“We know who did this?” she asked, unable to mask her confusion.
“We think so,” Bobrick said, “He looks very good for the last of three murders all committed in the same way in Baltimore in the last three weeks.”
“He’s at large?” She was looking at the crime scene shots now, dead men on toilets, how disgusting.
“Yes, I want you to head up the hunt,” Bobrick said and Sarah could hear some joy in his voice. She looked at him and his eyes showed that same joy, like a father watching a child open a Christmas present.
“Why?” she asked, already thinking about how this was going to impact the farmer’s case.
“You need some chase in you, Brightwater,” Bobrick said, “You’ve been in the mud since we took the Stanver/Roche case from you and you need perking up. This ought to do it.” Her pain laid bare like that stung and she looked away from her superior lest the hate she felt welling up should show in her eyes. “It will give you a different outlook too,” Bobrick went on, “and I’m sure that will help you with the farmer’s case.”
Sarah nodded, at least that last part might be true. Plus, she was going to have Malick back and that could bring her out of the funk she’d been in- now that she was willing to admit she’d been in one.
“I think you’re right, Sir,” she said, turning back to him. “A change of scene.” Bobrick nodded, happy she was willing to agree. He sat back in his chair and put his hands together, intertwining his fingers.
“Agent Malick is cleared to come back,” he said, “I suppose you already know this?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“He can assist you in the farmer murders but I don’t want him running around as part of a manhunt just yet, okay?” Sarah nodded, she knew it was best of Malick to come back slowly, do a lot of office based work before going back out into the field full-time, but she also felt it was going to be pretty hard to constrain him once he was back. “Getting shot is no small thing,” Bobrick went on, “And nearly dying from it is something else on top of that again.”
“Yes, Sir,” she didn’t really know what to say to this. Sarah knew he was speaking from experience, an experience that thankfully she hadn’t had, and hoped she never would. “I’ll take it easy on him." She did her best to smile.
“That won’t be easy,” Bobrick said, sharing none of her joviality. “He may come back gung-ho looking to prove himself. I need you to keep an eye on him, keep him in check if you have to.”
“He’s passed the psych tests,” Sarah said.
“That doesn’t mean a goddamn thing to me,” Bobrick said- great praise for the psychology programme running under his remit.
Sarah knew this wasn’t the moment to ask, but she could hold back from mentioning the ‘Monster’ case no longer.
“Is there any update on the Stanver case?” she asked after a short pause.
Bobrick looked coolly at her but didn’t answer for a long time. Sarah was starting to feel uncomfortable but she’d had enough bullshit lately and she was determined to tough it out.
“Get me the farmer killer and bring in Carson Lemond and I’ll give you a taste of what you want,” he said finally. This was way more than she’d expected and a thrill of excitement ran through her and it resulted in a goofy smile coming to her face that she simply could not suppress.
“Can I get that in writing,” she said, inappropriately as she tried to bring her features back under control. Bobrick looked back to his computer screen,
“The only thing you’ll be getting in writing is your walking papers if you don't get out of my sight in ten seconds,” he said, though there was no rough edge to his voice.
Sarah knew she better quit while she was ahead and she jumped up and left the office quickly, not even using half the ten seconds to do so.
Back at her desk, she was a completely different person to only five minutes before. A clear route to what she’d wanted all along had been presented to her. She looked at the photographs on the table, those of the farmer murder sites that had been frustrating her so much and then at the file in her hand about Carson Lemond.
Perhaps Bobrick was right, chasing one would help clear her mind for the other. It was time to reel in Mr Lemond.
Chapter 6
MEGAN STANVER OFTEN walked alone through the dark campus streets of the University of Wisconsin. Quite often there were student talks about how you shouldn’t do this, but the campus had always seemed a safe and welcoming place to her and right now, she would give anything to be back there, even if it meant sitting an exam or listening to Mr Green trying to hit on her as he had so many times in the past.
Megan had been abducted only yards from her front door late one evening after leaving a party that wasn’t going anywhere. As she rummaged in her handbag, a rustle in the bushes at the side of the house worried her, though her thoughts at the time was more of a biting animal than someone looking to take her. She gave the bushes a wider berth and continued looking for her keys. She didn’t hear a thing after that but moments later a strong large hand pressed something soft and pungent over her mouth and nose and that was the last she could recall before waking up in an old farmhouse, who knew where. She didn’t even know how long she’d been out for.
Almost at once
