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Story: Deep as the Dead

Chapter Twelve
It was disturbingto be back at the hotel where they’d spent a sleepless night after searching for Lawler. They’d returned much too late to consider switching to a less-expensive place. That would have to wait until morning. But Alexa wouldn’t be sorry to leave this reminder of their failure to save the UNSUB’s latestvictim.
Jeanette Lawler’s next of kin had been notified. The ripples that radiated from death were far-reaching, touching family, friends, colleagues, employers. And in Lawler’s case, an entire viewing audience. That wouldn’t occur to the UNSUB. Lack of empathy was ingrained in his psyche. For the offender, Lawler’s life began and ended withhim.
After agreeing on their meet time the next morning, Ethan, Alexa and Nyle went their separate ways. She figured the men had to be as exhausted as she was. She collected the new laptop and tablet that she’d had delivered there, then returned to her room to shower. After ordering room service, she set up the devices and plugged in the flash drive to transfer her files to the computer before starting on her press conference remarks for tomorrow. She worked for a couple of hours, revising and fine-tuning her statement until she set the task aside. No doubt there would be further changes before she and Ethan went on air. And if he had his way, her portion would be scrappedaltogether.
Ethan. His feelings about Gagnon’s orders had been all too easy to read. As a consultant, Alexa had butted heads with members of an investigation before. It wasn’t unusual for the brass and the agents on the ground to have far different ideas about her role in the case. She almost always sided with the investigators; they were the ones closest to the case. In those instances, she went to bat for them with the administration, as she had when Ethan had warned against releasing the profile. But in this case, she agreed with Gagnon. If the UNSUB continued to communicate with her, it would be for his own reasons. And she’d engage, to further theinvestigation.
Which meant she’d better get used to Ethan’sdisapproval.
A ringing sound emanated from the new laptop. It took a moment for Alexa to realize it was the alert for an incoming FaceTime call. Recognizing Adam Raiker’s number, she answeredpromptly.
“Thank you for getting back to me. I was surprised to hear that you were in thefield.”
Raiker surveyed her with his familiar laser-blue gaze. “Jaid and I agreed that it was time for us to start resuming our normal routines. Or, what used to be normal. We’ve got a child predator case in Lexington. Another victim recently snatched. Clock isticking.”
Alexa winced slightly. She wondered if the case brought back memories of her employer’s last case for the Bureau when he’d been captured by the child killer he’d been tracking, and tortured before he’d overpowered his captor and killedhim.
And then she realized she already knew that answer. Adam Raiker saw the reminders of that case every time he looked in the mirror. The black eyepatch over the eye he’d lost, the scar that traced across his neck, the one running down one cheek, the others on the backs of his hands. He’d never shown a hint of self-consciousness about them. Survival was the ultimate trade-off.
“What’s going on with yourcase?”
Succinctly, Alexa updated him. Raiker had been intrigued from the first when contacted by the RCMP Commissioner. An UNSUB that had been on the loose for over a decade was a uniquechallenge.
His brows drew together. “So he’s communicated with you threetimes.”
“If you count his ‘gift’today.”
“Of course that counts. Under other circumstances, I’d say he’s thumbing his nose at the investigators. But that would be out of character for him. And I don’t get that impression from his first communication withyou.”
“Nor doI.”
“He’s going to reach out again. Sooner, rather than later. This isn’t about an offender taunting the police—he wants toconnectwith you, Alexa, on a personal level. Your shared interest might have been enough to whet his fixation. Your looks likely didn’t hurt.” Typical Raiker, his words held no flattery, but were stated as blunt fact. “This is a unique chance to discover more about him. But don’t underestimate the danger this puts you in. You’ve learned that he first reaches out to his victims by blackmailing them for some perceived sin. He won’t stray far from his longpractice.”
“He’s going to dig into my background. Look for something he can use.” She’d known it already. But having her certainty put into words had a greasy layer of nausea pooling in herstomach.
Raiker nodded. “You may represent a deviation in his signature, but he’s going to abide by that ritual as much as possible. He’ll be compelledto.”
“He’s not going to find any blackmail material in my past.” Heartrending loss, perhaps. But not majorcrimes.
Her employer was shaking his head. “You’re applying logic to a person who isn’t rational. Whatever he discovers, his perception won’t be grounded in reality. You’re a square peg, yes. But he’s going to try to work you into the familiar round hole he has for his victims. Continue developing that possible religious link. If it proves tenable, it’s a tool you can use to engage or manipulatehim.”
They chatted a few more minutes about her piece for the press conference tomorrow, with Raiker suggesting some tweaks before theydisconnected.
It was barely nine, but none of them had slept much the night before. She got up, readied for bed and then switched off the light. Slipped between thecovers.
Exhaustion had unconsciousness approaching quickly. When the alert sounded on her phone, Alexa was already dozing. It was a struggle at first to break free of the sticky fingers of sleep. So tempting to ignore the intrusion. In the next moment, her brain clicked on and she sat straight up, grabbing the cell from the bedsidetable.
After Anis Tera had contacted her yesterday, she’d set that email addy to send an alert for each new email. This could be a professional contact. She already knew it wouldn’t be. When she pressed the inbox button, the same set of letters and numbers appeared from the message sender. The subject header read,TRURO.
She called Ethan’s cell. He answered on the first ring. “There’s another message.” She said nothing more. She knew she didn’t have to. Alexa quickly pulled on yoga pants and a cami and then opened the door. Ethan walked in, his expression grim. He was still fully dressed, minus the suit jacket andtie.
“What’s itsay?”
“I haven’t opened it yet.” She went to the desk and used the tablet to bring up the email addy the offender was using. “When I ordered a new laptop, I got a tablet, too. I don’t want any chance for him to access my files.” She didn’t think that was possible by just opening the email yesterday. But that didn’t mean future communications would be assecure.
“Good idea.” He came over to watch over her shoulder. “I think you’d have to click on a link for that to happen, but no use takingrisks.”