Allison Brennan - Cutting Edge

Hans Vigo at Quantico seemed positive that Maggie would contact Nora directly before harming Quin. But it already had been more than six hours.

Nora had done everything she could that night. Making sure every branch of law enforcement had recent photos of Quin, the high school picture of Maggie, and a copy of the more recent picture found in her closet. A description of Quin’s car, Scott Edwards’s truck, sending agents to re-interview students at Rose College, pushing Donovan on the evidence. It was one in the morning and she had nowhere to turn, nothing to do except think about the danger Quin faced.

She did have one more option. Her last option. God knew that she’d never attempt to speak with Lorraine unless she had no other choice. Lorraine might know something about where Maggie was living. Maybe she would help. Quin’s life was at stake; she had to help!

She dialed Warden Greene at the Victorville Federal Penitentiary and worked on controlling the desperation that rose in her chest. If Lorraine knew how scared Nora was, she might clam up just to hurt her. Nora had to prove to Lorraine that this was about Quin. That was the only way she’d help.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Agent English.”

“I’m sorry to drag you from bed, Warden, but it’s an emergency. I need to talk to a prisoner immediately.”

“I know. That’s one of the reasons I took so long. I had Lorraine Wright woken and asked her to take your call. She refused.”

“She can’t!”

“I can’t force her to talk to you.”

Nora rubbed her eyes. Lorraine would never change. Selfish, angry, distrustful. “Please ask her if she knows where Maggie is staying. If she has any idea where she might be living. Tell her that her daughter Quin is in danger.”

“I’ll ask. Hold the line. This may take a few minutes.”

“I’ll wait, thank you.”

Duke stood at her side and took her hand. She said, “Lorraine won’t talk to me.”

“Dr. Vigo said Maggie would call you.” Hooper had already put a trace on all her phones. If Maggie called, they’d quickly pinpoint her location.

“But he doesn’t know that she’ll call. And that puts her in the driver’s seat. We need to find out where she is first . Otherwise, she’ll jerk us around.”

“Everyone is working on it.”

“I know.” She sat on the edge of the table and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to panic, she had to think clearly. “Quin has to be okay.”

“She is. And she’s feisty.”

No one, not even Hans Vigo, could predict Maggie’s erratic behavior. Nora sensed that Quin was in jeopardy as soon as she spotted the pictures in Maggie’s closet, but she couldn’t even hazard a guess at how long it would take before Maggie called her, if ever. Dr. Vigo said within twenty-four hours, but Nora wasn’t so sure. It depended on Maggie’s end game.

“She’s trying to wear you down,” Duke told Nora. “She doesn’t know that we’re on to her.”

Nora wasn’t so sure, but had agreed to a stakeout at Maggie’s apartment. “She didn’t go back to her apartment.”

“Because she kidnapped Quin. Hard to get her into the building. You said she’d find someplace secluded.”

“If she didn’t know we were on to her before she took Quin, she knows now.”

“Why?”

“She left the water running in Quin’s town house, for one. That’s going to attract attention, probably from her next-door neighbor. We impounded Scott’s truck. We were all over her apartment. And-I don’t think Quin will keep quiet. I laid out the case against Maggie, trying to prove it to Quin. The only thing going for us now is that Maggie and Quin have a long-standing relationship. Maybe-” She paused. What was she hoping for? “Maybe Quin understands her. Maybe she can stay alive until we can find her.”

Hooper walked in with Rachel close on his heels. Hooper announced, “The judge didn’t approve our warrant for a wiretap on David O’Dell’s phone. Said we didn’t have enough evidence that he was involved in his daughter’s alleged activities, and that the charges against Maggie O’Dell were specious.”

“What?” Duke exclaimed. “This is why I’m glad I never became a cop. The evidence is pretty damn clear. You didn’t see her apartment, Dean.”

Hooper tensed and said, “I saw the photos, and I agree that she’s our killer. But knowing it and proving it are two different things. We still have evidence to process. We have fingerprints but can’t prove they belong to Maggie O’Dell.”

“Not necessarily,” Rachel said, holding up her BlackBerry. “Donovan just emailed a preliminary report that the prints in the apartment match prints in both Edwards’s truck and Teagan’s town house.”

“But we haven’t matched them against Maggie O’Dell,” Nora said. “Once we bring her into custody, we can tie up the entire case with a pretty bow, but until then, it’s as if she doesn’t exist.”

“Agent English?” Warden Greene said over her phone.

“Yes, Warden, I’m here.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Nora’s chest tightened. She was out of ideas. If Lorraine didn’t talk, they’d have to wait for Maggie to make the next move, and Nora didn’t want to cede control to a psychopathic killer.

“Why?”

“Ms. Wright said if you want that information, she’ll only tell you face-to-face.”

The duck stood on the table and stared at Quin. The last duck from Butcher-Payne, she thought. Securely tied to the chair, hands behind her back, each ankle tied to the base, she was dressed only in her jeans and a bra. Maggie wouldn’t give her a shirt to wear, didn’t even seem to notice that it was freezing up here-wherever “here” was. All Quin knew was they were in the mountains-the fresh pine, the redwoods, the moist, woodsy scent. But the Sierra Nevadas were a big place, they could be almost anywhere-though it had taken less than two hours to get here.

A cat jumped onto the table next to the duck, who waddled away and hopped onto the floor. Now the cat stared at Quin, before sitting and licking his paw.

It was pitch black outside, the only light in the cabin from a naked bulb in the middle of the room. The place was cluttered but neat. Books and papers stacked tightly on a solitary bookshelf; dishes washed and dried on the sideboard; knives hung neatly on a rack.

Maggie had left three hours ago, if Quin’s internal clock was working. She had no idea what Maggie had planned for her. She hadn’t spoken much after Tasering Quin in her bathroom.

Quin’s bottom lip quivered as she thought about Devon and what Maggie had done to him. What she wanted to do to Nora. It was clear that Maggie’s goal was to kill Nora, and Quin didn’t know how to save herself, let alone her sister.

Did Nora even know she was missing? Quin couldn’t believe some of the things she’d said to her sister. She wished she could take them back. What if that was the last conversation she ever had with Nora? She didn’t want to die with Nora thinking she hated her.

Quin didn’t hear anything but the faint sounds of night outside the cabin. Tree branches rubbing against the back wall, moved by a breeze that occasionally strengthened enough to rattle one of the two windows. The call of owls, a howl of a lone coyote. The door opened and Quin jumped. “Hi, Quin! I’m back!” Maggie announced.

She put a bag down on the counter and unpacked it.

“Where were you?” Quin asked.

“Out,” she said, then laughed. “Sending Super Special Federal Agent a message. We’ll see how long it takes her to find it.” She put a cell phone down on the counter.

“What kind of message?”

“A fun one.” She frowned. “Why all the questions?”