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Ripley sat back, seemingly satisfied with the answer. She got what she wanted.
“Good. I think the same.”
“So say it. You’re the consultant after all.”
“I want you to come to these conclusions yourself. In a few months, I won’t be around anymore.”
“Believe me, I know,” said Ella. “But you don’t have to walk me through things like I’m a kid.”
Ella knew she was being confrontational but the words came out like vomit. Only a few months ago, she’d kept a secret from Ripley that nearly drove an impenetrable divide between them. Now she’d gone the opposite way. She’d developed some kind of truth Tourette’s. It was like the words were poison and she had to spit them out at the first opportunity.
Ripley put her coffee down and said, “Dark, I think something’s bothering you and I don’t know what. Is it your boyfriend’s case again? Or your dad’s? I think you’re looking for answers where there aren’t any.”
Ella felt like every time she opened her mouth, or took any action, it led to more problems. She decided to keep quiet about everything. Besides, all Ripley would do was berate her, as though trying to solve the mysteries that plagued her was some kind of flaw.
“Neither. I’m just… tired.”
Ripley would tell her it was the darkness eating her soul, the side effects of dealing with the world’s most heinous individuals. Ella couldn’t lie. Part of it was indeed this job. For all the killers she’d put behind bars, it didn’t bring any of the victims back to life. Imprisonment was the only the second-best option. Reanimating the innocent souls that were cruelly slain would be number one, but science hadn’t yet caught up with her whimsical desires. She still saw those victims’ faces in her dreams, sometimes alive and well. And when she woke up, she had to learn of the transient and fleeting nature of life one more time.
“Well, I know you think I’m a pain in the ass right now, but I’ll always lend an ear. You know this.”
“It’s fine Mia, I’m just trying to get into this unsub’s head.”
Ripley nodded in acknowledgment then left the conversation to die. Clouds engulfed the windows as Ella did away with the jumbled thoughts and took to the matter at hand. Lives were on the line here. Her own problems would have to wait another day because if she wasn’t focused, the next bloodstains could be on her hands. Her priority was to figure this unsub out, apprehend him, and ensure there were no new faces in her dreams.
CHAPTER FIVE
The death site of this poor gentleman was crammed and confined. A small cube of tragedy that Ella could take in whole at a single glance. She stood back and surveyed the storage unit like a painting, flanked by two walls and a raised door. It was like looking into a freshly built mausoleum.
“Jesus, what a mess,” Ripley said.
“Isn’t it? Poor fellow.” The cramped unit, this poor victim surrounded by the only things he had left in his life. It amplified the tragedy.
From the group of forensic officers nestled inside the unit, a young man in a brown uniform emerged, shielding his nose as he passed the dead body. He made a beeline towards the new arrivals with the look of someone who’d just caught his first sight of death. Maybe he had, thought Ella.
“Agents?” he asked them. “You from D.C.?”
“That we are,” said Ella as she took his hand. “I’m Agent Dark and this is Agent Ripley.”
“Welcome to the mountains,” he said as he wiped his brow. “I’m Sheriff Hale. Or Cody. Whichever’s easier to remember.”
Ripley said, “Thanks for meeting us, Sheriff. Can you talk us through your findings?”
“I’ll be honest, this is new territory for me. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen around here too often. I’m in the deep end here,” the sheriff said, looking a little concerned that his confession might undo some of his authority. But Ella appreciated the honesty. She knew better than anyone that speaking up was the best thing to do when you were out of your depth.
“Totally get it,” she said. “First homicide case?”
“Second, after the one the other day.”
“Of course.”
“The closest we ever got was an acid attack,” the sheriff said. “Poor young woman. Left her with horrible sores. Left me scarred too. That’s the most extreme thing we’ve had. But this is… something else.”
“A steep learning curve,” Ripley said.
“Tell me about it. A couple of my guys are up with the manager in his office running through the security tapes. That’s our best hope right now.” Sheriff Hale wiped his bloodshot eyes then adjusted his gun in its holster. Heseemed fartooyouthful fortherole ofsheriff;his soft, round face and glowing complexion gavetheimpression of a man muchtooinexperiencedfor suchresponsibility.Hehad an air of innocence that seemed at odds withthehard, grizzled veterans of law enforcement who usually heldtheposition.
“You don’t get much crime around here at all?” Ripley jumped in.
