Simon laughs. Kristin loves to see him laugh more than anything. She loves her brother most when he is at his most free. Every pointed edge of him seems to smooth away. At fifteen, she senses him becoming sharper.
And he grew up to become the keenest blade. The knowledge of what her brother is tinges Kristin’s thoughts with melancholy. A few short months after this pastoral scene, Simon will lead Marlowe to a small clearing at the edge of the woods outside town and open up his innards to the air …
‘Kristin? What do you think?’
She looks away from the window, half-tumbled in the memory. Travis Bell is the person calling her name. She understands why Bell sometimes seems uncomfortable working with her. Yes, they both survived the fiasco of the Butcher case, three months ago. But she is the sister of his father’s murderer. Socially, it makes things rather awkward.
They also look like perfect opposites, her white skin and hair next to his dark Mexican American coloring. He’s standing now in his G-man suit, jacket open and hands on hips. Bell’s father was a US Marshal, and Bell has inherited a measure of law enforcement attitude. But his social intelligence is above standard, and Kristin is intrigued by his personal development. She wonders if he’s aware that his empathy – and his attractiveness – may be a liability in the bureau. Bell is young, but he has one of those faces that will become even more rugged and interesting with age. He is still in training and doesn’t yet have the closed-off expressions of a proper FBI agent.
Kristin looks back to the window. ‘I don’t think you need more explanation from me. I mean, I appreciate that you’ve kindly allowed me to visit you here at Quantico, but I’ve already given you my opinion about what you have to do.’
Special Agent Howard Carter’s baritone. ‘Miss Gutmunsson—’
‘I knew it after the first girl’s case appeared in the newspaper, of course, but I wasn’t completely sure. By the second girl, I was sure. That’s why I contacted Mr Bell last month, to give him my instinct. I asked to come here today because I wanted you to confirm it, and act on it.’
‘It can’t be just about instinct, Miss Gutmunsson.’
Kristin turns again to face the room. A long table of some beige wood runs down its length, a Rolm business-phone unit set in the middle. The briefing room is this afternoon’s temporary location while the basement area of FBI Behavioral Science is being fumigated. Light from the windows makes the blond brick walls and tan carpet glow.
‘Instinct is only useful with evidence,’ Carter reiterates. ‘We have to compare the evidence.’
Special Agent Howard Carter stands at the opposite side of the table to Bell. Carter is a Black man in his early fifties, with a close-cropped beard and mustache. He is wearing a brown three-piece suit, and his glasses are on a chain. Carter is reasonably smart, Kristin suspects. He presents as reserved and calm, even when he is frowning like this. His facial expressions are much more standard FBI.
Kristin tries again. ‘Then examine the evidence – I’m sure you’ve started doing that already. Because I know what this is, and I thinkyouknow what this is.’
Carter nods, slow and reluctant. ‘We have been tracking some superficial similarities between these new murders and the Huxton case—’
‘You see? So you already know. And you know you need to call Emma.’
‘Kristin,’ Bell says. Low, warning.
‘The flowers at the crime scenes are a different touch, certainly. So is the posing and the locations of the bodies. But even without all the same elements, the flavor is the same.’
The mention of flavor seems to make Bell uneasy. ‘Daniel Huxton died in 1979. We’ve got photos. We’ve got autopsy reports—’
‘Obviously I’m not saying it’s the sameman. But I know it feels similar enough. You should call her.’
Bell chews his bottom lip, exchanges a look with Carter. ‘Is Agent Martino still on the ground in Pittsburgh?’
Carter nods. ‘Day after Labor Day though, he’ll be trying to get caught up on any backlog. He might be hard to contact. You want to talk with him about it?’
‘Maybe, yeah,’ Bell concedes.
‘You reviewed the Huxton case file?’
‘I had to.’ Bell doesn’t seem very comfortable about it.
‘Did it feel disloyal to Emma, to read the file?’ Kristin asks. She is not interested in procedure, only in feelings.
Bell ignores her question, directs his words to Carter. ‘I’ll talk to Martino.’
She prods again. ‘Did it make you angry, to read it?’
A fast glare from Bell. Yes, angry.
Carter seems to settle something in his own mind. ‘All right, thank you for your … instinct, Miss Gutmunsson. I’ll order a thorough literature review. Everything we have on Huxton, cross-referenced with what we have on this case.’
Kristin isn’t sure why they’re being so dense. ‘And who’s going to call Emma?’
