Page 63 of Once Vanished

“Agent Paige,” he said, his tone warm as if greeting an old friend.“I was wondering when you’d come to see me.”He gestured to the empty space beside him on the cot.“Please, sit.We have so much to talk about.”

“I’ll stand.”

He shrugged, unbothered by her refusal.“As you wish.Though I must say, you look exhausted.The past few days have been quite taxing for all of us, haven’t they?”

“You’re going away for a long time, Leo,” she said flatly.“Kidnapping.Attempted murder.Murder, in the case of Officer Martinez.”

Leo’s eyebrows rose in an expression of exaggerated surprise.“Those are serious charges indeed.But entirely false, I assure you.”

“False?”Riley couldn’t keep the incredulity from her voice.“We caught you in the act.You had Bill Jeffreys hanging from a noose.You had abducted my daughter.”

“Did I?”Leo tilted his head, his expression thoughtful.“That’s not how I remember things at all.And I’m afraid there won’t be any evidence to support those wild accusations.”

“What about Officer Stanley Pope?I suppose you didn’t abduct him either?”

“A tragic misunderstanding.”Leo’s voice was smooth, reasonable.“Officer Pope approached me for help with a personal matter.I was merely providing assistance.”

Riley studied him, unable to tell if he actually believed the lies he was spinning or if this was simply the opening gambit in a legal strategy.Either way, it demonstrated a strange disconnect from reality.

“And Susan Martinez?You cut her throat right in front of me.”

“A terrible tragedy,” Leo agreed, his expression somber.“But I was nowhere near that waterworks facility when it happened.I believe you’ll find the evidence quite inconclusive.”

Riley had expected denials—most criminals protested their innocence.But there was something different about Leo’s denials.A certainty.A complete absence of the fear or desperation that usually accompanied such claims.

“I’ve retained an excellent attorney,” he continued, as if they were discussing a minor legal inconvenience.“Thomas Yardley—perhaps you’ve heard of him?He’s confident that these charges will be dismissed for lack of evidence.”

“Lack of evidence?”Riley repeated.“Leo, we have eyewitnesses.We have forensic evidence.We have your digital trail.”

He waved a dismissive hand.“All circumstantial at best, fabricated at worst.”His eyes met hers, sincere and earnest.“Once it’s cleared up, we can resume where we left off.I very much enjoyed our conversations in class.”

The full extent of his delusion hit Riley then.This wasn’t just legal maneuvering or defiance in the face of capture.Leo genuinely believed he would beat these charges, walk free, and continue his obsessive pursuit of her.His arrogance had crystallized into something bordering on psychosis—a complete inability to recognize the reality of his situation.

“That’s not going to happen, Leo,” she said quietly.“You’re never going to be free again.The only question is whether you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison, or on death row.”

For the first time, a flicker of something—uncertainty?anger?—disturbed his composed expression.But it was gone almost instantly, replaced by that same confident smile.

“We’ll see.”His tone was almost indulgent now, as if she were a child who didn’t understand how the world worked.“I look forward to proving you wrong, Riley.As I’ve done before.”

She turned away then.“We’re done here.”

“For now,” he called after her as she knocked for the guard to let her out.“But this isn’t over between us.Not by a long shot.”

The metal door clanged shut behind her, cutting off whatever else he might have said.Riley followed the guard back through the maze of corridors, her mind churning.Leo’s absolute confidence in his eventual release was disturbing on a level she hadn’t anticipated.It wasn’t just the grandiosity of a narcissist—it was something more fundamentally broken in his perception of reality.

Outside, the September morning sun was high and warm against her skin.Riley stood in the parking lot for a moment, breathing in the fresh air.

Leo had forced Bill and her to relive their worst professional failures—Chen’s death, Pope’s shooting, Lucy’s death.Those wounds wouldn’t heal quickly, if they ever truly healed at all.

But she had survived.Bill had survived.Her family was intact.And Leo Dillard was behind bars where he belonged.

That was enough.For now.