AllFreeNovel
Share Us
3
Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Jeff said sharply. “We need more information before we can confidently link our UNSUB to the missing sample. If it’s even really gone.”
He pointed his finger at Moreen. “I want you on this right now. Find out for certain if that sample has really disappeared—and who the missing researcher is. Once you have a name, contact the KCPD and tell them to put out an APB. And run this guy through NCIC and ViCAP. I doubt he has a criminal record since they would have run a background check before hiring him. But maybe we can check the VIN number for any vehicles he’s owned, see if he was ever stopped by law enforcement. We need to figure out where he might be.”
Alex agreed with Jeff. This guy wouldn’t be found in the National Crime Information Center or the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. He’d probably prepared very carefully. He was hidden away somewhere. Someplace where he felt safe. Checking any past tickets or warnings was a long shot at best, but they had to do everything they could to find him, starting with the all-points bulletin Jeff wanted put into effect.
“Got it, Boss,” Moreen said. She left, closing the door firmly behind her.
Alex jumped at the sound. It was as if one of her nightmares had slipped out of the darkness and was crawling into her life. A life she’d worked so hard to create.
“How big is this ... Circle, Alex?” Jeff asked.
“I don’t know, but my aunt told me they have members all over the world. That might have been wishful thinking, though. She used to have meetings at her house, but I don’t think she ever had more than half a dozen people there at one time. I wasn’t allowed to participate, so I’m just guessing. Her place was pretty small. It wouldn’t hold too many people at once.”
“How do we get a copy of this book?” Jeff asked. “We need it ... now.”
“Is it on Amazon?” Monty asked.
Alex bit her lip. Amazon? “No. According to my aunt, very few copies exist. I don’t know if that’s true, but she had one of them.”
Jeff sighed. “So we need someone in this Circle to give us a copy?”
Alex wanted to give him hope, but there just wasn’t any. They had no way to track down members of the Circle—at least not without months or years of investigation. Her aunt had made that clear. Everyone used pseudonyms. Her aunt had called herself Lady X.Alex could still hear her laughing about the moniker. “I’ve always wanted to be a Lady X,” she’d said. “A woman of mystery. It fits me, Alexandra. Doesn’t it?”
Twelve-year-old Alex had nodded, although she didn’t think her aunt was the least bit mysterious. She thought she was stone cold crazy. Now, with her training, Alex understood her aunt’s mental problems. But living with someone like Willow had been almost unbearable for a child who’d lost the mother she’d adored.
“Your aunt is the only person we know who has a copy of The Book.” Jeff leaned back in his chair. “Where is this aunt?”
“In ... in Wichita, Kansas.”
“I’ll contact our resident agency in Wichita and ask them to get a warrant to pick up her copy.”
“Assuming she still has it, she won’t give it to them,” Alex said. “She won’t even open the door.”
“If our UNSUB has the virus and you’re right about him, he could start spreading it to the general population. We don’t have time to mess around here. What she wants doesn’t matter. We’ll have a warrant. She’ll have no choice in this matter.”
“I realize that.” Although everything inside her fought the next words to come out of her mouth, Alex’s sense of duty won out over her long-held vow never to see her aunt again. “I really believe I’m the only one she’ll talk to. If I can convince her to give me The Book, we’ll save time and possible delays. Even with a warrant, they’ll still have to find her hiding place. She worked hard to keep it out of sight. Even I have no idea where she kept it.”
“Okay,” Jeff said. “We need that book. I’ll contact the SAC in Kansas City. Let him know we’ve been asked by the KCPD to help with their serial-murder investigation. Advise them about this turn of events and ask his permission to send you and Logan to Wichita. I’m certain they’ll want to set up a task force, seeing it’s possible we’re dealing with a weapon of mass destruction. All of CIRG needs to be on board for this.”
Jeff was right. The FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group was comprised of the most highly trained agents in the world. If anyone could find this virus in time, it was them.
Alex shivered, but she wasn’t cold. She’d never planned to set foot in Wichita again. She’d turned her back on her painful past and started over. Facing it filled her with dread.
The door opened suddenly, and Moreen’s expression was grim. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think this may be important.”
“What is it?” Jeff asked.
“The research assistant who disappeared in Kansas City left something behind. They found it in his desk at the lab. It appears he wanted someone to find it. They just sent me a copy of ... well, it’s a poem.”
“A poem?” Jeff’s tone held a touch of anger. “Why do we care about a poem?”
“Let me read it, Boss. Then you tell me if it matters.”
Jeff sighed deeply and nodded.
Moreen cleared her throat.
