Field of Graves(26)

Dan Franklin had left a message on her cell while they were in with Gladys. The press conference was in an hour.

All the humor fled. Just what she wanted—to face the cameras again.





18



Captain Price was getting ready to walk out the door when his phone rang. He hesitated; it was late, and he was caught between the desire to just clear the hell out and the knowledge that he had to take the call. He let out a huge sigh and walked back to his desk.

“Price.”

“Hey, man. How goes it in the land of make-believe?”

“Garrett Woods. How the hell are ya? It’s been a while. You in town?”

“Don’t I wish? No, I’m sitting here underground at Quantico, as usual. I think I’m becoming a vampire. The light hurts my eyes when I get outside.”

“Sorry to hear that. You still running the BSU up there?”

“Behavioral Science... Investigative Support. They can’t decide what they want to call us. Yeah, I’m still running it. Isn’t all it’s cracked up to be these days. Too many crazies and too little time. Speaking of which, I hear you guys are having a little fun down there yourselves.”

Price caught the note in his friend’s voice. Uh-oh. He really liked the man, but he didn’t relish the thought of the FBI trailing around his cases. He’d had many good experiences with them, but he’d also found when profilers get on the case, things could go a little astray.

“Fun times, always,” he said cautiously. “It’s been a while, Garrett. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Can’t a friend call and say hi?”

“Not when that friend is with the FBI and I’ve got a popping case.”

Garrett started to laugh. “Okay, okay. I’d like to ask a favor.”

“Shoot.”

“Word on the street is you may have a serial on your hands.”

“We have two dead girls in a short time span, both of whom attended the same college, but we have nothing tying them together outside of proximity. It’s probably too early to start bantering around the serial theory, you know?”

“Yeah, I do. This isn’t an entirely official inquiry. But you know the drill. If you do have a serial, I’ll have to pull a field profiler in who has too damn many things going on with his own stuff to be a huge help, yada, yada, yada. I was thinking perhaps we could approach things a little differently.”

Price sat back in his chair. This was going to be interesting. He’d known Garrett for years, and trusted him. His instincts caught a little note of desperation in his old friend’s voice, which intrigued him. Garrett wasn’t a man who flustered easily.

“Go on.”

“I have an agent there in Nashville who’s not working right now. He’s been on a temporary sabbatical. I was wondering if you’d be willing to let him come in and consult, on my dime.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this?”

He heard Garrett heave a sigh. “Can’t put anything past you, huh? It is a special situation. His name is Dr. John Baldwin. He’s one of our best and brightest. He got himself in a little trouble here a few months ago, and it kinda screwed him up. He headed home to Nashville to sort out his head, so to speak.”

“What kind of trouble, Garrett?” Price’s tone was obvious.

“Nothing illegal or improper. He was involved in a shooting. Three of his teammates were shot and killed, and he’s been putting the blame on himself, big-time. I’m not sure I’ll ever get him to come back to the FBI. But I want him back, Price. He’s a damn good cop. One of the freakiest profilers I’ve ever had. He’s got this sixth sense that’s busted open a ton of cases when no one else had a clue. Really intuitive, on the ball...”

“So why’s he so torn up? He knows the risks.”

“It’s a long story, but not a new one. He feels he got them killed. One was a junior agent on his first case. He hasn’t been able to shake the guilt. I’m hoping a taste of the real world will bring him back to life, so to speak.”

“Why don’t you just pull him back in on one of your cases?”

“Because he refuses to leave Nashville. He claims he’s planning to quit the FBI for good. He may refuse to talk with you, I don’t know. But I need to try, Mitch. I don’t want to lose him, in any sense of the word.”

“Do you really think he’s going to be any good for us if he’s not any good for you?”

“Point taken. I think if he feels useful but isn’t in charge, it may shake something loose. Maybe we can even convince him it’s his civic duty to help out in his hometown. I’d consider this a personal favor, man. Nobody up here knows I’m doing this, so I may get my own ass in a sling.”

“I suppose you already know about my LT and her shooting?”

“Jackson? Yeah, I heard about it. Sounds like she got jammed up good. I did hear she was back on the job. She doing okay?”

“Far as I can tell. Shrinks cleared her, department cleared her, and she’s back and rolling. Like your guy, she’s a damn good cop. I would have hated to lose her.”

Garrett was quiet while Price thought it over. Finally, he asked, “You think Baldwin will do it?”