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

man in the airline seat next to her began, “Excuse me?”

“Oh sorry. I was just talking to myself. Hazards of the job,” Kate replied.

“What do you do for a living?” the man asked.

“I’m a federal agent.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s interesting. Are you working on a case?” the man’s eyes widened with interest.

“As a matter of fact, I am. But I’m afraid it’s all confidential at the moment. QT. You understand.”

“Sure. Sure. Yeah, hey, do what you gotta do. And—thanks for, you know, for your service, I guess. I mean, I know you’re not like military…”

Kate smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” She felt the plane begin its descent into Charlotte and peered through the window at the setting sun. Her promise to return by day’s end had been intact.

Nick was there to pick her up and pulled curbside when he spotted her. When she opened the door, he smiled. “Glad you’re back.”

Kate slipped inside and closed the passenger door. “Good to be back. It was worth the trip. Thank you.”

Nick pulled away from the curb. “No need to thank me. Just tell me you got what you needed.”

“I think so. What’s been happening today?” she asked.

“More of the same. The captain with the state police came in and offered additional assistance. Fisher said he’d hold off for now. Said there were a lot of people already working on finding Bishop. Walsh is still keeping a lid on the Parnell alias for the time being, but I’m not sure how much longer we can hold onto that information. We tried to track down any family and got a hit on the mother. She hadn’t seen or heard from Bishop in almost 5 years.”

“Do you buy that?” Kate asked.

“I’m putting a pin in that for the moment,” Nick replied. “We’ll likely need to pull her phone records and look for a connection to Baltimore or Charlotte since we don’t have a phone number for him.”

“And the call to his ex-girlfriend, Holly? Do we know where the call originated from yet?”

“Based on the details you provided us, Walsh and Palmero have been coordinating with the cell phone provider. What I do know is that Walsh’s NSA contact is currently running recognition on security video at the bus terminals. We should have an update on our return.” Nick glanced at her. “You could make a strong case to not replace Quinn, you know.”

Kate scoffed. “Not a chance. Fisher already said I didn’t have the experience. I can’t argue with that. Besides, I don’t pretend to know everything.”

“I know you don’t. I’m just saying when I was made SSA for the Washington Field Office, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I just did it. And it turned out okay.”

“In all fairness, you had the years put in already. I don’t. And especially not for BAU. It was practically a miracle I was offered a position in the first place.”

“If you say so.” Nick pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. “Still, Fisher should know you can handle yourself.”

“I hope everyone on the teams knows that.” Kate stepped out of the car and waited for Nick to join her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

He grinned. “I know you didn’t. But you’re right. Everyone should already know what you can do. I certainly do.” Nick started inside.

When they arrived back at the ops room, Walsh stood from his chair and wore a wide grin. “God bless you, Reid. I knew you could do it.”

Kate was surprised by his praise. “What? Did you find where the call to the ex came from?” she asked.

He walked back. “You’re damn right we did. He might’ve hidden his number, but you can’t hide a call’s location. According to the cell phone provider, the call Bishop made to his ex-girlfriend pinged back to a cell tower right here.” Walsh pointed to the monitor.

“That’s really close to that bus depot,” Kate added.

“Yes, ma’am. So Palmero over here.” Walsh gestured to him. “He decided to head over there for a visit and wouldn’t you know…”

Palmero placed his hand on Walsh’s shoulder. “The bus operators had their own security footage. Cameras behind the ticket counters. We got surveillance footage of a guy buying a ticket. Looked an awful lot like Theo Bishop. He purchased a bus ticket to Raleigh.”

“He’s still in North Carolina.” Kate smiled.

“He’s still in North Carolina,” Walsh added. “So, we’re packing up and heading to Raleigh.”

“Great. When?” Kate asked.

Duncan walked toward them. “Right now. I just got us a car. We’re leaving now.”

19

Theo Bishop had started off with noble intentions, wanting to leave a mark as his father had. A well-respected doctor, his father had saved lives during the Gulf War before returning to the U.S. and eventually becoming the Chief of Surgery at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. That was the only reason the younger Bishop had been granted residency.

Bishop had envied the way his father’s patients admired him. They looked at him as though he was their savior. That was how it started.

Holly had been merely an experiment. How far could he go without ending a life? She had been the guinea pig. It turned out that Bishop had no capacity for love in that manner. Only a need to be loved and idolized.

Now, as he sat on the edge of his bed inside the Super 8 in Raleigh, Bishop needed a way out. He had his new identity, Eli Parnell, but Parnell had no medical degree. He wasn’t certified as an EMT. This left him with no way to slip into a role that would grant him access to the people who needed him, or rather, the people he needed. Not to mention that he’d murdered a colleague, and the cops were after him. No medical degree or certification in the world was going to help him escape that. The longer he remained in North Carolina, the greater the odds were of him being captured. He’d seen the news