Obsession

by Debra Webb

  “But you didn’t know to ask before now, did you Sergeant Harper?” Jess pointed to the name Tim on the case board. “You’d be surprised how many names folks forget unless you mention a specific one. Ask them again, every one of them. Just because a Tim isn’t listed as a friend or contact doesn’t mean one or more of the girls doesn’t know someone with that name. We have to cover all bases.”

  “The job will go faster if I conduct some of the follow-up interviews,” Griggs offered.

  Dan took that as his cue. He entered the room. “Same goes for me. I’ll go over this new development with the Dentons.”

  Jess’s attention swung to him. “Actually, I planned for you and me to pay a visit to Reanne Parsons’ coworkers.”

  Something else to fuel Patterson’s antagonism. “We may need to coordinate that with Chief Patterson.” The rift widening between him and Patterson needed mending, not broadening.

  Griggs gathered his notes and stood. “I’ve known Patterson a long time.” He glanced up at Dan. “He’ll come around when he cools off. That said, we can’t compromise our investigation waiting for him to see what’s right in front of his face. You’re in charge Dan. Patterson agreed to that decision days ago. It’s your call. I, for one, don’t care to waste any more time.”

  Being reminded of the facts should be unnecessary, Griggs was right. They all had a job to do. Everyone in this room was counting on him to do his. “All right. Let’s get it done.” He gave his detectives a nod. “You find anything, I want to hear about it ASAP. Coordinate your efforts with Sheriff Griggs.”

  The buzz of renewed enthusiasm vibrated in the air as those gathered prepared to move out. Dan cleared the static from his head and did the same. At some point he and Jess had to talk about Patterson’s accusation. Just not now. The last thing he needed was her bolting. He needed her. Andrea, Macy, Callie and Reanne needed her.

  Griggs hesitated on his way out. “You made the right decision, Dan.”

  “Thanks, Roy. I appreciate your support.”

  Griggs patted him on the back. “We’ll find these girls and then all this will be behind us.”

  “Chief.” Detective Wells approached him next. “I can speak with Andrea’s parents if that’s okay with you.”

  “Make sure Annette understands we’ve got this covered,” Dan said for Wells’ ears only. “I don’t want her freaking out over this new development.”

  “Got it,” Wells assured him.

  When the room had cleared and Jess had gathered her notes and bag, she asked. “Ready?”

  “We calling for appointments en route or are we hoping to catch them off guard?” He knew the answer before he asked but it was the one subject he could broach without having it segue into those other questions he couldn’t risk asking just now.

  “What do you think?” She headed for the door but stopped short. “I’m wondering.” She turned back to him, her notepad clutched to her chest, pencil still in hand. “When did you plan to mention that you were married to Andrea’s mother, making you an unreliable resource when it comes to investigating this case?”

  He’d waited too long. That she got straight to the heart of the matter was no surprise. “We were divorced more than a year ago. That relationship is irrelevant.”

  Jess pulled off her glasses with her free hand and turned profiler, assessing his expression, his posture. “Is that so? Then I suppose you’re equally concerned for the safety of all four of those girls. Andrea is just another alleged victim? No personal feelings one way or the other?”

  He looked away. Suppressed the fire of frustration she so easily kindled in him before facing her once more. “Yes, Agent Harris, part of my agenda here is personal. But only part of it. I can do my job if that’s what you’re asking.”

  That assessing gaze didn’t let up. “Do you still love her? The mother, I mean?”

  That frustration she’d ignited flamed into anger. “Are you asking as a profiler or as my ex-lover?” The words were scarcely out of his mouth and he wanted to beat his head against the wall.

  If he struck a nerve she did a hell of a job concealing any reaction. “Our past has nothing to do with how I view this case or the steps I will take in conducting this investigation. Besides, ten years is a long time, Dan. I’m certain your ego understands that I haven’t been moping about wondering when I’d see you again.”

  An annoying tic started in his jaw. He unclenched his teeth and grabbed his self-control with both hands. “In that case, my feelings for Annette are irrelevant, are they not?”

  She shrugged. “That’s yet to be seen. After the way you and her husband went at each other last night, I can’t say for sure at this time.”

  The gloves came off. “Brandon Denton is a pompous jerk who didn’t have the time for his daughter when she was around and now that she’s gone, he wants to play the doting, protective father. I don’t need him questioning my ability to get the job done.”

  Jess gave him one of those looks. The one that said she had just made her point. “I can see how you would consider his opinion as significant even though he’s a civilian, is likely operating on pure emotion and has no clue how the duties of your office are accomplished. Bearing all that in mind, of course his scrutiny would move you to strong emotions of your own.”

  That she was right rallied not an iota of difference. He lost it. “You mean, the way your emotions related to your situation at the Bureau cannot possibly be affecting your decisions on this case?”

  The slight widening of her eyes warned that Patterson was, at least in part, correct. Oh damn. Dan held up his hands. “Let’s just stop. I had no right to go there.”

  Her face cleared of readable emotion. “But you did, didn’t you? You wanted to make your point. You did a bang up job, chief.”

  Hell. “Jess—”

  “I screwed up.” Her bag slid down to the floor. She bent down, tucked her notepad and pencil inside then straightened and looked him dead in the eye. “I thought I was infallible. After all, in twelve years as a profiler I had never been wrong. If I created the unsub’s profile in a case, I was spot on every time. The unsub always found. The case always closed successfully.”

  Another of those listless, one-shouldered shrugs spanned the silence. “We had the guy. I knew it was him. But I should have recognized his game.”

  He wanted to stop her right there. The pain in her eyes, on her face almost undid him. Yet, selfishly, he wanted to know all of it. Whatever had hurt her like this, he needed to know.

  “The Bureau has been tracking this guy for five years without a break. Until this time. I started receiving anonymous tips that he had a partner.” She shook her head, her lips trembling. “The others were skeptical, but not me. I knew this was no nutcase vying for attention. I could feel it.”

  Her hand went to her hair, tucked a tuft behind her ear. “I saw what they couldn’t.” For the first time since she started talking, her gaze drifted to his. “I wanted to nail that son of a bitch so badly that I didn’t recognize he was hiding from the others what he deliberately showed me. The first time I interviewed him it was crystal clear. A sense of utter self-confidence radiated in his posture. No fear whatsoever in his voice or his eyes. Instead, there was challenge. He practically dared me to try and prove it was him.”

  She shook her head. “He tortured, raped and murdered six women this go around. We suspect there have been dozens of others in the past five years. But like this case, there wasn’t a lick of evidence. He was too smart. Too prepared. None of the murders have ever been connected to an unsub.”

  “The Player. Oh my God.” She was on that case? Eric Spears, the man suspected in that high profile case, was one sick SOB. Not only did his torture last for days, near the end he would release his victim, giving her hope of survival, only to track her down and finish her off. “The investigation is all over the news. They may have to release their primary suspect.”

  She nodded. “Because of me.” Jess turned away
from him, hugged her arms around herself. “I screwed up and the worst kind of murderer is most likely going to get off scot-free.”

  “Jess, you should have said something.” He moved up behind her, wanted to touch her but he wasn’t sure she would appreciate that kind of intrusion just now. “I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I’d known what you were dealing with up there.”

  “Don’t you see?” She turned to him. “If I’m not working I’ll spend all my time focused on what I can’t change. There’s something I can do here. I need to do this, Dan. I need to find these girls.”

  Not only did he understand, she was right. The last thing she needed was to be sitting around obsessing on a situation over which she had no control.

  “Whatever happened up there, I know one thing for certain. Without your help, we were getting nowhere. You’ve already shown all of us that you can see those little, seemingly insignificant things we miss. We need you.”

  “I should’ve been up front with you when you called.” She closed her eyes and gave a little shake of her head. “I skirted the law because I was so certain I had him. His psychology screamed at me. He’s the one. Somehow he knew that and he had his accomplice set me up.”

  “That part wasn’t on the news.” But he wouldn’t have expected it to be. The first rule of politics was to cover one’s ass. He searched her face, wished he could relieve the worry and frustration he saw there. “You sure you’re okay?”

  That fragile side she’d allowed to surface vanished. “I’m fit to work this case, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  “Sounds like you got damned close.” The idea of how close she may have gotten to that kind of monster scared the hell out of him. Unlike the fictional portrayals, as a profiler her fieldwork shouldn’t have been dangerous. “I’m asking if you were touched by this guy.” The reports about the Player’s work were gruesome, sadistic.

  “He didn’t touch me,” she said as if she regretted that admission. “Not physically anyway.” Her lips tightened as if what she intended to say next soured on her tongue. “He hasn’t been released yet, but that will change by next week.” She drew in a big breath. “My actions sealed that deal.” She shook her head. “When those anonymous tips began, I decided to follow up on my own.”

  Dan had a sickening feeling where this was going.

  “The anonymous source led me right to the evidence we needed.” That distant look he’d seen more than once since her arrival claimed her weary features. “It was all there. Little treasures he’d taken from each victim. All of it. Only it didn’t connect to him. It didn’t even connect to the anonymous source who had covered his tracks with so many layers even the F-fucking-BI couldn’t trace any of it back to anyone. A ghost.” Fury seared across those weary features. “But I knew who he was. Spears reveled in showing me. He wanted me to screw up. Wanted me to feel…” She shook her head, fury tightening her lips. “This guilt and helplessness.”

  She stared straight into Dan’s eyes. “He led me straight to what we needed but it was a setup. I was so caught up in his games that I didn’t see where it was going. I couldn’t produce the anonymous source. I damned sure couldn’t prove the alleged source was connected to Spears. I broke into a storage locker that was traced to a dead man and found the evidence we needed. Only I didn’t have a search warrant or reasonable cause so none of it’s admissible in the case against him even if I could connect a single shred of it to him.”

  “He used you to prove he was untouchable.” The revelation shook him. “Damn, Jess. I’m sorry.”

  Tears she would not shed glittered in her eyes. “They train us not to let that happen. I knew better.” She went for a laugh that came out more like a groan. “But I did it anyway because I was absolutely certain it was him. Spears will never be tried and convicted for those six murders, but it was him.”

  “It’s no consolation that you were right.”

  “None at all when you consider that a sadistic killer is about to walk.” She reached down and picked up her bag. “So.” She squared her shoulders. “I’m days away from being unemployed along with ten percent of the country and my reputation is in the crapper.”

  His resistance shattered. His fingers curled around her upper arms. “You listen to me, Jessie Harris. You said yourself the Bureau had no evidence against him. What you found couldn’t be connected to him, inadmissible or not. The guy was going to walk whatever happened. You made a mistake that set back your career, but it doesn’t change who you are and how talented you are at painting a picture of the bad guys. If the Bureau doesn’t wake up and recognize your value, then they’re the ones who are screwing up.”

  Jess patted him on the arm and presented a smile as counterfeit as any he’d ever seen. “I appreciate the sentiment, but we both know how this will end. Sure they’ll probably offer to ship me off to the middle of nowhere.” She shook her hear. “But that case will haunt me for the rest of my career. Walking away is by far the best choice.” She squared her shoulders. “Now, we have work to do.”

  She turned for the door, he stopped her. “Is there any chance Spears still wants to play?”

  If this bastard had connected with Jess on some sick level, he could make finding her and finishing his game a priority once he was released. Dan had left her alone at his parents’ house this morning. The possibilities of what could have happened had fear banding around his chest. Even with Spears still in custody there was the anonymous accomplice.

  “Who knows? He’s a sociopath. All I can say is if he comes near me the Bureau won’t have to worry about connecting him to his crimes.”

  “You need protection, Jess.”

  She laughed; this time it was real. “I might be just a profiler, but the last time I qualified at the firing range, I was considered an expert there, too. You don’t need to worry about me, chief. I can take care of myself.”

  “I take it you’re armed.” If she wasn’t, she needed to be.

  “And dangerous. Now let’s go. Before I go without you.” She headed for the door, giving him one last warning over her shoulder. “I have a reputation for failing to acknowledge the chain of command, you know.”

  Patterson would be livid when he found out they were nosing around in his jurisdiction again. The mayor and numerous council members had confided that one asset that set Dan apart from the competition for appointment to chief of police was his ability to inspire teamwork among his peers and subordinates alike. Somehow that skill had eluded him on this case. He’d infuriated a ranking member of the task force and he had no control whatsoever over Jess.

  Worse, she was in trouble, more so than perhaps even she realized and he had no control over that either.

  Chapter Eight

  City Parking Garage

  “What’s your take on Harris?”

  Ignoring the question, Lori Wells slid into the passenger seat of Harper’s sporty black Rogue. Maybe if she ignored him, he would let it go.

  The SUV was new, a big change from the minivan he drove just six months ago. The sporty look extended to the interior with front bucket seats and a streamlined dash including lots of sleek gadgetry. Just beyond the console, reality staked a claim in the rest of the vehicle.

  The child-safety seat and scattered toys in the backseat reminded her that he was not just her colleague and a man interested in a personal relationship with her, but the father of a young child. Though he was divorced, Lori was well aware how relationships with divorced fathers of young children ended. Badly. His ex-wife would always be his son’s mother, consequently deeply entangled in his life. More often than not, one or the other used the kid to make a point or get their way. Maybe it shouldn’t, but that major detail prevented Lori from giving in to the feelings he so easily stirred in her.

  Her career came first anyway.

  She didn’t need that kind of messy complication.

  Since Harper was assigned to Crimes Against Persons and she served on the Terrorists Task Force,
a personal relationship wouldn’t be a real issue. But her goal was to eventually move to Crimes Against Persons in order to work cases like this one. Why start something she couldn’t finish? She had priorities and as hot as this guy was—she stole a look at his profile from the corner of her eye—she had no intention of getting distracted. Sex was one thing, a relationship entirely another. And Harper wasn’t a no-strings sex kind of guy. He’d liked being married and he wanted more children.

  At twenty-six, Lori’s five-year plan didn’t include either.

  He started the engine but didn’t move from the parking slot, waiting for her to answer his question. She might as well get it over with.

  “Her reputation speaks for itself.”

  Harper backed out of the slot. “Patterson is pissed at her, that’s for sure.”

  Lori stared out her window as he exited the garage, mostly to avoid looking at him. His comment about Patterson confirmed that no matter the date on the calendar, some things hadn’t changed. Men still believed they ruled the world and women. Though often respected and admired, women weren’t supposed to cross certain boundaries. That Harris had challenged Patterson’s conclusions had crossed that testosterone driven line.

  “You disagree with her strategy?” Lori stared at him full on now. Harper was only four years older than her; his thirtieth birthday was next month. How could he embrace that good old boy mentality?

  With the ease and confidence of a lifelong Birminghamian, Harper navigated morning traffic. As she had done, he took his time getting around to an answer. “She’s right. Patterson is wrong.”

  “Is that how you really feel or are you saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear?” She narrowed her gaze and watched for an indication that he was patronizing her.

  He flashed her a grin. Her pulse sped up. She looked away. That night should never have happened.

  “You really think I would compromise my professional principles to make you happy?”

  Now she was the one pissed off. “You mean those principles that allowed you to fuck me that night after the shooting?”