Shes not Lorelai .
Shes not Cassie .
Shes not even a proper imitation. But you had to do something. You had to show the people closing ranks around Cassie what happens when they try to stand between you and what is yours.
Hold still, you say again .
This time, the girl obeys. You dont kill her. You dont even hurt her .
Not yet .
CHAPTER 30
Solitude. For now.
I pulled the shower curtain, stretching it across the length of the tub. With a twist of my wrist, I turned on the spray, as hot as it would go. The sound of water drumming against the porcelain tub was soothing and hypnotic. I sank down to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest.
Six days ago, a serial killer had contacted me, and my only reaction had been to crawl into the UNSUBs head, calm and cool. But last night, wearing the same shade of lipstick as my mother had undone me.
It was a coincidence , I told myself. A horrible, twisted, untimely coincidence that within days of being contacted by a killer who might have murdered my mother, Lia had made me up to look just like her .
Its a popular color. Just say thank you.
Steam built up in the air around me, reminding me that I was wasting hot water, a cardinal sin in a house with five teenagers. I stood and swiped my arm across the mirror, leaving a streak on its steam-covered surface.
I stared at myself,
banishing the image of Rose Red on my lips. This was me. I was fine.
Stripping off my pajamas, I stepped into the shower, letting the spray hit me straight in the face. The flashback came suddenly and without warning.
Fluorescent lights flicker overhead. On the ground, my shadow flickers, too .
The door to her dressing room is slightly ajar .
I concentrated on the sound of the water, the feel of it on my skin, pushing back against the memories.
The smell
Abruptly, I turned off the shower. Wrapping a towel around my torso, I stepped out onto the bath mat, dripping wet. I combed my fingers through my hair and turned to the sink.
That was when I heard the scream.
Cassie! It took me a moment to pick out my name, and another after that to recognize that Sloane was the one yelling. Wearing only a towel, I rushed across to our room.
What? Sloane, what is it?
She was still clad in her pajamas. White-blond hair stuck to her forehead. It had my name on it, she said, her voice strained. Its not stealing if it has my name on it.
What had your name on it?
With shaking hands, she held out a padded envelope.
Who did you not steal this from? I asked.
Sloane looked distinctly guilty. One of the agents downstairs.
Theyd been screening all of our mail, not just mine.
Angling my head so that I could see what was inside the envelope, I realized why Sloane had screamed.
There, inside the envelope, was a small, black box.
You know the FBI has me under guard. You want me anyway .
You didnt open the box. Agent Briggs sounded surprised. About ten seconds after Id realized what was inside the envelope, Agents Starmans and Brooks had burst into the bedroom. Theyd called Locke and Briggs. Id had just enough time to get dressed before the dynamic duo had arrivedwith another, older man in tow.
I didnt want to compromise the physical evidence, I said.
You did the right thing. The man whod come with Briggs and Locke spoke for the first time. His voice was gruff, a perfect match for his face, which was weatherworn and suntanned. I put his age at somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty-five. He wasnt tall, but he had a commanding presence, and he looked at me like I was a child.
Cassie, this is Director Sterling. Locke made the introduction, but the things she didnt say numbered in the dozens.
For instance, she didnt say that this man was their boss.
She didnt say that he was the person whod signed off on the Naturals program.
She didnt say that hed been the one to rake Briggs over coals for using Dean on active cases.
She didnt have to.
I want to be there when you open it. I addressed the words to Agent Locke, but Director Sterling was the one who replied.
I really dont think thats necessary, he said.
This was a man with children, maybe even grandchildren, even if he was a higher-up at the FBI. I could use that.
Im a target, I said, allowing my eyes to go wide. Keeping this information from me makes me vulnerable. The more I know about this UNSUB, the safer I am.
We can keep you safe. The director spoke like a man used to having his words taken as law.
Thats what Agent Briggs said four days ago, I said, and now this guy is coming at me through Sloane.
Cassie Agent Briggs started to talk to me in the same voice the director usedlike I was a little kid, like they hadnt brought me here to solve cases in the first place.
The UNSUB struck again, didnt he? My questionwhich was a guess, reallywas met with absolute silence.
I was right.
This UNSUB wants me. I worked my way through the logic. You tried to keep him away from me. Whatevers in that box, its a step up from what the UNSUB sent me last time. A warning for you, a present for me. If he thinks youre keeping it from me, things are only going to get worse.