Still, orders were orders, and he had to comply.
But he didnt have to like it and he didnt have to make anybody comfortable.
He growled aloud.
Never mind people getting killed.
Things were going to get very ugly.
CHAPTER FIVE
As she drove Jilly, April, and Gabriela home, Riley couldnt bring herself to tell them she was heading out right away. She was going to miss Jillys very first major event, a starring role in a play. Would the girls be able to understand that she was under orders?
Even after they all got home, Riley couldnt tell them.
She burned inside with shame.
Today shed earned a medal for perseverance, and in the past shed been honored for valor and bravery. And of course, her daughters had been in the audience watching her receive her medal.
But she sure didnt feel like much of a hero.
The girls headed outside to play in the backyard, and Riley went up to her bedroom and started packing her things. It was a familiar routine. The trick was to pack a small bag with enough necessities to last for a couple of days or a month.
While she was laying things out on her bed, she heard Gabrielas voice.
Señora Riley what are you doing?
Riley turned and saw Gabriela standing in the doorway. The housekeeper was holding a stack of clean linen that she was about to put in the hall closet.
Riley stammered, Gabriela, Ive Ive got to go.
Gabrielas mouth dropped open.
Go? Where?
Ive been assigned to a new case. In California.
Cant you go tomorrow? Gabriela asked.
Riley swallowed hard.
Gabriela, the FBI plane is waiting right now. Ive got to go.
Gabriela shook her head.
She said, It is good to fight evil, Señora Riley. But sometimes I think you lose sight of whats good.
Gabriela disappeared into the hallway.
Riley sighed. Since when did Riley pay Gabriela to be her conscience?
But she couldnt complain. It was a job that Gabriela was getting to be all too good at.
Riley stood staring at her unfinished packing.
She shook her head and whispered to herself
I cant do this to Jilly. I just cant.
All of her life she had sacrificed her kids for work things. Every time. Not once had she put her kids first.
And that, she realized, was what was wrong with her life. That was a part of her darkness.
She was brave enough to face down a serial killer. But was she brave enough to put work on the back burner and make her kids lives her number one priority?
At this very moment, Bill and Lucy were getting ready to fly out to California.
They were expecting to meet her at the Quantico airstrip.
Riley sighed miserably.
There was only one way to solve this problem if she could solve it at all.
She had to try.
She took out her cell phone and dialed Merediths private number.
At the sound of his gruff voice, she said, Sir, this is Agent Paige.
Whats the matter? Meredith asked.
There was a note of concern in his voice. Riley understood why. She had never used this number except in dire circumstances.
She gathered up her nerve and came right to the point.
Sir, I would like to delay my trip to California. Just for tonight. Agents Jeffreys and Vargas can go ahead of me.
After a pause, Meredith asked, Whats your emergency?
Riley gulped. Meredith wasnt going to make this easy.
But she was determined not to lie.
In a shaky voice she stammered, My younger daughter, Jilly shes in a school play tonight. Shes shes playing the lead.
The silence that fell was deafening.
Did he just hang up on me? Riley wondered.
Then with a growl Meredith said, Would you repeat that, please? Im not sure I heard you correctly.
Riley stifled a sigh. She was sure that hed heard her perfectly well.
Sir, this play is important to her, she said, growing more nervous by the second. Jillys well, you know Im trying to adopt her. Shes had a hard life, and shes coming out of a very difficult time and her feelings are very delicate and
Rileys voice faded off.
And what? Meredith asked.
Riley swallowed hard.
I cant disappoint her, sir. Not this once. Not today.
Another grim silence fell.
Riley was starting to feel more determined.
Sir, it wont make any difference in the case, she said. Agents Jeffreys and Vargas will go ahead of me, and you know how capable they are. They can get me up to speed when I do get out there.
And when would that be? Meredith asked.
Tomorrow morning. Early. Ill head for the airport as soon as the plays over. Ill take the first flight I can get.
After another pause, Riley added, Ill go on my own dime.
She heard Meredith grunt a little.
You certainly will, Agent Paige, he said.
Riley gasped and caught her breath.
Hes giving me permission!
She suddenly realized that shed barely been breathing during the conversation.
It took a lot of effort not to burst out into uncontrolled gales of gratitude.
She knew Meredith wouldnt like that at all. And the last thing she wanted was for him to change his mind.
So she simply said, Thank you.
She heard another grunt.
Then Meredith said, Tell your daughter to break a leg.
He ended the call.
Riley breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced up and saw that Gabriela was standing in the doorway again, smiling.
Shed obviously been listening to the whole call.
I think you are growing up, Señora Riley, Gabriela said.
*Sitting in the audience with April and Gabriela, Riley was thoroughly enjoying the school play. Shed forgotten how charming events like this could be.
The middle-school kids were all dressed in makeshift costumes. They had painted flat scenery to look like scenes from the story of Demeter and Persephone fields full of flowers, a volcano in Sicily, the dank caverns of the Underworld, and other mythical places.
And Jillys acting was simply wonderful!
She played Persephone, the young daughter of grain goddess Demeter. Riley found herself remembering the familiar story as it unfolded.
Persephone was outside picking flowers one day when Hades, the god of the Underworld, rode by in his chariot and snatched her away. He took her down into the Underworld to be his queen. When Demeter realized what had happened to her daughter, she wailed with sorrow.
Riley felt chills at how convincingly the girl playing Demeter expressed her grief.
At that point, the story started getting to Riley in a way she hadnt expected.
Persephones story seemed eerily like Jillys own. After all, it was the story of a girl who lost part of her childhood to forces much greater than herself.
Riley felt herself tearing up.
She knew the rest of the story very well. Persephone would regain her freedom, but only for half of every year. Whenever Persephone was gone, Demeter let the earth grow cold and dead. Whenever she came back, she brought the earth back to life, and springtime came again.
And that was how seasons had come into the world.
Riley squeezed Aprils hand and whispered, Here comes the sad part.
Riley was surprised to hear April giggle.
Not so sad, April whispered back. Jilly told me they changed the story a little. Just watch.