Page 98 of Aftermath
Perfect answer.
It kept the Coastal Killer satisfied with her praise without mentioning the severed finger or victim at all. Len was doing great, and I reached out for her hand to give her reassurance. Her face flushed a little, and I felt her hand shaking.
“You’ve got this,” I whispered.
“Another thirty seconds or so,” Mags said into my ear.
“There will be more,” the voice said through the speaker again.
“Please don’t,” Len said before I could cue her not to engage. Her voice trembled, and I knew the killer would hear it too.
“This is what happens when you don’t listen,” the voice scolded.
The phone call clicked off, and I knew the unsub was gone. Len handed the phone to me, like the killer might come right through the screen.
“For evidence,” she said as she shoved it at me.
“It’s alright. You can hold on to it,” I said, trying to give it back, but she shook her head.
“Not right now,” she answered softly.
I pocketed the phone so she no longer had to look at it.
“Please tell me you know where they are,” I said into my own phone.
“Not exactly,” Mags answered. “But we have a pretty small area narrowed down.”
“Send the perimeter to my phone,” I said. “And call Grey, let him know where to meet me.”
* * *
The warehouses we pulled up to were clustered in a large lot near the water. The ocean abutted the business park, and there were a couple ships docked nearby.
Len and I hoped out of my car and glanced around. We made it back to the house in no time to grab my car and were given orders to wait until Grey arrived.
The rest of the team pulled up minutes later, Grey scowling as he stepped out of his own vehicle.
“I told you to stop involving her,” he grumbled at me.
Len flinched at the statement.
“She was with me when the call came through. I wasn’t wasting time arguing with her to stay at the rental rather than coming straight here,” I argued.
“Fine,” Grey snapped. “But she stays here. I won’t have a civilian wandering around.”
I nodded and glanced over at Len. Her eyes narrowed on me, and I knew I deserved it. I was complicit in Grey’s orders and wasted no time removing Len from the case. This was her work the past three years, and as simple as that, she had been cut off from it.
Everything inside me hated that.
My mind was meant to follow rules and orders, but when it came to Len, none of that applied. There wasn’t a single rule that could convince me to let her go.
I was pushing every boundary I could while making sure I saw the case through for her.
I walked over and opened the passenger door of my car.“Stay here.”
Len barely acknowledged my words, sitting with her arms crossed as I shut the door. When had this become so complicated? My loyalties to the FBI warred with everything I owed to Len.
I followed Grey, pulling out my gun and holding it in front of me. We didn’t know exactly what we were searching for, but I kept my eye out for anyone I recognized from town. There weren’t many workers in the area, and the ones who milled around saw us and steered clear.
