“Wouldn’t do any good,” I sighed. “So anyway, go on. You were telling me what the plan is…”
“CSU, car…” He ticked off what he’d already said. “Keepin’ an eye on public places since he seems to have a penchant for exhibiting his kills.”
“By then it would be too late,” I contended in a flat tone.
“Believe me, Row, we know that,” he returned. “But it’s somethin’ that has to be done.”
“We’re also watching for the possibility that he might use one of the two cell phones again,” Mandalay added to the list. “If he does, we’ll be on top of it, and maybe this time we can get a grid location.”
“What about me?” I queried.
Ben feigned ignorance. “Whaddaya mean? What about you?”
“Don’t play dumb, Ben.” My voice once again took on a note of annoyance. “You know damn well what I mean. Porter killed Randy, and now he has Star, and he’s going to kill her. You’ve already said that he’s choosing his victims to get to me.”
“Yeah, I know where you’re headed but don’t go there.” His tone was adamant.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t go there?’” I couldn’t help but raise my voice a step. “There’s no place for me to go, Ben. He’s bringing it to my doorstep!”
He addressed me with deadpan seriousness in his voice and a hard expression forming across his features. “Listen, Rowan, I’ll be honest with you, Albright already said something about this.”
“Screw Albright,” I spat. “If she wants to ban me from something else, tell her to go ahead.”
“No, you don’t get it,” he snarled. “She’s all about using you for bait.”
“Will wonders never cease,” I said, injecting the words with as much sarcasm as I could muster. “She and I finally agree on something.”
“Rowan! No!” Felicity yelped.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the startled expression on her face, and as I turned to look at her, she slowly stood.
“I can’t let him kill Star,” I told her as if the conclusion was obvious.
“Aye, I won’t allow it,” she proclaimed.
Ben glanced her way then back at me as he spoke. “Well don’t worry, Felicity, cause it ain’t gonna happen.”
“Why?” I demanded.
“Because it’s not how we do things, Rowan. This isn’t a cop show. We don’t use civilians as bait for crazed serial killers.”
“Yeah, well maybe it’s time to change your rules.”
“I can’t listen to this,” Felicity blurted with a mixture of both fear and anger in her voice.
I looked over at her, and she was trembling. She stared at me with her eyes glistening, and I knew there were tears behind them begging to be released. I took a step toward her, and as I reached out to touch her, she backed away and sidestepped. I stopped, immediately feeling the torment that now afflicted her. She put her hand to her mouth and then shook her head again. With that, she turned and disappeared down the short hallway and into the bedroom.
The door made a dull sound as it slammed.
“Jeezus, white man.” Ben shook his head.
“You should probably go talk to her,” Mandalay offered softly.
I was torn between running after her and pleading my case. Choosing between the woman I loved more than my own existence and the life of someone I barely knew was the last thing I needed at the moment. I mutely pled for guidance from The Ancients and met only with silence.
I started toward the bedroom door and hesitated. I felt damned no matter which direction I went. I took another step then turned and stared at Ben.
“Listen, apparently the whole idea isn’t out of the question or Albright wouldn’t have brought it up,” I finally countered.
“Why the hell do you think she was all over your ass back at the morgue, Rowan?” He stood there looking at me with his eyes wide and questioning.
“Because she doesn’t like me?” I answered.
“Exactly. And because she doesn’t like you, she was trying to get you worked up so you’d do somethin’ stupid, Row.”
“I thought we’d already established that.”
“I mean as in stupid like going after Porter. She wants to let you throw yourself out there as bait, and if you get killed in the process, oh fuckin’ well, too bad so sad.”
The revelation struck home, knocked me down, then kicked me a few times just for good measure. I stood there mute, wondering how I could have been so totally oblivious to her intentions.
“Am I that stupid?” I finally asked, an uneasy calm in my voice. “Have you known this all along?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, I didn’t catch it either. I just found out on the way over here.”
“How?”
“A call from one of the coppers on the case,” he answered. “He overheard a phone conversation she had, and he thought I should know.”
“Recklessly endangering a civilian on purpose?” Mandalay sounded incredulous when she asked the question. “Have you gone to IAD about this?”
“That’ll be my next move.” Ben nodded. “But I want to make sure I can count on my source and get something a little more concrete before I make an accusation like that. Right now it’s just hearsay, plus there’s someone else involved, and I don’t know who.”
“Let’s give her what she wants,” I muttered.
“HELL No!” Ben stood and thrust his hand at me as he made the exclamation. “You just forget that shit right now! Hear me?”
“Look, Ben.” I focused on him with as much intensity as I could muster. “This sonofabitch is playing this out like some kind of contrived, low-budget movie. He’s going to torture and probably kill an innocent woman just to get me out in the open. I can’t let him do that.”
“We don’t plan to,” he shot back.
“You can’t stop him.” I shook my head. “He is going to keep killing until he gets to me.”
“You don’t know that we won’t get him, Row,” Ben said.
“Oh yes I do,” I nodded and spoke with absolute certainty.
“You wanna tell me how?”
I just stared at him. The silence in the room grew thick and charged with a frightening energy that made my skin prickle.
“Dammit, Rowan, stop this crap. Just get in there and talk to your wife.”
“I can’t yet,” I said with a disconcerting calm.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because that’s him now.”
Ben shook his head and gazed back at me with confusion creasing his forehead. “Him now what?”
The startling ring of the telephone answered the question for me.
Ben followed me all the way into the kitchenette, spouting instructions as he made himself my shadow. “If it is him, then don’t explode on ‘im, Row. You’ve gotta keep the bastard talkin’ until we pin him down.”
“I know, Ben,” I returned.
“I’m serious, white man,” he said as he continued to reinforce the mandate. “After this afternoon, I can easily see you losin’ it here. You gotta keep your temper under control.”
I rounded the corner of the doorway and turned, placing my hand on the telephone as I stared wordlessly back at my friend. On the fourth ring, I lifted the receiver and placed it against my ear, then spat, “What the hell do you want this time, Eldon?”
