Page 93 of Aftermath
“Len, come inside,” I instructed.
I guided her inside and placed the box on the table, not touching anything. There could be fingerprints or other pieces of evidence inside. The more intact the box remained, the way we found it, the better for the FBI techs.
“Was that blood?” Len asked, her eyes distant.
“What?” I asked gently, guiding her to a chair.
“The note—was it written in blood?” Her eyes widened as they met mine.
“No,” I assured her. “It looks like paint.”
She nodded.“And the finger, it belongs to the victim from the other day, right? I saw her hand, the nails…”
“Yes,” I answered.
I wouldn’t lie to her, no matter how hard the truth was.
“This is all my fault,” she muttered, her eyes filling with tears.
“No, Len. You can’t think like that.” I knelt next to the chair. Her gaze was set on her lap, but she moved to find me staring at her.
“This is not your fault. The sadistic things this unsub does are not your fault. They are toying with you,” I explained.
“What do we do?” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“I don’t have the technology needed to examine this, and it’s technically evidence in an active investigation. Hiding this would-“
Her face melted in both understanding and devastation.
“We have to turn it over?” she asked, but I knew she had the answer.
“Len, I would never suggest this if I didn’t think it was the only option, but this unsub is escalating quickly. I need back up,” I said.
Her hand found mine, and she held it in her lap. I needed back up; I couldn’t do this myself. The last time I’d tried, someone died. That couldn’t be Len. I wouldn’t repeat my mistakes.
“I need to correct the past. I ran last time; I won’t do that again, no matter the consequences,” Len said, a determined look on her face.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and I reached up to brush it away.
“I’ll be here every step of the way.”
21
STONE
I sentGrey and the rest of the team the location of the rental, and they arrived promptly at 7:00 the next morning.
The second Grey walked inside, I showed him the box, and he had another agent, Corson, tag it for evidence. The sheriff’s office showed up shortly after to mark the rental a crime scene.
For Len’s sake, I lied and said I found the box early in the morning, right before they all arrived.
Another agent, Alexir, asked Len a few questions while I stood close by and listened.
She stuck to everything I told her to say, which bought me time to explain everything to Grey.
“Stone,” Grey called out, motioning for me to follow him into the dining room.
I knew what was coming—time had finally run out, and I needed to come clean. I’d run over the possibilities in my head a million times. The only one that made logical sense was telling him everything. We needed his resources, and I couldn’t make an arrest without the FBI. Even if it meant sharing Len’s secret, I knew it was the best choice. I still made sure she was alright with it the second we woke in the morning. If it wasn’t what she wanted, I’d never force her into it. It was not my secret to share.
