Edge of Mercy (A Kate Reid Novel Book 11), Robin Mahle [freenovel24 .txt] 📗

himself a fake passport probably after the lawsuit was filed because he feared other connections would be made.” He turned to Kate. “That’s why you guys haven’t found banking transactions, or credit card charges. He’s got himself a brand-new identity.”

“If your NSA contact got a match, where did he go?” Kate pressed on.

“Well, you’re never going to believe this.” Walsh eyed them as if to build the tension. “There was a hurricane that hit the Bahamas a few weeks ago.”

“Oh shit. I remember that,” Duncan said.

“Yes, ma’am. Dr. Theodore Bishop, aka Eli Parnell, flew there. I can only guess as to why.”

“Oh my God. He did the same thing there, didn’t he?” Kate asked. “We have to get in contact with the authorities there and try to make the connection. I’ll bet we’ll find more unexplained deaths.”

“This BOLO isn’t going to do much for us now, is it?” Duncan asked. “It’ll be issued for a guy who fell off the grid.”

“We need to be looking for Eli Parnell,” Kate said.

“We do, but here’s my concern,” Walsh continued. “I don’t think we can let this be known. Not yet, anyway.”

“Why?” Duncan asked. “We need everyone to keep their eyes open for him. This is Palmero’s case too.”

“Yeah, it is. Just hear me out.” Walsh raised his hand. “The media already has this story out there. Bishop knows we’re looking for a guy named Theodore Bishop. He’s already taken care of that problem. But he doesn’t know that we’re now looking for Eli Parnell. It’s our leg-up. And the only one we have at the moment. Any aliases that get out into the open will force him to either create another one, or just get the hell out of the country and hope we don’t find him.”

“I don’t like either one of those options,” Nick said.

“You and me, both, pal. We keep this inside our team, just until we can get a lead on where he might be. Look, I don’t like keeping the lead investigator in the dark any more than you guys, but we’ve got way too many fingers in this pie already. The more people who know about this, the more likely we’ll spring a leak.” Walsh looked around. “Are we in agreement?”

“Mum’s the word.” Nick raised his water glass as if to toast.

“I’ll back you, 100%, Levi,” Kate added.

“Same here. Looks like we’re all in,” Duncan said. “What about Fisher? What are you going to tell him? I don’t think it’s right to keep this from him too.”

“Give me till morning. That’s all I ask,” Walsh said.

“What’s happening in the morning?” Duncan replied.

“I need to give my contact time to scour DOT surveillance footage for Bishop. North Carolina’s transportation department collects CCTV from public transportation terminals, red light cameras, interstate cameras, all of it. If Bishop has left the state, we’ll know by morning. When I have that, I’ll call Fisher myself and give him the good word. And, we’ll let Palmero in on what we discovered. Can I count on you, Eva?”

“Always.”

“Good.” Walsh raised his hand to get the attention of the bartender. “Who’s ready for a drink?”

It felt good to be united on the decision. While Fisher hadn’t been there or known about it, Kate knew he would have agreed. Some things were best kept close to the chest. It was what made the BAU team so successful.

Drinks were ordered and a few appetizers arrived. It was a rare occasion they spent social time together and that felt good too. She’d screwed up with her response to Nick’s supposed joke. He hadn’t deserved her derisive gaze for saying something that to anyone else would have seemed completely innocent. And it lingered between them now.

But when the time had come to break up their party, Kate also knew the time had come to issue her apology. When they returned to their room, Nick hadn’t said a word. He shed his clothes and stood in only boxer shorts and walked to the bed.

“It’s late. We should get some sleep while we can,” he said.

Kate unbuttoned her blouse and slid off her dress pants and shoes. She pulled on a t-shirt and stood over him as he crawled under the covers.

“What?” His tone was quiet, not harsh, but concerned.

“I’m sorry about earlier when Levi brought us downstairs.” She held his gaze. “The look I gave. It was—unacceptable. I silently derided you right there in front of him and I should never have done that.”

“He didn’t notice.”

“I’m not so sure.” Kate sat down on the edge of the bed while Nick pulled up and leaned against the headboard.

“You liked being out there with Palmero today, didn’t you? I could see it in your eyes when you returned. You looked—happy.”

“Yeah, I guess it felt pretty good to be out there again. It’s been months since we’ve been in the field.”

“You used to say you were tired of the legwork, the fieldwork. That was why you wanted to be at Quantico—to lead the team, not lead field investigations.”

“You’re right. I did want that. Until all the bullshit got in the way. Politics, rules.”

“There’ve always been rules, Nick. That hasn’t changed.” Kate smiled and placed her hand on his arm.

“That’s true. Maybe they just have been feeling more restrictive than usual. It was nice to be away from it all for a while.”

“Well, anyway, I guess we should call it a night.” Kate stood up and Nick placed his hand on her hip.

“I’m so proud of what you’ve become, Kate. The agent you’ve grown into. I knew it was in you. I always knew.”

Kate smiled and walked around to her side of the bed and crawled under the covers. He had known and he’d been right. She only wished she could see his path as clearly. All she could see now was Nick drifting farther and farther away.

18

The state police issued the “Be on the Lookout” warning for Dr. Theodore Bishop. Every cop in North Carolina was keeping their eyes peeled for