Stone's Mistake

by Adrian J. Smith

  She glanced back to where Pax had gone and didn’t see him. Morgan took the chance and walked down the road. It took her half a block to get there, but when she looked at the sign above the business, she knew she was in the right spot. It was a coffee shop, and the piece of paper in the window told her the night before they’d had extended hours.

  Morgan stood in front of the window and knocked. They weren’t open yet, but it was clear someone was inside. She thought about calling Pax to let him know where she was, but she didn’t. She had no new information to tell him. She was just following her gut.

  A skinny man popped around the counter and stared at her. He waved his hands and shook his head, shouting, “We’re still closed.”

  Morgan took a breath, pulled out her badge and plastered it to the glass door. “FBI.”

  He paused but opened the door for her to come in. Shaking off the cold from the outside, Morgan blessedly let the warmth back into her toes. He let out a breath. “How can I help you?”

  “You own this place?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Were you working last night?”

  “No.”

  Morgan nodded. “I’m looking for an individual who may have come in here last night. Can you tell me who was working so I can contact them?”

  “Uh…sure.” He walked behind the counter and grabbed a clipboard. Skimming through it, he nodded. “Dawn Pearson closed for me. She’s worked for me for years. And Henry Balask was here from two in the afternoon until eight last night.”

  “You only had one person closing?”

  “Not unusual. We’re pretty small.” He set the clipboard down. “I open just about every morning.”

  Morgan swallowed. “Do you have cameras?”

  “I do. I have one right over the cash register.” He pointed behind him, and Morgan caught sight of the camera she had missed before. “I also have one by the entry.”

  “Can I look through the footage?”

  “I guess. What makes you think whoever your looking for came in here?”

  Morgan followed him around the counter and into the back office. She glanced at the door again and let out a breath. “Just call it a hunch. She’s pretty coffee-obsessed and likes hole-in-the-wall places.”

  “Well, that’d be us to a T.”

  “I figured.” Morgan’s body vibrated as she followed him. She was ready for this case to be done and over with and to end. She wanted Lollie behind bars or in the ground. That was the only way she saw this ending. She wasn’t going to give up until Lollie was done with her killing spree, and the only way that was going to happen is if Morgan intervened.

  Morgan leaned over the owner’s shoulder as she watched through the camera footage. Remembering the phone call, she pulled out her cell and looked up the time exactly when Lollie had called. Swallowing, Morgan asked, “Can you look just around when the store closed? The entrance camera.”

  “Sure.” He fast-forwarded the video. There was nothing on it.

  Morgan was about to give up, calling her hunch wrong, when she caught the flash of something outside the window. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at the small screen. “Keep the video running.”

  It was a full twenty-three minutes after the store was closed and the last customer was out that she saw Lollie’s head pop in through the door. Twenty-seconds later, the lights went off and the barista locked and left the building.

  “Who was that?”

  “That’s Dawn. She’s the one who closed last night. Did everything properly like she always does.”

  “I need her address. Now.”

  “I…”

  “Now.”

  Morgan stepped out of the office and had her phone to her ear with Pax’s number dialed. Her heart was in her throat, her mouth dry, and her energy about ready to burst from the top of her head. Pax answered with a grunt. Morgan smiled.

  “I got her. Head down to the little coffee shop off Fourth Avenue. I’ll be outside waiting.”

  The owner came back with the address on a small piece of paper. It was just around the block. Morgan knew it. They’d driven right by it. She turned to him, issued her thanks, and left the building. She was already on the phone with the Casper Police Department to call for backup. They were going to need it.

  When Pax got there with the car, he picked her up, and they drove to the police department, which was only a few blocks away. They witnessed the uniforms coming back to help them out. It was early in the morning, but a serial murderer always took precedent over patrolling the streets in general.

  As soon as they got to the station, Morgan and Pax headed inside to speak with the captain on shift. They had to form a plan of action. Morgan wasn’t going into this situation without a plan, and they didn’t have much time. Pax let her take the lead, since she was better at communicating their needs and communicating with locals. He always said it was because of her sister, but she figured it was because he’d rather not deal with it if he had a choice.

  “We need at least five uniforms. I’m not waiting to do this entry. She is armed and dangerous.” Morgan spoke rapid-fire to the Captain Johnston. He seemed to be following along, but she didn’t want to explain the whole case to him. “We’ve been following her for over a month now. She’s killed seven women, attempted to kill another one. Agent Jones and I will go in first. She knows me, so it may distract her from killing the hostage.”

  “There’s a hostage?”

  “Maybe. Unknown if she’s still alive.” Morgan set her jaw. “We have to move quick.”

  “I understand that, Agent Stone.” His tone came off as placating. Pax was ready to step in; Morgan saw his stance shift out of the corner of her eye, but she was taking charge, and she wasn’t going to let someone else run all over her.

  “This is my case, Captain. I have spent months working this case.” It was a bit of an exaggeration, but he didn’t need to know that. “I have profiled this woman from the beginning. We will take point. If we do not move quickly, she will be gone. I will not lose her again.”

  “Okay.” He put his hands up. “You have seven uniformed officers as backup. What is the plan, Agent?”

  Morgan wrinkled her nose and clenched her jaw. “Agent Jones and I will make entrance. Two of your officers will follow behind us. The rest will remain outside until the scene is clear. If she is gone, or if her hostage is dead already…we’ll go from there.”

  “Simple enough. Let’s go.”

  It was a flimsy plan. She wished she’d had far more time to talk it out, but she also knew Lollie hadn’t given her much of a warning for a reason. Whatever she was planning, it was going to happen soon. Morgan and Pax got into their car, the uniforms following. No one had lights on or sirens. They didn’t want to alert Lollie they were closing in.

  After five minutes of driving, they were at the apartment. It was still in the downtown area, a brick building. There was a bookstore at the bottom floor that had lights off. The door inside to the apartments was around back. Pax parked toward the end of the alley. Morgan sent up a prayer, hoping God had more faith in her than she did.

  She and Pax said nothing as they exited the vehicle, slowly closing the doors so they didn’t make a sound. The uniforms followed the cue, Captain Johnston leading the way. Silently, they moved to the exterior door. It opened without a key.

  They took the steps up to the third floor. Just like in Bozeman, they flanked the door. Morgan’s heart pounded. Pax was right next to her, and she knew with him by her side, they would get Lollie this time. Both had weapons drawn. When Morgan looked behind her, she saw the officers filing around. Some were still downstairs, watching the other exits to the building.

  With a breath, Morgan nodded at Pax. She was ready whenever he was. With her jaw set, her eyes forward, and her finger on the trigger of her gun, Morgan squared her shoulders, preparing for whatever would be there when they opened the door. Pax didn’t wait one moment more. One of the uniforms carrying the Halligan bar stepped for
ward. Morgan shifted slightly to let him have room.

  Ramming it hard into the door frame once and then twice, he hit exactly where he needed. Applying the pressure, he popped open the door, and it swung freely. One more glance at Pax, and Morgan barreled inside, weapon drawn, and hope propelling her.

  Chapter Thirty

  The first step she took into the apartment set warning bells off. Morgan slipped in quietly. There was a lamp on in the corner of the room, but no one in sight. She heard them in the next room over. Morgan knew from experience that Lollie loved waking her lovers up in the morning and knew that was when most of her kills happened.

  The sun was still down, but it was close to six. Morning had arrived. Taking slow and steadying breaths, Morgan walked around the room. The uniforms filed behind them, clearing the rest of the room while she and Pax moved forward. The door was cracked open. Morgan strained her neck to look inside, not sure what she’d find. They hadn’t exactly been quiet upon entry, so she was surprised there wasn’t more rustling around.

  When she peeked through the cracked door, her heart skipped a beat. Lollie was naked and straddling a woman between her legs, her hands on her neck. Straightening her back, Morgan kicked the door the rest of the way open and stepped into the bedroom.

  “Hands up! FBI, put your hands in the air!” Her voice rang through the silent room.

  Lollie didn’t stop. She glanced over her shoulder, her face hardening as she tightened her grip.

  “Hands up!” Morgan shouted again.

  Once more, Lollie didn’t budge. Pax filed into the room, moving rapidly to the other side of the bed. Uniforms came in after them. Morgan walked forward and nodded at Pax. He put his gun in his holster and reached to grab hold of Lollie and knock her off the woman. The woman’s legs moved wildly under Lollie’s body, and she clutched at Lollie’s wrists, trying to get purchase to push her off.

  Pax didn’t wait, but as soon as he got close enough, Lollie let go of the woman and gripped a knife she must have hidden next to her on the bed. Morgan’s finger twitched as Lollie jerked toward her partner. Morgan fired. The bullet flew straight and perfect, right where she had aimed, slamming into Lollie’s shoulder and ripping through her flesh.

  She lurched onto the bed from the momentum. Pax grabbed the knife and stepped back, holding it out for someone else to take. Morgan kept her weapon trained on Lollie while Pax gripped Lollie’s good arm and dragged her to the floor. She hit with a thump.

  Morgan slid her gaze to the woman and shook her head at her. “Stay on the bed. Don’t move.”

  She complied. Pax put his knee down in the center of Lollie’s back. Morgan wanted to be the one to slap the handcuffs on her, but in that moment, it was more important to just have them on. Pax reached to his belt and gripped the zip tie cuffs. He slid them onto Lollie’s wrists and pulled tight. As soon as he had her handled, Morgan shoved her gun in the hostler at her side and moved to the bed to help their victim.

  “I’m with the FBI,” Morgan stated. “You’re safe now.”

  She looked up at Morgan with wide eyes. Morgan turned toward the uniforms. “Get me a blanket or a robe or something, and get the medics here. Clear the rest of the apartment.”

  She didn’t want the woman to move. Didn’t want her to get up too fast after everything that had happened, but she very much related to the need to move away from the bed and from Lollie. Morgan helped her to sit up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and holding it in front of her. Morgan squatted down and softened her features.

  “Are you Dawn?”

  “Y—yeah.” Her voice was hoarse, no doubt from being almost strangled to death.

  “Don’t speak just yet. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  “W—who is she?” Dawn ignored Morgan’s request.

  “Her name is Lollie, and we’ve been looking for her for close to a month now. But we’ve got her. She’s not going to hurt you any more, okay?”

  Dawn nodded and shivered. Morgan didn’t want to touch her again and scare her or traumatize her even more. Morgan checked on Pax with a glance. He was still watching over Lollie who remained on the ground face down.

  “She breathing?” Morgan asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m going to take Dawn here to the other room.”

  “Good idea,” he answered.

  “Come on,” Morgan ordered Dawn. Helping her to stand with a hand under her elbow, Morgan led her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. The distance would no doubt help. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I—I don’t know. We met last night. She was nice. We came up here, and I don’t know. She just…changed.”

  “Okay. I’m going to have you go to the hospital and get checked out. I want to make sure she didn’t do any serious damage to your throat.”

  Dawn looked down at her toes, tears slipping down her cheeks. Morgan’s heart broke. She had been that woman, that broken, but she knew both of them were stronger than Lollie, and no matter what they would pull through this. She left Dawn with a uniformed officer while they waited for the paramedics to arrive.

  She went back into the bedroom and squatted down next to Lollie. Pursing her lips, Morgan let out a breath. “Did you think you could just change your name, steal her identity, and then this would be over?”

  “I love you.”

  Morgan rolled her eyes. “You just might, but that doesn’t excuse what you have done here tonight, what you did to me, or what you did to any of the other women you have met in the past few months. It doesn’t excuse the fact that someone has been sitting in jail for a murder you committed.”

  “I haven’t killed anyone.”

  “You’re right. You are innocent until you are proven guilty, but I’m pretty damn sure you’ll be proven guilty.”

  Lollie didn’t answer.

  Morgan clenched her jaw and shifted from one foot to the other. “Really, Lollie. Did you think a new name would let you go free? Are you that stupid?”

  “I thought you and I could be together then.”

  “I was right before. You are delusional.”

  Morgan stood up and walked out of the room as paramedics arrived. The first team went straight in to Lollie while the second team stopped with Dawn. It was going to be a long day indeed, but they had their suspect in custody, and the murders for love were done. Morgan knew they had the right woman. She’d have to file all her paperwork in the next week and send files up to have the individual convicted of one of Lollie’s cases reevaluated.

  It was a whole mess, a whole lot of paperwork, but she could get it done. It was all worth it in the end. Lollie was going away, and the streets were a little bit safer than they were before. It was as if a weight was lifted from her, and as she walked around the apartment to collect evidence, she took lighter steps, hopeful steps.

  ###

  It had been a week in Casper, but she was finally finished with her paperwork. She was able to head home. Pax had left days ago, and she’d let him. He had a family, and she didn’t. He could do what he needed from Chicago while Morgan had tied up all the loose ends in Wyoming.

  As Morgan stepped into the Denver airport, she let out a breath. Relief washed over her. Lollie had been transferred to a more secure jail to await whatever the lawyers were going to do with her. Morgan didn’t really care so much as long as she wasn’t released any time soon. It was as if a chapter had finally been closed, one she most definitely did not want to look back on.

  Slipping into the uncomfortable chairs to wait for her flight, Morgan pulled out her cell phone. She had to make the call. Pax had told her she did, and she knew it, but she didn’t really want to. Bolstering herself, Morgan dialed Fiona Wexford’s number. It rang and rang and rang, and Morgan was pretty sure she was going to end up leaving a message, although this news was the kind she did not want to leave on a voicemail.

  At the last minute, Fiona answered. “I didn’t think you would ever call me again.”
>
  Morgan smiled. She hadn’t thought she’d call again, but she wasn’t about to share that bit of information. Blushing, and thanking the heavens Fiona couldn’t see it, Morgan relaxed in her chair and ran her hand through her head, glad to finally have all the staples out. She’d given in and headed to an urgent care, demanding they take them out. The stitches in her hand as well.

  “I arrested her.”

  “You what? Are you serious?”

  “I see your little birdie didn’t share that.”

  “They did not.”

  Morgan clenched her jaw, not happy she hadn’t been able to get any more information from Fiona about who her source in the FBI was. Morgan sighed. “I arrested her earlier this week.”

  “Where?”

  “Wyoming, of all places.”

  “How random.” Fiona’s curiosity was there, and it warmed Morgan’s heart.

  “Not so random. She was on the run, and she knew I wasn’t far behind her.”

  “So why stop?”

  Morgan licked her lips. “Long story.”

  “No. Tell me.”

  Morgan shifted in her chair, not quite sure she wanted to tell Fiona her secret. In every experience she’d had with Fiona, there had been no judgement. Not for kissing her at a crime scene, not for asking her help in doing her dishes or crashing at her house when she was scared to sleep alone. Not one moment of it. Taking a chance, Morgan told her.

  “In Seattle, when I was there working the case—”

  “When you were injured on the job?”

  “Yes, when that happened. It was Lollie who did it. She was mad at me.”

  “You said that. But why? I don’t think you ever shared.”

  “Do you want me to tell you or not?” Morgan bit out. She winced at her tone, but it was a struggle just to get the words out, and Fiona’s constant interruptions weren’t helping any. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t. Just tell me what happened. I’ll shut up. I promise.”

  Morgan let out a soft chuckle. “I met Lollie at a coffee shop. I didn’t know who she was. She clearly didn’t know who I was. We went on a couple dates. She was mad because she figured out I didn’t live in Seattle, and she wanted a more permanent arrangement.”