Блейк Пирс - Once Dormant

Crane smirked and said, “Don’t tell me. It’s because you still think Gareth Ogden’s murder the night before last was the work of a serial killer who lives right here in Rushville.”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Do I need to explain it all over again?” she said. “The whole Bonnett family got killed here one night ten years ago. Somebody bashed in their heads with a hammer. The case was never solved.”

Crane nodded and said, “And you think the same killer has come out of the woodwork ten years later.”

Sam shrugged and said, “There’s pretty obviously some connection. The MO is identical.”

Crane suddenly raised his voice a little.

“There’s no connection. We went through all this yesterday. The MO is just a coincidence. The best we can tell, Gareth Ogden was killed by some drifter passing through town. We’re following every lead we can. But unless he does the same thing somewhere else, we’re liable to never catch him.”

Sam felt a surge of impatience.

She said, “If he was just a drifter, why wasn’t there any sign of a robbery?”

Crane slapped his desk with the palm of his hand.

“Damn it, you don’t give up on any of your notions, do you? We don’t know that there wasn’t a robbery. Ogden was dumb enough to leave his front door open. Maybe he was also dumb enough to leave a wad of money lying on his coffee table. The killer saw it and decided to help himself to it, bashing in Ogden’s head in the process.”

Cradling his fingertips together again, Crane added …

“Now doesn’t that sound more plausible than some psychopath who’s spent ten long years … doing what, exactly? Hibernating, maybe?”

Sam took a long, deep breath.

Don’t get started with him again, she told herself.

There was no point in explaining all over again just why Crane’s theory bugged her. For one thing, what about the hammer? She herself had noticed that Ogden’s hammers were all still neatly stowed in his tool chest. So did the killer lug around a hammer with him as he drifted from town to town?

It was possible, sure.

It also struck her as a little bit ridiculous.

Crane growled sullenly and added, “I told that Meredith guy that you were bored and overly imaginative and to forget all about it. But frankly, the whole conversation was embarrassing. I don’t like it when people go over my head. You had no business making those phone calls. Asking for help from the FBI is my job, not yours.”

Sam was grinding her teeth, struggling to keep her thoughts to herself.

She managed to say in a quiet voice …

“Yes, Chief.”

Crane breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief.

“I’m going to let this slide and not take any disciplinary action this time around,” he said. “The truth is, I’d be much happier if none of the guys found out any of this happened. Have you told anybody else here about your shenanigans?”

“No, Chief.”

“Then keep it that way,” Crane said.

Crane turned and started a new game of Tetris as Sam left his office. She went to her desk and sat down and brooded silently.

If I can’t talk to somebody about this, I’m liable to explode, she thought.

But she’d just promised not to bring it up with the other cops.

So who did that leave?

She could think of exactly one person … the one who was the reason she was here, trying to do this job …

My dad.

He’d been an active duty cop here when the Bonnett family had been murdered.

The fact that the case wasn’t solved had haunted him for years.

Maybe Dad could tell me something, she thought.

Maybe he’d have some ideas.

But Sam’s heart sank as she realized that wouldn’t be such a good idea. Her father was in a local nursing home and was suffering from bouts of dementia. He had his good days and his bad days, but bringing up a case from his past would almost certainly upset and confuse him. Sam didn’t want to do that.

Right now she had nothing much to do until her partner, Dominic, showed up for their morning beat. She hoped he’d get here soon, so they could make a round of the area before the heat got too oppressive. Today was expected to break some records.

Meanwhile, there was no point in worrying about things she couldn’t do anything about—not even the possibility that a serial killer might be right here in Rushville, getting ready to strike again.

Try not to think about it, she told herself.

Then she scoffed and murmured aloud …

“Like that’s going to happen.”

Riley’s cell phone buzzed while Blaine was driving them all back to Fredericksburg. She was surprised and unsettled to see who the call was from.

Is this some kind of emergency? she wondered.

Gabriela never called her just to chat, and she had made a point of not calling at all during their two weeks at the beach. She’d only sent an occasional text to let Riley know that everything was all right at home.

Riley’s concern grew when she took the call and heard a note of alarm in Gabriela’s voice …

“Señora Riley—when will you be home?”

“In about half an hour,” Riley said. “Why?”

She heard Gabriela inhale sharply, then say …

“ He’s here.”

“Who’s here?” Riley asked.

When Gabriela didn’t answer immediately, Riley understood …

“Oh my God,” she said. “Ryan’s there?”

“Sí,” Gabriela said.

“What does he want?” Riley asked.

“He does not say. But he says it is something important. He is waiting for you.”

Riley almost asked Gabriela to put Ryan on the phone. But then it occurred to her—whatever Ryan wanted was probably nothing she’d want to discuss on the phone right now. Not with everybody else right there in the car.

Instead Riley said, “Tell him I’ll be home soon.”

“I will,” Gabriela said.

They ended the call and Riley sat staring out the SUV window.

After a moment Blaine said, “Um … did I hear you say something about …?”

Riley nodded.

Sitting behind them listening to music, the girls hadn’t been listening until just now.

“What?” April asked. “What’s going on?”

Riley sighed and said, “It’s your father. He’s at home waiting for us.”

Both April and Jilly gasped aloud.

Then Jilly said, “Couldn’t you tell Gabriela to just make him go away?”

Riley was tempted to say she’d really like to, but it wouldn’t be fair to unload that task on Gabriela.

Instead she said …

“You know I can’t do that.”

April and Jilly both moaned with dismay.

Riley could well understand how her two daughters felt. Ryan’s last unannounced visit to their house had been unpleasant for everybody—Ryan included. His attempt to charm his way back into the girls’ lives had backfired. April had been cool toward him, and Jilly had been downright rude.

Riley hadn’t been able to blame either one of them.

One too many times, Ryan had built up their hopes that he could still act like a father. He’d dashed those hopes yet again, and the girls had wanted nothing to do with him.

What does he want now? Riley wondered, sighing again.

Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t going to sour everybody’s good feelings about the vacation they’d just had. It had been a lovely two weeks, despite Riley’s dream about her father. Since then she had done her best to put Agent Meredith’s call out of her mind.

But now the news about Ryan seemed to trigger her dark thoughts again.

A hammer, she thought.