Acts of Mercy

TWENTY-ONE

Time to check in with the people who are paying me this time around, Sam told himself as he dialed Mallory’s number.

“What’s going on?” Mallory sounded concerned when she picked up.

Sam brought her up to speed.

“What a hot mess this case turned out to be,” she said. “Have you been in touch with our client recently?”

“I was going to call her,” Sam told her. “I’m just not sure how to tell her I’m at the heart of all this.”

“Do you think you should do that at this time?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been going back and forth on this. On the one hand, I feel I owe her the truth. On the other, I don’t know how much it could muddy the water. I wouldn’t blame her if she got pissed off when she found out that the investigator she has asked to look into her husband’s death was actually the cause of his murder. But what if she takes it one step further and decides to call a local paper or TV station to complain or to vent? Maybe the only advantage we have right now is that there’s a chance the killer still might not know that we’ve figured out that he’s targeting me. If this goes public now, we’re going to lose that, and it’s a slim enough edge as it is.”

“Good point. My advice would be to hold up on contacting Mrs. Walker. If she calls in for a status report, I’ll take the call and let her know you’re still working on it.”

“Okay, thanks. Let’s see how this plays out over the next couple of days.”

“I read your email about the fifth murder. I’m assuming you still haven’t been able to come up with any possible suspects.”

“Fiona is sure it’s someone from my past. Since I’ve been out here, I’ve run into a lot of my old friends. I hate to admit that I need to look at each of them as a potential killer. I just don’t see that in any of them.”

“Maybe you’re not looking at them with a clear eye. Maybe you need to be a little more objective. Why not talk to Fiona about your relationships with each of these people-the good times and the bad-and see if anything looks out of place? Maybe something that seems innocuous to you might jump out screaming at her.”

“If I knew where she was, I’d do that.”

“I thought she went to Nebraska with you.”

“She did. She left early this morning. She told my sister-in-law that something came up and she had to go.”

“Well, maybe if you call your contact at the Bureau…”

“Already did that. He won’t tell me. So I guess I just have to wait until the rest of the posse shows up.”

“What posse?”

“John-my old boss-is sending out a few agents as backup here today. There are only two more acts of mercy left, and I’m thinking this guy is going to go after my brother. The last act, I believe, will be saved for me.”

“Why do you think he’ll go after your brother?”

“At this point, he wants to hurt me, so he’s going to take someone I care about. No more anonymous victims. In the past, he’s only killed men, so I’m thinking he’s going to target my brother, the guy who means the most to me. Then he’ll come after me.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because that’s what I would do.”

“What do you mean, he’s gone?” Robert stared at Susanna from across the room. “Gone where?”

“I don’t know, Robert. I just got a call from Luke saying that he was being temporarily reassigned to some emergency and that he’d be back on the case as soon as he could.”

“Wonder what the emergency could be,” Trula thought aloud. “Do you think there’s going to be a terrorist attack? Maybe I should turn on the TV and see what’s on the news.”

“I don’t know what to think,” Susanna told her, “but I’m sure it must be something very important.”

“It had better be damned important.” Robert was beginning to steam. “He’s supposed to be looking for my son.”

“I’m sure the FBI wouldn’t pull an agent from a kidnapping case unless they had a damned good reason, Rob. I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.”

“That’s not really good enough.” He shook his head.

“It’s going to have to be, for now,” Susanna countered.

“Why? We have the same list of names that he has. We’ve already started to narrow down the field a little. Why do we have to wait for Parrish?” Robert’s stance was defiant.

“Because we have no authority to go knocking on people’s doors, that’s why,” Suse reminded him. “He’s got a federal agency behind him. We have-”

“Kevin.” Robert nodded slowly. “We have Kevin. And he’s backed by a higher authority than the FBI.”

Robert grabbed the phone and hit speed-dial.

“Rob, what are you going to do?” she asked quietly.

He appeared not to have heard her.

“Hello, Mary?” he greeted the church’s secretary when the call was picked up. “Good morning. It’s Rob Magellan. Good, good, yes, we’re all fine, thanks. I’m trying to track down Father Kevin. Have you seen him? Great… yes, I’ll hold.” Robert glanced over to Susanna and said, “When you only have one card, you have to play it.”

“What card…?”

“Kevin, hey, I need you. Now. Come to the house… get someone else to cover that for you. No, it can’t wait, bro. Today’s the day.” Robert appeared to be listening for a moment. “Great. See you then. Oh, and Kevin? Wear your collar.”

“Rob, I’m almost afraid to ask what you’re doing,” Susanna told him when he hung up the phone.

“Who knows how long Parrish is going to be tied up? Days? A week? More?” Rob’s jaw tightened. “Supposing the person who has Ian is moving. Maybe she’s nervous about staying in one place for too long, maybe she’s renting and her lease is running out, maybe she’s psychic and knows we’re coming after her-I don’t know.” He reached for her arm. “Don’t you see? We’re this close. I can’t sit around and wait for Parrish to finish up whatever it is they’ve got him doing.”

“Rob…”

“Please,” he pleaded, “don’t ask me to wait. Give Colin a call and see if he’s come up with anything else.” He picked up the list from the counter. “And let’s see if we can maybe map out an itinerary.”

“An itinerary? Meaning you’re planning on tracking down these people by yourself.”

“Not by myself. With you. You’re going to help me, aren’t you? Suse? I don’t think I can do this without you.”

“Of course I’ll help you.” She sighed, resigned.

“And Kevin. I need Kevin.” He paused, then grabbed the phone again and began to dial. “Delilah, get the plane fueled up and ready to go. I’m not sure exactly when. Just be on standby. Be ready.”

He hung up and turned back to Susanna.

“One way or another, we’re going to find him, Suse. I can feel it. We’re going to find Ian.” His eyes filled. “After all this time, we’re going to find my son…”