Page 8

The Hoover Building spat Ella out onto Pennsylvania Avenue. Seven floors had never felt so far to fall, but here she was, street level, ten AM, finally breathing air that wasn’t recycled through federal ventilation systems. Mia was bringing her car around, then they were heading to Reagan International Airport for a trip to Ohio.

It was a lot to process; Mia’s resurrection, a killer leaving Ella’s hair at crime scenes, her incarceration at the hands of people she risked her life for daily. And now, Edis was sending her on a new serial case when she hadn’t even been home since the last one.

Under other circumstances, she would have told Edis to go to hell. The man had the nerve to lock her up at the first sign of suspicion, and now he was asking her to investigate a brand new case.

But with Ripley by her side again, Ella had a surge of optimism that hadn't been there an hour ago. Should she really be leaving D.C. right now? Definitely not. The bodies of two of her friends were sitting on slabs somewhere in this city, and Ella needed to see them, pay her respects, and apologize to them for making them guilty by association. But if this case was under the jurisdiction of Washington PD, there wasn't much she could do. At least not officially.

Before she lost herself in the details, she needed to call Luca. She ducked into an alcove, away from the steady stream of suits and briefcases flowing past, then pulled up her recent calls list and tapped Luca’s name.

One ring.

He answered.

‘Ell! Thank God.’

The voice that had kept her sane through sleepless nights worked its magic again. Just hearing him say her name made the world feel a fraction more stable.

‘Hawks, I’m so sorry. Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah. Well, no. What’s going on? Where have you been all night? Why did the police just ransack our place?’

She took a deep breath. ‘You remember Jenna, my old roommate? ’

‘Yeah.’

‘And Julianne Cooper. Landlord for my old place.’

‘What about them?’

‘Now I know why they weren’t answering my calls.’

‘What?’

‘They’re dead. Both of them.’

A moment of silence. ‘Come again? They’re dead?’

‘Murdered. Both in the past few weeks. Washington PD are on the case, and obviously I’m the link.’

Luca took a sharp intake of breath. ‘Whoa, hold the phone. Your friends show up murdered, and they assume you had something to do with it?’

‘Police found… my hair.’

‘Your hair?’ His voice had gone tight. ‘What do you mean, your hair?’

‘The perp sewed Jenna and Julianne’s mouths shut. With my hair.’ Ella pressed her fingers against her temple, trying to organize the chaos into something resembling sense. ‘I know. It’s messed up.’

‘Ell, I’m not sure where to even start with that. He sewed their mouths shut? With your hair? How’d this perp even get your hair?’

‘More questions than answers, I know. Did the police take anything from our place?’

‘No. They left fifteen minutes ago. Empty-handed.’

‘Good.’

‘Wait, I’m confused,’ Luca said. ‘Have you been with the police all night?’

‘No, Edis kept me in a conference room at HQ.’

‘What? You’re not serious?’ Luca’s voice rose a few decibels.

‘Deadly serious. He said it was the easiest thing to do.’

‘And you didn’t just walk out? Kick the door down? He can’t lock you up like that.’

Ella had spent the past twelve hours wondering whether or not to just shoulder that conference room door off its hinges and make for the sunset. In the end, she decided it was the wrong move. Edis could keep her under watch for a short time, and some small, broken part of her understood why he had.

‘He can. I was a suspect, so police can hold me for 24 hours. I just got the VIP treatment.’

‘Ell, I’ve got half a mind to show up there and put boots to the director’s ass. That asshole’s put me on temporary leave too.’

‘What? Because of me?’

‘No. Because of how I threw Lawrence Winters off that walkway last night. DD Marshall said I’d overstepped the mark and they needed to investigate.’

Ella watched the flow of pedestrians, wondering if any of them might be returning the gesture. ‘Oh, that kind of leave. Don’t worry about that. I’ve had that like three times.’

‘You have?’

‘Yeah. It’s a formality. The big dogs just need to justify their salaries.’

‘Sure? Marshall seemed genuinely pissed.’

'New government takes office in January, so all the top dogs will be replaced. Marshall is one of them. He's just throwing his weight around for his last few weeks.'

‘Well, that’s a relief. Where are you now? Are you coming home?’

‘I’m outside HQ, but there’s something else. Ripley is here.’

Another pause. ‘Ripley? The Ripley?’

‘The Ripley. She showed up with some footage that helped clear me. And now...’

‘And now what?’

‘Edis is sending me and her to Ohio on a new case.’

‘Umm,’ Luca murmured, ‘you remember she retired, right? Are you sure you’re not hallucinating all of this?’

A silver Volvo ghosted up to the curb with Ripley's face visible through the windshield. The sight of her old partner behind the wheel of a soccer mom car should have been funny, but nothing felt funny anymore.

‘Definitely not hallucinating,’ Ella said into the phone. ‘Listen, I need you to do something for me and I need you not to argue about it.’

‘I don’t like the sound of this. Any of this.’

‘Whoever’s doing this isn’t some two-bit criminal. They got my hair from somewhere. They found my old address that isn't in any public records. They knew about Jenna and Julianne.’

‘So, you think I could be the next target.’

The thought made Ella’s stomach turn inside out. ‘Julianne barely knew me. If this killer had no problem finding my old address and her, then…’

‘Then I might as well have a bullseye on my forehead.’

‘Exactly. Could you get out of D.C. for a few days? Until I make some headway with this?’

Ripley rolled down the window and beckoned her partner inside. Ella held up a one-moment gesture.

‘But the case is with the police. We don’t work for the police.’

‘Edis is going to get jurisdiction. Ripley said it’ll take a few days.’ Through the phone, she heard drawers opening.

‘I don’t like this one bit,’ Luca said. ‘But I can stay with my mom in Mass. It’ll be good to go home, for once.’

Relief flooded her system. ‘Perfect. Go there. Today if possible.’

‘Thank God the police left me some clothes to pack. Gonna need my roomy shorts for that six-hour drive though.’

‘Good. Let me know when you get there. I’ll text you when I get to Ohio.’

‘Alright. Stay safe.’

‘You too. I kind of like having you around.’

She ended the call and stared at her phone for a moment, wondering if that would be the last normal conversation they'd ever have. Then she pulled open the Volvo's door and slid into the passenger seat. Morning sun hit the windshield at an angle that turned the whole world gold.

Ripley slapped Ella’s knee. ‘Ready for round nineteen? Twenty? Whatever the hell we’re at now?’

Ella snapped her seatbelt in. ‘One more time around the block. Let’s go.’