Read Faces of Evil [2] Impulse for Free Online Page B

“I do have a photo I took during my interview with Spears. I came to Birmingham to advise on a case immediately following my work on the Player investigation and there was no time to clean out my photo library. Do you have a problem with that, Agent Manning? It’s not like I yanked his photo from the Bureau’s database and wear it in a locket around my neck.”
    Manning held up his hands. “I’m not the enemy, Harris. I’m here purely as a courtesy to BPD. My orders as to how to proceed come straight from –”
    “I know where your orders come from,” Jess retaliated. “And I also know what the Bureau thinks about my handling of Spears and the case in Richmond. But whatever you and all of them think,” she sliced her hands through the air, “this is Spears. I know him better than anyone else and I know this is him.”
    “Like you knew it was him before?”
    That was enough. “What happened in Richmond is irrelevant as far as we’re concerned,” Dan clarified for the record. “This is our case and, as I’ve already stated, we intend to proceed under the assumption that Spears is our perpetrator based on witness identification.”
    “It’s your mistake to make, chief,” Manning relented. “The Bureau feels your time and resources would be best utilized focused on a broader search. You requested we weigh in and we have.”
    “Duly noted,” Dan rejoined. “Let’s move on.”
    The agent settled back into his seat. Dan had known Todd Manning for about three years. Generally, he was amiable and cooperative. There were always battle lines drawn when joint task forces formed. This time, those sensitive areas were magnified. Because it was one of BPD’s own. Because of Jess.
    Dan picked up where he’d left off, “We have teams methodically checking public storage facilities, abandoned warehouses and buildings, as well as homes that have been abandoned by owners and not currently monitored by realtors.”
    “That’s like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Griggs submitted, his tone as doubtful as the expression he wore.
    A rumble of agreement went around the table.
    Dan couldn’t argue that. “Based on Agent Harris’ previous dealings with Spears, he likes plenty of privacy when he does his dirty work. He’s new to the area and our hope is that prior planning was not up to his usual cautious standards which may serve to our benefit.”
    “He had maybe three days after his release in Virginia,” Jess spoke up, “before abducting Detective Wells. There is nothing in his background that indicates he has spent any time in the south, much less this area. I’m thinking he scrambled to put this game together, which is definitely to our benefit. He may have made mistakes he wouldn’t ordinarily make.”
    “Once again,” Manning cut in, “you’re assuming this is Spears and that you actually know his MO, if he even has one. I feel compelled to underscore our position that narrowing your search parameters this way is a mistake.”
    How many times were they going to go over this? When Dan would have said exactly that, Jess dug in her heels.
    “Are you going to discount the fact that almost every aspect of Wells’ disappearance matches the MO used by the Player, witnesses aside, when he abducted his victims?” she demanded. “The same ones he tortured and ultimately murdered?”
    “Almost being the key word,” Manning fired back. “Could be a copycat using the Player’s MO. Since your investigation in Richmond could not tie Spears to the Player, I can’t see what you hope to gain by pursuing only that avenue.”
    What the hell bug crawled up this guy’s ass? Dan gritted his teeth to prevent telling him to shut up or get out. Besides, the mayor was here and he had no choice but to be on his best behavior. On some level he got that there was merit to the Bureau’s position, but the connection to the Player – to Spears – was what they had. Waiting around for some other scenario to