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Hayes had been firm about not taking her aunt’s vehicle to the motel, choosing a rideshare instead. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to rely on a familiar car, but it made her itchy, knowing they’d have to wait on an app ride if they needed to leave here quickly.
She heard someone approaching in the hallway and got up to look out the peephole. Reese flipped the security latch and undid the dead bolt. “Looks like Christmas came early.”
Hayes was carrying some packages. She moved aside to allow him entry. “I just had them dropped at the front desk, rather than give out our room number.”
He handed her an insulated envelope and took the boxes to the table, pulling out a pocketknife to open them. Reese withdrew a car fob and two keys from the envelope and held them up. “Does this mean you had a vehicle delivered?”
“A black Suburban. It’ll be in the south parking lot.”
He opened one box and withdrew a handgun and holster. The second held ammunition.
“I don’t suppose the SDPD was too forgiving of having their loaned weapon blown up.”
Hayes expertly loaded the gun. “Mendes had that sent along. But you can be sure the agency has already relayed payment for the loss of the one today. The PD won’t incur any expenses on our behalf.”
They were tabulating plenty to investigate the mini-crime wave she seemed to have set off in the last several days. Reese left the contents she’d unpacked on the counter and threw away the envelope they’d arrived in, giving him the gist of what she’d learned from Price.
“Interesting. Although one can’t discount professional jealousy or personal conflicts between personnel, the usual reasons for someone in Sedgewick’s position to be fired would be inappropriate relationships with patients, not maintaining boundaries, fraud, falsifying records or not documenting them properly.”
“Patient safety might have figured into it.” She pulled out a chair and sat. Her legs were more unsteady than she’d admit.A belated response to the day’s events. “Price said some of her patients were escalating in their violence against staff.”
Hayes didn’t look up from his task. “When you start getting into treatment options, things get a little trickier. Aggressive role play isn’t outside the standard of care when administered properly. But if it’s not aligned with the patient’s best interests, it becomes an issue. Processing the client’s feelings and reactions is key.”
“And that’s where Price said the problem was.” She remembered her conversation with the doctor that morning. It’d felt…manipulativewas the word, Reese decided. Almost like she was intentionally finding and touching bruised areas of her psyche.
But she’d had enough experience with therapists to have felt similarly with them over the years. Trauma hurt. And the mental contusions it left in its wake remained painful.
He glanced at her. “Do you think she would have used that treatment on your brother?”
The question hung in the air between them. Reese didn’t talk about her early life with Ben. Not with anyone. Realizing he was waiting for a response, she selected her words carefully. “He suffers from delusions. At home, he was mostly aggressive with me.”
“Tough way to grow up.” His voice was laced with sympathy. “But none of us are defined by what’s happened to us.”
“It’s how we respond to it.” She managed a slight smile. “I’ve heard that before.”
He took the weapon and ammo to his bedroom and returned with his cell in his hand. “I think you’re the most resilient person I’ve ever met. You have that quality in common with Adam.”
She sent him a sidelong glance. Did he just compare her to Adam Raiker? The man was more than a little formidable. But he’d survived a terrible ordeal. And the scars that lingeredhadn’t stopped him from building a state-of-the-art forensics corporation with an international reputation.
“How did you manage to capture his attention in the first place?”
“A combination of factors probably.” His gaze was fixed on his cell. “As I said, I was working at Quantico in the Behavioral Science Unit. Adam’s wife, Jaid, still works for the Bureau.”
“He’s married?” The news managed to refocus her attention. “That’s…surprising.”
“It’s not something they broadcast. Their personal information has been sealed, via court order. He presents a pretty big target, as you can imagine. I can’t recall how many assassination attempts he’s survived. The last one nearly killed him. Their son was kidnapped a couple of years ago.”
“I can’t imagine the security it takes to protect them.”
“Well, no one’s better in that area. I worked with Jaid a couple of times. And Raiker came from the BSU, so I’m sure he still has contacts in the department. But it wasn’t until after we’d solved the Beach Butcher case that he reached out to me.”
“Beach Butcher. I remember reading something about that. Somewhere on the east coast, right?”
“In,” he breathed with satisfaction. “Raiker’s security is a real pain using the cell.”
“What are you doing?”
“Accessing the TK interviews on the agency’s system.” Seamlessly, he picked up the thread of their conversation. “The Beach Butcher operated in the Carolinas. He was a sadistic thrill killer. Preyed on men and women equally. Chopped them up with an ax and then formed messages out of their body parts. From the wording in those, and other evidence that was uncovered, I concluded he was a musician of some sort. And probably not a particularly successful one, since those types of killers are often mired in inadequacy.”