Page 23 of So Insane

“I’m a little more worried about what else is on your mind,” he said.

“Nothing but basketball, coach,” she joked. “I just want to show those Kansas boys what’s what.”

“I’ll pretend I understand what you’re talking about if you answer my question honestly,” he said.

“Well, if you were more specific with your question, I might be able to answer more directly.”

Michael frowned slightly. "Is your mind on this case, or is your mind on West?"

Faith felt somewhat irritated by the question, considering only the day before, he had seemed checked out of this case himself. "My mind is on a lot of things," she said, "and West is one of them, just as I'm sure he is for you. He hurt me, captured Turk, threatened you and your wife, and killed our friend and colleague. So just like you, I think about him from time to time, and I hope he’s caught sooner rather than later. To ask me not to think about him is as unfair as asking you not to think about him.

“My focus, however, is on this case. Screwing this case up isn’t going to help anyone find West any faster. I’ve tried doing things my way, and believe me, I learned my lesson. I don’t have a choice but to play by the rules now and hope for the best.

“And I do think we’ll get him soon,” she lied. “We have the Marshals on it, not to mention our best agents, not to mention every citizen in America who watches The FBI’s Most Wanted. We’ll find him, and he’ll answer for what he did.”

“So suddenly, you’ve gone from being impatient and desperate to be the one who makes the collar yourself to being nonchalant about it and willing to let whoever’s running the case get there when they get there?”

Her lips thinned. “Not so suddenly, Michael. There were six weeks in the hospital, a missing dog, the least fun conversation with the Boss that I’ve ever had, the probable loss of my boyfriend and the alienation of my best friend’s new wife and possibly my best friend in between being impatient and recognizing that I need to let this go.”

“That’s a great point, Faith,” he replied, “and I wish I could just take you at your word on the subject, but you’ve suffered a lot before and still made the same mistakes.”

“What do you want me to do, Michael?” she snapped. “Do you want to set up a spy camera that follows me everywhere I go? Do you want to hypnotize me and read my thoughts?”

“I don’t mean to be a dick about it,” he said, “but you don’t get to be angry at me.”

“So you get to be unfair and suspicious and catty and cruel, and I just have to grin and bear it?”

"Yes," he said, "Right now, yes. After everything that's happened, yes. But look, I'll take you at your word for it. You say you're focused? Fine. I believe you. Or, at the very least, I'll act like I do until you show me enough that I don't have to act. Deal?"

His phone buzzed, and he said, “Hold on. It’s the Boss.” He stepped away to answer the call.

He was probably checking in on her. It was don’t trust Faith season, and the fact that from their perspectives, Faith knew she deserved it didn’t make it easier to stomach.

Michael returned a moment later. He seemed upbeat, far more relaxed than before.

“Good news?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “They got a tip on West. Gas station attendant in North Dakota saw him gas up then head south. Good news, since north would mean Canada.”

Faith felt a knife pierce her chest. So the Boss wouldn't even talk to Faith about West, but he was giving Michael up-to-the-minute information? Michael was calling her out on her focus when he was just as distracted as she was, and for the exact same reason.

And the tip was bullshit. There was no way West would run. Why would he? He had already hidden close to home, and in plain sight, twice, while running from multiple agencies. The only person who had found him was the person he had specifically led to find him, and he had beaten her badly both times. He had no reason to be anywhere other than close to wherever Faith was. That meant Philadelphia. Hell, it was more likely he was here in Idaho than in North Dakota heading south.

But she didn’t air any of these thoughts. From Michael’s perspective, she didn’t have a right to, and right now, it was more important to her that she and Michael get along than that he admit she was right.

“That’s good,” she said. “I hope they get him.”

“Yeah,” he said, “Me too.”

His shoulders tensed, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Faith finished the coffee, clapped him on the shoulder and headed back to the car.

They weren’t going to find West. Not until they let Faith run the case. He knew her better than anyone else, but she also knew him. She knew how he thought. He had taken advantage of her trauma, her arrogance, and her grief to manipulate her, but she really had learned the lesson about combating him emotionally. From now on, she would remove her emotions from the equation and treat him like any other suspect, and when she did that, it would take no time at all to predict his next moves and catch him.

He really was a simple creature after all. He was a bully, and Faith was his target. If she could make herself appear vulnerable without actually making herself vulnerable, he would rear his ugly head out of whatever lair he watched her from, and she would squash him like the bug he was.

Not personally, though. Hand to hand was, evidently, not her best option for taking him down. She would learn that lesson, too, and make sure she had backup when she caught him. He might be able to beat Faith on her own, but there wasn't a killer on Earth who could stop Faith Bold and Michael Prince together.

Just ask Jethro Trammell.

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