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“Honestly, sir, I wasn’t. It just happened. I’m sure you understandthat I’m a bit rusty. And my mind is still in tune with living in prison, amongpeople I never trusted.”
“I get that.”
She watched him wrestle with what to do. She supposed hewas wondering if he’d acted rashly when she and Derik had brought Marcus Blackin, and he’d sent her home.
Based on what she’d just been told, Derik had filled thepanel in on what had happened at the store, giving a blow-by-blow breakdown. Noone on the panel was particularly happy, especially given the fact that it seemedthat Marcus Black was not their man.
As she watched Mueller mulling over what needed to bedone, Morgan couldn’t help but wonder if she was about to be released from hercontract or agreement, or whatever it was. Beyond that, she wondered if herslip-up from this morning might cost her any chance she’d ever had of returningto work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit at all.
“Let’s cut to the chase, sir. What do you want from me?Do I need to sign some more papers to terminate this little experiment?”
“That would be the wise answer, yes. But we can’t denythat this killer feels he has a connection of some kind to you.”
“This killer? So it wasn’t Black, correct?”
“Correct. There’s more than enough evidence to supportit. He has about five different alibis and four have already checked out.”
“So what do you want me to do?” Morgan asked.
Mueller sighed and she could tell what he said nextpained him. “We want you to stay on the case. We need your help because of yourhistory with the killer. The truth of the matter is that no one blames you forhow you reacted today. If anything, it’s our fault. To expect you to just comeback and step right back into this role…”
She knew what he was struggling with. She wondered if he’dcome out and admit that they’d made a mistake when they arrested her. When theythought she’d actually been helping the Seven Signs Killer rather than tryingto catch him.
But apparently, he wasn’t ready to address thatparticular elephant in the room just yet.
“We know it’s a lot to ask,” he went on. “But we believeyou have a unique perspective and set of skills that could be invaluable to us.For now, though…maybe you work the case from a less visible platform. You won’tcome into the office, and you’ll only speak with suspects when it’s absolutelycrucial.”
“So you’re tying my hands.”
“A bit, yes. But after the bullet we dodged with Blacktoday, we have no choice.”
A question rose to her lips…one she was hesitant to ask. “Withall due respect, sir…what if I say no?”
“Then we’ll do our best without you. But Cross…we bothknow you won’t say no. What will you do? Watch from the sidelines as thispsychopath finishes what he sees as his work?”
He’d called her bluff a little too quickly. She chuckleda bit as Skunk came over to her, leaping up on the couch. Lora had brought himover as soon as she’d gotten home. He seemed to already be making himself athome. Morgan hoped it was because he’d somehow managed to remember who she was.
“Fine,” she said. “Keep me posted. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks, Cross. All updates and breaks in the case willcome from Agent Greene.”
There was no drawn-out goodbye. She simply ended the calland sighed, petting Skunk between the ears. And then, before she could allow hermind to focus on the conversation she’d just had with Mueller, she set her eyesto the living room. She still needed to clean, to organize. She needed to go tothe grocery store, needed to straighten out the legalities and payments for acellphone, internet service, and so on. She needed a laptop, maybe a new TV.She needed to sort out things with the bank and…
Or, she thought,youcan revisit those pills in the bathroom and not worry about any of this shit.
No. She got to her feet before that train of thoughtcould even leave the station. She would focus on getting the house straight, ondoing everything she could to bring order and organization to a mind that hadbecome angry and violent over the past ten years.
So, finding some old, dusty cleaning supplies in thebarren laundry room, she began.
Morgan scrubbed and wiped at every surface in the livingroom until it shone. Skunk watched her, his head cocked to one side as if hewas trying to understand what she was doing. She moved on to the kitchen, scrubbingthe fridge and plugging it in, wiping down the counters. As she worked, sherealized that cleaning was a form of therapy for her. It was something shecould control, something she could fix.
But no amount of cleaning could fix the fact that therewas a killer out there, a killer who had already taken nine lives—and that wasbased on only five of the signs. He was taking multiple lives per sign when hecould, so there was never any telling how many would die when he attacked. Hewas clever and methodical…very careful and meticulous about what he did.
And now, she was being asked to work the case from thesidelines. It was frustrating, but she knew Mueller was right: she belonged onthis case in any way she could get on.
As she scrubbed the sink, her eyes drifted over to thepicture her father had left for her. She missed him terribly but hadn’t yetgrieved him properly. How could she, having been in prison. The idea that she’dnever see him again seemed foreign and odd, something her mind simply could notfathom.
And it was that sense of despair (and roughly four hoursof cleaning) that sent her to the shower as the day came to a close. She tookher time, showering until the hot water started to run out, and then went tobed.
