Taking

Riley felt sure that whatever this one might be, she was going to learn a lot about tracking criminal behavior. When she’d worked with him before, she had been yanked out of whatever was supposed to be her normal routine—college, internship, Academy training. Now that she was actually assigned to the job, she’d have more time to understand what was going on.

But when would she find out what that was? Surely she also had more right to information now.

Finally she summoned up the courage to ask him …

“Uh, are you going to tell me anything about the case we’ll be working on?”

Crivaro’s lips twisted a little. He looked as though he wasn’t sure how to answer that question.

Then he said, “Possibly—just possibly—we’ve got a serial killer to catch.”

Riley thought she detected more than a little skepticism in his voice, as if he didn’t believe any such thing.

Crivaro paused, then continued, “About a year ago, a young woman’s body was found on a hiking trail in Dyson Park in Colorado. Yesterday another woman’s body was found on another hiking trail in Arizona. She died under … well, similar circumstances. We’re going to Arizona to check and see if there’s really any connection.”

Crivaro looked out the window again, as if there were nothing more to say.

“Is there anything else?” Riley asked.

“Not really,” Crivaro said, still looking out the window.

Riley felt thoroughly confused now. This might be her first day on the job, but she knew perfectly well that Crivaro ought to know more than he was telling her. In fact, he ought to have had a folder full of materials to show her to bring her up to date. They should be poring over that stuff right now.

She asked, “What were the victims’ names?”

Crivaro shrugged slightly. “I don’t remember the name of the victim in Colorado. Nobody’s told me the name of the one in Arizona.”

Riley couldn’t believe her ears.

What does he mean, nobody’s told him?

What does he mean, he doesn’t remember?

Was he being secretive, or …?

Her eyes widened as she got a strong hunch about what was going on with him.

She said to Crivaro …

“This isn’t an official BAU case, is it?”

Crivaro said with a slight growl, “It doesn’t matter.”

Riley felt a flash of anger.

She said, “I kind of think it does matter, Agent Crivaro. This is my first day as a BAU agent. What am I even doing here? I think I have a right to know more than you’re telling me.”

Crivaro shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Riley Sweeney, one of these days those instincts of yours are going to get you in serious trouble.”

Then he turned toward her in his seat. Keeping his voice low, he started to explain.

“Look, early this morning I got a call from an old friend. Harry Carnes is his name. He used to be a cop in LA, and we worked on a case together there. He retired and moved to Colorado. A year ago a woman got murdered near where he lived—the first of the two women I just mentioned. He tried to help out the local cops, but they never solved the case.”

“And?” Riley asked.

“And—Harry and his wife are traveling through the Southwest this winter, and he heard about this new murder in Arizona, and he thought there might be a connection with what happened in Colorado. So he called me to come out and check things out.”

Riley felt more baffled by the second.

“Identical murders,” she said. “So why isn’t this an FBI case?”

Crivaro shook his head and said, “I didn’t go through official channels. It doesn’t sound to me like something the FBI would get mixed up in. I don’t even know how identical they are, and some of the details just aren’t all that unusual anyhow. In fact, I suspect there’s probably no connection between the two murders at all.”

Riley squinted hard at Crivaro and said …

“So what you’re telling me is, you’re flying out to Arizona just as a favor to this old friend of yours.”

“You got it,” Crivaro said.

Riley struggled to make sense of what she was hearing.

She asked, “Why are you dragging me along?”

“You’re my partner,” Crivaro said.

“But this isn’t even a real case!”

Crivaro shrugged. “We don’t know that. Maybe we’ll find out that Harry’s right and the two murders are connected, and we have a real serial killer to hunt down. If so, it will wind up being a BAU case. You wouldn’t want to miss out on that, would you? Anyway, I thought … well, I thought maybe this would be a good chance for the two of us to, you know, get used to working with each other.”

Riley almost blurted aloud …

We’ve already worked three murder cases together!

But she quickly reminded herself that there had been plenty of friction between them during those early cases. And she hadn’t been an agent then.

Maybe Agent Crivaro was right.

Maybe they did need a little time to get used to working together in their new roles. But was this non-official and possibly even nonexistent case really the way to do it?

She asked, “Who’s paying for this trip, anyway?”

“I am, OK?” Crivaro grunted. “Of course I might get reimbursed if it turns out to be a real case.”

Riley said, “So you’re telling me—what? That we’re sort of on vacation together?”

Crivaro chuckled awkwardly. “Hey, the weather in Arizona this time of year is sure a lot nicer than it is in Virginia. Don’t bother to thank me for a change of scenery.”

“I don’t think this is funny,” Riley said, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt. “You could have at least told me from the start what this was all about.”

Crivaro said defensively, “Well, I was in kind of a rush. And it’s not like you were going to have any work to do in Quantico while I was gone. You might as well be with me, at least trying to get something done. We will be doing some investigating while we’re there. It might even be a good learning experience for you. So what’s the problem?”

“I’ll tell you what the problem is,” Riley said. “I’ve got a fiancé back home who’s pissed off that I’m taking off like this all of a sudden. Do you think he’s going to be less angry to hear I’m not even on a real case?”

Crivaro sighed guiltily. “And you’re going to tell him that?”

Riley was startled. She hadn’t even considered not telling Ryan all about her activities while she was away from him.

“Of course,” she snapped.

“Sorry about that,” Crivaro said. “I guess you’re right, I should have asked you first.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Crivaro looked at her more sympathetically and said, “Look, if you want out of this whole thing, I’ll understand. When we get to Phoenix, you can catch the first flight back if you want. I’ll even pay for the ticket. Is that what you want to do?”

Riley felt startled anew by his offer, and she didn’t know what to say.

Shouldn’t I take him up on it? she wondered.

For a moment the choice seemed obvious. Crivaro had no business dragging her across the country on this possibly pointless errand. And heading straight back home might be a good way to patch things up with Ryan—especially if she wound up with another day or two before she really had to start work at Quantico. It might be just what she and Ryan needed.

Then she quickly remembered the anger in Ryan’s voice when he’d asked her over the phone …

“What about my car? How long am I going to have to do without it?”

Riley stifled a growl of irritation.

That damned car, she thought.

Not having that car around mattered more to Ryan than Riley not being there.

It really pissed her off.

Suddenly Riley didn’t feel in the mood to patch things up with Ryan. And as far as Crivaro was concerned …

Well, at least he’s showing some interest in me.

Besides, Crivaro was right about one thing. They’d surely be doing a little investigating, even if it was only to find out there was nothing to investigate. It might turn out to be a good experience after all. She might actually learn something.

Finally Riley said, “It’s OK. I’ll stay with you.”

Crivaro’s eyes brightened.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Riley smirked a little and said, “I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

Crivaro grinned. “Well, the offer still stands, if you want to get the hell away from me. At least as far as this trip is concerned. When we start working cases together officially, you’ll be stuck with me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Riley said.

Crivaro leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, apparently about to take a nap.

Riley took a flight magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her and started to browse through it.

She found herself mulling over what she’d just done.

I chose work over Ryan.

And to her surprise, she felt good about it.

What does that say about me? she wondered. And our future?

Then her mind turned to speculation about the present.

Arizona.

She really knew nothing about it.

She’d spent most of her life in the green hills of Virginia. What might such a different part of the country have in store for her?

CHAPTER FIVE

When the flight landed in Phoenix, Riley and Crivaro got their go-bags out of the overhead bin and made their way through the boarding bridge into the terminal. About twenty people were waiting for the passengers from their flight, but there was no question about who was there to meet them.

A hearty-looking guy with a ruddy expression was waving vigorously at Crivaro. Riley knew that had to be Harry Carnes. The equally sturdy woman standing beside him with crossed arms and a frown on her face must be Harry’s wife, and she was not looking happy at the moment.

The man welcomed Crivaro with a big hug, and Crivaro introduced Riley to the couple. The wife’s name was Jillian. Riley guessed them to be about Agent Crivaro’s age or maybe just a little bit older.

For a moment, she was startled to see that both of them were wearing T-shirts, jean short, and sandals. She and Crivaro still had on their jackets and clothes suitable for colder weather.

“Luggage?” Harry asked, eyeing their outfits.

“No, just these,” Jake replied, holding up his go-bag.

Harry laughed and said, “Well, that’s something you can take care of soon enough.”

She remembered what Crivaro had said during the flight.

“The weather in Arizona this year is sure a lot nicer than it is in Virginia.”

She definitely wasn’t prepared for the weather here. They’d been in so much of a hurry to leave, she’d given no thought to packing a different wardrobe. She wondered if she was going to have to buy some new things for herself. Her budget sure wouldn’t cover much.

Maybe it won’t matter, she thought. If they headed back to Quantico soon, she could probably make do with what she had.

Harry led the way to the nearest food court, where they sat at a table and ordered sandwiches for lunch.

Crivaro said to Harry, “So here I am. Now tell me everything you know.”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know much except what I told you over the phone. A woman was found dead yesterday on a hiking trail near Tunsboro, a town north of here. Her name was Brett Parma. When I heard about it on the news, I got curious and called the Tunsboro police chief. I had trouble getting him to open up, but I managed to pry a little out of him. He did mention the slashes on the woman’s arms—and also that she’d bled to death somewhere before her body had been left on that trail. Then he basically told me to keep out of the way of his investigation.”

“Which is what we’re going to do,” Jillian commented.

Harry leaned across the table toward Crivaro. “Jake, it all just gave me the weirdest feeling. It was like Erin Gibney’s murder a year ago all over again. I started flashing back to how I’d tried to help the cops in Gladwin solve the case, and how we’d failed.”

Harry lowered his eyes and muttered, “We never even came close to finding out who did that one.”

Jillian sighed unhappily and said to Crivaro, “Harry’s feeling all guilty about this whole thing. He says if he’d solved that case back in Colorado, maybe this new murder wouldn’t have happened. Of course that’s ridiculous. Jake, can you talk some sense into him? Tell him he’s got no reason to feel that way.”

Crivaro gazed at Harry sympathetically.

He said, “Jillian’s right. You can’t beat yourself up about that. Even if there is a connection between the two murders—”

Harry interrupted, “Jake, there is a connection. I feel it in my bones.”

Riley could see a world of skepticism in Crivaro’s face.

“Harry, I’ve worked a lot more homicide cases than you have,” Crivaro said. “I know what it’s like to feel responsible for those deaths, for not being able to catch a killer. But you can’t let it get the best of you.”

He reached out and put a hand on his friend’s arm.

“You didn’t kill anybody, Harry. You’re not responsible for that. It’s not your fault. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

Harry heaved a long, bitter sigh, then said to Jake and Riley, “Well, I was a cop long enough to know that. We never solve them all. But I was also out there long enough to recognize when my cop’s instinct is likely to be right. This thing, this latest murder, is really ringing some alarms for me.”

He put his unfinished sandwich back on the plate and pushed it away.

“I’m glad you two came out here to check things out,” he continued. “That makes me feel a whole lot better. Finish your sandwiches and I’ll drive you to Tunsboro.”

Jillian poked him in the arm and said almost in a whisper, “Wait a minute, Harry. You’re not driving anyone anywhere. We’ve got to get back to the campground.”

Harry gave his wife a pleading look.

“Come on, honey,” he whispered back. “We’re not in that much of a hurry. And Tunsboro’s just a short drive.”

“They can rent a car,” Jillian said. “Remember, we’ve got a deal.”

Harry looked embarrassed. Riley wondered what was going on between them. She saw that Crivaro seemed uncertain about what to say next.

Finally Jillian looked sternly at Jake and said …

“Harry’s not getting mixed up in this—this—whatever it is. He’s retired. We’re on vacation. I don’t want him getting all worked up about the Erin Gibney killing again. He was a guilty wreck about that for months. I thought we’d put all that behind us.”

Harry nodded reluctantly and said to Riley and Crivaro with a weak smile. “Well, you heard what the missus said. She’s got me on a tight leash. I wish I could work with you, but there it is. We’ve got an itinerary. We’re headed south to the Coronado National Forest today. We’ve got a reservation at the Riggs Flat campground.”

“And we’re not canceling,” Jillian added sharply. “No matter what.”

Harry squeezed her hand and said, “Of course not, honey. But we’ve got enough time to drive these two to the police station in Tunsboro. Then we can get back to the campground and check out there. It’s the least we can do for them, after they went to all this time and trouble.”

Jillian stared hard at Harry. “OK—as long as you promise not to change your mind along the way.”

Harry awkwardly raised his right hand.

“I promise,” he said and gave her a quick kiss.

Jillian smiled and looked reassured. She wagged her finger at Crivaro and said …

“And don’t you go trying to persuade him otherwise!”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” Crivaro said with a chuckle.

The couple seemed a lot more relaxed now. Harry even picked up his sandwich again and as they all kept eating, he regaled Riley and Crivaro with small talk. Now and then, Jillian added details or corrected him.

Harry and Jillian had recently become first-time grandparents, and their youngest daughter was getting married. As usual at this time of year, the weather in Colorado was too cold for their liking. So as they almost always did during the winter, the couple had packed up their camper and driven into the warmer Southwest, where they were hopping from one campground to another.

Harry proudly showed Riley and Crivaro a picture of their camping rig—a fair-sized trailer towed by a white truck. Harry called the getup “our home away from home.”

As the small talk continued, Riley noticed a wistful expression on Crivaro’s face.

She wondered …

Does Crivaro envy them?

Again she noticed that Crivaro and Harry looked close to the same age. She hadn’t given any thought to Crivaro retiring. Did he ever think about that?

Would he see any point in it?

Although there was a lot Riley didn’t know about her mentor, she did know that he was divorced and had an estranged son.

Crivaro’s life wasn’t anything like Harry and Jillian’s, with their close and happy family. If he had grandchildren, he’d never mentioned them to Riley. He’d told her that his ex-wife was happily remarried, and his son had gone into real estate, and …

“They’re perfectly normal, just like regular folks.”

With a self-deprecating laugh, he’d added …

“Maybe I just can’t do normal.”

Not for the first time, it occurred to Riley that Crivaro must be a very lonely man.

If his work was the only thing that gave his life meaning, if he felt that he’d missed out on something, then naturally this perfectly normal, happily retired couple could stir up melancholy feelings in him.

Was loneliness one reason he’d brought her along on this peculiar trip?

There had been moments when Riley had felt that Crivaro was more like a real father to her than that bitter ex-Marine who lived alone in the mountains. At least he sometimes praised her for doing something well, which was more than her actual father ever did.

She wondered …

Does he ever think of me as a daughter?

The group finished eating and headed on out to the parking lot. Riley was relieved that the weather was actually very pleasant. Warm, but not hot or humid. Maybe the clothes she had with her would serve after all.

She’d expected to see the whole camping rig from the photos, but they were just headed toward a truck.

“Where’s the camper?” Crivaro asked.

“That’s the beauty of our rig,” Jillian replied. “We can disconnect the house and leave it in the campground while we drive around in our … um … extended car. Not as fancy as some, but it’s very practical.”

Crivaro and Harry climbed into the front seats, and Riley and Jillian got into the wide back seat.

As Harry drove out of the airport, he started to regale Crivaro with more small talk—what routes they had taken coming south from Colorado, where they intended to go next, what places they visited every winter, even where they’d found good restaurants along the way. It seemed to Riley that he had an endless supply of trivial things to talk about, but Crivaro appeared to be listening contentedly, apparently not bored at all.

Riley tuned that conversation out. She was grateful that Jillian, sitting beside her, didn’t seem inclined to indulge in similar meaningless chatter.

But then, Riley wondered, should she be saying something like that to Jillian, if only to be polite?

As Harry pulled onto the freeway and headed north, Jillian spoke up. “I see that you’re engaged.”

Riley was startled by the remark, but quickly realized that Jillian was looking at her engagement ring.

She smiled and said, “Yes, I am.”

Jillian half-smiled as she asked, “Have you set a date for the wedding?”

Riley gulped at the question.

“Uh, no, not yet,” she said.

The truth was, she and Ryan had no idea just when the date would be. Sometimes it seemed like the whole idea was little more than a fantasy.

“Well,” Jillian said, “I wish you every happiness.”

Jillian then turned her head and gazed out the window.

Riley felt a lot of meaning in those words.

“I wish you every happiness.”

Jillian and her husband certainly seemed to have found happiness. But Riley sensed that their happiness had been hard won, and that Harry’s work in law enforcement hadn’t made things easy for them.

Riley found herself thinking about her own future.

What was in store for her?

She and Ryan had sometimes been wonderful together. But she was afraid that any lasting happiness might be hard won for them, too.

Would she eventually have a happy retirement with someone she loved?

Or was she going to wind up alone like Agent Crivaro?

Riley looked out the window on her side of the truck. The landscape outside was unlike anything she’d ever seen, except in pictures. Apart from areas where people had built structures and cultivated greenery, this land looked lifeless to her.

Somewhere in a desert setting like this, a young woman had been brutally robbed of her life. Had the same monster killed before?

If so, Riley and Crivaro had to put a stop to his murders once and for all.

CHAPTER SIX

As the truck neared the town of Tunsboro, Riley noticed that Jillian was getting uneasy again.

And maybe with good reason, Riley thought.

The two men in the front seats weren’t talking about road trips and other trivia now. Harry had turned off his steady flow of inane chatter and gotten back to the topic that was most on his mind.

“You know, I’m starting to come up with a theory about those two murders,” he said. “Want to hear it?”

Riley heard Jillian let out a gasp. She knew the woman must be worried that her husband would renege on his promise not to get mixed up in the case at the last possible minute.

Looking irritated, Crivaro just grumbled inaudibly.

Riley got the distinct feeling that his intended answer was “no.” But Harry was clearly determined to talk about his theory anyway.

“I think—no, I’m almost sure—the killer is a camper, someone who hops from campground to campground.”

“Someone like you?” Crivaro asked wryly.

Harry chuckled and said, “Yeah, like me except for the years spent catching slime like that. But in a way, yeah, you’re kind of right. The killer has to be someone who blends right in with the whole campground culture. Campgrounds have got to be where he stalks his victims.”

Crivaro shook his head. “I don’t know, Harry …”

Harry ignored him and babbled on about his theory. Riley felt as though she could understand Crivaro’s skepticism. Even if Harry was right and the two murders were connected, that certainly didn’t mean the killer had “stalked” anybody. She knew that some murders were spontaneous acts that resulted from chance encounters. Besides, wouldn’t most campers travel in groups, or at least in pairs? The idea of a psychotic camper prowling the nation’s campgrounds seemed a bit farfetched.

Finally Harry said, “Now, Jake, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but …”

Riley could see Crivaro wince at those words. He grumbled again, “It’s not actually my job.”

That didn’t even slow Harry down. He continued, “I think you and your partner should start going to campgrounds, ask the people there a lot of questions. Sooner or later you’ll get just the clue you need.”

Crivaro rolled his eyes, and Riley couldn’t help but sympathize.

Still not noticing Crivaro’s dismay, Harry kept right on.

“Mind you, you and your partner can’t just march into a campground looking like you do right now. Hell, you’ve got ‘FBI’ written all over you. I know campers, and most of them are perfectly friendly, and they’ll talk to you no matter who you are. But we do get all kinds of people out there. Some of them are more—what’s the word?”

“Reserved,” Jillian grumbled. “Some of them are just shy.”

“Yeah, that’s it, shy,” Harry said. “Some of them really like to keep to themselves. And if any of those shy ones know anything, they’ll skitter off the second they catch sight of you. I guess what I’m saying is, the two of you have got to go undercover, pretend to be campers yourselves. You can say you’re the girl’s uncle or something like that. Sure, you know how to do that, but for here it might be harder than it sounds. First of all, you’ve got to get new clothes, dress more like Jillian and me. And you’ll need your own trailer or RV …”

At that point Crivaro interrupted loudly. “Harry, I can’t go buying a camper.”

“Yeah, I know, but you can rent one,” Harry informed him. “They’ve got to be available around here. Just make sure it looks halfway decent, not some piece of junk. Some of the better motor home campgrounds won’t even let an old or beat-up camper in. I’m sure the Tunsboro police chief can tell you someplace where you can find just what you need.”