige,” he said. “I can’t tell you that. I want to tell you, but … it’s like I’m in a cage. In the dark. I think you know … what it’s like.”

  Riley suppressed her own sense of horror …

  Yes, I know.

  I know what it’s like all too well.

  She also knew that he’d told her all that he possibly could, at least right now. It was discouraging, but she also recognized the slight touch of her own relief. She had to overcome that, she knew, in order to help Wesley get at his own ugly memories.

  What would that take?

  Just then came a knock on the door.

  I guess now is as good a time to be interrupted, Riley thought.

  “Come in,” she said.

  Dr. Rhind came into the room carrying her cell phone.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting, Agent Paige,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve got Dr. Bayle on the line. And he wants to talk to you.”

  “To me?” Riley said with surprise.

  Dr. Rhind nodded and handed Riley the phone.

  She heard Dr. Bayle say in his strange, flat voice …

  “I was just calling to check in with Dr. Rhind. She says you’re there right now. Have you been talking with Wesley?”

  Riley felt a flash of worry.

  Is he going to disapprove? she wondered.

  She said, “Yes, I was talking to him just before you called.”

  “Are you through talking to him?” Bayle asked.

  “I think so.”

  A long silence fell. Riley wondered if maybe the call had been disconnected.

  Then Bayle said in a tone that struck her as vaguely sinister …

  “I want to meet with you, Agent Paige. Right away. You’ll find me at the Szymko Aquarium.”

  “All right,” Riley said. “Agents Jeffreys and Roston and I will come right over to see you.”

  “No,” Bayle said, his voice sharpening a little. “I must insist on talking with you alone. Privately.”

  Riley felt puzzled now.

  Alone?

  “What about?” Riley said.

  “I just want to talk,” Bayle said. “I’ll see you shortly.”

  Without another word, Bayle ended the call.

  Riley looked at Dr. Rhind and said, “How far away is the Szymko Aquarium?”

  Dr. Rhind shrugged. “Not far, just outside of town. Maybe a fifteen-minute drive. I can give you directions.”

  Dr. Rhind explained how to get to the aquarium and Riley brought it up on her cell phone. Then she stepped out into the hall, where Bill and Jenn stood waiting.

  She said to them, “I’ve got to take the car for a little while. I need to drive over to the Szymko Aquarium.”

  “What for?” Jenn asked.

  When Riley told them about the odd phone call just now, Bill and Jenn exchanged wary glances.

  Bill said, “This sounds pretty weird, Riley.”

  Riley didn’t reply, but she certainly couldn’t disagree.

  Jenn took a long, deep breath and said, “Look, I hadn’t meant to say anything, since we don’t have any evidence pointing to him … but I’ve been kind of suspicious of Dr. Bayle ever since we met him.”

  Bill looked at Jenn with surprise and said, “You too?”

  Riley was startled to hear of her partners’ mutual suspicions. The truth was, it hadn’t occurred to Riley until just now to imagine that Dr. Bayle was anything but eccentric.

  Jenn said to Dr. Rhind, “You mentioned that he comes and goes at odd times and in an odd manner. Do you know where he was yesterday morning, right around dawn?”

  Dr. Rhind’s mouth was hanging open with shock.

  “Do you mean when that man was killed?” she said. “Surely you don’t think …?”

  She paused, then shook her head and added, “No, you mustn’t suspect Dr. Bayle. He’s got a sterling reputation. I’m sure he’d never do anything like … what you imagine.”

  “Even so, could you check for us?” Riley asked.

  Using her cell phone, Dr. Rhind was able to bring up a record of sign-ins and sign-outs to and from the building.

  She said, “I don’t see anything here to suggest that Dr. Bayle wasn’t right here, probably in his room.”

  Riley’s worry was mounting now.

  That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, she thought.

  While the building’s security seemed to be fairly adequate, it was easy to imagine someone who knew the building well slipping out and coming back in without being noticed, especially that early in the morning.

  Riley said to her companions, “Anyway, he’s expecting me. I’d better head on over there.”

  Jenn squinted and said, “I’m not sure I like this, Riley.”

  “I’m not sure I do either,” Bill said.

  Riley forced a slight chuckle and said …

  “Look, you’re both worried over nothing. I’m meeting him at an aquarium—a safe public place. He won’t try anything there. And anyway, there will be security guards around to help if he does. Not that I can’t ta
ke care of myself. I think you both know that.”

  Bill shuffled his feet and said, “At least let’s drive over there together. Jenn and I can sit outside the aquarium in the car. We’ll be right there in case you need to text us for help.”

  Riley saw no reason not to agree with that plan.

  She and her colleagues left the facility and got into the car. During the short drive to the aquarium, Riley kept replaying in her mind what Bayle had said to her over the phone.

  “I must insist on talking with you alone. Privately.”

  She wished she had some idea why he’d said that.

  But I guess I’m about to find out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Her partners were obviously unhappy with her decision, and Riley understood their concern. She herself felt apprehensive, at the very least.

  When Bill parked the car in front of Szymko Aquarium, Jenn made one more try at changing Riley’s mind.

  “Are you sure you don’t want Bill and me to come inside? Just into the building, anyway? We can stay outside the room where you meet with him.”

  “No, I think I’d better do exactly as Bayle says,” Riley said. “I don’t want to do anything that might spook him into running off.”

  “I’m not worried about you spooking him,” Jenn grumbled. “I still don’t like this.”

  “Neither do I,” Bill said to Jenn. “But it’s Riley’s call and I think she’s up to handling the doctor if he turns out to be the one we’re looking for. Besides, we’ll be right out here if she needs help.”

  Riley got out of the car and went on inside the building and bought a ticket. As she continued on into the maze of displays, she was dazzled by the huge glass windows that revealed colorful sea creatures moving gracefully and languidly through the water. She realized it had been a long time since she’d actually visited an aquarium.

  I’m not here to sightsee, she reminded herself.

  She found the location of the shark tank on the display map and walked directly there.

  Sure enough, she saw Dr. Bayle sitting on a bench staring into the tank. Swimming restlessly inside the tank were a number of sharks, all of them six or seven feet long. Riley shivered a little. She’d forgotten how disturbed she was by sharks, with their ridged gills and dead eyes and hungry mouths.