CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When Riley took the call, she heard the familiar rumble of Meredith’s voice.

“Agent Paige, is there something you’d like to tell me?”

She shuddered a little at the question. She could easily imagine her team chief’s scowling dark features, which were daunting enough when he was in a good mood. And he sure didn’t sound like he was in a good mood right now.

She stammered, “Sir, I—I can explain … whatever…”

Riley wasn’t exactly sure what she should try to explain. Someone she’d crossed paths with must have complained about her being here. But which one?

“I sure hope you can,” Meredith said. “I just got a call from Elmo Stiles, the police chief down in Atlanta. He said he was curious about what kind of investigation the FBI was conducting there, and just why we’d sent you down there to work on it. He said you hadn’t exactly been forthcoming.”

Then with a growl Meredith added, “Well, what was I supposed to tell him? I had no idea what he was talking about.”

Riley fought down a sigh of despair. She had no choice, of course, but to tell Meredith the truth. Although she’d often played fast and loose with the rules, she tried to never lie to Meredith. He’d been her staunch ally through some pretty tough professional times, when people who ranked higher than he did had wanted to see her fired or worse.

She slowly began to describe everything, starting with when she’d met Morgan Farrell back in February. She also told him about coming to Atlanta and talking to Morgan in jail, and her growing certainty that the woman was innocent.

Meredith grunted, “A single murder doesn’t exactly sound like an authentic FBI case.”

“Well, as it turns out, there’s been another murder,” Riley said.

Without mentioning Van Roff by name, Riley explained that she had learned of Julian Morse’s murder in Birmingham. The man had been killed under strikingly similar circumstances, just a week before Farrell’s murder.

Meredith interrupted, “Don’t tell me. You went to Birmingham to check it out.”

Riley gulped and said, “Yeah, that’s where I am right now.”

“So … should I expect a phone call from the Birmingham police chief, wondering just what the hell you’re doing there?”

“Oh, no,” Riley said. “The Birmingham police have no idea I’m here.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized how bad that sounded.

I’m not making things any better for myself, she thought.

Choosing her words more carefully, she explained that she’d been to Morse’s house and had also paid his widow a visit. She also told him that she was convinced that the two murders had been committed by the same culprit.

Then she said, “So you see, maybe we should make this case official after all. Two murders in two different states—doesn’t that call for a Federal investigation?”

Meredith growled again.

“You know better than that, Agent Paige. The FBI is like the proverbial vampire. It’s got to be invited in.”

“Well, couldn’t you call Chief Stiles back and—”

“The answer is no, Agent Paige. What you’re telling me is still too flimsy for us to go throwing our weight around. By the way, when Stiles asked me what you were doing there, I told him I’d prefer not to discuss it. So I covered for your ass. You’re welcome.”

“I, uh, really appreciate that, sir.”

“You’d better.”

A silence fell. Riley braced herself for whatever might be coming next.

Was he going to demand that she come back to Quantico immediately?

Finally he said, “I hear you got your adoption case settled. Congratulations. It must feel good.”

“Thanks,” Riley said.

“So, I assume you’re taking a little time off to rest and celebrate.”

Riley started breathing a little easier. She felt pretty sure about where Meredith was going with this …

He’s going to look the other way.

“That’s right,” she said. “I needed a break.”

Another silence fell.

Then Meredith said, “Well, don’t expect the company to reimburse you for any expenses. And I don’t want to hear anything more about your activities—not unless you’ve got something that I’ll really want to know about. I’ll expect you back in your office the day after tomorrow.”

Without another word, Meredith ended the call.

Riley sat looking at her cell phone as she let a feeling of relief sink in.

Then Jared Ruhl asked, “So—that was the boss, huh?”

“Yeah,” Riley said.

With a slight whine, Jared added, “Don’t I deserve any credit? I didn’t hear you mention my name once.”

Riley heaved a deep sigh. The truth was, she had been so focused on Meredith that she hadn’t given any thought to the young cop who was driving the car.

She said, “Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing you any favors.”

As Jared kept driving, Riley felt sure of one thing—she’d piqued Meredith’s interest just enough to cut her some slack, give her a chance to learn more about this case.

But she only had one more day to accomplish whatever she could hope to do.

What could she possibly get done with just one day?