Carolina Rain (32 page)

For the one
-
hundredth time
,
he went over the unexpected vein of their conversation and couldn’t shake the thread of truth she espoused
—
or the years of experience that said she was playing the system
, that she was
the most talented psychopath he’d encountered.
The future
would tell
.
And, truthfully,
i
t
was hard to
ignore the tiny voice speaking hope to him; he
wanted her to be
real,
to see that
she’d ex
or
cised the demon.

Josh and Alex filed through the door, followed by Dean and Sophie who were both grinning and snickering about something, probably a joke
only
the two of them
would appreciate
. Dean’s Princess was becoming more enamored with him, even if she didn’t see it.

A few minutes later, Captain Tanner and his head CSI, Dana Boytin, entered, followed by one of the blues toting a tray with coffee and bagels
. B
oth
aromas hinting that
they’d just been freshly created.

It was the little things.

There was no Ginny Krantz, which he expected, and no Ben Garcia
,
her partner. They’d been working eighteen
-
hour days so a little time off was
in order,
and Manny was sure the debriefing would be short and to the point anyway.

After pouring coffee and allowing a few minutes of small talk, Josh got to it, as he always did.

“This case hardly ended in any way we expected. In fact,
sometimes
we
don’t
catch the unsub,
let
alone have them walk in and give themselves up
.
”

“I think that’s safe to say,” agreed Tanner. “You folks did good work and I think it would have been
only a
matter of time before your profile and forensic information would have panned out. At the very least, you nabbed a
P
eeping Tom and gave us information regarding the
production of
illegal toxin
s
that will
lead to
some arrests in our fine county.”

“I believe you’re right there and
,
God forbid, if you have anything similar to this occur again, you’ll have a place to start
.
A
nd
,
of course
,
you have
us,” said Josh.

“Not to mention, you can bring my
butt
down here anytime. This weather is more my style
,
” said Sophie, reaching for more coffee.

“That’s a deal, Agent. Maybe we can go shopping
too
. I’ve seen your outfits and I’m always lookin’ to upgrade,” answered Dana with her infectious grin.

“Oh damn, now it’s on. Which one did you like best?” said Sophie.

“Okay, you two can
chat
on your own time,” interrupted Josh, shaking his head and turning back to Tanner. “We’ll get our final reports to you
,
and I’d appreciate the same from your department. We want to
build ViCAP into the best data
base regarding violent offenders possible
,
and everything regarding this case will help do that.”

“We’re also including our interviews with
J.R.
Saylor and
Aphrodite’s
last intended victim to the reports,” said Sophie. “It’ll make for some interesting reading, even for us that don’t read much. They both
also agreed to talk to you when
ever you’d like
. T
heir statements are pretty cut and dried
. That’s not
good for Anna Ruiz.”

Tanner nodded, moving past Sophie, Josh, Dean, and Alex, then fixing on Manny.

“I’m sure your CSI
people
will have insight on the science side
. What I really
want to know
is
:
what’s
going on with Anna Ruiz, really going on with her.”

Tanner was polite
,
as always
,
but
on this occasion
,
there was a different edge in his voice. The woman who’d killed his people rested in his jail and Manny suspected there was a form of Carolina justice Tanner wanted to be a part of. He also was just as sure that the
c
aptain wasn’t going to appreciate the answer to his questions, on two levels.

“Fair enough. What do you think, Manny?” asked Josh Corner, turning that cobalt
-
blue stare in his direction. Manny returned a quick look that called Josh a chicken shit. His boss
’
s eyes twinkled
,
but he stayed silent.

“Captain, I truly don’t know what to think regarding her actions. She seems sincere
,
but there will be dozens of others, maybe more qualified than me, that will want to dissect her actions, her psychology, and runs tests on her, physiologically.”

Tanner wiped his hand across his mouth. “I’m not sure about others being better at this type of thing than you
,
so I want a real life, down south, straight-ass answer.”

“I’ll only be giving you my opinion
.
I’ll
, of course,
be honest. You deserve that. While it’s rare, she could have had a condition that really wasn’t psychopathic at all. In extremely severe cases of repression, where a terrible experience is buried deep in the memory along with any emotions that might have been attached to the event or the person involved with that experience, people can block any form of emotion.
It is a coping device like no other.
If something that her boss
J.R.
did triggered an event to spark a thought, who knows
what can really go on in someone’s psyche?
Spontaneous recovery is not unheard of in the mental as well as the physical.”

“Or?”

“Or she
’s got an agenda that’s beyond m
y ability to understand and she’s the best of the best.”

“With that in mind,
c
aptain, there’s no way we can leave her here to undergo local charges and a subsequent trial. I gu
ess you already understand that,
”
added Josh.

Tanner stood, his face
displaying
the anger he’d been trying to hide since the meeting began.

Manny unders
tood what happened when the Fed
s pulled the jurisdiction card
,
but
Tanner’s act
wasn’t going to change anything. Anna was going to a
f
ederal maximum security prison and would be studied like a lab rat that had grown a third eye.

“You bastards always get your way, don’t you? Well, not
on
this
on
e. I’ll make
—
”

“Tanner,” said Josh, calmly. “She’s already on her way out of North Carolina. I had her removed from your custody an hour ago.”

“You what?”

For one brief moment, Manny wondered whether Tanner was going to pull his piece. He found himself putting his hand on his Glock.

Tanner
didn’t, but his face grew darker.

“You ARE sons of bitches, all of you. Get out of my building before I think of a reason to toss your collective asses in jail.”

After one last threatening look, he stormed out, Dana on his heels, motioning for Sophie to call her.

Alex looked at Dean. “That went well.”

“Yep. Thinking the same thing,” said Dean.

“I guess he won’t be taking us to breakfast. And
,
damn, I like grits,” said Sophie.

Josh sighed as he stood and put on his suit coat. “I hate doing that
.
It’s just that
we had no choice.”

“You’re right. For a hundred reasons,” said Manny. “Can we get the hell out of here?”

“We can.”

As they exited the building and approached the SUV that would take them to Wilmington’s airport, Josh’s phone got his attention. He glanced at the screen
,
then
rolled his eyes
.

“This is Corner.”

Manny was hit with a déjà vu that he’d felt far too many times.

“Damn it. Are you sure? Okay. Let me know when you get more information.”

His boss put his phone in his pocket, then rubbed his face with both hands.

“Now what?” asked Sophie.

“That was Braxton Smythe. One of his folks got a call that someone found a body at a rest stop
near Asheville,
North Carolina. Max Tucker
has been
shot in the head, twice. Just like Michael Garity.”

CHAPTER-43

Chloe inserted the CD that Haley Rose had brought from Ireland into her laptop and waited for it to load
.
Gavin, sitting across from her at the kitchen
table, drank from a thirty-two-
ounce cup displaying the Detroit Tigers classic
O
ld English “D
.
”

Gavin loved vanilla latte and the aroma was the kind that forced her to pay attention. Glancing at her cup of steaming
black
tea
,
which was her norm, she decided that she’d try his drink the next time she had the chance.

“What are you staring at, girl? You ain’t getting this cup away from me unless you shoot me with that little peashooter you got strapped around your ankle,” he warned. “I went down to the coffee shop at the ungodly hour of
six
a.m. for this because you wanted me awake.”

“I’ll just sic Old Sampson on ya, take the p
lunder that is rightfully mine, and bury your carcass in the back,” she said.

He snorted. “Damn Irish
. S
till violent after
nine
hundred years. But I like how you think.”

Getting up, he winced and grabb
ed a cup from the white counter
top
,
poured it full of his latte
,
and set it in front of her.

“If you don’t mind a few germs from an old cop, here you are,” he said, reclaiming his chair.

“Why thank you. Such sacrifice
,
don’t ya know.
”

“Just think of it as a wedding gift since I forgot to get you one.”

“Priceless,” she said.

Chloe sipped the steaming brew and closed her eyes in mock ecstasy, making sounds like it
was
the
most delicious thing she’d ever
consumed. Then she opened one eye
and watched
Gavin shake his head.

“You’ve either been around the Feds too long
,
or Sophie
—
smartass.”

“Maybe the F
eds, but not that one, she’s a bit crazy
. Just the same,
she can play on my team anytime
. . .
and this is REALLY good, better than the tea I’ve been drinking for twenty-five years.”

Just then
,
her computer beeped
,
prompting to open any files located on the disc
. S
he hit the
ENTER
button as Gavin got up
and stood over
her shoulder.

The small hour
glass did flips for what seemed like an eternity and then it suddenly exploded into a thousand more
,
displaying every color as miniature hourglasses raced in geometric patterns that pulsated from side to side. It reminded Chloe of a kaleidoscope on speed.

Suddenly the screen turned red, slowly receding as a portrait began to take shape.

“Narcissistic bastard, even after he’s been gone almost a year,” muttered Gavin.

“True to his profile, no doubt,” answered Chloe.

Fifteen seconds later, Doctor Fredrick Argyle’s chiseled face stared at them, wearing his infamous arrogant grin. The quality of the video was like watching an HD movie.
For a moment, it seemed
as if he were going to reach through the screen, grab her, then pull her into the surreal cyber world that allowed his existence. He remained silent, simply staring. He had
been a master of terror when a
live
,
and
,
even now
, as Chloe remembered
his play for her mother, his face raised her creep factor beyond anything she would have expected. She jump
ed
when he spoke, spilling some of Gavin’s latte.