Page 12 of So Alone

Michael glared at Faith as he pulled his cell phone and dialed a number. A moment later, he said, “Hey, Ellie. Sorry, I have to cancel dinner tonight. Yeah, there’s a case.” He glanced at Turk. “I’ll tell you later.”

Ellie! Faith had forgotten about Ellie! Dammit, if the copycat killer knew about Michael, then he knew about Ellie too. If she was alone in her house, she would be vulnerable, and he could use that advantage to strike a blow at Michael.

“I know, I know,” Michael said, continuing his phone conversation. “I’ll make it up to you when I get home, okay? Love you.”

He hung up, and Faith immediately said, “Michael, we can’t leave Ellie by herself!”

He frowned. “What? Why?”

“Because the killer threatened her.”

He blinked in confusion. “What? What are you talking about?”

“In the note. He threatened to kill you and David.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Michael replied, “and anyway, Ellie’s not meorDavid.”

“Yes, but she’s close to you,” Faith countered, “and if he wants to get to you, hurting the person you love while you’re gone is a perfect way to throw you off of your game. He could use that to lure you into a position of vulnerability.” She considered something and added, “He might not even try to kill you. He might be satisfied just hurting you and taking your focus off of me for a little while.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, Faith,” Michael said with just a touch of irritation, “but my focus is already off of you.”

“I don’t mean your romantic focus,” Faith said irritably. “I mean your attention. You’re not glued to me twenty-four-seven, but having you in my life as someone I can rely on is important to me. He might be trying to sabotage that. He might plan to kill you, but if you leave him an easier target that will accomplish the same goal, he might settle for that instead.”

Michael pursed his lips. Faith braced herself for the irritating, condescending dismissal she was about to hear and reminded herself to remain calm.

“Faith, I’m not trying to diminish the way you feel,” he said, “but you need to take a step back from your emotions and look at this situation logically. The copycat killer has been active for two years. In that time, he’s not killed anyone close to you.”

“Gordon was close to me.”

“Gordon was the lead agent on his case for two years. He had a target on his back, a legitimate one. You may have had a target on your back when you were moonlighting on the case, but you haven’t worked his case in months. It’s very doubtful that he would consider you a threat to him. Besides, how do you know for sure that Gordon’s killer is the copycat?”

Faith stared incredulously at him. “Are you serious? Did you not read the note?”

“Faith, I could have written that note. You could have written that note. All of Philadelphia and half of the rest of the country could have written that note. Everyone knows who the Copycat Killer is. Anyone could have used his name.”

“So you think someone randomly decided to use the Copycat Killer's name and what just happened to make several lucky guesses about my personal life?"

“I think that a killer with a vendetta against the FBI killed an agent and threatened at least one, maybe two more. I think that this killer knew that the Copycat Killer is a thorn in the side of this field office and used the name to either throw us off the scent or taunt us. Probably both. Idon’tthink that the real Copycat Killer would have completely tossed his MO out the window. If it was the Copycat Killer, he would have kidnapped Gordon and treated him the way the Donkey Killer treated you. That would have sent a far more powerful message than a note.”

Faith could spend all afternoon listing the reasons why Michael was wrong, but she didn’t want to waste time debating. “Michael, we can have a heart-to-heart about this later, but please, as your friend, consider sending your girlfriend somewhere safe.”

“Faith, nowhere’s safe,” Michael replied. “People get murdered every day. There’s no magical land where murder doesn’t exist, and everyone lives in peace and harmony. When I took this job, I accepted the risks to myself and to my loved ones.”

His shoulders slumped and his eyes took on a haunted look when he said that. She hated seeing him like this, but she didn’t have any more time to deal with his trauma than she did to debate. “Some places are safer than others right now, Michael. David’s visiting his parents in Nevada right now. You, Turk, and I will be in Arizona. Ellie’s the last link, the last person that note threatens. If she’s gone, then the killer won’t chase her. This is his territory. He’ll wait for us to come back, and with you protecting Ellie and Turk protecting me, he’s far less likely to move on us.”

Michael sighed and shook his head. “I really think this is an overreaction, Faith. I love you, and I respect the hell out of you, but let’s be honest; you stop thinking clearly when it involves anything having to do with Trammell.”

“This isn’t about Trammell, Michael!” Faith shouted, anger overriding her desire to remain calm. “This is about the copycat killer!”

“The killer who murdered Gordon didn’t copy Trammell," Michael pointed out. He sighed. “Look, Faith, I can’t just uproot Ellie’s life because you read a vague note and decided that it must mean a serial killer has a personal vendetta against you.”

Faith tried another tack. “Well, even if he isn’t going to target Ellie personally, he’s still a dangerous serial killer who likes to pick on people who are caught alone.”

“And that’s a riskeveryhuman being on Earth accepts,” Michael retorted. “The copycat killer won’t be the last serial killer in Philadelphia. Hell, he’s probably not the only serial killer active there now. We can’t spend our lives in fear, Faith, and I’m not going to make Ellie spend her life in fear because of… of this.”

Faith’s shoulders tensed. She felt the tightness in her jaw that told her she was clenching her teeth before the pressure in her gums seconded the realization. “Michael, will you please do this for me? At least until you and I return from this case, will you please send Ellie somewhere safe?”

Michael didn’t answer for a while. He stared at Faith, and she could see the indecision in his mind. She waited for that indecision to change to reluctant decision and released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding when Michael said, “All right. Her sister’s been begging us to visit her in Oklahoma City. I’ll just tell Ellie to go by herself this time.”

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