It still wasn’t an excuse.People were dying fast, and they were relying on Faith to stop this.They had called her specifically.Both of them, yes, butbothof them.Not just Jessica.
Turk barked, and Faith looked down from the coffeemaker to see him looking up at her with concern.He had a sixth sense that seemed to tell him whenever Faith needed a little extra attention.
She dropped to her knees and hugged him close, kissing his cheek and holding him for several minutes while the coffee percolated.She overheard Jessica talking to Gavin Faulkner.It seemed the conversation wasn’t going well, at least not for the investigators.When it finished, Jessica sighed and said, “Well, he has alibis for all three murders.I’ll verify them, but I’m ninety percent sure they’re going to come back clean.”
Faith gave Turk a final affectionate pat and stood.“Each lead we eliminate brings us closer to the lead we don’t have to eliminate,” she told Jessica.“Don’t lose hope.”
Jessica glanced at the clock.“I’m more worried about losing time than losing hope.”
Faith poured two mugs of coffee and carried them back to the desk.Her head felt clearer after Turk’s help, but the clarity only made Jessica’s words sharper.This killer was moving faster than anyone they’d met so far.There was a very real chance that the day would end with another victim.They couldn’t afford to spend hours sifting through leads.They needed something concrete soon.
She dialed Jed Oakley’s number and said a silent prayer that she’d get something solid.
The call went to voicemail.Faith left a brief message identifying herself and asking for a call back as soon as possible, then hung up and glanced at Jessica.She was on the phone with Yana Montgomery and didn’t seem to be getting any further with that conversation either.
They didn’t have nearly enough to justify hounding Jed Oakley to return their call, so she figured they would have to move on to professional conflicts.Before she could get started, though, her phone rang.Jed Oakley had called her back.
She answered in a pleasant tone.“Hello, Mr.Oakley?”
“Yeah, this is Jed.”
“Jed, I’m Special Agent Faith Bold of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.How are you doing today?”
“Well… the FBI’s calling me, so I’m not sure.HowamI doing?”
Faith chuckled politely.“I guess that depends on your answers to my questions.”
Jed dropped the wary politeness.“What’s this about?”
“I’m investigating the murders of three animal shelter employees over the past two days.Sarah Garrett, Matthew Brooks, and Linda Hale.Sound familiar?”
“Ah.I knew Sarah Garrett.She was the adoption specialist at the Plano Animal Shelter.I called her to report that one of the dogs they had up for adoption was responsible for mauling my son.She gave me an earful about how it was my son’s fault for approaching a strange dog without understanding the impact trauma has on animals.”
“That must have been upsetting.”
“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Jed said.“I have security cameras at my house that will prove I was home for all of the past five days.I have contractors over installing heated floors, and I prefer to remain home when people are working on my house.”
Faith’s face fell, and she was glad Jed couldn’t see her.“I see.Well, this is just an informational call, but if you’re willing, we’ll take that footage.”
“Give me an email address, and I’ll send it along with a statement from my attorney about the purposes for which it’s legally allowed to be used.”
“Of course, sir.”
Jed paused a second, then spoke again in a less antagonistic voice.“While I have you on the phone, I think you’re looking in the wrong place.”
Faith’s ears perked up.“Do you have an idea where the right place might be?”
“Look up a guy named Dr.Elliot.”
“Dr.Elliot?”Faith said, looking pointedly at Jessica who had finished her phone call and was now listening intently to Faith’s.Jessica typed the name into the computer and began scanning the list of Dr.Elliots for a likely match to the one they were looking for.
“Yeah.I don’t know his first name.I just overheard Sarah mention that people like me and Dr.Elliot needed to stop threatening her just because she believed that dogs could be helped and didn’t need to be euthanized at the first sign of violence.”
“Did she talk at all about that threat?”
“No.To be honest, I didn’t ask.I just made it clear that I was in no way threatening her and my call was intended only to provide them with information.I was more concerned they would try to claim I was harassing them.I didn’t think anyone would actually kill them.”
“Faith?”Jessica said softly.
