this, Ms. Perry, and your credentials speak for themselves. I ran a quick check on you and know you specialized in crimes against women back in your days with the Bureau. You broke several high-profile cases. Now you’re with a top agency. But you’re off the clock. This isn’t part of an NSI assignment, right?”
“I’ve taken a leave of absence.”
“Which means they refused to let you work the case,” Wright observed shrewdly.
“I’d have had to have been my own client. But no matter, I never asked.”
“There’s more to this than you’re telling me,” Wright pressed. “The Arizona victim was an old friend of yours, and you let her killer get away. Now you want to settle a score. Am I right?”
“No, sir, not in the way you mean,” she answered without hesitation. “What’s at stake goes beyond any personal connection. This guy’s not going to stop killing until he’s caught. What he did this morning is just his way of thumbing his nose at me. He allowed Travis and me to escape that blast. We’re not his targets. His real victims will continue to fit the profile he prefers.”
“And you’re sure he’s a local?”
“The fact that two of the three victims came from this area of New Mexico indicates that this is his comfort zone. He’s familiar with the Four Corners. He’ll kill again. To catch him, you’re going to need an edge—someone who knows exactly what you’re dealing with. Let me help—officially. I can be a strong asset to your investigation.”
“The way I see it, you brought him to Three Rivers and now you want field support so you can cowboy up. Tell me I’m wrong,” Wright said.
“He didn’t follow me here. He was probably here already. Yet the fact that he knew where I was opens up all kinds of possibilities. This guy has evaded other departments before. I can help you make sure that doesn’t happen here.”
“And you say you saw him?”
“The circumstances were in his favor and I wasn’t able to make out his face, but I heard his voice.” She swallowed hard.
“There was no guilt there just…an absence of humanity.” She took a deep breath. “The man is evil, and he enjoys what he’s doing. To catch him, you’ll have to be able to predict his moves.”
“What exactly are you proposing?”
“Since I joined NSI, I’ve been called in as a consultant to help departments all over the Southwest solve cold cases. I’ve continued to specialize in crimes against women and my success rate is second to none. This killer is now focused on me, at least for the moment. Let’s use that to reel him in.”
“My people have to follow procedure,” Wright said flatly.
“You went into private investigations to get away from the restrictions of police work. Convince me that you’ll follow our protocols now.”
“I don’t like playing by the rules, that’s true, but my cases always hold up in court,” she said. “I won’t do anything to jeopardize this case, sir. There’s too much at stake.”
Laura could see the chief still wasn’t convinced. “You’ve got trouble brewing here. If it turns out that the suspect has been operating right under your nose for months and you’ve failed to use every resource you have to close the case…” She allowed the sentence to trail off and waited.
Wright regarded her thoughtfully. “I want to check out some things first. Then I’ll make my decision.”
Laura reached into her wallet and pulled out a card. “That’s my supervisor at NSI. He was the Special-Agent-in-Charge of the D.C. Bureau office for seven years before leaving the FBI. He’s got more commendations than most of us get in a lifetime of service. His name is Charles Westin.”
“I know who he is.”
“He’ll vouch for me. My methods aren’t conventional, Chief Wright, but that’s exactly what you’ll need to catch this creep. He’s around here, whether you like it or not, and may even consider Three Rivers his home.”
“Wait in the bullpen,” Wright snapped. He stepped into the hall and called Travis.
Travis came into the office, sat down and waited.
Wright rested his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “Let’s say I accept her offer. Is there anything between you and Laura Perry that could compromise the case or this department?”
Travis met his boss’s gaze. “We were friends once, but I haven’t seen her since high school. Our lives haven’t intersected since—not until she showed up at my home this morning.”
Wright leaned back, his expression revealing nothing. “All right. I’m going to do some more checking on Ms. Perry, then we’ll talk.”
Travis met Laura in the bullpen and saw that she’d struck up a conversation with their computer tech, Lester Crosley. The man came in periodically to update their security and backup systems. Despite the heat outside, the guy was impeccably dressed in a white shirt and tie and his company’s bright yellow jacket.
Travis walked over and joined them. “What’s up, guys?”
“Ms. Perry speaks my language,” Lester said.
“I love computers, and I’m always interested in security features. These days a good firewall is an absolute necessity. The problem is finding the best one for each system,” she said.
Travis glanced at Crosley. His head was shaved bald, a tough-guy look Travis had seen a lot in the marines, and he looked fit, as if he worked out. Only the paleness of his skin marked him as the proverbial computer geek.
Although Lester had been servicing the city’s computer networks for months, this was the first time Travis had seen him do more than grunt when spoken to. Laura had worked her usual magic. The woman had a way about her, not to mention a smile that could melt an iceberg.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here,” Crosley said, giving Laura a wide smile.
“I’m new in town,” she answered. “I’m here on business.”
“Computer related? IT consultant, maybe?”
“No, don’t worry. I’m not competition,” she said, chuckling.
“I can hold my own when it comes to computers but I’m no programmer.”
“If you’re going to be here for a few days, how about letting me show you around, and maybe take you to dinner?” he asked.
Laura smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but my schedule’s pretty tight. I’ll be putting in long hours before I head back home.”
“Maybe on your next trip then,” he said, rolling his shoulder and bending his neck to the left then to the right, as if working out the cricks. “Just in case you find a break in your schedule,” he added, handing her his business card.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the card and putting it in her pocket.
Travis
