Page 6 of For Rage

The governor's eyes narrowed at Morgan's tone, but she held his gaze firmly.

“I know you,” he said, and Morgan’s jaw clenched. “You’re that criminal FBI agent.”

Morgan’s blood burned at his words. “I was exonerated, sir,” she said. And if he really watched the news, he’d know that most of the media had taken Morgan’s side. But that didn’t change the reality that there would always be people who looked at her like she was a criminal.

The governor peered at Morgan, his eyes narrowing. "I don't care what the media says. You were locked up for a reason."

Morgan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "With all due respect, sir, I don't think that's what we should be focusing on right now. We need to catch the Maze Killer, and fast."

The governor shook his head, his eyes fixed on the victim's body. "This is a disaster," he muttered. "A complete and utter disaster. I can't have this kind of negative publicity on my property."

Morgan gritted her teeth, struggling to keep her anger in check. "I think you're missing the point here, sir. A woman is dead. We need to find her killer. That's all that matters right now."

"I understand that, Agent Cross, but I have a reputation to uphold here. Do you understand me?"

Morgan took a deep breath, fighting to keep her voice even. "I understand, sir. But right now, we need your full cooperation if we're going to catch the Maze Killer."

"I understand that, Agent Cross," he said slowly. "But this is my property, and I need to know that this won't become a media circus."

Morgan gritted her teeth, but before she could respond, Derik stepped in.

"Governor, we're doing everything we can to catch the killer," he said firmly. "But right now, our priority is to collect all the evidence we can. We need your cooperation to do that."

The governor hesitated but eventually nodded. "Fine. But I want to be kept in the loop about what's happening here," he said. "I don't want any surprises, and I don’t want cameras here. You got that?”

Morgan exchanged a glance with Derik. As if they didn't have enough on their plate already with the Maze Killer, now they had to deal with a politician who cared more about his reputation than the dead woman in his garden. But all they could do was nod and agree to keep him informed.

Morgan gritted her teeth, staring back at the body as the governor took off. Good riddance; Morgan could think more without him breathing down her neck.

She approached the body, noting how much effort the killer had put in to half-bury her like this. They weren't dealing with a simple killer here, that much was obvious. This man had an agenda, and he wanted attention. The Maze Killer was getting bolder and more twisted with each new victim, and they needed to stop him before he struck again. She wondered what kind of man would go to this much trouble to be so theatrical. He must have been a lonely person, an attention-seeking person, maybe with some sort of personality disorder that remanded attention, although that was purely speculative. She tried to build up an image in her mind of who he could be; a middle-aged man, probably someone who had been rejected by society and was now taking his revenge on it. Or maybe he was a younger man, someone who had been deeply traumatized in his childhood and was now acting out his pain on other people. Morgan couldn't be sure, but she knew that they needed to catch him fast. They had to find a way to get inside the killer's mind, to understand his motives and his methods.

Right now, only one thing was certain: based on the Maze Killer's track record, the next body to drop would be in another maze entirely.

Morgan clenched her teeth, eyes lingering on the body of the victim.

Not if I find you first.

CHAPTER THREE

Back at HQ, Morgan looked down at her desk as Derik slapped another stack of papers down. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, but Derik's face was completely unfazed.

"Really?" Morgan asked, shoving the paperwork aside. She focused back on her computer, taking in the screen in front of her. She was in the middle of learning everything she could about the Maze Killer and would rather not break her concentration. "Can't you deal with the paperwork?" she asked.

Derik sighed and sat down. "We both need to sign off on some of these," he said. "It'll only take a sec."

Morgan rolled her eyes but grabbed the stack of papers and began signing where needed. As she went through the paperwork, her mind couldn't help but drift back to the case.She wasn't sure how this guy was pulling off these crimes—killing these women and burying them so publicly and not getting caught at all or leaving any shred of DNA. The Maze Killer was too good, too careful.

Frustration rinsed over her. They were running out of time. How many more women would have to die before they caught him? She knew that they needed a breakthrough, something that would give them an edge in the case. They needed to get ahead of the Maze Killer.

"There." Morgan handed the papers back to Derik. He stood up, gripping them, but then hesitated to leave. Morgan looked up at him; she could tell he wanted to say more.

"What have you learned?" he asked.

She let out a sigh. "Well, so far, this guy has killed four women. Really, the case should've gone to us after the second, before the media storm, but we can't change that now."

"Agreed," Derik said. "I wish we'd had our eye on it sooner, but we were busy."

Busy. That was an understatement. Morgan had been swept right back into the case of the Seven Signs killer when she got out of prison, so she hadn't exactly been on the hunt for other serial killers to track down.

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