Page 41 of Dark Angel
He turned his back and went to read a notice attached to the wall. The earbuds they’d been supplied with were remarkable and not the old ones attached by wire to a battery pack. They fit inside the ear and were almost invisible. Everything was wireless and the sound came through crystal clear. He could hear the young girl’s nervous cough as she sidled up to Beth.
“Hi there.” Beth cleared her throat. “I thought for a moment that nobody wanted to talk to me. My name is Beth. What’s yours?”
“Angela Brown.”
Styles turned to one side. The girl couldn’t see him and she was coming in loud and clear. Beth had his back to her, but he noticed as she slid her phone into the middle of the table.
“Well, Angela, how can I help you? Is there someone you’re concerned about?” Beth leaned back in her chair taking a nonthreatening casual pose.
“Well, my friend Lucy Parker. We play online. There’s a bunch of us from school and there is a boy who calls himself the Warlock. He said he knows where the Fairy Queen is hiding in the forest. He asked me and Lucy to meet him there this afternoon at four and he’d show us, but Lucy didn’t come to school today. I think her mom’s truck broke down or something.”
“Where does Lucy live?” Beth sucked in a breath. “We’ll go and see if she is okay, and where exactly does the Warlock want you to meet him?”
Angela gave surprisingly clear details.
Beth pulled out her phone and accessed maps of the area. She zoomed into street view and offered her the phone. “Can you show me?”
“I live three houses away from Lucy, but I take the school bus. Lucy’s mom gives her a ride to school on her way to work.” She moved her fingers over the screen. “This is my house and Lucy lives here. This is where we’re meeting the Warlock.” She smiled. “We said we’d go meet the Warlock together, but now I’m too scared to go, just in case he is really a stranger. Can you find out?”
“No, don’t go. Not ever.” Beth leaned forward in her chair. “Never meet anyone in the forest or anywhere else without your parents. This is what bad people do to hurt kids. Stay home and I’ll go and meet him and see who he is.”
“So, do you want me to pretend we’ll meet him?” Angela pushed her hair over one shoulder. “I’m supposed to chat with him in the game room after school.”
“Yes, but don’t let him know I’ll be there.” Beth moved around in her chair. “I have a secret mission for you, Angela. Listen carefully. Don’t tell Lucy about me either. Call her and tell her you can’t go tonight but you’ll go with her to meet him another day. After tonight, you can tell Lucy all about me and what we talked about in class today. Can you do that for me, Angela? It will be a special FBI mission. Just you and me.”
“Yes.” She giggled. “I’ll be an FBI agent like you.”
“Good.” Beth pushed to her feet. “Remember to stay home this afternoon and never ever go into the forest to meet strangers. Leave the Warlock to me.”
“Okay.” Angela bounced out of the corner grinning. She walked up to her teacher. “I’m going to be an FBI agent.”
Styles moved swiftly to her side. “This one will be tricky, but we have no choice.”
Uncomprehending, Beth stared at him. “Tricky how?”
“Legally.” Styles frowned. “We have so little on any of our suspects. People have rights and we can’t ignore them.”
“Says the man who beat up four guys in an alleyway.” Snorting, Beth shook her head. “We’ll catch him first and then worry about the legality of stopping a kid killer. Ryder can take him in for questioning for suspicion of murder. That’s perfectly legal and if he’s not on our suspect list I’ll add him.” She lifted her chin. “Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all good.”
Styles checked his watch. “I’m not convinced, but whatever, we’ll head out to the forest and see if he shows. We’ll need to get geared up and there’s no time to go back to the office.” He thought for a beat. “We’ll be able to get camos at the local store. There are two rifles in my truck. I’ll call Ryder for the arrest and backup. It’s all we’ve got right now.”
“Okay.” Beth’s eyes flashed with excitement. “He calls himself the Warlock and I bet he asks them to drink a magic potion. It’s straight out of the new game all the kids are playing. Now we know how he’s grooming them.” She took a deep breath. “Which one of our suspects do you believe it is?”
Styles headed for the door. “I have no idea, but I figure we’re going to find out soon enough.”
FORTY-TWO
Always thinking ahead, Beth never hunted down a serial killer without researching every move ahead of time. Unlike most FBI agents, her mantra was to stop them at all costs—stop as in removing them from this earth, not allowing them to be released on bail to kill again. Leaving them dead in an inconspicuous place with a tarot card somewhere on their person would deflect the crime away from her. For this to work, she would need Styles to believe her location was far away from the Pied Piper at the time of death. It would take all her skills to make this happen.
She climbed into Styles’ truck and turned in the seat to look at him and then indicated to the pile of camouflage gear they’d just purchased. “We can’t be seen getting changed in the local diner’s restroom and then heading out to the forest. We don’t know who’s watching us. Is there a local motel close by we could use to change and plan out our strategy?”
“There’s a motel attached to the back of one of the local saloons.” Styles smiled at her. “I’ll go get a room. Maybe it’s best if you stay in the truck. The fewer people who know about us the better.”
She checked her watch. “That’s fine by me. I figure we need to get into the forest at least one hour before the meeting time and we’ll need to take an alternative route to the Pied Piper. We already know that he’ll park his vehicle on the fire road and walk into the forest. We’ll come in from the opposite side. I found a hiking track we can use.”
As they drove down Main, Beth crossed her arms and drummed her fingers on one forearm, anxious to be in the forest. Forcing herself to relax, she absorbed the scenery. Picturesque was an understatement. This part of the world had a unique beauty. The rivers ran fast and the termwhitewaterwas evident as the rushing frothy river cascaded over and around huge chunks of rock. Alongside, boulders smoothed over the years littered the sand-covered riverbanks, offering visitors a place to sit. Across the river, the forest spread out green and lush. Miles and miles of tall fragrant pines marched up the mountainsides to surround the snowcapped peaks.
“Nervous?” Styles flicked her a glance. “I’ll be right beside you.”
