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That was a serious question, one that had been bothering Paige ever since the moment when she took Nathan down. Now, the knowledge that Nathan had pictures hidden away in a lockup somewhere ate at her. She knew then what she had to do.
“Thank you,” Paige said. “That’s all I need to know for now. Would you excuse me? There’s something I need to look into.”
***
Paige stood outside the storage locker with a copy of the keys in her hand. It had been easy enough to get both the location and a warrant to search it, given the likely contents. The keys had actually come from Nathan, via his lawyer. Presumably, he was happy that someone was going to find his artworks and bring them out into the light.
That presented Paige with a problem as she opened up the storage locker and stepped inside.
Canvasses sat against the back wall, each one left to dry carefully, each one more horrific than the last. Set down on canvas, Paige could see the similarities to the works they were based on, but they weren’t just recreations of the originals. Instead, the heart of them consisted of photo-realistic copies of the crime scenes. Cuttings were pasted around them, with abstract swirls that evoked rage and violence.
The worst part was that they were good, or at least powerful enough that they would inevitably have an effect on a viewing public. She knew then that if the pictures were shown during Nathan’s trial, or even if they came out another way, images of them would be all over the press and the internet. Nathan would get the fame that he craved.
And it would be fame; now that Paige had seen the paintings, she felt certain of that. She wasn’t any judge of art, but she could see that these paintings were powerful, that they would have an impact on anyone who saw them.
She knew what she ought to do then. She should take the paintings in as evidence. She should carefully look after them and make sure that they were preserved so that CSI units could link them to Nathan.
What Paigewantedto do was what she’d threatened when she’d been trying to arrest Nathan. She wanted to burn the paintings, wanted to make sure that he would never get the recognition out of all of this that he’d been looking for. It didn’t seem right that he should get everything that he wanted when he’d just murdered so many people.
At the same time, this was evidence, and Paige knew that she couldn’t destroy evidence as much as she wanted to. If Christopher was there, he would undoubtedly tell Paige that she needed to preserve the scene.
That made Paige think of the other thing she still had to do now that the case was at an end. The thing she’d wanted to do almost since the start of it.
Getting out her phone, Paige started to compose an email to her boss, Agent Sauer:
Sir,
I have worked a number of cases in the BAU now, and I hope you feel that my work has resulted in the capture of several dangerous criminals who might have been free to keep killing otherwise.
However, I now feel that I cannot continue to work here. The working situation with my partner, Agent Marriott, has become untenable, and I do not believe that you have confidence in my work.
As such, I wish to apply for a transfer to another department where my mixture of psychological skills and skills as an agent might be of more use.
Agent King
It had a bitter note to it that Paige didn’t like, but it matched how she felt all too well. Her finger hovered over the send button, then over the delete button. She put it to the side for a moment, then took out a box of matches and struck one, watching the flame.
In that moment, her phone rang. Paige held the match with one hand while she took her phone in the other and looked at the screen. Christopher was calling, obviously wanting to know where she was and how she was getting on with finding evidence.
Paige ignored the call. She didn’t want to have to talk to Christopher right then. Things were simply too complicated between them. She couldn’t handle dealing with him and the strange mixture of attraction and distance between them.
Paige blew out the match. She couldn’t burn evidence, but there were definitely bridges she could burn. Returning to her email, she hit send.
EPILOGUE
The Exsanguination Killer stood outside the address she’d been given, watching carefully for signs of movement.
She wasn’t sure that she liked the name The Exsanguination Killer. It misunderstood what she did, or at leastwhyshe did it. It made it sound as if it were all about the blood when that wasn’t it at all. Control was what mattered, the control to watch that moment when life fled from someone’s eyes—that perfect, almost intimate moment when she was there with someone on the border between life and death.
She could see her target moving in the house now, the home of Agent Christopher Marriott. She took her time, watching every movement there, learning as much as she could about the layout of the house and the paths her target took around it. People were more predictable than they thought, most of the time.
She was currently standing across the street from the house, among some trees. She liked trees. She made most of her kills outdoors, where the elements would help to wash away any evidence. There was a small yard out the back of the house, but she didn’t think it would be suitable. There was too much of a chance of being seen by a neighbor. She wanted to control the variables, leave as few opportunities as possible for someone to catch her.
She had to admit that she was a little angry with Adam Riker for what he’d given away to Paige King about her. Ordinarily, she felt that Adam was one of the people best placed to understand her, since he had so many of the same urges, so much of the same need for control. Now, though, a part of her wanted to hurt him for what he’d said.
Maybe she should kill Paige, rather than doing this here and now. That would certainly hurt Adam, when he’d made it clear that he wanted to be the one to kill Paige in the end. It would also remove any lingering threat that Paige posed, any chance that she might be able to find out the truth of her identity.
Several things stopped her. One was that Adam really wouldn’t be happy about that, and he was one of the few people who could actually frighten her. He was too dangerous to cross lightly. Another was the knowledge that Paige was already going in the wrong direction with the information she’d been given, suggesting that she was safe. A third . . . well, a third was the feeling that she and Paige were too connected for things to end that simply. She’d taken Paige’s father from her, after all, and she’d met her back in the St Just Institute as well. A relationship like that should end in a way that was special.
