I wasnt angry.
I wasnt scared.
I wasnt even thinking about my mother and the fact that this UNSUB might very well have killed her, too.
You kill women, I said out loud. Women with red hair. Women who remind you of someone else. And then one day, you see me, and for whatever reason, Im not like the others. You never needed to talk to them. You never needed them to go to sleep at night thinking about you. But Im different. You send me a giftmaybe you want to scare me. Maybe youre playing with me or using me to play with the feds. But the way you wrapped that box, the care you took with my name on the cardtheres a part of you that thinks you really have given me a gift. Youre talking to me. You made me special, and when you kill me, that will have to be special, too. Every single person in the room was staring at me. I turned to Dean. Am I wrong?
Dean considered the question. Ive been killing for a long time, he said, slipping into the killers mind as easily as I had. And each time, its a little bit less than it was the time before. I dont want to get caught, but I need the danger, the thrill, the challenge. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, it was like the two of us were the only two people in the room.
Youre not wrong, Cassie.
This is sick, Michael said, his voice rising. Theres some psycho out there, fixating on Cassie, and you two are acting like this is some kind of game.
It is a game, Dean said.
I knew Dean wasnt enjoying this, that looking at me through a killers eyes wasnt something he would have chosen to do, but Michael only heard the words. He lunged forward and caught Dean by the front of his shirt.
A second later, Michael had Dean pinned to the wall. Listen to me, you sick son of a
Michael! Briggs pulled him off Dean. At the last second, Dean lunged forward and grabbed Michael, reversing their positions and wedging his elbow underneath Michaels throat.
Dean lowered his voice to a whisper. I never said this was a game to me, Townsend.
It was a game to the UNSUB. I was the prize. And if we werent careful, Michael and Dean were going to kill each other.
Enough. Locke put a hand on Deans shoulder. He stiffened, and for a second, I thought he might hit her.
Enough, Dean echoed, expelling a breath. He let Michael go and took a step back. Then he just kept walking backward until his back hit the opposite wall. He was a person who didnt lose control, who couldnt afford to, and hed come close enough with Michael just now that it scared him.
So what do we do now? I asked, pulling everyones attention from Dean and giving him a second to recover.
Briggs jabbed his index finger in my direction. Youre still not working this case. Either of you. He spared a glare for Dean before returning that laser focus to me. Ive assigned a team to watch the house. Ill introduce you all to Agents Starmans, Vance, and Brooks. Until further notice, none of you will be leaving this residence, and Cassie is never alone.
Closing ranks around me wasnt going to bring us any closer to this UNSUB.
You should take me with you, I told Briggs. If this guy wants me, we should use that. Set a trap.
No! Michael, Dean, and Briggs responded at the exact same time. I turned beseeching eyes to Agent Locke.
She looked like she was on the verge of agreeing with me, but at the last second, she bit her lip and shook her head. The UNSUB has only made contact once. Hell try again, whether youre here or elsewhere, and at least here, we have the home court advantage.
Id been taught that there was no such thing as the home court advantage, but my mothers lessons had been geared toward reading people, not playing cat and mouse with killers.
The UNSUB is breaking pattern. Locke reached out and touched the side of my face softly. As scary as it is, thats a good thing. We know what he wants, and we can keep him from getting it. The more riled up he gets, the more likely he is to make a mistake.
I cant just do nothing . I locked my eyes onto my mentors, willing her to understand.
You can do something, she said finally. You can make a list. Everyone youve spoken to, everyone youve met, every place youve been, every person whos spent even a second looking at you since you got here.
My mind went immediately to the man whod interrupted my reading that afternoon by the Potomacwithout telling me his name. Was that him? Was it nothing?
It was hard not
to be paranoid, given what I knew now.
The UNSUB mailed the package, Lia pointed out, jarring me from my thoughts. He doesnt have to be local.
Dean jammed his hands into his pockets. Hed want to see her, he said, his own gaze flicking toward my face, just for a second.
We werent able to trace the package, Locke said grimly. Busy post office, busy day, less than observant mail clerk, and no security cameras. Our UNSUB paid cash, and the return address is obviously faked. This guy is good, and hes playing with us. At this point, I wouldnt rule anything out.
CHAPTER 29
There are approximately thirty thousand working morticians in the United States.