Already Dead, page 3
“What is it?” Laura asked, biting her lip. “Is Nate…?” She didn’t even know how to finish the sentence. Dead? Hurt? Going somewhere really far away? What?
“It’s not about Agent Lavoie,” Rondelle told her quickly. “It’s a case. It’s an emergency. We’ve got some murders happening in a small-town in California, and the local PD is extremely out of their depth. Two bodies already with the same MO, and it’s looking like this could spread. I need you there before it gets out of hand.”
Laura bit her lip. Behind her, she could hear the girls playing. “Does it have to be right now? I’m… I’m with my daughter.”
Rondelle sighed. “I am sorry, Laura. But this is urgent. We need you.”
“Right,” Laura sighed back, putting a hand over her eyes. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get her back to her dad’s place.”
She ended the call, turning to go back into the kitchen. Chris was watching her walk back in with concern on his features.
“Everything alright?” he said. “I didn’t mean to listen, but… you need to take Lacey back home?”
“I’ve got a case,” Laura said, shaking her head in frustration. “Of all the times for something to come up…”
Truthfully, though, she knew she was lucky. Lucky that it hadn’t happened before now. Between her psychic abilities, and the way she gelled so well with Nate, they had built up a reputation for being one of the best agent teams out there when it came to homicides – especially pattern homicides that looked to originate from the same killer.
Nate.
Was he even going to be there?
“I can look after Lacey, if you need it,” Chris said. “It sounds like you have to get there pretty urgently – you can come pick her up afterwards?”
Laura hesitated. She knew the drill: Rondelle would give her the briefing, tell her when her plane was leaving, and then she’d have some time to get back and sort Lacey out. She might even make the normal handover time instead of having Marcus sneer at her for bringing her back early. It would be a much better option.
But, leaving her with a stranger…
Only, Chris wasn’t a stranger. Not anymore. Laura was confident, now, that he was a good guardian for Amy – someone who would never willingly hurt her or put her in danger. The time they’d spent together since he’d taken over her care had shown her that. And Lacey was having a good time, playing with her friend.
It would be a shame to split them up early, wouldn’t it? Especially if they were in good hands already.
“Alright,” Laura said, gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Chris nodded. “Don’t rush too much,” he said. “We need you back here in one piece, and I know the traffic can be heavy getting into the city and back. They’ll be fine. I’ll make them some food while you’re gone, so Lacey will be ready to head home.”
Laura nodded. “Thanks,” she repeated. “I’ll…”
“Just go,” Chris said, smiling at her. “Honestly, you don’t need to worry. I’ll call you the second anything happens, if it does.”
Laura nodded again, slowly backing out towards the hall. “Lacey,” she said, pausing by the living room door. “Honey, I’ve just got to pop out for a bit and run an errand. Will you be okay staying here with Chris and Amy?”
Lacey didn’t even look up from the game they were playing. “Yes, Mommy!” she called out.
Laura bit her lip, took one last look, then turned for the door.
Time to be an FBI agent again, instead of a mom.
She wondered if this was ever not going to feel like a wrench, to walk away to do her duty and leave Lacey behind.
CHAPTER FOUR
Laura walked in through the open door of Rondelle’s office and stopped dead, starting to backtrack.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were talking to someone else. I’ll wait outside.”
“No, no,” Rondelle said, getting up from behind his desk. The small, wiry frame of the man belied the power he wielded, not just from his position within the Bureau but also from his natural aura. He had a way of getting people to listen, part of that being the fact he was so sharp he never missed a beat. He always saw when something was going on behind the surface, which made you feel you had to be on your best behavior around him. “Stay, Laura. This is Agent Won.”
“Hi,” the other man in the room said, turning to extend a hand towards her. He was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties, an Asian-American with shiny dark hair swept back from his forehead. She could see where, if he let it grow out a little longer, it might have natural waves. “Eric, please.”
“Hi,” Laura replied, out of habit, shaking his hand. She glanced at Rondelle uncertainly. What was this? Some new kid who was training, shadowing Rondelle or something?
“Agent Won will be going with you to Pacific Cove,” Rondelle said, which immediately set off alarm bells ringing in Laura’s head.
“Uh,” she said, glancing around. There was no one else in the room. No sign of Nate. “Does Nate know about this already?”
A fleeting expression passed over Rondelle’s face before he tamped it down. But she saw it.
It was pity.
“Agent Lavoie is on leave for the moment,” Rondelle said. “He’s requested to stay on leave until after his transfer goes through. But Agent Won is a recent graduate from the academy, and while he’s worked a few cases, I think he’ll really benefit from your expertise. You can show him how our top agents work.”
A spasm of pain hit Laura right in the chest. He wasn’t even going to see her? Not work with her until it was done? Just go without saying a word?
It occurred to her that until now, Laura had been picturing a scenario in which she was still in contact with Nate. Even if he partnered up with someone else, it might only be temporary. And even if it wasn’t temporary, she would still see him around the office. All the agents had desks downstairs. She’d see him there.
Unless, as it now occurred to her, he was transferring out of state. He could easily go work somewhere else. Maybe take up a training role in Virginia, for example.
And he wouldn’t have to see her ever again. Meanwhile, she’d be stuck with…
Laura looked at Eric Won in horror. Her new partner. That was what this was, wasn’t it? Eric was supposed to be her new partner.
The kid smiled back at her, with bright and wide eyes, as if she was supposed to be excited about getting to work with him.
“As I was saying, the location is Pacific Cove, California,” Rondelle said, apparently picking up on her apprehension but wanting to plough through it. “It’s a small town, not used to cases like this at all. The locals are swamped already, and once the press starts to head down there in real numbers, they’ll be painfully out of their depth. We want to get this killer headed off quickly – he’s bold, and we don’t want him to get bolder, which is why I’m sending you instead of someone based closer. We’ve got a couple of bodies so far, but the MO is similar and distinctive enough that they’ve reached out for help. It’s a bit of an odd one. Both bodies were left in public spaces, with candles burning on their chests – still lit by the time local law enforcement was on the scene.”
“What’s the timeline?” Eric asked, his voice eager. Like a kid who wanted to make sure the teacher noticed him.
“We had two bodies in four nights,” Rondelle said. “One last night, and the other on Thursday. By the time you get there, you’re going to have about twelve hours to make some progress before we would expect another body. No pressure.”
“Nothing like diving in at the deep end,” Eric said, with the kind of eager relish that made Laura think they were almost certainly going to have some problems. He was green, anyone could see that. Wanted to prove himself.
Laura didn’t need this – not right now. She would have much rather worked the case on her own. She would have said as much, but Rondelle was giving her this knowing look like he knew what she was thinking, and the answer was no.
And then she registered what he’d said.
“We’re not going right now?” she said, checking her watch.
“I do actually listen to my agents from time to time,” Rondelle said. “I know you have Lacey on the weekends now. So, I’m giving you a bit of time to get her away to her father’s. Once you add in that delay, you wouldn’t be able to get there until the middle of the night, and I’d rather have you both arriving fresh and rested. You’re on a four AM flight. Get some sleep before then and be ready to hit the ground running. You’ll need to be sharp for this one.”
“Briefing notes?” Laura asked, wearily. The whole idea was already exhausting her. She could see everything she needed to do stretching out like a map ahead of her: get back to Chris’s place, pick up Lacey, get her home and feed her dinner, pack up her things, take her back to Marcus, pack up her own things, get a few hours of sleep, get to the airport. And then deal with this young pup of an agent who was doubtless going to have far too much energy and enthusiasm, all the while worrying about Nate. And then there was the issue of having to conceal her abilities all over again, just when she was starting to get used to being a little more open. Or, at least, not hiding them.
Rondelle held up a file, and Agent Won eagerly stepped forward to take it. Laura turned to him with a glare, and he cleared his throat quietly before handing it over. She took it without a word. She was the senior agent, by quite some distance. He was going to have to get used to that.
“Play nice,” Rondelle said, which Laura took to be his way of dismissing them.
“Yes, sir,” she said, though she let just enough sarcasm creep into her voice to let him know what she thought of the whole situation. Not enough to be accused of insubordination, of course. But she knew that he would catch it and know how she felt.
Not that it made a lot of difference.
“I’ll see you at the airport, then, Agent Frost?” Agent Won said, as they walked out of Rondelle’s office together.
“You will,” Laura replied, sweeping ahead of him down the hall. She had to rush now, get everything taken care of.
And if this new kid was expecting to have his hand held through a case like this, then he had another think coming.
***
The sound of a scream had Laura running toward the house, all of her busy thoughts thrown out of the window as she raced up the path and grabbed the door handle. It gave way – apparently, Chris didn’t bother locking his front door – and she sprinted inside, looking around wildly for her daughter.
She’d been such an idiot. Why had she left Lacey alone with him? His brother was a violent murderer and child abuser, for God’s sake! Just because Chris was younger and prettier and had a nice smile, had she really allowed herself to be convinced that he was safe? How could she have forgotten that they grew up in the same household, learned the same values?
“Lacey?” she called out, running in her panic to the last place she had seen the girls – just off the kitchen. But they weren’t there.
“Through here!” Chris called out, his voice cheerful and friendly, completely at odds with Laura’s panic.
She followed the sound of his voice with a desperate half-sob for air, stumbling into a wide lounge where the girls were sitting on the floor. She caught herself on the threshold, hanging onto the doorframe for support, trying to understand what she saw.
Chris was sitting in an armchair a short distance from them, reading some kind of medical journal with the girls easily in his sights. And the girls themselves, Amy and Lacey both, were smiling and laughing. They had a collection of toy ponies set out in front of them, and as Laura watched, Amy cantered a black horse over towards Lacey’s collection of brown ones. Lacey screamed again, then emitted a high-pitched approximation of a neigh, making her ponies run away as a group.
Playing. They were just playing.
Laura looked at Chris again and realized he was watching her with a concerned look, about to drop his journal.
“I… I heard a scream,” she said, faintly, feeling a sense of shame wash over her. She’d suspected the worst, just like that. Even though Chris had taken every opportunity to prove to her that he was doing his best. That he wasn’t the bad guy. Even though he clearly doted on Amy, and even despite all the ways he’d already proven to her that he was different from his brother.
Chris’s face paled a little, and he flapped the pages of the journal to arrange it more neatly in his hands as if her words hadn’t affected him at all. “They’re alright,” he said, off-handedly, but she could hear the hint of strain in his voice. He was disappointed, maybe even hurt, that she’d thought anything could be wrong. “Are you taking Lacey home now?”
“Yes, I am,” she said, which made Lacey pout and shake her head crossly. “Sorry, sweetie. We’ve got to get you back to your dad’s, haven’t we?”
“But, Mommy,” Lacey started, holding up one of the ponies as if she was about to launch into a compelling argument.
“No, sorry,” Laura said, cutting her off. “It’s your dad’s rules, not mine. Come on, love. Let’s get your things together and get in the car, okay?”
Chris stood up, putting his journal to one side and standing awkwardly by as Laura helped Lacey on with her coat and made sure she had everything they’d come with. “I’ll, um. Still see you later in the week?”
“I hope so,” Laura said, but at the look on his face she felt she needed to be more assertive. He looked a little lost, like the ground had dropped from beneath him a bit. Like he needed shoring back up. “Yes. Yes, I’ll see you soon.”
And she hoped she wasn’t a liar, as she led Lacey down the path to the car, ready to load her back to Marcus’ place. She wanted to get in, solve this case, and get home. To deal with Nate, to see if things could work with Chris, to focus on her daughter.
In truth, she didn’t want to go at all. But duty called, and Laura had never been one to turn down her duty – not when it was something she believed in so strongly.
***
Laura settled into her seat, the familiar yet never quite comfortable shape of the airline chairs embracing her body. She wondered if she was going to have enough time to get a little more shuteye before they got in. It was a six-hour flight. More than enough time for rest.
“Should we go over the briefing notes?” Agent Won asked. Eagerly. Everything he did was eager. He’d greeted her in the airport lounge eagerly. Handed his ticket over to the check-in attendant eagerly. Boarded eagerly.
If he was going to be like this for the whole case, Laura didn’t think she would be able to take it.
“Sure,” Laura sighed, handing them over to him. “Have at it.”
“Oh,” he said, hesitating with the files still in his hand. “Shouldn’t we look at them together?”
Laura knew he was right, obviously. Considering they were working together, yes, they should be looking at the files as a team. But this was too much like going over things with Nate. It was practically a pre-case ritual for them. Settle into the plane and get out the notes for Laura to read out loud to him. Then discuss it before getting a bit of rest, mulling over what they’d read. By the time they hit the ground, they’d have a good idea of where they wanted to start with the investigation.
And this eager little puppy was not Nate. He was so not Nate that it was painfully obvious. And given that Nate’s absence was like an open wound for her at that moment, the thought of repeating the ritual with this new partner made Laura want to scream.
Anyway, she’d already glanced over them herself. Two young women, killed with cuts to the throat, left with candles in public places. There wasn’t anything in the notes yet that stood out to her as an obvious lead. They needed more information, which they could only get on the ground.
“Read them,” she said, waving a hand vaguely. “I’ll read them after. We can talk about it when we get there – I just want to get some extra sleep. I didn’t have enough time for a proper rest before I had to get to the airport.”
With that, she pillowed up the FBI-issue standard waterproof jacket she’d brought in her carry-on, put it down on the in-flight table in front of her, set her head down on top of it facing away from Agent Won, and pretended to sleep.
“I just wanted to say,” Agent Won began, which made Laura groan internally and open her eyes to look at him balefully. “People around the office were saying that you’re some kind of superstar agent, or something. Like, you have this almost supernatural ability to solve murder cases.”
“What?” Laura said, sitting up straight. Alarm shot through her veins. She knew people talked about her, obviously. But – supernatural? Wasn’t that a bit close to the bone?
“Yeah, like, you always get your man,” Agent Won said, shrugging. He was annoying her so much already. The informal way he spoke. It felt… untrained. It wasn’t that she and Nate were formal with each other, but they spoke in full sentences at least, and could go through a whole conversation without the use of the word ‘like’.
God, she sounded like an old woman, didn’t she? But she was so unsettled. Knowing Nate had asked for a transfer, having this rookie to babysit, not knowing what to think about her date with Chris, and, of course, having a murderer to catch… She could do without any additional hassle.
“It’s just experience,” she said, trying to sound bored. “You’ll get there one day.”
“Oh, I hope I’ll be an asset,” Agent Won replied. “Maybe I can even help you increase your success rate!”
Oh. So, he wasn’t trying to suck up to her. He was trying to brag about how great an agent he was, even though he was freshly baked. How fun.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” Laura said again, ignoring his last statement. If she didn’t, she would only have something rude to say. She closed her eyes, pillowed her head again, and continued to ignore him as he tried to clear his throat and even say her name, as if she was already so far asleep that she couldn’t hear him at all.
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