AllFreeNovel
Share Us
35
Logan didn’t say anything as Alex called Harrison, but he tended to agree with Monty. Finding some old cabin that could have been torn down years ago wasn’t as important as saving a woman’s life and stopping Walker from releasing his superbug.
Alex put her phone on the table and pressed the speaker so they could all hear. When Harrison answered, he sounded rushed and aggravated. Alex quickly explained about the cabin.
“We don’t have time to try to find a record of this cabin, especially on a Sunday,” she told him. “So I think you need to send some people out to Lake Lotawana and see if you can locate it.”
He was quiet for a moment before cursing loudly. “Listen to me, Agent Donovan. We’re trying to warn churches in Walker’s hunting ground. If we can stop him from this next killing, we’ve stopped him from using that virus ... at least for a while. He has to have the last sacrifice before he begins to infect people. I don’t have the time or the personnel to send on some wild goose chase.” He took a deep breath. “Look, I appreciate the effort, but this isn’t important right now.”
“I disagree, sir,” Alex said sharply. “Maybe that’s where Walker and his parents lived after they left Kansas City and before he and his father lived alone in Independence. And if that’s the last place his mother was with him ... I think it could be his sacred place. The spot where he plans to offer his holy sacrifice.”
“But you don’t know that,” Harrison said, anger obvious in his tone. “And you’ve said yourself it’s far more likely he’d stay in his comfort zone.”
“I don’t know, but let us check it out,” Alex said, pleading now. “The three of us. We’re just sitting here. We could do it.”
“You’re not field agents. You’re behavioral analysts. You don’t belong out there.”
“Is that your final word?” Alex asked.
“Yes.”
Harrison hung up. Alex stared at her phone as if she’d never seen it before. Finally, she clicked it off. “He’s wrong,” she said. “We need to find that cabin.”
“Absolutely not,” Logan said just as sharply as she’d spoken to Harrison. “He told us to stay here, Alex. And he’s right. I know you’ve spent a lot of time in the field, but now you’re part of the BAU. What you’re suggesting ... We could lose our jobs.” He hated telling her not to follow her gut. He couldn’t be sure she was wrong. What if she wasn’t? Still, he couldn’t disobey Harrison’s order. None of them could.
“I agree with Logan,” Monty said. “The Bureau has assigned agents to different divisions. We each have to do what we’re called to do. If we don’t, we cause confusion. You gave him the information. We need to stay here and wait.”
“He may think about what you said and change his mind,” Logan added. “Let’s just sit tight for a while, okay?”
The expression on Alex’s face changed. Logan had seen this look before. Stoic. Unreadable. He didn’t care as long as she listened. If she went against the ASAC she could be out of the FBI. They ran a tight ship. Going against orders wasn’t looked upon kindly.
“Okay,” she said. “I just hope he does change his mind.” Her eyes locked with Logan’s. “I’m right about this.”
“Maybe you are. But we can’t go rogue. Let the system work.” He glared at her. “I mean it, Alex. Leave it alone.”
She walked to the table with the coffee and poured a cup, then stayed there for a while, just sipping her drink. Finally, she turned around. “Let’s at least talk about this cabin. I doubt he’d take his wife and kids to a ramshackle place like that, but it sounds like he may have spent time there as a child. How would that affect him?”
Monty started to answer her, but Alex shook her head. “Hey, can you hold that thought? I need to make a run to the little girl’s room. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.”
After Alex left, Monty leaned closer to Logan. “Do you think she’s right?”
“I don’t know. The cabin could be important. Unfortunately, it’s not my job to determine what’s important and what isn’t. We’ve got to follow orders. We have no choice.”
“But it is our job to understand this guy—to understand him so the agents in the field can find him.”
Logan shook his head, but his gut told him Alex was right. She had an amazing instinct for understanding criminals.
“What should we do?” Monty asked.
“I think I’ll call Harrison myself and try to impress on him that this could be really important. Ask him again to find some people to send out to the lake.” He shuffled through the papers on the table. “The KCPD looked up Walker’s car registration, right?”
Monty nodded. “I think he has a silver Honda Accord, although none of the alerts have turned it up. My guess is he may be using a different car now. He has to know we’re looking for it.”
“Yeah, here it is. A 2016 model.” Logan stared at the information for a moment, then looked at Monty. “I agree with you. Maybe he parked it at the cabin. If we spotted it, we’d have that clue we need.”
“Look, Logan, I’m willing to stick my neck out if I have to. But this does seem like a wild goose chase. This cabin might not be standing anymore. We’re going on just a hunch.”
