“We still need to find him,” Amber said.

  “He could still be here somewhere,” Simon said. “We need to keep searching.”

  They headed upstairs. Amber was still trailing Simon, still covering the angles in case Gideon came running down the stairs at them.

  At the top of the stairs, they started to clear the bedrooms, one by one. There didn’t seem to be anyone in them. Each room seemed untouched, abandoned, left as it had been at the moment when Gideon had killed his sister.

  At last, only one room remained. Amber could feel her heart in her mouth as she and Simon pushed into it. She was ready for this to be the moment when he lashed out, trying to kill them.

  There was no sign of Gideon in there, just as with the other rooms. There was, however, something that made Amber stop and stare, unable to take her eyes from it.

  A cork board all but filled one wall, photographs pinned to it, pieces of paper beside each one. Amber recognized the faces of the victims so far, and it seemed that accusations had been scrawled next to them in red ink. There were times and dates, listing the moments when Gideon had been incarcerated, when he had been judged insane, when he had been confined to his room. There were dozens of grievances and at least half a dozen photographs, set out in a line.

  “He’s working his way along them,” Amber said. “Look!”

  Gideon had drawn large, red crosses across the pictures of those he’d killed so far. He’d even added a picture of Constance Banks next to an older one of her husband, crossing both out at once.

  “That means that this must be his next victim,” Amber said, going to the next photograph in the line. It was of a man in his fifties, unremarkable looking, but the list of grievances next to his name seemed to be longer than any of the others, listing everything from withholding food to deliberately giving Gideon the wrong medication.

  “Do you think there’s any truth to any of this?” Amber asked. The possibility that there might be was horrifying in itself.

  “This man is obviously mad,” Simon said.

  “He was diagnosed with a personality disorder and then with possible schizophrenia,” Amber replied. “I have his case file with me. But is it still possible that he was mistreated in there?”

  “It’s possible,” Simon said. “It’s something that will need to be investigated, but not now, Amber, and not by us. For now, we need to focus on getting to his next victim before him. We’ll need to call in the local PD to cover the homes of the others, but I want to get to this one first. Is there a name there?”

  Amber nodded, looking at the list of grievances, trying to ignore the details of everything Gideon Adams said had happened to him and focus only on the name in the midst of it.

  “Dr. Eamon Sutton,” she said. “That’s who he’s targeting next.”

  “I’ll find an address for him, then we need to get over there. It’s already getting dark. Gideon could be going to kill him even as we speak.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  “We’ll go in through the front,” Simon said.

  When they pulled to a halt in front of the house, Amber knew that it was just the start. They still had to find and take down a killer. The race to get there had just been about making sure that they weren’t too late to do it.

  “We don’t know that the killer is here yet,” Amber pointed out. “If we go charging in, we might scare him off.”

  “So, you think we should wait?” Simon said. He seemed to consider the possibility for a moment or two. “You’re right; we should call in back up to this location before we move in. But we still need to be prepared for the possibility that the killer is already here, waiting to get in.”

  “So, we cover both entrances, we knock quietly, and if there’s no sign that Gideon is here yet, we wait for him,” Amber suggested.

  Simon started to nod, but then Amber saw a frown crease his features. “You want to split up? Amber, I’m pretty sure I’m not meant to leave you to do this kind of thing alone.”

  “I’ll just be on the other side of the house,” Amber pointed out. There wasn’t any time to argue, not when the killer could already be in there. “And I’ve had the training to deal with this, Simon.”

  She could tell that Simon still didn’t want to send her off there alone, but what choice did either of them have when they knew that a killer was coming?

  “All right,” he said. “Cover the back entrance in case the killer tries to get in that way but hold position. We’re going to wait for our back up to arrive. I’ll knock at the front. If there’s no answer, I’ll hold position.”

  Amber nodded her agreement. She had no intention of just charging in there, even if she still had Simon’s spare sidearm.

  “All right, I’ll move into position.”

  Amber started forward, trying not to make it too obvious as she hurried towards the house. Simon was making his way to the front door while Amber slipped around the side into the house’s rear yard. She found herself scanning yards nearby for any sign of a killer waiting to strike.

  There were trees nearby, exactly the kind of place that Amber might have expected someone to hide while waiting to strike, but Amber couldn’t see any sign of movement. She approached the rear door instead with her weapon drawn, ready for any trouble.

  Or, at least trying to be ready for any trouble. Amber had been through the training, she’d passed the tests, she knew what she was meant to do in situations like this, but that still wasn’t the same thing as doing it for real.

  Not that she had to do anything. Amber’s job right now was to wait, cover the entrance, and make sure that Gideon Adams didn’t have a way in.

  Then Amber heard the cry of pain from inside. It was a man, crying out in agony. In that instant, Amber realized that she was too late. Gideon must already be inside. Her and Simon’s arrival must have been exactly the trigger he needed to try to finish his kill.

  Her first instinct was to rush inside to try to save Eamon Sutton. Immediately, Amber found herself questioning that instinct. Simon had told her to stay outside, told her that they needed to wait for back up.

  Amber knew that she couldn’t wait, though, not when Dr. Sutton was in there, possibly being killed even as Amber hesitated. She rushed for the back door to the house and was surprised to find it unlocked. She realized that this must have been how Gideon got inside.

  Amber hurried into what proved to be a large, open plan kitchen. Dr. Sutton was there, clutching a wound in his stomach while trying to keep a kitchen island in between him and Gideon Adams. For his part, Gideon was stalking Dr. Sutton, watching the lifeblood drain from him slowly.

  “Freeze!” Amber called out, starting to bring up the pistol she held.

  She was a fraction of a second too late. Gideon looked around, saw her, and grabbed a heavy skillet from the stove before Amber could even react. He flung it at her in a single movement, and the impact was enough to make Amber reel off balance, firing a shot that went well wide of Gideon. In the confines of the kitchen, it was almost deafeningly loud.

  Gideon was running at her then, the knife held ready to thrust.

  “You’re here to help him! You’re as guilty as he is!”

  He thrust the knife at her, and it was all Amber could do to intercept it, getting a grip on the knife arm and trying to hold it tightly so that he wouldn’t be able to finish his thrust. In response, Gideon grabbed the arm Amber was using to hold the gun, forcing it away so that Amber couldn’t bring the weapon to bear.

  “Do you know all the things he did?” Gideon demanded as he strained against Amber, trying to rip his weapon free. “Why defend a man who treated me like that? Unless you’re like him? Unless you’re one of them, just out to hurt me!”

  He managed to pull his knife arm free from Amber’s grasp, and in that moment, she had a split second in which to make a decision. In sheer desperation, she let go of her gun, pulling her arm free as she did it so that she could slam into Gideon with both arms, trapping his knife arm with both of her hands.

  Even like this, his fury leant Gideon a terrible strength, so that it was all Amber could do to try to hold onto the weapon arm. She lashed out with her knees, trying to land a shot that would distract Gideon long enough to let her wrench the knife away from him, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain. Instead, he punched Amber with his free hand, hard enough that she felt bruises already starting to blossom across her ribs.

  Amber looked across to Dr. Sutton, half-hoping that he might be able to help her, to maybe hit Gideon from behind with something, but instead, Amber saw him slumped against his refrigerator, blood starting to pool around him on the kitchen floor.

  “He’s dead!” Gideon said, sounding almost maniacally happy about it. “He’s dead, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

  “Then why don’t you stop, Gideon?” Amber tried. “It’s over. Just give up.”

  She had no real hope that it would work, but maybe, just maybe, Gideon would agree that this was done, and there was no chance of him getting away. Maybe he would stop, now that he believed that Dr. Sutton was dead.

  “Give up? And let you put me back in that place? No, never! I’ll kill you before I let that happen!”

  He kicked Amber then, in a big, stomping movement that sent her stumbling back, sprawling to the kitchen floor. Amber felt a sick wash of pain and had to try to force herself to fight through it. She saw her gun just a couple of yards away and tried to reach for it.

  Gideon kicked her again then, so that the world seemed to contract around Amber into a tight ball of pain. Gideon was rearing up over her then, the knife in his hand. Amber kicked out, striking his wrist hard with her foot and sending the knife spinning away.

  Amber leapt at him, trying to take him down before he could get back to the knife. She slammed into Gideon, holding him, trying to stop him from retrieving his weapon and bringing it to bear.

  Distantly, Amber heard the sound of a door splintering.

  “Amber, hold on!” Simon called out.

  “This way! He’s here!” Amber called back, knowing that there wasn’t any time to waste on him searching the house. She heard the sound of Simon running through the house, trying to get to her.

  Amber saw the door to the kitchen start to open, and that was when Gideon slammed an elbow into the side of her head, hard enough that Amber saw stars for a moment, losing her grip on him. She saw Gideon snatch up his knife, lunging at Simon as he burst through the door, and slashing at him hard.

  The slash cut into his arm, making Simon wince in pain. Gideon knocked his gun aside, grabbing for Simon’s arm, keeping the weapon away from him just as he had with Amber while he tried to force the knife forward through Simon’s defenses. Simon grabbed for his knife arm, and for a moment or two, they were locked in a deadly stalemate.

  Amber realized that she was sitting on the floor, watching the fight unfold while she was there in a daze. She should be helping; she should be doing something to try to stop Gideon before he hurt anyone else.

  Simon hit Gideon then, first with a headbutt, then with a punch, knocking him sprawling. Gideon fell limp, apparently unconscious. Simon looked around, first to Amber, then to Dr. Sutton.

  “Hold on, Amber, I’ll call for medical help,” he said. He ran to Dr. Sutton, obviously trying to check that he was ok.

  That was when Amber saw Gideon Adams start to move again, move with alarming speed. He pulled himself to his knees, snatching up the knife from where it had fallen. He went to his feet, staggering towards where Simon had his back to him, trying to help Dr. Sutton.

  There was no time to call out, but Amber saw the gun she’d dropped just within reach. That was good because she didn’t feel steady enough then to stand. She stretched for it, arm reaching out, her fingers brushing the grip, and pulling it to her. Amber had only an instant to grab the gun then, grasping it in both hands and bringing it up even as Gideon prepared to stab Simon.

  “Gideon!” Amber yelled.

  He spun towards her, weapon raised, and Amber pulled the trigger. Again, the sound of the shot seemed to fill the kitchen, seemed to wrap around everything. Amber saw the shot hit Gideon in the shoulder, the knife clattering from his hand as he clutched his shoulder in agony.

  Simon was there then, grabbing Gideon, and dragging him down in the middle of the kitchen floor. This time, Simon cuffed Gideon, holding him firmly in place.

  “Gideon Adams, you’re under arrest.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Amber waited in the hospital, outside Dr. Sutton’s room. She doubted that it would be possible to talk to him before morning, given that he was only just out of surgery.

  “How is he?” Detective Heart asked, walking up.

  “The doctors won’t tell me, other than to say that he’ll live,” Amber replied. “You have men on Gideon Adams’s room?”

  The detective nodded. “He’s not going anywhere. The surgeons say the bullet was straight through his shoulder. We’re calling in a shrink from the Wellness Institute to assess him.”

  Amber had no doubt that he would be found insane again and taken straight back there. She didn’t know if that counted as enough justice after everything he’d done. She just had to hope that the Wellness Institute would be able to keep Gideon Adams from ever killing anyone else.

  “He made accusations,” Amber said. “That the doctor there abused him, deliberately treated him cruelly. He has a whole wall of accusations against other people.”

  “And you think any of that is real?” Detective Heart asked.

  Amber looked at him levelly. “I don’t know. That’s for you to investigate, Detective.”

  She saw the detective nod. “If there’s anything there to find, I’ll find it.”

  Amber was grateful for that. She didn’t want to leave a loose end behind her when she left Guisborough. Amber didn’t like the idea of leaving anything unfinished. She couldn’t imagine going back to her life in DC without ensuring that this part would be investigated.

  The question now was just what kind of life she was going to go back to in DC. Amber had spent her time in the hospital thinking about little else while she waited, trying to weigh up what was there for her back home against what she could have as an agent.

  Amber was still thinking about that when she saw Simon approaching, his jacket over his shoulder, a bandage wrapped tightly around his right forearm.

  “How bad is it?” Amber asked him.

  Simon shrugged. “A few stitches, but it will be fine. It wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

  Amber was grateful for that. She’d been worried when she’d seen Gideon slash at him with the knife, even though she knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

  “You did well on this, Amber,” Simon said. “I was sure that there wasn’t anything in the inkblots, but you kept going with them. If you hadn’t found the link that led to him, we might never have found Gideon.”

  Hearing that felt better than Amber could have imagined. There was a satisfaction that came from knowing that she’d managed to make a difference, to catch a killer, maybe even to see a dangerous institution investigated further. And that was why Amber had come to the decision that she had.

  “Simon, I need to ask you something. It’s about Agent Palliser’s offer.”

  Simon looked worried then, staring over at Amber as if he were afraid of what she might say next.

  “What do you need to ask? You aren’t still thinking of saying no, are you?”

  “I wanted to ask … would you still want me as your partner? After all of this? After the way we argued through some of this investigation?” That was the one part that still worried Amber when it came to Palliser’s offer. She wasn’t sure that she could handle being treated like she didn’t have anything valuable to offer.

  “Arguing is normal,” Simon said. “I’d be more worried if you agreed with me on everything. We’re always going to come at things from different angles, Amber, but you’re prepared to fight your corner with it, and I respect what you’re able to do.”

  “But would you still want me as a partner?” Amber asked.

  “Of course, I would,” Simon replied. “I think, together, we can stop a lot more bad guys. We can save a lot more lives. We have a chance to do something special here, Amber. Together.”

  Amber nodded. That had been almost exactly what she’d been thinking. Whatever the risks of being an agent, whatever it meant for the rest of her life, there wasn’t any feeling quite like that of having caught a killer, knowing that her skills had made a real, life or death difference. Amber couldn’t let that go.

  She stuck out a hand for Simon to shake. “All right,” she said. “I’m in.”

  *

  Amber was glad to be back in DC and even more glad to be out with Joseph on another date. Although that wasn’t exactly easy.

  “I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you before I left,” Amber said, reaching across the table to take Joseph’s hand.

  “I would have just liked the chance to go with you,” Joseph replied. “It sounds as though there was a hell of a story out there.”

  “A story about the FBI catching another killer?” Amber asked. That was the story that was running across the news channels right now—well, that and a story about the fresh investigation the Guisborough PD was conducting into the town’s mental hospital. It seemed that Detective Heart was as good as his word.

  “I was thinking more about a story of the puzzle editor who managed to catch yet another killer,” Joseph replied. The touch of his hand against Amber’s was almost electric.

  “I’m not sure that I am a puzzle editor anymore,” Amber said. “I’ve decided to accept the offer to work in Agent Palliser’s department. I won’t have any time to make puzzles for people.”

  “I suspect that puzzles will always be a part of who you are, Amber,” Joseph said. “I couldn’t imagine you never doing another one.”

 

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