Blake Pierce - Once Forsaken

“And what?” Riley asked.

Meredith paused, then said, “I put you on leave a month ago. You seemed to think it was a good idea. The last time we talked, you even asked me for more time away. I think that’s best. Take all the time you need. You need more rest.”

Riley felt discouraged and defeated. But she knew there was no point in arguing. The truth was, Meredith was right. There was no way he could take on this case on the basis of what she’d told him. Especially not with a bureaucratic creep like Walder breathing down his neck.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “I’ll go home now.”

She felt terribly alone as she left Meredith’s office and headed out of the building. But she wasn’t ready to put her suspicions aside. Her gut feeling was much too strong for that. She knew she had to do something.

First things first, she thought.

She had to get more information. She had to prove that something was wrong.

But how was she going to do that alone?

Riley got home about a half hour before dinner. She went into the kitchen and found Gabriela preparing another of her delicious Guatemalan specialties, gallo en perro, a spicy stew.

“Are the girls home?” Riley asked.

“ Sí. They are in April’s room doing homework together.”

Riley felt a bit relieved. At home at least, something seemed to be going right.

“How about Ryan?” Riley asked.

“He called. He will be late.”

Riley felt a pang of unease. It reminded her of bad times with Ryan. But she told herself not to worry. Ryan’s job was demanding, after all. And besides, Riley’s own work kept her away from home much more than she would like.

She went upstairs and got on her computer. She ran a search on Deanna Webber’s death, but didn’t find anything she didn’t know already. Then she looked for information on Cory Linz, the other girl who had died. Again, she found very little information.

She did a search for recent obituaries that mentioned Byars College, and soon came up with six. One of those had died in a hospital after a long battle with cancer. Of the others, she recognized the photos of three young people. They were Deanna Webber, Lois Pennington, and Cory Linz. But she didn’t recognize the young man and the young woman in the other two obituaries. Their names were Kirk Farrell and Constance Yoh, both sophomores.

Of course, none of the obituaries stated that the deceased had committed suicide. Most of them were pretty vague about the actual cause of death.

Riley sat back in her chair and sighed.

She needed help. But who could she turn to? She still didn’t have access to the techies at Quantico.

She shuddered at one possibility.

No, not Shane Hatcher, she thought.

The criminal genius who had escaped from Sing Sing had come to her aid on more than one case. Her failure—or was it her reluctance?—to recapture him had stirred considerable consternation among Riley’s superiors at the BAU.

She knew perfectly well how to contact him.

In fact, she could do it right now, using her computer.

No, Riley thought with another shudder. Absolutely not.

But who else could she turn to?

Now she remembered something Hatcher had told her when she’d been in a similar situation.

“I think you know who to talk to at the FBI when you’re persona non grata. It’s somebody else who doesn’t give a damn about the rules.”

Riley felt a tingle of excitement.

She knew exactly whose help she needed.

Riley picked up her phone and dialed.

The answering voice said, “Roff here.”

The socially inept computer geek was a technical analyst in the Seattle FBI field office. Van Roff had helped with her last case and, like other professional geeks she’d known, he positively relished any opportunity to bend or even break the rules.

Riley spoke excitedly.

“Van, I need your help. And I’m afraid it isn’t exactly legitimate or sanctioned by the powers that be.”

Before Riley could explain, Roff interrupted her very loudly.

“Hey, Rufus, old buddy! How’s Cancún treating you? Listen, I hope you’re staying safe, not catching any of them tropical diseases, if you know what I mean. You’re wearing a condom, right?”

Baffled, Riley stammered, “Uh, what?”

Roff said, “Listen, Rufus, I’m sure you’ve got all kinds of raunchy stories, and I can’t wait to hear them. Vicarious sex is pretty much all I get these days. But I can’t talk right now. I’ll get back to you later.”

Then he hung up.

Riley stared at her phone. It took a moment for her to realize what had just happened.

Of course. He’s not alone.

Higher-ups in the Seattle FBI tried to keep a close eye on Roff. Perhaps they were even listening in on his phone or monitoring his computer.

She was sure it was a game the computer geek enjoyed playing. He would be happy with the challenge of evading oversight and looking into whatever interested him.

Anyway, Riley felt sure that he would get in touch with her whenever he could. She hoped it wouldn’t be very long.

A little while later, Riley joined Gabriela, April, and Jilly for dinner.

“How’s the case going?” April asked eagerly as Riley sat at the table.

“Well, it’s not exactly a ‘case,’” Riley said.

“But you’re working on it, right? Are you trying to find out what happened to those girls?”

Riley hesitated. How much should she tell April of her activities today?

“I’m working on it,” she said. “But I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

April’s smile made Riley feel a bit better. At least her daughter wasn’t angry with her anymore. Riley just hoped that April wouldn’t wind up disappointed. Although Riley was feeling sure that there was something to be investigated, she was a long way from making any progress. She would need to know a lot more in order to open an official case. And she suspected she was going to have to shed light on matters that some families wanted kept in the dark.

April and Jilly chatted cheerfully about one thing or another over dinner. At one point, April got out her cell phone and brought up questions for a test Jilly had coming up. April began to quiz her.

“Girls, not during supper, please,” Riley said.

Riley was a bit surprised to hear Gabriela disagree with her.

“No, it is good. The girls studying is good, at the table or anywhere else.”

Riley smiled. Yes, she supposed that this was good. She realized that Gabriela was keenly aware of Jilly’s teetering on an edge between a desperate life and a happy one. And Gabriela would also know what kind of difference a good education could make.

So she said, “OK, study away. Anywhere, anytime.”

Riley was pleased that the two girls were bonding wonderfully. And Jilly was getting truly excited about school.

The house phone rang during dinner. Riley got up and answered it. It was Ryan.

“Hi,” she said. “Are you on your way? I can save some dinner for you.”

“I’m afraid I won’t get in until very late tonight,” he said. “I’ve got a huge amount of work to do. I hope that’s OK.”

Riley stifled a sigh.

“It’s OK,” she said.

She ended the call and went back into the kitchen.

“Was that Dad?” April asked. “When’s he getting home?”

“He says he’ll be late,” Riley said, sitting back down.

April’s smile suddenly vanished.

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