Once Taken. Blake Pierce

paused, painfully remembering the sight of Marie’s body hanging in her own bedroom.

      “She committed suicide,” Riley said.

      Lucy looked both horrified and surprised. “I’m sorry,” she said.

      Just then, Riley heard a familiar voice call out to her.

      “Riley? You okay?”

      She turned and saw Bill Jeffreys standing in the kitchen archway, looking anxious. The BAU must have alerted him about the trouble, so he’d driven here on his own.

      “I’m okay, Bill,” she said. “So is April. Sit down.”

      Bill sat down at the table with Riley, April, and Lucy. Lucy stared at him, apparently in awe to meet Riley’s former partner, yet another FBI legend.

      Huang stepped back into the kitchen.

      “Nobody’s in the house, or outside either,” he told Riley. “My people have gathered up whatever evidence they can find. They say it won’t be much to go on. It’ll be up to the lab technicians to see what they can make of it.”

      “I was afraid of that,” Riley said.

      “Looks like it’s time for us to wrap things up for tonight,” Huang said. Then he left the kitchen to give his final orders to the agents.

      Riley turned toward her daughter.

      “April, you’re going to stay at your father’s house tonight.”

      April’s eyes widened.

      “I’m not leaving you here,” April said. “And I sure don’t want to stay with Dad.”

      “You’ve got to,” Riley said. “You might not be safe here.”

      “But Mom – ”

      Riley interrupted. “April, there are still things I haven’t told you about this man. Terrible things. You’ll be safe with your father. I’ll pick you up tomorrow after your class.”

      Before April could protest further, Lucy spoke.

      “Your mother’s right, April. Take it from me. In fact, consider it an order from me. I’ll handpick a couple of agents who can drive you there. Agent Paige, with your permission, I’ll call your ex-husband and tell him what’s going on.”

      Riley was surprised by Lucy’s offer. She was also pleased. Almost uncannily, Lucy seemed to understand that this would be an awkward call for her to make. Ryan would undoubtedly take this news more seriously from any agent other than Riley. Lucy had also handled April well.

      Not only had Lucy had spotted the picked lock, she also demonstrated empathy. Empathy was an excellent quality in a BAU agent, and it was all too often worn away by the stress of the job.

      This woman is good, Riley thought.

      “Come on,” Lucy said to April. “Let’s go call your dad.”

      April stared daggers at Riley. Even so, she got up from the table and followed Lucy into the living room, where they started making the call.

      Riley and Bill were left sitting at the kitchen table alone. Even though there seemed to be nothing left to do, it seemed right to Riley that Bill was there. They had worked together for years and she had always thought of them as something like a matched pair – both were forty with touches of gray showing in dark hair. They were both dedicated to their jobs and troubled in their marriages. Bill was solid in build and temperament.

      “It was Peterson,” Riley said. “He was here.”

      Bill said nothing. He looked unconvinced.

      “You don’t believe me?” Riley said. “There were pebbles in my bed. He must have put them there. They couldn’t have gotten there any other way.”

      Bill shook his head.

      “Riley, I’m sure there really was an intruder,” he said. “You weren’t imagining that part. But Peterson? I doubt that very much.”

      Riley’s anger was rising now.

      “Bill, listen to me. I heard rattling against the door one night, and I looked outside, and I found pebbles there. Marie heard someone throw pebbles at her bedroom window. Who else could it be?”

      Bill sighed and shook his head.

      “Riley, you’re tired,” he said. “And when you’re tired and you get an idea fixed in your head, it’s easy to believe just about anything. It can happen to anybody.”

      Riley found herself fighting back tears. In better days, Bill would have trusted her instincts without question. But those days were over. And she knew why. A few nights ago she’d called him drunk and suggested that they act on their mutual attraction and begin an affair. It had been an awful thing to do, and she knew it, and she’d not had a drink since then. Even so, things hadn’t been right between her and Bill after that.

      “I know what this is about, Bill,” she said. “It’s because of that stupid phone call. You don’t trust me anymore.”

      Now Bill’s voice crackled with anger.

      “Damn it, Riley, I’m just trying to be realistic.”

      Riley was seething. “Just go, Bill.”

      “But Riley – ”

      “Believe me or don’t believe me. Take your pick. But right now I want you to go.”

      With an air of resignation, Bill got up from the table and left.

      Through the kitchen doorway, Riley could see that almost everybody had left the house, including April. Lucy came back into the kitchen.

      “Agent Huang is leaving a couple of agents here,” she said. “They’ll watch the house from a car for the rest of the night. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be alone inside. I’ll be glad to stay.”

      Riley sat and thought for a moment. What she wanted – what she needed right now – was for somebody to believe that Peterson wasn’t dead. She doubted that she could convince even Lucy of that. The whole thing seemed hopeless.

      “I’ll be all right, Lucy,” Riley said.

      Lucy nodded and left the kitchen. Riley heard the sound of the last agents leaving the house and shutting the door behind them. Riley got up and checked both the front door and back door to make sure they were locked. She moved two chairs up against the back door. They would make noise enough if anybody picked the lock again.

      Then she stood in the living room and looked all around. The house looked weirdly bright, with every single light burning.

      I ought to turn some of them off, she thought.

      But as she reached for the living room light switch, her fingers froze. She just couldn’t do it. She was paralyzed with terror.

      Peterson, she knew, was coming for her again.

      Chapter 3

      Riley hesitated for a moment as she entered the BAU building, wondering if she was really ready to face anyone today. She hadn’t slept all night, and was bone-tired. The sensation of terror that had kept her awake all night had run her adrenaline until there was nothing left. Now, she just felt hollowed out.

      Riley took a deep breath.

      The only way out is through.

      She gathered her resolve and walked into the busy maze of FBI agents, specialists, and support staff. As she wound her way through the open bay area, familiar faces looked up from their computers. Most smiled to see her and several gave her a thumbs-up. Riley slowly felt glad she had decided to come in. She’d needed something to lift to her spirits.

      “Way to go with the Dolly Killer,” one young agent said.

      It took Riley a couple of seconds to understand what he meant. Then she realized that “Dolly Killer” must be the new nickname for Dirk Monroe, the psychopath she had just taken down. The name made