by Robin Mahle
Deputy Burgess pulled in moments after the agents’ return and Kate stopped to wait for him to emerge.
She approached the humble, small town cop who’d put his faith in the FBI and in Kate. She’d hoped she hadn’t let him down. Leaving him stranded the way she did—well, maybe he wasn’t too happy about that. “Hey.” A thin, tired smile appeared on her lips. “Listen, I’m really sorry for leaving you the way I did…I haven’t had a chance to…”
“You had to do it, Agent Reid. I understand. I’m just glad it worked out and that you’re okay.” He moved next to her. “You know, I’ve never killed anyone. I don’t imagine it’s easy to get over.”
“No. Not easy.” She grabbed his arm. “I could use a coffee.” Kate led the way inside the building.
The agents were speaking with the state police when Nick noticed Kate walk inside. He returned his attention to the officer. “Let’s go on in. We’ll need to brief the sheriff—have him prepare a statement for the press.”
Once all involved had converged inside Sheriff Conroy’s office, discussions on how best to inform the public ensued. The woman who had been taken hostage was moved to the local hospital as a precaution while the coroner’s office converged on the property to take away her husband and Zachariah Durham.
“I’d like to get back to the scene and assist with evidence collection to ensure our protocols are followed,” Kate said.
“Of course,” Conroy began. “Burgess can take you and your team back down there to make sure everything is being handled according to procedure.”
“Thank you.” Kate glanced into the hallway and then to Nick. “Where is Agent Myers?”
“She was called away. I imagine she’s already made it to the airport and heading back to the WFO.”
Kate knew better than to continue with this line of question, especially in present company. She knew the deal. Georgia was out of Nick’s life and that would make things difficult, for a while, at least. But Georgia had been an asset today, as usual. Kate regretted what had happened. It felt like the team was broken.
“Agent Scarborough,” the sheriff began. “I’m assuming you’ll want to put together a statement for the press?”
“I’d like to make a joint statement, if that’s all right. I think the people of this community will want to hear from their sheriff and know that their needs will be addressed accordingly.”
“Certainly. Why don’t we let these fine officers do what they need to do and you and I will draft something. We won’t have much time. Anyone who was listening to the police scanners is going to know what happened. Best to nip it in the bud now.” Conroy waited for the others to leave his office.
Burgess followed the other agents into the lobby. “Y’all ready to head back out there?”
Dwight looked at Kate. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t I head out to the house and coordinate with the M.E? You and Burgess should go back out the Durham property and get them started on exhuming the remains of the three other victims. We’ll need to get to work on identifying them.”
“Sure. That sounds like a plan. You ready to go, Deputy Burgess?” She turned back to Dwight for a moment. “What about his place in Fayetteville? Someone should get over there and handle that scene as well.”
“Lyons and his team are taking care of it,” Dwight replied. “Touch base with me once you arrive and keep me posted.”
Kate nodded and walked outside with Burgess.
“Seems like the three of you are a pretty close team. Y’all look after each other, don’t you?”
“Yes, we do. We’ve been through a lot together.” Kate stepped inside his cruiser and waited for him to enter before continuing. “Have you worked here as a deputy for long?”
“Only my entire fifteen-year career.” Burgess smiled before turning the engine. “Started right out of high school and been here ever since. Of course, we don’t get these kinds of things happening around here. I can only imagine the types of cases you must see working for the FBI.” He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “I heard Agent Scarborough mention that you were a rookie?”
“That’s right. I graduated only a couple of months ago. This was my first case as a full agent.”
“Jeez. What a way to break you in.”
“I guess so.” Kate wouldn’t mention her past or what she’d seen up to now. Not much point in it and it only made people feel sorry for her. She was through with that. What had happened, happened and it was a part of her now. That was what made her see a solution with Durham. She’d witnessed that sort of cold calculation in a man’s eyes before.
“Looks like we aren’t the first ones here.” Burgess pulled up the long dirt driveway toward the empty lot. “Who is that? State?”
“I don’t know.” Kate narrowed her eyes to see through the rising rays of the sun. “Who knew we were coming?” She picked up her cell phone to call Dwight. “It’s me. Hey, we already got some people out here. We’re just pulling up now, but it doesn’t look like state or any other local police. Did someone call the Jacksonville field office or something?”
“Not to my knowledge. Just go ahead and find out what we’re dealing with up there and call me back.”
“Will do.” Kate ended the call and turned to Burgess. “He’s not aware of anyone else who should be here. Let’s go introduce ourselves.”
They reached the top of the drive in front of what used to be the home. Kate stepped outside and began walking to one of the men whose back was turned. He wasn’t in uniform, which made her suspect he was one of theirs.
“Excuse me.” Kate extended her hand as she approached the man in the suit. “I’m Special Agent Kate Reid and this is Deputy Burgess with Baker County Sheriff’s office.”
“I’m Special Agent Mitch Sturgeon. Pleasure.” The man wore a wide grin.
“What office are you with?”
“Atlanta. I work with Agent Lyons. He asked me come down here and help y’all out.”
“Oh. We weren’t expecting anyone from your office down here. We thought you all were handling Durham’s residence in Fayetteville.”
“We are, but I was asked to hop on a charter and head down here. I think our office is concerned about the press and wants to be sure everyone’s on the same page.”
“Sure. Okay. Well, I’ll show you what we’ve got. If you don’t mind, just give me one minute to make a quick call.” Kate stepped away, leaving Burgess to deal with the Atlanta feds. “Yeah, it’s Kate. Looks like Lyons requested some of his agents to come down here and help out. You okay with that?”
“I guess,” Dwight began. “I’ll let Nick know what’s going on. In the meantime, just work with those guys and get a team in place to recover the bodies.”
“Got it. I’ll keep in touch.” Kate returned to the men, who seemed to be engaging in small talk. “All good; let’s get started.”
» » »
Dwight was already on his way to the Sykes’ home when he’d gotten the call from Kate. He decided to try Nick and find out what was going on. Inter-agency squabbles were common, especially on a case of this nature. Everyone wanted to take the credit.
He made the call. “You got a minute?”
“Sure, what’s up?” Nick replied.
“I just heard from Kate. Looks like Lyons sent some of his people over there to, I don’t know, help out.”
“Shit. I knew he was angling for information when I spoke to him a while ago, after Kate took Durham down. First, he takes my girl and now he wants to take my case?”
“I don’t know about that, but it does seem like he’s positioning himself for something here. Like maybe taking credit for bringing Durham down?”
“Hell, I can’t worry about this right now. Just let them do what they need to do to get those remains back to the families. Is Kate all right?” Nick asked.
“Seems to be. She just gave me the heads up about Lyons, but I told her pretty much what you just said.”
“Oka
y, good. Not that he deserves it, but I’ll give Lyons the benefit of the doubt right now. We’ll see what happens once the media gets wind of this. I’ve got to get back with Conroy. He’s scheduling a press conference for eight a.m.”
“Ten-four. I’ll check in with you later.” Dwight placed his phone back onto the center console of his borrowed patrol car. He didn’t like what Lyons was doing and didn’t know the man’s intentions. But it was starting to appear as though he’d wanted to take not only Nick’s girlfriend, but maybe Nick’s job too.
TWENTY-THREE
The saying that things always looked better in the morning didn’t ring true on this morning, despite what the now deceased Blackwater Killer had to say about it. Outside the Baker County Sheriff’s office, a bright and cloudless sky contrasted beautifully with the changing leaves on the trees, but the ugliness waited in the form of throngs of reporters. Local, national, and even international. They were all there and Nick would be the one to face them once again—along with the sheriff, and he was a man who knew little about the power of the press. Nothing like this happened in his small county and while they would likely be kind to the sheriff at first, once it was discovered that the killer had slipped through two states unnoticed, killing three other people in the process, their fangs would be exposed and they would go in for the kill.
Certain things about the case could not come to light, however, and it would be up to Nick to make sure they didn’t. A killer was dead, that much was true, but until they could identify the three unknown victims buried on the Durham property, that part of the investigation would remain concealed—for now.
“Morning,” Nick began. “I’m Agent Nicolas Scarborough with the FBI and I’m here with Sheriff Conroy.” He cleared his throat. “As you may have already heard, the suspect in a series of murders associated with the Okefenokee Swamp and the Saint Marys River has been eliminated. We are continuing to work the Georgia State Police as well as the Florida State Police, who were instrumental in helping us to locate the man who has been identified as twenty-one-year-old Zachariah Durham. He also went by several aliases, which made it difficult for us to track him down. But he is no longer a threat to this or any other community. My team will remain here in Baker County until such time as we have finalized this investigation. This was a multi-agency effort that resulted in a successful outcome. We realize there will be questions, some of which we will not be able to answer here today. There is still a great deal to sort through and I can only hope that you all will allow this community to heal from its losses and respect the families involved. Thank you.” Nick stepped away from the podium and let the sheriff say a few words.
Some of the reporters began to shout out questions for Nick, but he returned inside the building.
“Leave ‘em wanting more.” Nick patted one of the deputies on the back and continued into the conference room that had been set up as a communications center for the FBI and the other agencies. He reached for his cell to get an update from his team, however the voices coming from the hall indicated the call would not be necessary.
The agents had returned along with Deputy Burgess and caught up with Nick in the conference room.
“We’re going to have some problems with Agent Lyons.”
Nick had hoped Dwight would deliver better news and decided to take a seat and wait for the other shoe to drop. “Why do you say that?”
“I think he’s going to try to make it look like Agent Reid let Durham get away at the Gustafson residence, resulting in the deaths of two additional victims. The man on the highway and Mr. Sykes.”
“That’s bullshit,” Nick replied. “She was the one who followed him after the state police let him slip through their roadblocks.” He turned to Kate. “Who’s telling you this? Lyons?”
“No. It was his guy on site at the Durham property.” Kate pulled up a chair next to him. “I don’t know what to think right now, but they’ve got it in their heads that we, I, should’ve been able to take him down after he murdered Mrs. Gustafson. That it was me who let him escape to the river and then our team failed to track him down from there.”
Nick was appalled by this latest development. “You know what he’s trying to do here, right?” He eyed both of them.
Burgess leaned into the doorway, arms folded and listening to the conversation.
“This whole damn thing started in his backyard. The first two victims may have been found across the border, but Durham was based near Fayetteville. Lyons was the one who called us in to help and now he’s shifting the blame that more people died because we screwed up.”
“Because I screwed up,” Kate replied. “A rookie agent.”
“The same rookie agent who ended up facing Durham and taking him down,” Burgess spoke up. “How the hell can they dispute that fact?”
Kate tossed an appreciative glance to Burgess. She had faced the killer and it scared the hell out of her to have taken his life, but she knew there was no other way. Now she was being called on the carpet for it? Was this what it was going to be like? She’d watched Nick having to defend his actions after the Corbett raids, nearly losing his job as a result. And now this. The job was hard enough, but facing the politics of it seemed beyond what she had been prepared to handle.
“This isn’t about you.” Nick looked at Kate. “This is about me. I’m going to have to deal with Lyons.” He rose from the table and left the room.
“We got the killer.” Kate turned her attention to Dwight. “That should be the focus here. Not some personal vendetta against Agent Scarborough.”
“I know. Look, you did what needed to be done, Kate. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.” Not wanting to forget Burgess’ contributions, he looked to him. “Both of you did what you had to do. And this community is safe because of it. Let’s just get our ducks in a row and worry about the rest later. ASAC Campbell is going to be fielding a lot of calls and he’s going to need to have the files in order, including our accounts of what happened. We need to get those other victims identified.” On his way out the door, he turned back. “I’ll talk to Scarborough—find out when we’re heading out of here. We’ve still got plenty of work to do on this case.”
Dwight disappeared from view as Deputy Burgess made his way toward Kate. “I thought small town politics were a pain in the ass.” He pulled a chair up beside her.
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes in this particular incidence.” She began to rise. “I’d better get back with my team. Jenny Sykes’ boys—do they know about their mother yet?”
Burgess nodded. “Their father is bringing them up this morning. Terrible thing—what’s happened to that family, but it could’ve been a hell of a lot worse if you hadn’t known how to handle Durham. He would’ve killed that woman same as he did the last three people.”
“Thanks, Mike, but you know—I’m pretty sure I had some help in there.” A warm smile formed on her lips.
“How’s that?”
She considered telling him. He was a good man—kind. Marshall would’ve gotten along with him well. They were both cops, none of this federal agent bureaucracy she’d gotten herself tangled up in. “I had an angel on my shoulder.” Her smile slowly faded as she left the room.
In the end, it wasn’t a tale she was prepared to share. The sting of it still burned and it would only result in the same pitying look most people gave her when they discovered what had happened with her fiancé. Maybe the two of them would become friends and maybe one day she would tell him, but not today. Too many people had suffered at the hands of Durham and it was not a day to detract from what that monster had done.
Kate found herself standing in the lobby of the station, searching for Dwight or Nick or whomever might know of their whereabouts. She should have felt good about the fact that they’d gotten their man. Wasn’t that the purpose of this job? Instead, she felt a sense of grief. It was probably just the timing or that she feared Nick would meet fresh scrutiny for her rash beha
vior in going after Durham on her own. Then again, she had just killed a man. Whether or not he deserved to die mattered little. The mark it left on her could never be erased.
“Hey, you ready to head out?” Dwight appeared as if from nowhere to bring Kate back to the moment.
“Are we going back to D.C.?”
“Soon.” Dwight studied her face. “You okay?” He glanced uncomfortably at his feet before returning his attention to her. “Jeez, Kate. I’m sorry. I—I almost forgot. What a hell of a day for all of this to come to a head.” He reached out for her. “Nick and I can handle things from here. You should go back home. Not the office—I mean, home.”
“No. I want to be here, Dwight. It’s better that way. I’m not going to lie. I’m still pretty shaken up about Durham and then the whole anniversary thing.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. “But being at home, by myself, probably isn’t the best idea. Besides, I’d like to make sure I’m there for Nick. Campbell’s going to have some questions and it should be me who’s there to answer them.”
“How did I know you’d say something like that?” Dwight displayed a half-cocked grin. “Come on; let’s get with Nick and wrap things up here.” The two began to walk along the corridor. “Oh, have you seen Deputy Burgess?”
“I was just with him actually—back in the conference room.”
“Okay. I didn’t see him in there, but we’ll find him. We might need him to come back with us to the WFO.”
“Why?”
“Just to tie up any loose ends. He’s been heavily involved in this investigation—and with you too.”