Leaning his elbows on his desk, Vogel’s expression softened. “Riley, I don’t know for sure how your boss handled things back in New York, but I’ve got a pretty good idea. I was hoping you’d been here long enough to see that I don’t run my unit the way he did. I have every one of my detective’s backs, including yours. Always.”
“Thank you.” Riley repeated herself before clearing what Eric suspected was emotion from her throat. “That means a lot.”
“Good. Now.” He stood and motioned for Maggie and Killion—who’d apparently made it back from the breakroom—to rejoin them. “Agent Killion has come up with a plan he thinks will draw the killer out, and I agree. I’ll let him go over it with you.”
When the other two re-entered the office, Noah assessed the room before asking, “We good?”
“Depends.” Eric crossed his arms at his chest. “What’s this plan of yours?”
The man’s dark eyes shifted to Riley, making every muscle in Eric’s body become tense. Dread filled his gut, even before the other man started talking.
“We use the killer’s fascination with Detective York to bait him.”
“You’re going to use Riley as bait?” Maggie asked, forcing the chicken shit agent to actually say the words.
“Essentially, yes.” Noah nodded. “We’ll use her to draw him out, then pick him up when he makes his move.”
“The hell you will!” Eric swung his angry gaze to Vogel’s. “Tell me you don’t agree with this bullshit.”
“I don’t like it any more than you do, West, but Killion’s right.” Cap’s experienced gaze slid to Riley then back to his. “Whoever killed those girls has been trying to make contact with her since claiming his first victim here, in Dallas. As much as I hate to admit it, I think she’s our best shot at catching this guy.”
“She’sright here. And...” Riley pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and tossed it onto Vogel’s desk. “He made contact earlier than that.”
“What’s this?” Their boss picked up the note. “The killer left this for youbeforethe first body was discovered by the Trinity River?”
Riley nodded. “I didn’t know who it was from. It was in a box someone left with the front desk manager at my apartment building.”
She’d had the lab run the box and note for prints, but as she’d suspected, there were none to be found. The guy also knew exactly where the cameras were inside her building, because he wore a hat pulled down low and made sure not to show his face.
“Son of a bitch.” Vogel sat back in his chair and ran a hand over the scruff covering his jaw.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about, Cap,” Eric continued with his side of things. “He’s made this personal for her. We can’t let Riley—”
“I’m sorry, you can’tletme?” Riley’s dark brows arched high even as fire shot at him from her eyes.
Shit.“Poor choice of words”—he lifted his hands palms up—“but come on, Riles. You know what I mean.”
“And you know what thiscasemeans to me.”
“I’m not saying don’t work the case. I’m all for us taking this bastard down. I’m just saying you don’t have to be fuckingbaitin order for us to do it.”
“Enough.” Vogel stepped in while Maggie remained quiet from her spot at the back of the room. “Killion, what are the details of this plan? Exactly.”
“The killer clearly knows Riley’s a cop, Agent Killion,” Maggie apparently felt the need to remind him. “So if you’re planning to place her in some sort of undercover capacity, I don’t think—”
“I’m not,” Noah assured her. “Detective York will continue doing her job as usual.”
“How?” Eric bit out, not bothering to hide his frustration.
Noah, the asshole, met his glare with a controlled calm. “We hold a press conference.”
“For what purpose?” Riley asked him.
“We warn the citizens of Dallas. Let the public know there’s a serial killer on the loose who’s targeting prostitutes. Then we reveal the profile our forensic psychologist put together, so they’ll know what to look out for.”
The agent picked up a second folder and handed it to Riley. From over her shoulder, Eric skimmed the list of characteristics the Fed’s psychologist had provided.
He read the list aloud.
