“You also don’t like messy cases.” Chase studied me with clear amusement on his face. He knew my ‘protocol’ better than theothers given our similar positions. He’d also been my technical support on a couple of books.
“Have you read any of my books? I skip the protocol and rules don’t apply to my heroes.” I had no idea why I felt uncomfortable, but my instincts were working overtime. “She truly believes the person sitting behind prison bars is the wrong one. While a portion of her memory is sketchy, she’d risk her job to prove she’s right.”
“You did discuss copycat killers. Right?”
The look I threw Gabriel was brutal. “Obviously. She’s as savvy as she is smart. I have no doubt she’ll be investigating on her own since an attorney has gone missing.”
“An attorney?” Chase scratched his head. “I did hear something about that. Disappeared while jogging. Not even close to the killer’s MO.”
“No, but the timing bothered her. Plus, my buddy who contacted me said he’s interested in killing again.”
“Christ.” Hudson huffed. “You need to be careful.”
“What is this big difference you mentioned?” Gabriel’s mouth was full, but there was no mistaking the look of amusement. As a sitting judge, he’d seen dozens of creative excuses as to why the person on trial couldn’t have possibly committed the crime. I know because I’d used a few of them in my books.
“From what she told me, the real killer has mismatched eyes.” I lifted my gaze toward him. As expected, my buddy choked.
“Did she mention that to the detectives in charge of the case? Or the FBI members?” Kendrick winked. “Oh, that’s right. That would be you.”
“Here’s the thing. She didn’t. But every one of us in his room knows that those traumatized by a horrible crime, especially a brutal kidnapping and torture, do everything mentally within their power to keep their minds intact, including hiding details. Often, they resurface years later after being mentally jolted. In this case, the man’s upcoming execution.”
“Fascinating and Maverick is right.” Chase looked away. “In other words, neither you nor Ms. Martino have any corroborating evidence worth wasting a judge’s time.”
“Nope.” Heavy pop on the p. “Including the phone calls.”
“But your gut has been bothering you since you wrote the prologue forGone Before Dawn.Right?” Kendrick lifted his glass, the mischievous look almost flooring me.
“Well, I’ll be damned. You did read it.”
His shrug was exaggerated. “I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. You weaved a marvelous, terrifying story, but knowing you, it was easy to decipher you didn’t believe the end. Why didn’t you push back when the case was ongoing? Your doubts are all over the story line. It’s been over twelve years.”
“Lay the guilt on even thicker, why don’t you?” Chase scoffed.
Hudson finally slunk into the seat. “You’ve already allowed guilt to bother you. Not just the past couple of days either. For all these years.”
I continued to swirl the glass back and forth. “To a point, but not for the lack of trying, although I was told to keep my distance. However, I talked with the prosecutor before and during the trial and he thought I was nuts. We almost had a knock-down drag-out fight over what he called my borderline insane accusations.”
Kendrick snorted. “A little far out there.”
“Unless someone was hiding something,” Gabriel suggested.
Nodding, I could tell the wheels in Chase’s brain were spinning. “But why would they?”
“What happened after your confrontation?” Hudson had his eyebrows lifted, his way of encouraging me to continue.
“A day or so later, my boss told me in no uncertain terms to leave it alone.” What I wasn’t telling them was that I’d always believed details had been purposely shoved under a rug, never to see the light of day. That was the reason I’d writtenGone Before Dawnfirst.
“The pushback was the real reason why you quit the FBI,” Chase mused, his tone as dark as the thoughts running through me. “Right?”
There was no reason to go into any additional detail. At least not yet. “One of several reasons. Water under the bridge at this point.” Which it was. Other than making a few phone calls surrounding a couple of our earlier missions, I’d stayed away from the FBI and everyone I’d considered a friend. Max’s death had always weighed heavily on my mind.
“You’ll need to determine how far you want to go with this,” Kendrick said quietly. “I know you. You’ll find it necessary to keep her safe, which will alter every aspect of your life.”
“Yeah, well, that plan in already in motion.” Which she would hate, but tough. Copycat killers were often even more dangerous.
“Deal the cards,” Hudson told Chase, who finally thumped down. “That’s what we’re here for.”
While he did, we remained quiet. In our determination to bring justice to victims who’d been denied, we’d yet to encounter the possibility of a suspect who had been wrongly accused or convicted. It was a very difficult and odd position to be in.
