The Hunt

“Let’s go.”

She should have read between the lines back then. Thinking back on that night, she realized that Quinn had reservations about her career choice from the beginning. He gave her the letter of recommendation because he had promised, but he’d never expected her to follow through. She didn’t know if she was more upset with him for his concerns or with herself for not picking up on them at the time.

She’d been so certain she’d wanted to be in the FBI. Listening to Quinn talk about the cases he’d worked and the murderers he’d put behind bars-it inspired her and gave her hope that she, too, could fight the bad guys and win.

But there was only one bad guy she really wanted-needed-to defeat. Not for the first time, she feared the shrink might have been right. Her determination to capture the Butcher drove her, had led her to the FBI. She wouldn’t have called it obsession, but she focused on little else. How could she give up when he still hunted women?

In the car, Quinn said, “Miranda?”

“What?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No.” Was it that obvious? She shot Quinn a smile. “I actually slept pretty well last night.”

“Glad to hear it. You needed it.” He turned onto the main highway. She glanced at the dashboard clock: 7:50. She started planning the search, mentally reviewing the grids they’d worked on yesterday and wondering if there was someplace else she should send her team. Anyplace she picked was a shot in the dark.

“Does it even help?” she said.

“Excuse me?”

She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud. “I was just thinking about the searches. Every time another woman is abducted, I pull out all the stops and scour thousands of acres. But does it help? We’ve never found one in time. We couldn’t save Rebecca. Why did I ever think we could?”

“Don’t second-guess yourself, Miranda. Nick was doing that yesterday because the press jumped all over him. You are an expert in search and rescue. I looked over your methods and routes and I would have done the exact same thing with the people and resources you had.”

“You would have?”

“Absolutely. And if it weren’t for your methodical searches, we’d never have found some of the bodies.”

“But it was too late.” They’d found the Croft sisters four weeks after they’d been killed. Rebecca less than a day. But it would have been weeks if Judge Parker’s son hadn’t stumbled across her body.

“I talked to Olivia last night.”

“And? Did she find out something? She wouldn’t have called if she didn’t have news. What is it?”

“I called her,” Quinn explained. “And she doesn’t have anything definitive. But she sent some unusual soil samples to the FBI lab in Virginia. Do you know of anyplace around here that has red clay or red soil?”

“Red?” She thought back to her geology classes. “I don’t think so. Not around here.” She bit her lip. “Red clay? I could talk to someone in the geology department, they might have an idea.”

“Why don’t you ask-discreetly-when I drop you off at MSU? I’d come with you, but I need to meet with Nick about the University’s records. We’re going to split up the remaining stack. It’ll be about three dozen men to check out, but right now it’s the only thing we’ve got until Olivia comes up with something definitive.”

Miranda glanced at Quinn. He wanted her to follow up on this? She hadn’t expected him to include her in anything, in light of their past. Knowing that he trusted her to find answers, even if it was a small component of the investigation, meant everything.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“Trusting me.”

He paused. “Just be careful.”

The Bitch was going to skin him alive.

But what was he supposed to do? The damn cop was snooping around. What if he’d decided to break all those search and seizure laws and go into the cabin?

Well, he couldn’t really say anything to The Bitch about that. She didn’t know about everything he’d kept. She wouldn’t understand. He needed a connection to the women he’d cared for. He touched their photographs and remembered everything about them. Their hair-how soft it was. How beautiful their throats were. And their breasts… he loved their breasts most of all. Beautiful, round, full.

No, The Bitch wouldn’t understand.

But he had to get rid of the cop’s damn truck. Run it off the side of the road maybe. Or ditch it where it could be easily found. Better to hide it or have it discovered?

He didn’t know. That’s why he’d called her in the first place.

She drove up the narrow driveway faster than she should, her wheels spinning, and almost slammed into the back of the sheriff’s truck. She jumped out, her blonde hair bouncing off her back.

“You fucking idiot!”

“He was snooping.”

“We gotta go.” She stomped up the stairs and strode over to the door. “Where is he? What did you do with the body? Bury him?”

“He’s with the girl.”

She blinked, then her eyes widened. “Why the fuck would you drag his body miles away? Why not just bury him here?”

“I don’t think he’s dead.”

“Why the hell not?”

He shrugged. He hadn’t planned on killing him. He just knocked him out. There was some blood, but he didn’t think he was dead. Once the sheriff was just lying there on the deck, there was no urge to kill him. What was the fun in killing someone who couldn’t see it coming?

Oh, well. He’d never planned on letting the sheriff go. Eventually he’d die of starvation.

“You are an idiot. You’re stupid, stupid! We have to go, leave Montana. You’ve ruined my life. Damn, damn, damn!”

The Bitch stomped and paced, pulling at her hair. He shrank against the wall of the house. There was no telling what she’d do in this mood.

She muttered and swore for ten minutes before turning around and pointing her long, bony finger at him. “Pack up. We’re going. Leave the girl, leave Nick Thomas. They’ll be dead before anyone finds them. I have some money put aside. We’ll get new identities, maybe in California. Yeah, California is good. Los Angeles is a big city, and we’ll lay low.”

“No.”

She stopped talking and stared at him. “What?”

“I’m not going. Theron and Aglaia have eggs. I can’t go until they’ve hatched.”

“You’re going to jeopardize everything because of some stupid fucking birds?”

He tensed. “They’re not stupid.”

“They’re birds. And didn’t you tell me once that they’re everywhere, even breeding on the ledges of skyscrapers in Los Angeles? If you need to go see the stupid things, you can just walk down the street rather than traipsing through muck in the middle of nowhere. Dammit, this is serious! You kidnapped the sheriff; we can’t stay here. We have to go. And you will come with me.”

Her disdain for Theron and Aglaia ate at him as The Bitch went on and on, making plans about what she would tell her husband, how they were going to buy new driver’s licenses, when they would leave.

He wasn’t leaving.

She lied, just like everyone else. She’d always told him she was proud of his work, how she admired his patience and how well he cared for the peregrines. But now she called them stupid. How could she? How could she think that way about an animal as sleek and fast and free and beautiful as Theron?

The familiar anger built, but this time it was different. The fury grew more powerful. More real. His own needs weren’t essential anymore; this rage swelled into something more important than him.