Page 36 of For Rage

"Maybe, maybe not," Derik said. "If this really is the Maze Killer, then he's more elusive than we can give him credit for."

Morgan nodded. He was right on that.

"Still," Derik cut in, his voice softening, "this was a good lead. I'm impressed you found him so quickly. That's the Morgan Cross I know."

Morgan smiled, feeling a slight warmth in her chest. It was good to know that Derik still had faith in her, even after all this time. She knew she had messed up, but she would make sure to make it right.

"You're right, Derik," Morgan said. "I was reckless. But I won't let it happen again. I'm stressed, if you can't tell."

"I know." His eyes crinkled, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground.

They fell into a silence. Morgan knew they had every eye in the city looking for this guy, and all they could do now was wait. But until then, Morgan could spend her time building more of a case against him and learning everything she could. That would help. But without being active on the field, she also would have more time to think about that damn rose left under her pillow. Part of her wanted to bring it up to Derik, but it felt wrong, somehow. Maybe the rose was connected in some sick way to her connection, the one who'd given her Eric Domino's name.

It was a baseless hunch, of course. It was also possible that it was left by someone more threatening than that. Someone who wanted her dead. Could it have been a warning? An innocuous white rose, left right under her pillow, waiting to be stained red ...

***

The day went by too quickly, and Morgan didn't want to spend another day in her house. With Skunk in tow, she pushed into the dark motel room. It felt safer to be here than to be at her own house, and she hated that.

But there was still no sign of Johnson. They'd found his car at the side of the road, so he must have escaped somewhere on foot. The whole thing made Morgan uneasy, but they had cops scouring the streets, looking for him. Morgan and Derik had taken part in the search earlier, too, but they had no luck. There was only so much aimless chasing Morgan could do before she had to accept that it was time to pack it in. Plus, both her and Derik had barely gotten any sleep the night before. They needed it.

Morgan locked the motel door behind her, and Skunk wagged his tail as he roamed around the unfamiliar room, taking in all its scents. The motel room was painted in a warm cream color, and the walls were adorned with vibrant wood-paneled accents. The furniture was mostly made of wood and metal, with a sofa, a bed, two chairs, and a desk tucked in the corner. A mirrored cabinet was tucked into the wall, and two nightstands sat on either side of the bed. A faint aroma of citrus and fresh flowers filled the room, but it wasn’t overwhelming or unpleasant. Just normal. Morgan could get used to a few nights here.

But she hoped it wouldn't be for long.

Once they had Johnson behind bars, then she could look further into the rose. And if the rose was, somehow, left by Johnson himself, then it was all the same in the end.

Morgan sat down on the bed, Skunk jumping up to sit next to her. She leaned back against the headboard, her mind racing with thoughts of Johnson and the rose. She couldn't shake the feeling that the rose was somehow connected to Johnson, but she had no evidence to support her theory. She needed to focus on the facts, on the case at hand.

But her mind kept going back to the rose. It was so out of place, so strange. And it had been left under her pillow in her own home. How had someone gotten in without her noticing? Without Skunk noticing? It seemed impossible. Skunk would have attacked anyone who tried to get in, unless they somehow snuck inside without being noticed.

The stress from the case was getting to her, and although Morgan was tired, she couldn't rest. She needed a drink, but the last time she'd hit the bottle, she'd embarrassed herself by kissing Derik. No, she needed to handle things sober for a while, at least until she could get her head on straight.

But she couldn't just sit here. She grabbed her laptop and went back into the database, looking for more information on Eric Domino, the man who apparently didn't exist. Was her source trying to trick her? If so, why? Morgan had the sudden urge to track that man down again and demand the real name.

It wasn't like she could sleep anyway. Skunk barked as Morgan got up and put his leash back on.

"Sorry, boy," she said, "one more stop to make tonight."

***

Morgan drove her car like a viper in the night, creeping down the street she'd met the mystery man on before. She kept her eye out for a tall, lanky guy in a hoodie, the same one she'd met before. She had an idea of where he lived. She just had to wait until he came out.

In the backseat, Skunk wagged his tail, looking around for any sign of anything.

Morgan parked her car on the side of the road and waited. The darkness wrapped around them like a blanket, and she couldn't see much of anything. But she didn't have to wait long. Soon enough, she saw the man walking down the street. He had his hood up, and he moved with a quick, nervous energy.

Morgan stepped out of her car, Skunk jumping out after her. The man stopped when he saw her, and she could feel the tension in the air. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice low and menacing.

"I want to talk," Morgan said, keeping her distance. "About Eric Domino."

The man laughed, a sharp, barking sound."I told you all I know."

"No, you didn't," Morgan said, anger boiling in her. This was her life. This was her revenge, and this guy was messing with her, giving her fake names. "Eric Domino doesn't exist, asshole. So, what's the real name?" She touched her gun, in its holster on her belt, and the man's eyes widened. She had no intention of truly using it, but a little threat couldn't hurt if it got her the truth. Reading her, Skunk gave out a warning bark.

The man raised his hands, fear on his face as he backed away. "I'm telling you the truth, that's the name of the guy. It was Eric Domino. I heard he was a buddy of a buddy, you know, selling drugs and all that, but then something weird happened. That night you were there, Eric called in to report you. Like to the cops or something."

Morgan's mind raced. Why would a drug dealer and a criminal ever call the police?

---