Filed to story: The Mindf*ck Series Read Online Free
Signed in blood is one name-Kenneth Ferguson. Only it’s not in calligraphy. It’s still signed in blood, written with most likely his finger. The strokes are shaky, as though he was trembling when the unsub made him sign this with his own blood.
That’s a level of cold that had us profiling him as a sadist.
There’s an x marking so many graves, the names of each child written in calligraphy. The only structure on the map appears to be a shed of some sort. The graves are all around it. The map goes from his home, the road names marking each turn to take. He went and visited them. The sick fuck knew exactly where he’d buried each and every child.
Sixty-nine photos. Seventy nails.
Those words come back to me, reminding me they were spoken.
I dart out of the room, leaving Duke behind to deal with the murders that have him sagging to a chair in disbelief.
I grab the page Duke left in the office, one listing all the children’s names. Our people must have run facial recognition against all the kids in the system. After being runaways, their names and photos are reported.
There’s a list of names for each photo. Sixty-nine names.
The same names and ages are written on the photos themselves.
Only one is not listed.
Hadley’s.
He spared her the indignity of our team seeing her photos next to these. He sent Lindy here instead of to the police. He knew we’d take it more personally, knew there was a stronger chance of Lindy getting custody of Laurel.
He definitely feels a kinship with Hadley, and could possibly want to see her reaction. Hadley doesn’t answer, so I tell all that to her voicemail, hoping she hears it soon.
Then I head into the breakroom where Lana is drinking a coke, kicked back with her feet crossed at the ankles as she stares at the TV. I lean against the doorjamb, studying her easy grin.
She has no idea at how sick the world is. I hate that I can’t take her home right now. Hate that this got more complicated and now I need to stay. She’s the only thing keeping me sane right now.
So much for spending some time in bed apologizing even more.
Chapter 13
Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.
-Confucius
LANA
Logan is gone for a little while when I suddenly see Lindy walk in front of the breakroom with Laurel. I guess she was watching the news closely, ready to follow through with what I told her to do.
Lindy’s eyes widen in shock when she sees me, and I wink, holding my finger over my lips as the universal shhhh sign, while using my other hand to gesture to my visitor’s badge.
She masks her surprise immediately, and Laurel grins at me, giving me a small wave. I get a little worried when I see Hadley suddenly approach them, looking in at me.
Laurel diverts her attention to Hadley, as Hadley narrows her eyes at me. “Can I help you?” she asks.
A guy walks up, and he gestures to Laurel and Lindy. “They have information on the Ferguson case. I escorted them up, but I can’t find SSA Bennett.”
My stomach flips just hearing his name. I hope he doesn’t let me down. My instructions were for Lindy to seek out his team, but not by name. He’ll get her custody of Laurel if he’s the man I think he is, without treating her like a criminal for being linked to me-the monster I hide from him.
“I’ll take them to conference three,” Hadley tells him, eyeing me suspiciously again. Laurel glances at me one last time, but Lindy remains a face of stone, carrying out her part perfectly.
Laurel thinks I’m an angel. She probably thinks no one else can see me. In her eyes, I’m keeping a close watch on her, making sure she stays safe, just as I promised.
She’s clean now. She’s also wearing new clothes that Lindy must have picked up for her on the way here.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I hear a familiar voice ask. Craig? Is his name Craig?
I think so.
I don’t hear anything after that, because they get too far away. Instead, I feign interest in the TV, drinking the soda I bought from the vending machine in here.
Lindy probably thinks I’m ballsy as fuck for being here right now. She has no clue how tangled up I’ve gotten myself.
But they’re looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl who is falling in love.
Not a girl who died ten years ago.
More time passes before I feel eyes on me, and I dart a glance to the doorway to see Hadley just staring at me. Her eyes are definitely suspicious as she appraises me without any discretion.
Surely Laurel didn’t tell her. And certainly not Lindy.
Then again, I’d be in an interrogation room if they had. She’s been suspicious of me from the start, so she’s obviously still beating that dead horse.
To be certain, I arch an eyebrow at her, as though I’m daring her to say something. She doesn’t speak.
Her eyes are rimmed red, as though she’s been crying. Surely she didn’t care about Ferguson. So why cry?
Finally, she breaks the stare down and walks away, never saying a word. I return my attention to the ‘roast’ that’s going on. It’s actually pretty damn funny.
Besides, no one expects a laughing girl in the breakroom to have recently tortured a guy and dug up dark secrets no one even knew existed.
After some more time passes, I feel eyes on me again, and I jerk my head to the doorway to see Logan watching me with a small smile on his lips.
“What?” I ask, relieved he’s smiling.
“You. You’re just so…I guess you’re sick of hearing perfect. But it’s true.”
I slowly stand, smiling at him. I’m damn glad I’m not a suspect. I worried Lindy wouldn’t have the backbone she needed for this, but she must have proven herself.
Laurel has a home.
I’m sure of it.
“You okay? You’ve been gone a while.”
His smile slips. “Sorry about that. Had a lot to do. The only good thing besides seeing you right now, is that a traumatized homeless kid has a safe place to live.”
I breathe out silently, feeling a calm wash over me. He didn’t fail me. I knew he was perfect for this.
“Are you ready to go now?” I ask, moving toward him.
He grabs me at the waist, pulling me flush against his body, and he bends as I get up on my toes, meeting him as far as I can as his lips find mine.
“No,” he says, a sigh following as his lips stay on mine. “I have to stay.”
He pulls back reluctantly, regret shading his eyes. “I’ll give you my keys. You go home. This could take a while.”
Shit. They’ve definitely linked this kill to me-well, the me they can’t name, rather. I knew they would.
Now I have to let him do his job, trying to find me.
“Okay.”
I see Lindy and Laurel walk by, Craig escorting them out. Laurel waves at me again, and I wink at her, while Logan is distracted with running his lips over my forehead.
Craig fortunately doesn’t notice the wave goodbye either.
“I had to run a background check on a woman tonight just to make sure a killer chose wisely,” the guy who was at my house says as he walks into the breakroom, not noticing me on his way by. “This day is so fucked up.”
They know I chose her. But apparently she never talked.
Good girl, Lindy. Thank you.