Page 67 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Mal

As soon as I left Ester Pascal’s apartment building, I was on the phone. I didn’t even wait for Carr to say a greeting before I spoke.

“Mal!”

“It’s been her the whole time,” I pushed on as a cab signaled they were pulling over. “Holly Marteen is our unsub! She is avenging her own rapes! I need an order to exhume her grave.”

The yellow cab started to pull over.

“Mal!”

“I have a sworn statement from a witness she was in the Alaskan State Hospital. It might be enough to be able to get a warrant?—”

“Mallory! Shut the fuck up and listen to me!”

I paused, my hand on the cold metal of the rear cab door. I couldn’t recall a time when Carr had ever spoken to me like that. He was generally respectful to a fault.

“There was an incident last night.”

Based on his voice, I didn’t think so, but I still had to ask. “Another DB?”

“No. The safe house.”

The safe house? We had several, but I’d chosen one in a residential neighborhood, believing the killer’s—Holly’s—MO to not attack the innocent would keep her from going after it.

If, by some miracle, she even found out where it was.

That was a big stretch, too. That was the point of the safe houses, after all.

It wasn’t like the addresses were posted on the FBI’s website.

How the fuck could she have found it, anyway?

“What happened?” I demanded as the cabbie leaned between the two front seats to yell at me to get into the cab. I stepped back, not wanting to have this conversation with a witness. The cabbie gunned it, speeding off, with me still standing at the edge of the sidewalk.

“It was attacked. All four were taken.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck… She had them. She had all of them. The last five on her list to die. She had them all. It was so poetically simple. She was saving Principal Hagley for last. Sheriff Renfrew was dying, anyway. Would she still kill him as she was about to kill his son?

The safe house was supposed to be secure.

How the fuck had she even known about it?

We’d had six agents on the four prisoners/witnesses.

Since there was a current argument about whether they were victims or criminals, it had been decided they would go to a safe house instead of a jail cell.

Who had made the order? It wasn’t Carr. He’d been the one to pass the news onto me and I had been the one to choose which safe house.

Where had I been when I’d made that decision? Was it possible I was somewhere I could have been overheard? I should have been in the office. Who would have been around? Carr, Mira, some of the interns…?

“Mira?” I asked. “Are they blaming her?”

“I’ve got Mira. You need to get your ass back to Atelihai Valley. Your little field trip this morning never happened .”

My back stiffened. “Carr, did you hear what I said? I know who the killer is!”

“Mal,” he snapped. I heard a door close and his voice changed to have a slight echo, as if he’d stepped into the private bathroom attached to his office.

“Listen to me very carefully. They’re out for blood—and they don’t care whose.

Six agents were sedated last night, as well as the residents of the neighboring house.

The Deputy Director is on his way and he will personally be overseeing every step of this case moving forward.

There’s even talk that he’s going to call in the National Guard.

Get to Atelihai Valley, keep your fucking head down, and we all might just survive this with our careers intact. ”

The National fucking Guard ? What the fuck? “She’s not a danger to anyone not on her list!” I argued.

“You think they care? This is no longer about proof, victimization, or who is or isn’t alive ,” he added through clenched teeth. “It is now a political nightmare and media storm.”

“We have to move Hagley?—”

“Mal,” Carr snapped, interrupting me again.

“In a few hours, this won’t be your case anymore.

You’ll be another peon yes-man. Get back to Atelihai Valley, keep your fucking head down, and if you even breathe a mention of exhuming the body of a sixteen-year-old suicide victim, I will personally oversee your transfer to Phoenix, Arizona, and tell them to break the fucking AC unit in your office. ”

I held still. I had a lot of respect for Delroy Carr. We’d worked together for a lot of years, long before either of us got any promotions. I knew him well enough to know when he was bluffing and when he wasn’t.

“Yes, sir,” I bit out. “I’m headed back to Atelihai Valley now.”

“Good,” Carr snapped. After a moment, he added, “You’re a good agent, Mal, but there’s a reason I passed you over for every promotion or transfer that’s come across my desk asking for you.

You don’t give a damn about the politics—and that’s half of what this job is.

Justice has always mattered more to you than fame.

It makes you a phenomenal agent, but you would never make a good AIC.

You’d tell anyone who pissed you off to go fuck themselves with your feet up on your desk. ”

I raised my hand to flag down another cab. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s admirable. You have no idea how many times I wish I could do something similar, but I can’t, because there’s too many assholes over me who think they’re smarter, better, and cleverer. You’d be given a pink slip on your first day in office.”

“I never wanted any promotions,” I reminded him as another cab started to pull over.

“I know, which is the other reason I passed you over. My advice, Mal, just keep your fucking head down and we all might just survive this. They’re going to start a witch hunt, and your need for the right kind of justice is going to get you crucified.

What you found out in Anchorage no longer matters.

This case is no longer about fact. It’s a photo op and the truth will become whatever it is that they need it to be to make them look good. ”

I got into the cab and gave the driver the address. “She’s avenging herself. She’s not a menace to society or a danger to anyone who is not on her list.”

“They’ll make her out to be a martyr. If you’re right, and they learn about it in their way ,” he added pointedly, “then they’ll catch her, claim how sorry they are that justice failed her, and then lock her up and throw away the key.

She’ll only be remembered when Netflix decides she’s worthy of a documentary. ”

I winced, the dichotomy that had been warring inside of me since I first learned the name ‘Holly Marteen’ screaming at me at the unfairness. “Protect Mira,” I told Carr, needing to end this conversation so I could be alone with my thoughts. “I’ll be back in Atelihai Valley within two hours.”

“I’ve got Mira. Watch your back, Mal.”

“You too,” I said before hanging up. I pocketed my phone for a heartbeat before pulling it out again. Pick up , I silently ordered when the dial tone echoed in my ear. Pick up, pick up, pick up…

“Master?”

I let out a long sigh of relief. “Little Owl.”

“Sir, are you okay? You sound…”

“I’m fine, love. I just…” I cleared my throat. “I needed to hear your voice. It’s been a rough morning.” Fuck, what time was it? Glancing at my watch, I realized it wasn’t even eleven yet. The cookies Mrs. Pascal had packed for me would have to serve as my lunch, though I was far from hungry now.

“How can I help, Sir? What do you need?”

“You,” I answered automatically. “I need you.”

Her little laugh had my cock rising in my suit pants. “You have me, Sir.”

“Not currently. This fucking case…” I whipped my hand down my face. “Look, pet, I don’t know what’s about to happen, if I’m going to be stuck in Atelihai Valley or transferred back to Juneau. I don’t know when we’ll be able to see each other again, and that’s not okay with me.”

I heard something in the background like a door closing.

“Me either, Sir. It’s funny. I got asked last night if I’m happy.

And I thought about my life. I thought I was, but when I thought about my work and my apartment…

that’s not what made me feel happy. But as soon as I thought of you , Sir,” I could hear the smile in her voice, “I realized what would make me the happiest.”

The cab slowed and then stopped. I looked out the window, realizing we were already at the landing pad.

I paid the total, not paying attention to how much I tipped, and got out of the vehicle.

“My job’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Is it nuts that I’ve been thinking about retirement? ” I chuckled. “I’m not even forty yet.”

I started climbing the concrete steps to the pad as she asked, “What would you do, Mr. FBI, if you weren’t Mr. FBI?”

I shrugged. “To be honest, I have no idea. Being a cop, righting wrongs, that’s all I ever wanted from my life.”

“All, Sir?” she asked, her voice turning a little impudent.

I chuckled as I reached the top of the stairs. Waving at the pilot from across the pad, I made the signal that we needed to go. “Listen, pet, I’m about to get on a helicopter. We’ll need to switch to texting.”

“Of course, Sir. I need to get back to work, too.”

“Will you keep your phone on you?” That wasn’t something I could order.

She hesitated and then said, “Yes, Sir. Even if it distracts me, I want to keep talking to you.”

The whirl of the rotors started up. I put a hand to my other ear and turned my back on the landing pad. “Thank you, pet. You just earned yourself another dart.”

“Oh boy, Sir. Maybe I’ll land on Dirty Talk this time. I’m really looking forward to that one.”

I groaned and glanced down, the tent in my pants agreeing with her. “Behave, pet. I still have to make it through the day without completely embarrassing myself.”

She giggled. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

I had to change the volume of my voice to be heard over the wind. “You’re forgiven. And, pet?” I continued without her answering. “You make me very happy too. We’ll figure things out. Our contract might have started out rickety, but it won’t be like this forever. I swear to you.”

“I believe you, Sir.” I could barely hear her. “I think we could both use a vacation soon.”

“Start thinking about where you want to go,” I told her. “I have a lot of vacation time saved up, Little Owl. As soon as this case is over with, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“Looking forward to it, Sir.”

Shouting from behind me told me I was holding up the pilot. “I’ll text you as soon as we’re in the air, pet.”

“Bye, Sir.”

I hung up the phone. Turning, I headed towards the idling helicopter before pausing.

Me: In a perfect world, my dream job would be to be your Master.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t pay the bills.

I would still want to do something where I was helping people.

Maybe a PI? Whatever it is I decide to do, I would need a home office so I wouldn’t be separated from you.

We’d just have to go desk shopping to ensure there’s enough room underneath for you.

I’ll need to work on my poker face for video calls and in-person meetings.

Can’t have potential clients knowing you’re under my desk sucking my cock while I’m talking with them.

It wasn’t until I was airborne that I was able to read her reply.

Little Owl: It would be my pleasure, Sir.