Page 3 of So Wicked

Faith gave Dr. Perth a perfunctory goodbye, then stalked out of the clinic. The receptionist gave her a wary look and clearly very much hoped that Faith didn’t need anything from her. Faith didn’t, so she gave her a perfunctory nod and stepped out onto the street.

The sun was high in the sky, but the day was cold. Faith’s feet crunched in the snow as she stalked to her car, an old Crown Victoria that now sported winter tires but was otherwise the same as it had been when it rolled off the lot nearly twenty years ago. She started the engine and pulled smoothly out onto the road, irritated that the snow on the ground meant she had to drive slowly and carefully. Not that she was a speed demon, but…

“Damn it!” She smacked her steering wheel, not too hard, but enough that the impact stung the palm of her hand. “Damn it.”

She tried to hold onto that anger, but it faded quickly. She knew going into the session that it was going to end with Dr. Perth recommending her suspension. She also knew that trying to protest that decision to the ASAC from New York, who was babysitting the office until a permanent replacement for the Boss could be found, would be futile. The ASAC would be by the book, and by the book, you followed psych recommendations religiously.

So she was once more about to be removed from the field, left with nothing to do but sit at home and stew about the fact that the Boss was dead, his killer was still out there, and she wasn’t allowed to stop him.

Well, she’d have David. They could finally get some quality time together, and maybe Faith could finally have the conversation she’d been meaning to have for months but hadn’t gotten around to.

At least Perth didn’t rake me over the coals forthat.Not this session, anyway.

Faith and David were on the verge of moving in together, something David was very excited about and Faith was very terrified about. She loved him, she just…

“Ugh. I can’t do this. It’s too damned much. I can’t be upset about David and upset about Grant and upset about my career and therapy and—”

She jumped when the vehicle behind her blasted its horn. The light had turned green. Faith resisted the urge to give the aggressive driver the middle finger and sped forward.

Maybe Dr. Perth was right. Maybe she should take some time off. Her instinct was to hate that, but her knowledge told her that she really wasn't in the right place to continue working. She could take a few weeks to let some of the emotion cool down. Then, she'd be ready to jump back into the job.

“But not therightjob.”

And therein, as the Bard once said, lay the rub. She could take a few weeks off and go back to work, but the FBI would never let her work on the Messenger case. They would decide that she was too close to the case—or rather would continue to believe that she was too close—and assign her somewhere else a dozen states away. Just as with West, they would never let her officially work the case. The problem was that West was only caught because he couldn’t stay away from her. If the Messengerwas in control enough to keep his distance and only contact her through his murders, then the FBI would actually need to hunt him to find him, and as good as Desrouleaux was, this just wasn’t his wheelhouse.

And the killer was escalating. First, it was a man Faith didn’t even know. Then it was one of her neighbors. Now it was her boss. He was working his way closer to her. Who would he come for next? David? Michael? Turk?

It didn’t matter that she was suffering. She was the right agent for this job. Sheneededto be on this case, or more people would die.

Her phone buzzed. It was the new ASAC, Tabitha Gardner. She answered. “Bold.”

“Special Agent Bold, this is ASAC Gardner.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Yes, ASAC. What can I do for you?”

“I need you to bring your K9 unit to headquarters. You and I need to talk.”

Did Dr. Perth call them already?“Of course. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you.”

When Tabitha hung up, Faith called David. “Hey, baby. I hate to do this to you once again, but we have to reschedule dinner. The new b—ASAC Gardner needs to meet with me and Turk.”

“Ah. No worries. Do what you have to do. How are you feeling, by the way?”

In no mood to talk about it. “I’m all right. This sucks, but I’ll get through it.”

“All right. Well, I’m here if you need to talk.”

“Yeah. I know. Thank you.”

She hung up and sighed heavily. Somewhere out there, a psychopath was plotting his next murder. And Faith was about to get boxed out and forced to sit on the sidelines while he did it.

That could only happen for so long before she was pushed too far and decided to take the case whether she was allowed to or not.

CHAPTER TWO

The Philadelphia Field Office was in a state of shock. Grant Monroe—the Boss as he was affectionately known by his subordinates—had run the office for over fifteen years and mentored nearly all of the agents who worked for him. He was a pillar to that office, a fixture, and knowing that he would never again bark orders or deliver scoldings was inconceivable. Knowing that he would never arrive with an inspiring word, never deliver his pointed but helpful advice, never bless them with his acerbic wit…

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