Page 9 of Once Hidden
“That was different,” Riley said, but her voice lacked conviction.“That was nine years ago.”
“And yet,” Meredith said, “the pattern feels eerily familiar.You being drawn to engage with someone dangerous because of their unique insight.Convinced you can control the narrative.”
Riley stared at him, stunned that he'd bring up Hatcher after all this time.She'd thought that chapter of her professional life was firmly closed.
“You're a brilliant agent, Riley,” Meredith continued, his tone softening slightly.“One of the best I've ever worked with.But you have blind spots, like we all do.And one of yours is believing that you can dance with the devil and not get burned.”
The office fell silent again.Riley felt the truth in Meredith's words, even as she resisted them.She remembered the slow, insidious way Hatcher had gotten into her head, how she'd justified each step deeper into that relationship.And how close she'd come to losing everything because of it.
“I've learned from my mistakes,” she said finally.
“I know you have,” Meredith replied.“That's why I'm asking you to recognize this potential mistake before you make it.Leave the decoding to the cryptography team.And I can have someone else interview Lancaster.I want you to focus on the victimology, the connections between the abductees.Do what you do best without putting yourself in unnecessary danger.”
Riley took a deep breath.“Understood.”
“Do I have your word that you won't reach out to Lancaster?”
Riley hesitated for only a moment.“You have my word.”
Meredith studied her face, seeming to assess her sincerity.Whatever he saw there must have satisfied him.
“Good,” he said.“Now get out there and find these people before it's too late.”
Riley rose from her chair, recognizing the dismissal.As she turned toward the door, Meredith added, “And Riley?I meant what I said about retirement.Not now, maybe not for years.But when the time comes, I hope you'll recognize it before someone has to tell you.”
She nodded without turning around, then left the office, her mind already spinning with the implications of their conversation.Ann Marie was waiting in the hallway, leaning against the wall, her phone in her hand.She straightened when she saw Riley.
“Everything okay?”she asked, her blue eyes curious.
“Fine,” Riley said, walking past her toward the elevator.“Just some administrative stuff.”
“Uh-huh,” Ann Marie said, falling into step beside her.Her tone made it clear she didn't believe Riley's explanation.“Nothing I should know about?”
Riley glanced at her young partner, struck again by how perceptive Ann Marie could be despite her relative inexperience.Or maybe because of it—she hadn't yet learned to ignore her instincts in favor of protocol.
“Nothing case-related,” Riley said, which wasn't exactly a lie.“Come on, we should head out.I want to review the files on both victims again before we meet with the cryptography team.”
They made their way through the building and out to the parking area where their Bureau sedan waited.As Riley slid into the driver's seat, she found herself still dwelling on Meredith's warning.She understood his concern—she knew all too well how dangerous it could be to engage with a killer, even though the barriers of prison walls and supervision.The Timothy Lancaster case had been deeply personal for her, and Meredith was right to be wary of her objectivity.
And yet...
If Lancaster's mathematical puzzles were indeed similar to these new codes, wasn't he the most logical person to consult?Wouldn't failing to use every available resource be its own kind of mistake?
Riley started the car, aware of Ann Marie watching her with quiet curiosity.She wouldn't break her word to Meredith—she'd learned that lesson the hard way with Hatcher.But she couldn't help feeling that his restriction might hobble their investigation at a time when two lives hung in the balance.
Rabbit holes were real; she knew that better than most.But sometimes, what looked like a rabbit hole from the outside was actually an excellent way to cut through confusion and get straight to the facts of the matter.
CHAPTER FOUR
When Ethan Parker set his duffel bag down on the hardwood floor of his apartment, his gaze traveled immediately to a corner that was illuminated by morning light slanting through tall windows.The half-finished painting of April waited there on the easel, just as he'd left it two days ago—her unfinished face watching him with eyes he hadn't yet given their proper depth.
He rolled his shoulders, working out the stiffness from the bus ride.The early-morning journey back from Philadelphia had been uneventful but draining—six hours of watching the landscape blur past, his mind alternating between reviewing the past two days and anticipating what lay ahead.The rideshare driver who'd brought him from the station had tried to engage him in conversation, but Ethan had responded with only the bare minimum of politeness, his thoughts already here, in this room, with this painting.
He crossed to the small kitchenette and poured himself a glass of water and drank it standing, staring at the painting over the rim of the glass.April's features were taking shape on the canvas—the curve of her cheek, the fall of her dark hair.He'd captured something in the set of her mouth—a hint of determination that reminded him of the stories he'd heard about Riley Paige.He’d been told that April strongly resembled her mother.
Setting the glass down, he approached the painting, drawn to it as though April herself was in the room, calling to him.The sketches he'd made at the Brick House Beanery were pinned to the wall beside the easel—April behind the counter, April laughing with a customer, April lost in thought as she stared out the window during a lull.He hadn't told her that each one was reconnaissance, a study not just of her features but of who she was, what moved her, what might make her useful to Aunt Cora's plans.
Plans Ethan still didn't fully understand.
