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“I’d like you to consider it, Brooklyn. Not that titles matter, but you’d be an associate professor.”
Graham called her Brooklyn in private, and that must have been how he addressed her when speaking with his mother. Graham had a more intimate manner in which he pronounced her name. Elizabeth had a way of causing Brook to have flashbacks to high school when a teacher would call on her to answer a question.
Fortunately, Brook wasn’t a teenager so inclined to bow under the pressure.
“Mrs. Elliott, I left academics many years ago.” Brook held up her free hand when Elizabeth parted her lips to speak. The woman’s makeup had been applied with years of experience, and it certainly wasn’t with five-and-dime store products, either. “I run a private consulting firm with your son in which he is a silent partner. That means that I take on one hundred percent of the business decisions that affect the team’s everyday lives. I profile the cases that we choose to take on, as well as acting as the lead investigator when working in tandem with other law enforcement agencies. You have yet to mention my brother who has brutally murdered numerous women. He still represents a danger to anyone who I associate with. The federal agent in charge of Jacob’s case was in my office this morning, right there where you are sitting. I have no time to take three mornings or afternoons out of my week to teach a class of twenty-year-old students. I’m sorry, Mrs. Elliott. I truly am.”
To give Graham’s mother credit, she had remained quiet and allowed Brook to finish her speech. She had no idea why Elizabeth would believe that such an undertaking was even remotely a viable option. Maybe Graham had mentioned how Brook had started out teaching at a university. After all, it was how her profiling techniques had caught the interest of the FBI.
“It would only be once a week in person for a three-hour lecture. The day would be at your choosing, while the rest of the course material would then be uploaded online. If need be, the president of the university would be more than willing to hire this Bit that you and Graham refer to as a technical genius on an as needed basis. An assistant, of sorts,” Elizabeth put forth as if she was offering up the perfect solution to Brook’s reservations. “If you’d like a teaching assistant, I’m sure the university would provide you one, as well.”
“Mrs. Elliott, I—“
“Elizabeth, please,” she responded with a slight tilt of her head.
Brook paused after the interruption to study Graham’s mother. In doing so, Brook realized that there was something more to the request than merely granting an old friend a favor.
Elizabeth had taken time out of her day to personally visit Brook. Her warm gaze, friendly body language, and the patience that she’d exuded during her side of the conversation displayed her sincerity. This request had been personal.
It wouldn’t be wise for Brook to simply brush off the woman’s appeal as if it meant nothing. For one, there was Graham to consider in this situation. Second, a woman like Elizabeth Elliott rarely asked for anything without serious cause.
“Elizabeth, are you asking me on behalf of the university’s president or yourself?”
Elizabeth took another sip of her coffee before placing the mug back on the tray. She still held onto the handkerchief that she’d retrieved from her purse. Her shoulders straightened, and she made direct eye contact upon answering Brook’s question.
“I could do nothing as I watched my son become obsessed with finding Kelsey’s murderer. My daughter-in-law…” Elizabeth stopped talking in order to reign in her emotions. Once she was confident that she could continue speaking without there being a break in her voice, she continued on as if her words hadn’t faltered. “…was too overwhelmed with her own loss to comprehend what her suicide would do to Graham. Nothing I said or did could ease his pain. Until you.”
Brook could see where this was going, and she wanted no part of the responsibility that Elizabeth was about to hand her on the proverbial silver platter.
“Elizabeth, it is my job to profile serial killers,” Brook stated matter-of-factly. It was best not to give this woman an inch. It was odd, but she reminded Brook of herself. Is this how she would be entering her eighties? “Graham and I formed a partnership. I helped him. In turn, he facilitated my dream of running a firm such as S&E Investigations. In no way does the business take away from his responsibility to the contracts that he has with the federal government.”
“You misunderstand me, Brooklyn.” Somehow, Elizabeth seemed even more at ease. She shifted until she was able to relax against the back of the leather couch. “I’m here because no other profiler was able to make the connections that you did in Kelsey’s case. Graham spent an enormous amount of time asking those within the BAU to reopen the investigation into my granddaughter’s death, but they saw no such correlations. Graham then went in search of other profilers in other agencies, but again…it was a lost cause.”
“Those profilers would have eventually—“
“You clearly don’t give yourself enough credit, dear. I’m well aware of who your brother is, and Graham and I have spoken at length about the precautions that I must take in my daily life. He doesn’t know that I’m aware of the two men who have been following me for over a year, and I’d like it to stay that way,” Elizabeth stressed in such a manner that Brook comprehended the distinct difference between this directive and her earlier request. This decree broke no argument. As for the special teaching position, that would be left to Brook’s discretion. “Your experiences make you who you are, and a student can’t learn that in a classroom from an average professor. You are far from average, Brooklyn. What I am saying is that families like mine need more of you out there in the world to bring them closure.Youhave the ability to make that happen.Youcan guide them.”
Elizabeth didn’t wait for Brook to respond, leaving her no choice but to stand in unison. Graham’s mother tucked the handkerchief back into a side pocket of her purse and then hung her dress coat over her right forearm. With the straps of her purse in hand, she then turned and tilted her chin until her cheek was offered for a receptive kiss. Brook automatically leaned forward in motion.
“You have a full week to consider my request before we are to attend the grand opening. I look forward to hearing your answer.” Elizabeth gracefully walked around the coffee table in front of the couch until she reached the doorway. She then turned on her black heels and gave Brook a small, knowing smile. “I now understand my son’s fascination. You are an exceptionally intelligent and beautiful woman, Brooklyn.”
She remained standing as Elizabeth walked through the main area of S&E Investigations. While Brook had been dealt a resounding blow earlier, she was pretty sure she’d just experienced a tsunami. There was no other way to describe Graham’s mother.
Elizabeth Elliott was a force of nature.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
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February 2023
Tuesday — 10:33pm
Themurkyshadowsofthe backyard allowed him to monitor her through the window without fear of being noticed by a neighbor. Fortunately, she didn’t own a dog to give away his presence.
Winter was always the hardest season to verify his suspicions.
Upon breaking into the two-story home earlier today, he’d had to retrace his steps with paper towels. He’d left a slight trail of moisture on the hardwood floors. Though the local area hadn’t received a new coating of snow, the layer that had remained had packed itself into the tread of his boots. It wouldn’t do to have her call the police too early on in his process.
