Hunting (21 page)

“
Hopefully you will find
that piece sooner rather than later.”

“
So is this some kind of
game this guy is pulling you into?” Lorcan asked. “Why you? What
did you do to him to pull his attention your way?”

“
If I knew that I’d have
stopped him by now. The only thing I can assume is that somehow
during a previous case I came into contact with him. He tagged me
for this whatever you want to call it.”

“
There’s thirty-two pieces
in a chess set,” Julia said. “And you said this would be his
thirty-third victim. What are the other pieces you’ve received from
him?”

“
The full thirty-two piece
set. A frosted glass set. Approximately twenty years old.
“

“
So either this guy is just
killing with no rhyme or reason, or…” Hellbrook looked at
Malachi.

Malachi finished the words
for him. “He’s started his game all over again.”

Malachi stared at the
collection of chess pieces lining his desk, looking for any
hint—anything at all to explain why he had been chosen to be the
recipient of such a gruesome game. Had he angered someone? Put
someone away that he shouldn’t have? Or was it something
else?

Allan Knight was meeting
him in ten minutes to discuss why he’d forwarded the body of the
latest victim—the pawn—to PAVAD. Perhaps the other agent had seen
something or had more information.

That was one of the hardest
parts for Malachi—the lack of information.

This was his longest
running unsolved case since his entrance into the FBI. The one
bastard who’d eluded him the longest and he’d targeted Malachi.
What did that say about Malachi’s abilities?

What kind of personality
was he dealing with here?

Knight knocked on his
office door and Malachi waved him in. They’d known each other for
years—had worked together since the beginning of Malachi’s time in
St. Louis almost five years ago. Before that they’d worked together
a time or two. He liked Knight, and respected him as an agent.
“Allan, how many weeks has it been?”

“
About two weeks give or
take. Your Thanksgiving party.” The day he and Julia had been
kidnapped and taken to that North St. Louis basement. “How have you
been? Any indications who it was?”

“
I’ve been fine. And he’s
still out there. In fact, I have a few questions for you that might
help me. That victim you had transferred to our M.E.—indications
are she was killed by the same guy.”

Knight nodded. “I figured
as much when I saw the card.”

“
Card?”

“
I sent it over with all
the evidence my team and the CSU team collected at the scene. A
business card for a Dr. J. Bellows was found near the woman’s head.
I called ahead, but your Dr. Bellows was out of her office, I
think.” Knight settled into the chair in front of Mal’s desk. “I
found it concerning. I would have called you myself but I was
pulled away for one of my own cases.”

Malachi picked up his desk
phone and dialed the forensics lab supervisor. Dr. Brewster
answered. Mal requested the card be brought to his office
immediately and the supervisor agreed.

“
Allan, tell me everything
that stood out to you. Where was she found?”

As he listened to Knight
share all the details the other man had, once again Malachi was
doomed to disappointment. Knight had no more than he had—because
there wasn’t anything else to go on.

Someone out there was
playing this game with Malachi, and Malachi didn’t even know where
the board started or ended. Or who was now playing. He had a nasty
feeling the game was getting far more personal.

Paige had been sent two
pieces after the attack on her, and Malachi knew those pieces were
meant to come to him. And now Julia had been targeted to find a
piece, from a new set. That would eventually have come to
him.

Dammit, why did it all have
to circle around him? What had he done to pull this guy’s notice?
What had he missed?

A tentative knock sounded
on his door fifteen minutes after Knight left. He barely resisted
the urge to bark at the intrusion. When the knocker entered, he was
glad he’d refrained.

Julia was pale, but he
could see a spark of determination in her pretty, pretty eyes. “I
finished with Jane Doe. Do you have any leads on her?”

“
Not yet. What’s your
impression?”

“
Someone will be looking
for this woman. The manicure was expensive, the hair treated with
some of the best coloring on the market, and though she was far too
thin according to my charts, she was toned in a way that told me
she took care of herself—probably through a gym membership.” She
sank into the chair farthest from his desk, and Malachi wondered at
it. Was she that apprehensive of him?

“
I’ve missed you.” He said
the words softly, then watched as she bristled. She hadn’t expected
that, then.

“
How could you? We’re
colleagues, nothing more.”

“
Friends who’ve spent
several days alone together. Who’ve even slept together in several
ways.”

“
You having those delusions
again?” There was heat in her tone, but not much. She was worried,
wasn’t she? “I think you should seek medication for
that.”

“
Julia…look at me.
Something is bothering you. And it brought you to me. What gives?”
With everything he had he wanted to stand up, round his desk, and
pull the stubbornly infuriating woman into his arms. Kiss her as
thoroughly as he possibly could.

Hazel eyes stared directly
at him. Her words were blunt, almost harsh. “Should I be worried
about mine and Ruthie’s safety because of a wackjob playing this
macabre game with you?”

He stared back at her for a
long moment, angry with himself and the bastard responsible for
involving her in this. Angry that he couldn’t give her the answer
he—or she—wanted. “I don’t know. I don’t know if he’s targeted you
or Paige or anyone else I care about. He never targeted anyone I’ve
known before. But then again he’d never brought it right to my
front door before either. Always before he’s been at a distance.
Out of reach.”

“
Out of the catching zone.
You’ll find him. An 86% solve rate for your team isn’t chump
change. But in the meantime, what do I need to do? I won’t be a
victim of a crazy dude again.” She brushed a hand against the scar
at her temple—the only visible reminder of Roger Stephenson’s
attack so many months ago. “I won’t. Especially with Ruthie in the
picture now. I’ll be damned sure to protect her.”

Like she had Matthew. He’d
never forget what he’d felt when Hell had mentioned how he’d found
Julia unconscious, her body in front of the cabinet where little
Matthew had been hiding the day Roger Stephenson kidnapped Georgia.
Malachi had been in Georgia’s former townhome so many times, he had
no difficulty at all imagining the scene.

And he understood how the
woman in front of him would feel about failing to protect the ones
she loved completely. Because that failure was the same he felt.
“Let me come home with you tonight.”

“
What?” She practically
squeaked the question, her eyes widening. “Are you freaking insane?
How exactly would I explain that to Ruthie? And what could you do
that I couldn’t, anyway?”

The question hung on the
air between them. He answered slowly, not looking away from her.
“Be there. As an added buffer between you and this guy.” Be there,
to protect her and Ruthie with every breath he had.

“
Or bring him to us. Have
you considered that he’s just messing with us—if he is—because of
you? That we’re incidental to him?” She leaned forward, and Malachi
gave his damnedest try at not looking down the gap between the
edges of her scrubs neckline. He found the hint of femininity this
little wasp exuded far more alluring than anything any other female
had tried on him. And he’d had plenty of his share of female
attention. Did she even have a clue how he felt? Other than the
sexual heat between them that he knew she was aware of between
them?

And dammit, how long had he
felt this way? Since Thanksgiving, since before? Was that why he’d
been so drawn to her from the very first time they’d met in South
Dakota so many months ago? Had it just taken them being kidnapped
together before he allowed his feelings for her free? Was that why
he’d felt the need to, well, aggravate her? Was he like a schoolboy
pulling her damned braids? “Yes. I have considered that. But what
if he decides to take that one step farther, and make you one of
his victims? He sent Paige the white king and queen. With our
faces. Making you the queen means you’ve moved up in the
game.”

“
And what exactly does that
mean for me?” Though her expression was neutral he could hear the
fear in her words.

“
I don’t know. Those were
frosted glass pieces, and usually the last pieces lost in a game.
And they were the thirty-first and –second pieces I’d received.
Equal amounts black and white. This is carved wood from an entirely
different set.”

“
So he’s started a new game
with Jane Doe.”

It would all begin again.
Mal felt sick at the implications, at the inevitable loss of life
the UNSUB would be responsible for. “I think so. And once again, I
don’t know where the board even is.”

Warm fingers wrapped around
his arm. He looked into her pretty, pretty eyes. Compassion,
understanding, even grief for him was there. “You’ll find it. Find
him. I don’t doubt that Malachi Perfect Brockman will
succeed.”

“
Thanks. And it stands for
Perry.” When had she started calling him by the nickname his
siblings had thrust upon him in childhood?

“
I know. But
Perfect
seems to fit a little better.” Her words were rueful when she
looked at him.

He was just happy she
hadn’t pulled away yet. Malachi rested his chin on her hair, just
breathing the scent of Julia in. “No, it doesn’t.”

“
Mmmm. Guess you just don’t
see it.” She finally pulled away, and he liked to imagine it was
with some reluctance. “I can’t just take you home with me like a
big guard dog. Not with Ruthie...I need stability for her. Not a
man who looks at me the way you do.”

He didn’t have to like it,
but he understood it. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t assign an
extra security detail to her house. As soon as she left his office
that was exactly what he did.

She’d spotted the security
detail ten minutes after she swung by the baby-sitter’s and
collected Ruthie. Malachi’s mother had volunteered to watch Ruthie
once she’d learned that Rosa hadn’t been able to take on the added
responsibility of a preschooler. The offer had come the second time
Jules had taken Ruthie to church and it had come in the nick of
time.

Jules would be eternally
grateful to Meredith for the way she’d helped her out. And Ruthie
loved it at Meredith and Kenneth’s house so far. Both had retired
recently and it was a wonderful place for Ruthie to spend her
days.

The security detail was
right there waiting on Meredith and Kenneth’s street when she
loaded Ruthie into the car. Jules shut the door and crunched
through the snow to the standard issue Bureau sedan. She’d
recognize a Bureau vehicle anywhere.

She tapped on the driver’s
window, and it rolled down. A young agent she vaguely recognized
was driving. “Dr. Bellows, ma’am.”

“
Agent...Richards, isn’t
it?”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

She looked past him. “And
your partner?”

The young woman nodded. “SA
Chloe Edmond, ma’am.”

Ma’am. Gah. She was a
ma’am
now. “Nice to meet you. So...whose orders?”

“
Dr. Brockman’s, ma’am. He
said there is a potential threat to you and your daughter. We’re
here to ensure your safety. If you have any questions or need
anything, we’ll be here for twelve hours. Our relief will be Josiah
Geoffries, and Jack Fields. Are you familiar with them?” Richards
looked past her shoulder at the second Bureau SUV that just pulled
in.

Jules looked, too, not
surprised at all to see her very own Galahad stepping out of the
vehicle. “Yes, I’ve met both of them a time or two. Thank you. I’m
sure Dr. Brockman is being overly cautious, but I appreciate your
time and diligence.”

And she should have known
he would have the last word. Hands on her hips, she crossed the
short driveway and stomped through the snow until she was close
enough to see the resolve in blue eyes. Yep, she should have
known...

“
I suppose it’s a
compromise.”

He grinned. “Something like
that.” Then he sobered. “It was all I could think of that I thought
you’d allow. Stubborn ass woman.”

“
You know, you can’t always
protect the entire world.” But a man like him would certainly try.
Was that such a bad thing? She felt a softening toward him yet
again. Damn him.

“
But I can do my damnedest
to protect the people I care about.”