“Sheriff’s right,” Redmond began. “And once we get daylight, we’ll get right back out there and find more. But for now, you should get some rest. I wouldn’t mind closing my eyes either.”
Bishop headed toward a chair against a back wall and slouched into it. He closed his eyes.
2
When the elevator doors opened into the parking garage, Special Agent Kate Reid felt the cold air nuzzle against her face. It was October in D.C. and autumn wasted no time kicking summer to the curb. Her grey peacoat flapped open for a moment until she pulled it around her and stepped over the threshold onto the concrete. As she headed to her car, Kate flicked back her long brunette hair while she hoisted the laptop bag onto her shoulder. The oversized bag looked even larger against her petite frame.
She slipped behind the wheel of her Ford Explorer and started the engine. It’s six-cylinder motor rumbled, and the smell of exhaust seeped through the vents inside for a brief second. She pulled out of the garage and onto the road ahead, looking into the rearview mirror at the condo she shared with Nick Scarborough. It was difficult to tell from the growing distance, but she could have sworn Nick peered at her through the window of their bedroom that faced the road.
These past few months, since their return from Rio and Nick’s demotion, the two had been walking on eggshells. Neither one was willing to admit the game had changed. Nick’s dream had been to run the BAU team at Quantico and he had done amazing things since he was given the post. It was his no more and they both knew it was of his own doing. If anyone was going to destroy Nick’s career, it was going to be Nick.
Kate could admit Agent Noah Quinn lit the fire, but Nick turned it into a five-alarm blaze that had been doused by the Unit Chief on their return from the international case. The new person in charge? Nick’s subordinate, but longest-serving member of the team, Cameron Fisher. Today marked the day that it was to become official.
Her own part in the challenges she and Nick currently faced was all on her. It had been Kate’s choice to put a tail on Agent Quinn to find out who he had been talking to. Quinn had done his best to uncover Nick’s problem with alcohol, having gone so far as to question Nick’s former girlfriend on the topic. It was a decision that was about to bring Kate before the Board to be issued a Letter of Censure for her actions. The impact on her own career was uncertain.
She had made some excuse as to why the two needed to drive to the office separately today. Something about her being behind on paperwork after wrapping up a consult in Philadelphia last week. It was bullshit. The idea of driving together, sitting in silence on what would be Nick’s final day as Senior Unit Agent was like being a witness to an execution. Watching the death of a loved one’s dreams and life-long ambitions might as well have been just that.
Scattered whispers filled the conference room as the team awaited Unit Chief Cole. It seemed the meeting between Nick, Cameron Fisher, and Cole was taking longer than expected.
Levi Walsh sat next to Kate. The two had grown close since she was given permanent status with the team on the recommendation of a man who was no longer a part of it. Much like her former colleague, Dwight Jameson, Levi had been an ally. Kate wondered why she leaned on men like them. They weren’t old enough to serve as father figures, and she hadn’t even had a relationship to speak of with her father until just a few years ago in any case. She smirked thinking, then again, maybe that was exactly what they had been—father figures, regardless of their ages.
Still, she was grateful to have Levi in Dwight’s place, though she had stayed in close contact with Dwight, especially through the troubled waters of late.
Levi Walsh was the team’s investigative analyst and worked closely with local law enforcement. He looked rougher than he was. In his early forties, his leathery features were more a result of years serving in the deserts of the Middle East, but his slight Alabama drawl and blue eyes could win over the heart of any woman. Although, he never saw himself as a ladies’ man.
He never treated Kate differently or special, even though most people thought she was very special. Having survived a past like hers did make her different but Kate never used it as a crutch. In fact, she’d fought back on that very notion her entire career.
The new head honcho was slated to be Cameron Fisher. A rough around the edges ex-cop from New York, he merited the position. Some might say it should have gone to him in the first place. He’d been senior to the rest of the team and had earned the respect of everyone. Somehow though, Cole offered it to Nick. It had been well-deserved at the time, but the tensions between Cameron Fisher and Nick Scarborough didn’t melt away for quite a while. Fisher was handling all of this like the pro he was. No grudges.
Although, with his new promotion, it could put a damper on his relationship with Agent Eva Duncan. Some could argue she was the conductor behind the scenes, guiding cases, sifting through leads. However, their still-newish relationship could be in jeopardy because the only reason it had been approved was that neither answered to the other in an official capacity. That was about to change. Eva had been hardened from the circumstances of her youth in Chicago which led her to take an all-business, no-nonsense approach to every case
