Facing Fear

Secrets Tracie Fehr PROLOUGE If you had looked into my office that night you would have seen nothing but darkness except in one small corner. My lab was a huge research facility that was used by the FBI to find criminals who were able to escape for years without being caught. Bones, decayed flesh, scraps of nothingness that no one else could decipher my people could. My office had glass walls on the outside and is warm and homey on the inside. Tonight however, it was cold and uncomfortable. I had a major decision to make, not just affecting my faith, but my future and my friends. I had one choice; I just needed the courage to make it. Shoulders heaving in silent sobs, I made my choice and gathered my courage. Just as I stood up, my partner Seth walked in. “Toes, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to join us at the Club. What’s going on?” I had called Seth in to finish my decision. I picked up the syringe and concealed it by my side. “I needed a hug.” I sniffed and forced a smile. He stepped toward me, looking somewhat confused but said, “Of course I’ll give you a hug. It’s just a strange request coming from you.” He was right, I had a personal bubble, and no one touched me unless given permission. As he closed me in his arms, I raised the needle and pushed it into his neck. I heard him gasp as I plunged the contents into his body. He stumbled back a bit and I led him to the couch. Gently setting him down so he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself, I stepped back and sat on the coffee table across from him. “Why?” His eyes glittered with tears. He knew what I would be doing. “I knew that once you discovered me gone you would come after me. I can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous and you are too precious to let go.” I paused, and then inhaled deeply, “You will sleep for about two hours and you may have a headache.” I felt his hand go weak in mine. I had to say it before it was too late. “I love you Seth.” I watched his eyes widen, and then slowly close, as the sedative took him. Then he was asleep. I grabbed my keys and put the note I had typed on the table by Seth. I walked to my office door and glanced back at my partner. Then turned and walked out the door. I walked out into the rain, and stopped watching the oncoming car. It slowed and the door opened and swallowed me in darkness. CHAPTER ONE SEVEN DAYS AGO I was singing in the shower when I heard my doorbell chime. Grabbing my towel, I dried fast and threw on my robe, tying it as I went to the door. “Who is it?” I asked trying to reach the peephole, which are all too high up for my five foot one stature to look through. “It’s me Toes, open up, we got a case.” I sighed a smile and unlocked the door. “Hey Seth, come on in, you know it’s almost six thirty in the morning right? You’re lucky I’m awake.” I liked to sleep at least till seven. “Yeah I know but you’re gonna like this one.” Seth said as he waltzed to my kitchen table and plopped down. Chuckling to myself I closed the door behind him and relocked it. Then I headed to the table. “Do you mind if I finish my shower before you dazzle me?” I asked the rhetorical question, veering off in the direction of the bathroom. Already enjoying the fruit plate and toast I had set on the table for myself, Seth mumbled something and waved me away. I shook my head and returned to the matter at hand. Refreshed from finishing my now cold shower, as I had forgotten to turn off the water, I returned to the kitchen only to find my partner making me fresh toast and cutting more fruit to replace the ones he ate. “Wow, you didn’t need to make my breakfast for me.” “I didn’t want you to wait too long to read the file on the table. I think you may know what to do.” I was puzzled, Seth was really good about including me in the investigation, but he always made the decision on the cases we would work. I picked up the file and paced as I read the details. It was a horrifying one, yet I was curious. There were twelve victims. The only thing left of them was bits of bone and small scarps of clothing. No leads, yet plenty of useless evidence. Footprints, compromised by the weather, DNA from random people who found the remains, specific patterns disturbed; this was going to be a nightmare trying to sort out, though I do have the best team working with me. My people are the world’s greatest scientists. Jasper is my first in command. He specializes in trace evidence, bugs, and mathematical timelines. Jasper also enjoys the occasional crazy experiment. Torrance is my second in command and she’s the Medical Examiner on our team. Because we touch into so many different parts of science we have an intern program. George and Natasha are the interns currently with our team. Every four years the interns we have move on and we get two new ones to teach, they have been with us for one and a half years. Our goal is to open up the minds of the interns in dealing with every day things they may encounter. George helps Torrance by taking photos and collecting samples from the crime scene. Natasha is an expert in facial reconstruction and recreating the crime to help find out how things could have happened. She also helps Jasper with the experiments. Then my boss, Edward, is of all of the above. He dabbles in all the fields and deals with all of the politics involved. Seth is an FBI Special Agent and my partner. I profile killers and interpret evidence. “There is a lot of information here but nothing helpful.” Seth brought the breakfast to me and sat down. “That is why I need you to look at it. The FBI is seriously considering bringing in the Behavioral Analysis Unit.” I glanced over at him, “and you don’t want to do that?” He shook his head, “I have nothing against profilers, but I need to know if you can do this yourself or if you need help. I don’t want to see any more victims. I do have a confession though.” He paused then a sheepish look crossed his face. “What?” I asked, not knowing if I would like this. “Well, first I need to know if you’ll do it.” “I don’t mind the extra help. Twelve is a lot of victims and I know we can find this guy, so yeah I’ll do it. Just give me at least twenty four hours to go over the evidence and see what I can make of it. Then call in the BAU.” He smiled and replied, “Good because I already sent to bodies to your lab!” He ducked as threw my orange peel at his head. “Well let’s go.” I said as I gathered up the papers and put them in my bag. I had eaten my breakfast while Seth had talked. I arrived at the black FBI issue Lexus RX hybrid that Seth drove. I climbed into the passenger seat and put on my seat belt. As Seth drove to the lab, we discussed the case. “So do you have any thoughts on the unknown subject yet?” He inquired. I looked into the side mirror as I thought. “Definitely male. Probably charming and good looking. That’s how he gets his victims.” I paused, watching the dark blue car behind us. It had been with us for the last three turns and it wasn’t indicating passing us at all. It felt like we were being watched. “Toes, are you alright?” Seth asked as our eyes hit for a second. “We have a tail. Dark blue car, I don’t know the make, or model. It looks high end but that’s all I can figure out. And the plate isn’t in the front of the car.” Seth grabbed his radio and called in one of his cop codes to get someone on the car following us. Then said to me “I don’t know if it will help, but they are sending a squad car into our general location. Hopefully they can get the license plate from the back of the car.” “Well, every little bit helps.” I replied back. As we continued to drive, the car hung on to our trail, like a hungry dog. I made me a bit nervous. Then, all of a sudden, the car sped past us and whirled into another intersection. That’s when I noticed the squad car. The back of the car was covered in mud so we couldn’t see the numbers. ”Whoa someone was in a hurry eh?” Seth asked me.