“You won’t,” Morgan stated simply. “You’ll be there. You won’t lose me.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to Taylor.”
###
It was a whirlwind, but by the time they got to Bozeman, Morgan had a spot on the five o’clock news. She sat in the chair, fiddling her thumbs and staring at Pax in the back corner through the bright lights. This was a hail mary, but one they knew they had to take. Enough women had died already.
With a deep breath, Morgan listened as the anchor prattled on about whatever news story she was on. The next thing she knew, the story had changed to hers.
“In other news, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is in town on a man hunt. They are searching for a twenty-eight-year-old woman, who is wanted on suspicion of murder. We have Special Agent Morgan Stone, who is heading up the case, right here to tell us a little more about how we can help them.”
The camera was on her. She’d done this dozens of times before, given a brief, she knew what she had to say. She and Pax had gone through it at least twenty times as soon as they got approval. No lesbians. Yes murder. No specifics. Yes armed and dangerous.
With a deep breath, Morgan nodded at the anchor and reiterated her planned press release. “Thank you. We are needing help in finding Lauren Jasper—she also goes by Lollie—who is suspected of murder. As you said, she is a younger woman in her late-twenties to early-thirties, she is about five foot six with brown hair and brown eyes. She speaks very well for her age. We do consider her armed and dangerous at this time. This suspect is very dangerous, so if you see her, please do not approach. Please call the tip line at the number on the screen or call 9-1-1 immediately and officers will come to your location.”
The anchor took back over. “This investigation is being conducted in conjunction with the Bozeman Police Department. If you have any information on Lauren Jasper, or Lollie as she goes by, please call our tip line at the number on the screen.”
As soon as Morgan was done and off the camera, Pax came around and touched her shoulder lightly in a show of support. She had just outed herself to Lollie. Morgan knew it would only be a matter of time before Lollie called her again and they either found her or she killed someone else. They would have to work fast in order for it to not be the latter.
Pax and Morgan headed to their hotel after grabbing a bite to eat. Morgan slipped into her room and sat on the edge of the bed. She was so tense she didn’t know what to do with it. She had anticipated since it was her decision she would be able to handle it, but it seemed as though the moment the decision was made and approved by Taylor himself, she wasn’t ready. She couldn’t do it. But she had.
The phone was next to her, and when it buzzed, she jerked in fear. She waited three rings before flipping it over to see Fiona’s name gracing the screen instead of the random number Lollie had. Letting out a breath, Morgan answered, “Hey.”
“You left town?”
“Yeah. They cleared me for light duty, and we got this lead, so I guess I’m back at full duty.”
“Where are you?”
Morgan pursed her lips and stared at the closed blinds to her window on the third floor. “I can’t tell you that, but it won’t be that hard to figure out in a few hours.”
“Oh really?” Fiona’s voice turned excited at that.
Leaning into the pillows on her bed, Morgan closed her eyes. She hadn’t expected Fiona to call her ever again nonetheless only a few days after they’d last talked. “What’d you call for?”
“I wanted to check in on you. My little birdie is gone, and I can’t keep tabs on you.”
“Who is your little birdie you keep mentioning?”
“That’s for me to know and you to figure out.”
Morgan grunted. “I suppose that’s how you found out about Seattle?”
“Affirmative.”
“That’s classified information.”
“Told in friendship and nothing else. There was concern for your well-being.”
“But why tell you? That’s what I don’t get.”
“You will eventually. I’d like to talk to you about it. I know the other night was not the right time, but I do want to talk to you about it.”
Morgan sighed. “Not tonight.”
“No. In person.”
“Okay.” Morgan closed her eyes. “I have to get going. I am waiting on a phone call.”
“All right. You’re sure you’re doing okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Ready to be home and be done with this case.”
“Sounds like you’re on the right track.”
“I suppose. I’ll call you when I get back.”
“Please do.”
Morgan hung up as Pax knocked on her door. She got up, let him in, and laid back down on the bed with her eyes closed. He sat at the desk and pulled out paperwork to go through. She should probably join him, but she was exhausted. It had been a hell of a month.
“She call yet?”
“No.”
“Who were you on the phone with?”
Morgan narrowed her eyes and stared at him over her feet. “How’d you know I was on the phone?”
“Heard you talking through the door.”
“Creep.”
“Who’s the girlfriend?”
Morgan groaned. “Not a girlfriend.”
“Who is it?”
“Wexford.”
“The Chicago homicide detective?”
“Yeah. She’s having an issue giving up the case I took from her, so she keeps calling for updates, of which I do not give her.”
He gave her an odd look, a judging look. Morgan rolled her eyes and ignored him. If he was going to be an ass about everything, she could be an ass back, but she wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking. For the first time in a long while, Morgan felt something had come between them in an unexpected and awkward way.
Pax shoved a file over toward her. Morgan opened one eye to stare down at it. With a roll of her eyes, she picked it up to flip through it. They both stopped short when her phone buzzed. Morgan froze. Pax looked from her to the phone and back again.
“Answer it. Speaker.”
Morgan picked up her cell. Sure enough, it was Lollie’s number. Swallowing, she did the one thing she’d asked for. She answered the call.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Morgan sent a glance to Pax, her entire body tensing as the phone rang again. With a deep breath, knowing this time she had backup, Morgan slid the virtual button and answered Lollie’s call.
“H—hello?” she said, wanting to make it seem like she was nervous for Lollie’s sake and like she didn’t know who was calling for Pax’s sake.
“You work for the FBI?”
Morgan rubbed her lips together and sent Pax a look. “I do.”
“Fuck!” Lollie shouted. “What the fuck, Morgan? How the fuck did you not tell me that?”
Drawing in a short breath, Morgan shook her head. “Probably for the same reason you didn’t tell me you had killed at least five women, now six. I don’t like to share about my work.”
“I didn’t kill those women.”
Morgan sent Pax a narrowed glare and shook her head. They had a lot of proof and evidence to say otherwise, not to mention the attempt on Morgan’s life. “Then what did you do?”
“We broke up.”
“You’re delusional.”
“I am not!” Lollie yelled again, her voice echoing in the small hotel room. “All of them. We broke up. I left. I found a new girlfriend. We just broke up.”
“Okay, okay. You broke up.” Morgan changed her tone. She had to keep Lollie on the line as long as possible. Pax had already contacted their office to have them trace the call to Morgan’s cell. She just had to keep her on the line so they could find her and avoid another murder. “You’re not delusional. It just didn’t work out with us.”
“I wanted it to.” Lollie sounded like she was about to cry.
Morgan had to think of another way to keep
her distracted, to keep her on the phone. “Where are you now?”
Lollie snorted. “I bet you already know. You’re tracing my call. You’ve been following me for weeks now. I bet that’s what Seattle was all about.”
“No. That’s not what Seattle was. I…I didn’t know who you were in Seattle.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Lollie warned. “Don’t you dare lie.”
“I’m not lying.” Morgan’s voice turned soft, and she sent Pax a sad look with the lifting of one shoulder before she dropped it. “I’m not. I had no idea who you were in Seattle. I thought you were this fun cute girl I met at a coffee shop. I liked you even.”
“But you didn’t love me.”
Morgan let out a short breath. She had to tap into her emotions, she had to play this off well otherwise Lollie would be able to see through it. She couldn’t jump the gun again. “I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t love you. We were just getting to know each other.”
Morgan knew the agents back home would be recording the call, they would be able to hear everything she said. She had to keep Lollie on the line, but she had to also play by the rules and not reveal more than she was willing to share. Pax knew what happened, but the random special agent tapping her phone didn’t.
“Don’t you want to get to know me better?” Morgan asked when Lollie didn’t answer.
“Yeah, yeah, I do. I thought you were the one. I thought I loved you.”
Morgan twisted it again. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would not only get Lollie’s location, but she would get her to come to them. “Yeah, that could very well be, but we’ve got to spend some time together to find out.”
“You have to stop.”
“Stop what?” Morgan asked, confused by the sudden turn. It was then Morgan heard the woman’s voice in the background asking who Lollie was talking to. She shot a worried glance to Pax, and he was immediately out of his seat with the phone to his ear and walking out into the hallway. “Lollie, who is with you?”
“No one of your concern. If you had just left me alone, none of this would have happened.”
“None of what? Lollie, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
“You have to stop looking for me. If you don’t stop, there’s only going to be more heartache and pain. Leave me alone. I don’t want you anymore.”
“Lollie. Who is with you?”
“My new girlfriend. She’s better than you. She’s perfect. She loves me.”
“Who? Who is she?”
“Her name is Mandy.” Lollie’s voice had an air of arrogance in to. “Mandy, come here, sweetie. I want you to say hi to someone.”
It took a minute, but the phone was jumbled, and a new voice slid over it. “Hi! It’s nice to meet one of Lollie’s friends.”
“Mandy—”
“Don’t.” Lollie was back. “Don’t even try it, Morgan. I’ll talk to you soon enough, I’m sure.”
Lollie hung up. Morgan stared down at her phone, her heart pounding so hard she struggled to draw in breath. Pax still wasn’t back. They had to find her. Jumping off the bed, Morgan flung open the door to her room and searched for Pax. He was down at the end of the hall still on the phone. She waved him down, and he came in her direction.
“Did you get it?” she asked, not caring he was clearly still talking to someone.
He shook his head at her and mouthed “not yet” before speaking back into the phone. Morgan bounced in her shoes, really needing him to end the call. She had to tell him what Lollie had said. Their conversation had not ended well, and Morgan feared she had pushed Lollie to do the one thing she had tried to avoid.
Finally, she couldn’t wait anymore. She flagged her hand in front of Pax to get his attention. He told whoever was on the phone with him to hold on and shoved it down into his with a raised eyebrow.
“She’s got a woman with her. Mandy. And she was mad, Pax. We’ve got a problem. They need to work faster.”
“They’re working as fast as they can.”
Morgan shook her head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
He nodded at her and moved down the hall on the phone. Morgan went into her room and sat on the edge of her bed again, waiting for what he came back with. She wanted to find Lollie, but she felt like she had nothing to go on. Grabbing her work phone, she called the local police department to check on the tip line and see if they had anything substantial yet. She was just hanging up when Pax came in with a sigh.
“They’re still tracing it.”
“What the hell? It shouldn’t be that long.”
“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Pax, she’s going to kill Mandy. I know it. If we don’t get there like ten minutes ago, she’s going to be dead, and it will be our fault.”
Shaking his head, Pax grabbed Morgan by the shoulders to still her. “It won’t be our fault. We didn’t murder her. We didn’t make that decision.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t fast enough to stop her either.”
Their phones rang at the same time. Morgan answered hers with a brusque, “This is Agent Stone.”
“We have a lead.”
“What is it?” She glanced at Pax and saw him writing information down as she listened to the detective on the other end of the line, hoping the tip was a good one. She grabbed the pen by the hotel phone and the notepad there, writing down everything he said.
“We got a call about thirty minutes ago from a woman who claims her friend went home last night with someone who fits your description. They met at the mall where her friend works. She even sent a picture.”
“Text it to me.” Morgan’s heart was in her throat. They were so close. They could do this. They could stop another murder. “What’s her friend’s address? Send uniforms. We’ll be there shortly.”
She wrote it down, and before Pax was even done on his call, she was hanging up and running out of the room. He followed her, hot on her tail. When she got to the car, Pax slipped into the passenger side. He finished his call and showed her the address. Morgan nodded. It was one and the same.
Stepping on the gas as Pax used the GPS to direct them, Morgan sped through the streets. She didn’t care. She had to get there in time. It took ten minutes for them to arrive. When they pulled up to the house, there were two police vehicles parked on the edges of the street. Morgan drove slowly, not wanting to alert Lollie they were there. The uniforms followed her.
Pax grabbed her wrist as she parked and sent her a worried look. “You can do this?”
“No other choice.”
She leaned in the back, pulled out her vest and slapped it on her chest. Pax had already wrestled his on during the drive. Morgan gripped her weapon tightly in her left hand and pushed out of her car into the cold winter air. Her shoes crunched in the snow, the sound loud in her ears, her breath hot in puffs of fog. Silently, she nodded at Pax to let him know she was completely ready for whatever was about to happen.
They walked up to the door, the uniforms fanning out behind them as provided backup. Morgan went to the door and pounded her fist on it. “FBI. Open the door!”
There was no response. Her heart raced. Pax pounded this time, his larger fist making a bigger sound. Morgan’s voice boomed. “FBI! Open the door and come out with your hands up!”
Silence was their only answer. Morgan knew what Pax was thinking. He wanted to go in. Morgan was thinking she didn’t want to see what they would no doubt find. She nodded at Pax. Once more and they would go in. Her voice echoed in the street as more officers arrived as backup. Her fingers were cold at the trigger on her gun, but she kept her hand steady.
Pax reached down when there was still no answer and tried the doorknob. It turned freely. He swung the door open, his hands in front of him as he aimed inside the house, his eyes wide. Morgan went in right after him, moving in the opposite direction to make sure the room was clear. They went room to room until they came upon the bedroom. Morgan had seen the streaks of blood on the walls, fin
gerprints and handprints littering the white paint.
The bedroom was a bloodbath. The uniforms finished clearing the house. No one was there. No Lollie, just the very dead and very bloody but clothed body tossed haphazardly in the middle of the bedroom floor and the alarm on the stove going off incessantly. Morgan could only assume the deceased was Mandy.
“Fuck,” she muttered and turned toward the door. Pax was back on the phone, and Morgan holstered her weapon. Two uniforms stopped by the door and stared in. She shook her head at them. “Go search the area, see if you can find her. Figure out if Mandy here had a car she took or if she’s still in a rental. Put out an APB for the vehicle, please.”
They nodded and left. Morgan squatted down by Mandy’s head and sighed. This had not been Lollie’s norm. This was done completely out of the ordinary, completely out of her general desire for killing. This was done because she was pissed. There were eight stab wounds to Mandy’s chest, but there were also stab wounds to her legs and her stomach. Her neck was sliced, which explained all the blood. Lollie might have strangled her, but there was no way to tell without an autopsy, and sex had definitely not been part of this kill.
Morgan licked her lips and let out a sigh as Pax came into the room. She shook her head at him. “We took too long.”
“She was probably dead as soon as Lollie hung up the phone. We’re not that far behind.”
“But how many more have to die, Pax? How many more? I’m tired of finding dead women left on my doorstep and being three steps behind Lollie.”
“I think we’re only half a step behind her now.” He held up the phone in his hand. “Found this in the kitchen. She left it.”
“Great, one less way to track her.”
He shrugged. Morgan wanted to reach out and close Mandy’s eyes, but she resisted. She couldn’t touch the body before the right people got there and did their thing. Slipping gloves out of her pocket, Morgan stood up. A uniform handed her booties to protect her shoes from blood and to protect the house from her. She slid them on and wandered around.
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