victim of a dozen, and then just stopped.”
Miranda looked at him steadily.
“Ah, shit. He’s here? It’s the same killer? The
hunting ground
you tracked him from was Boston?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“So why the hell isn’t the task force breathing down my neck?” He held up a hand before she could begin to answer. “Don’t tell me. Because no matter what you know or believe you know, there’s not a shred of evidence either of us could take to court.”
“Or even to the Director of the FBI. This Director, at least. And by the time there is…Well, let’s just say that the one thing Noah and I are sure of about this killer is that he’s fast. He killed a dozen women in Boston in less than a month. If he
is
here, as we believe he is, then he’ll strike quickly and viciously—and then probably move on to his next hunting ground.”
John Garrett said, “This is exactly the sort of situation Bishop anticipated, and one of the reasons Haven was formed. To…circumvent any political or practical situation that might hamstring the SCU. We have a very short chain of command and no bureaucratic red tape.”
“You also don’t have badges,” Marc pointed out.
“No, but we do have friends in very high places.”
Marc was already nodding. “Senator Abe LeMott.”
“He’s the latest high-ranking supporter to come on board, yes. He believes very strongly in what the SCU and Haven can accomplish, working together or independently of each other.”
“Why can’t he cut through the red tape and get the SCU here—officially?”
Miranda said, “We don’t want to use his influence unless we have to. Especially since he and the new Director don’t exactly see eye to eye politically. If the Director bowed to pressure, as he surely would given the country’s sympathies for Senator LeMott, then he’d resent it. And sooner or later, the price demanded for that would be high.”
“Jesus, I hate politics,” Marc said under his breath. And before anyone could remind him that he was himself an elected official, he added, “Okay, so
officially
the SCU can’t help me, and anything from the FBI itself is probably going to be too little too late.”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Which, I gather, explains what Mr. Garrett is doing here.”
“John,” Garrett said. “And, yes, it does. Senator LeMott has hired the services of Haven, for the duration. He wants this killer stopped, obviously. He doesn’t particularly care how that’s accomplished. In fact—” John looked at Miranda, his slanted brows rising in a silent question.
She sighed. “Marc, there’s a very real concern that if we don’t make some progress in stopping this killer, LeMott will…take matters into his own hands. Right now he’s a ticking time bomb and doesn’t feel he has much to lose, especially since his wife’s suicide a couple of months ago. Annie was barely in the ground before her mother swallowed a handful of pills. LeMott’s career has been important to him, but since he lost his daughter and wife he’s kept working, we believe, only because his is a position of power and he intends to use that power eventually. All he has left is his…crusade to find the killer who destroyed his family.
“He’s a former prosecutor. He’s also a former marine. He could do serious damage, and a lot of people could be hurt needlessly. Right now he’s in D.C., and we need to keep him there. Which means we need to make some tangible progress in this investigation, ASAP.”
“With all due respect to the senator and his grief,” Marc said politely, “I want to catch this bastard as soon as possible because he’s butchering young women.” His hard gaze shifted to John Garrett. “And I don’t care who’s picking up the tab, just as long as we all have the same goal in sight.”
“We do,” John said immediately.
Dani spoke for the first time in a long time to say rather tightly, “But the SCU isn’t part of this.
Miranda looked at him steadily.
“Ah, shit. He’s here? It’s the same killer? The
hunting ground
you tracked him from was Boston?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“So why the hell isn’t the task force breathing down my neck?” He held up a hand before she could begin to answer. “Don’t tell me. Because no matter what you know or believe you know, there’s not a shred of evidence either of us could take to court.”
“Or even to the Director of the FBI. This Director, at least. And by the time there is…Well, let’s just say that the one thing Noah and I are sure of about this killer is that he’s fast. He killed a dozen women in Boston in less than a month. If he
is
here, as we believe he is, then he’ll strike quickly and viciously—and then probably move on to his next hunting ground.”
John Garrett said, “This is exactly the sort of situation Bishop anticipated, and one of the reasons Haven was formed. To…circumvent any political or practical situation that might hamstring the SCU. We have a very short chain of command and no bureaucratic red tape.”
“You also don’t have badges,” Marc pointed out.
“No, but we do have friends in very high places.”
Marc was already nodding. “Senator Abe LeMott.”
“He’s the latest high-ranking supporter to come on board, yes. He believes very strongly in what the SCU and Haven can accomplish, working together or independently of each other.”
“Why can’t he cut through the red tape and get the SCU here—officially?”
Miranda said, “We don’t want to use his influence unless we have to. Especially since he and the new Director don’t exactly see eye to eye politically. If the Director bowed to pressure, as he surely would given the country’s sympathies for Senator LeMott, then he’d resent it. And sooner or later, the price demanded for that would be high.”
“Jesus, I hate politics,” Marc said under his breath. And before anyone could remind him that he was himself an elected official, he added, “Okay, so
officially
the SCU can’t help me, and anything from the FBI itself is probably going to be too little too late.”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Which, I gather, explains what Mr. Garrett is doing here.”
“John,” Garrett said. “And, yes, it does. Senator LeMott has hired the services of Haven, for the duration. He wants this killer stopped, obviously. He doesn’t particularly care how that’s accomplished. In fact—” John looked at Miranda, his slanted brows rising in a silent question.
She sighed. “Marc, there’s a very real concern that if we don’t make some progress in stopping this killer, LeMott will…take matters into his own hands. Right now he’s a ticking time bomb and doesn’t feel he has much to lose, especially since his wife’s suicide a couple of months ago. Annie was barely in the ground before her mother swallowed a handful of pills. LeMott’s career has been important to him, but since he lost his daughter and wife he’s kept working, we believe, only because his is a position of power and he intends to use that power eventually. All he has left is his…crusade to find the killer who destroyed his family.
“He’s a former prosecutor. He’s also a former marine. He could do serious damage, and a lot of people could be hurt needlessly. Right now he’s in D.C., and we need to keep him there. Which means we need to make some tangible progress in this investigation, ASAP.”
“With all due respect to the senator and his grief,” Marc said politely, “I want to catch this bastard as soon as possible because he’s butchering young women.” His hard gaze shifted to John Garrett. “And I don’t care who’s picking up the tab, just as long as we all have the same goal in sight.”
“We do,” John said immediately.
Dani spoke for the first time in a long time to say rather tightly, “But the SCU isn’t part of this.
Similar Books
