Page 37 of Once Silenced

As Putnam reached for his phone, presumably to rally the Quantico team, Riley turned to Detective Prendergast and asked, “could you recommend somewhere good to grab a bite around here?”

Prendergast nodded, giving them directions to a local spot known for its quiet ambiance.As they thanked him and made their way to their car, Ann Marie glanced back to see Putnam already absorbed in his call.

Ann Marie slid into the passenger seat of the BAU sedan, her thoughts still churning.She found herself caught between two formidable personalities—Riley, with her enigmatic calm, and Putnam, with his unwavering focus.Both were driven, yet their methods seemed to diverge wildly.In that divergence, Ann Marie sensed an unspoken challenge, a battle of wills in which neither party would easily concede.And she realized, with a growing sense of anticipation, that she was right in the thick of it.

“Riley,” she ventured, “is this really the best time for a break?”

Riley chuckled—a low, knowing sound.“Who said anything about taking a break?”she replied, her eyes sharp as flint.“Quantico’s techs are top-notch, but it might take them hours or even days to track down Aldrich.We don’t have that kind of time.”

“What’s your approach, then?”Ann Marie asked, intrigued by the notion of outpacing the fabled Quantico forensics team.

Riley’s smile was thin and mischievous.“Let’s just say I have … an old friend.”

Then she added with a chuckle, “And he’s kind of a secret weapon.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ann Marie followed Riley into the quaint lunch spot that Prendergast had recommended.The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, along with the scent of baked goods.The chairs held plush cushions; the walls were decorated with eclectic art pieces and shelves lined with books, creating a homely and welcoming environment.

What are we doing here?Ann Marie wondered again.Do we really have time for this?

She felt that every second counted if they were going to prevent another tragedy.The Cipher Society loomed in the background, and Derek Aldrich was their current best lead.Of course she knew that Putnam was having the FBI track Aldrich, but she thought that there must be other leads they could follow up in the meantime.

Then, as Riley chose a secluded booth where no other diners would hear them, her directive was clear and concise.“Just order some coffee and maybe a pastry,” she instructed, her tone indicating this was no leisurely detour.“We won’t be here long enough to eat a full meal.”

“Sure,” Ann Marie replied in surprise.She slid into the booth, her gaze following Riley’s every move.The menu in her hands felt like a prop—a distraction from the pressing work at hand.She flagged down a waitress and ordered two coffees with an air of confidence she wasn’t entirely sure she felt, adding a pair of brownies to the request.

“Brownies,” she murmured to herself.“As if sugar could sweeten today’s discoveries.”

Then she saw that Riley had fished out her phone.

“Who are you calling?”she asked.

Riley glanced up, her eyes sharp and calculating.“I’m contacting someone who can get us what we need quickly,” she said, an air of mystery lacing her words.“Sometimes you have to color outside the lines to catch a ghost.”

“Color outside the lines?”Ann Marie echoed.

“His name is Van Roff,” Riley continued, unbothered by the ambiguity of her own explanation.“He’s FBI, but not from our neck of the woods.A technical analyst in the Seattle field office.And he knows every trick in the book—a lot more than our tech guys at Quantico.”Her lips curled into a half-smile that spoke of secrets and shortcuts, of doors opened with unorthodox keys.

“I want you to listen closely,” Riley added.“You might need this kind of help yourself some time.Building up your own trusted contacts is so important.”

Ann Marie watched as Riley entered a number.The café around them hummed with the idle chatter of lunchtime patrons, but at a distance and indistinct.Then Riley’s call connected, and she put the call on speaker.It wasn’t turned up very loud, so they sat with the phone between them as they both leaned over to hear the man’s voice on the other end.

Riley’s voice, so often commanding, warmed considerably.“Van, it’s been too long,” she said.

“Riley Paige, back from academia to grace us mere mortals?”Van Roff’s voice crackled through the phone, his playful jest poking through the speaker.“How goes the teaching life?”

“Teaching’s fine, Van,” Riley replied smoothly.“But at the moment, I’m knee-deep in the field again—for one case only.And I need your expertise.”

“You’ve got it,” he replied.

“Listen, Van,” Riley’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial hush, “I’ve got you on speaker so my current partner can listen.Her name is Ann Marie Esmer.”

“Nice to meet you, Ann Marie Esmer,” Van Roff said.

“Uh, likewise,” Ann Marie replied, still wondering where this conversation was about to lead.

“We’re looking for an IT freelancer named Derek Aldrich,” Riley said.“He’s based in Basingstoke, Virginia—might be tangled up in a murder or two.There’s a local warrant out for his arrest—cyberstalking and libel—but he’s slipped off the grid.This guy is a ghost.We need to find him before he does more damage or disappears for good.”

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