Before the Dawn(85)

Her office. Right. The NOPD had given her team work space. Tucker turned away from Torez and followed Samantha inside the little room to the right. As soon as the door shut behind them...

"Thanks for having my back," he said.

One dark brow rose. "Is that what you think happened in there? That I had your back?"


      ///
       
         
       
        

She hadn't been grilling him. She'd been silent, watchful, the entire time.

Now he studied her with a more careful gaze. "You think I'm guilty?"

She sat behind the desk. Her head tilted as she looked up at him. "Secrets are dangerous. The longer you keep them, the more power they have to hurt you. Or the ones you care about."

He stepped closer to her.

She never changed expression as she continued, "I had a very good friend who kept terrible secrets. He liked to hurt women. Liked to torture them and see how they reacted to the pain."

He knew she was talking about Dr. Cameron Latham. Her former lover. The man who'd been revealed to be the infamous Sorority Slasher.

"I didn't see him for what he was. For too long, I looked at Cameron, and I saw what I needed him to be. Because I missed the truth about him, I started to doubt myself. My beliefs about people, my judgments about their character. Trust..." Her lips twisted. "Trust is very hard for me even on good days."

"You don't trust me. You think I could be involved-"

"I think..." She sighed. "Because of my past-because of yours-we are under a special microscope here. The brass at the FBI is watching, and sometimes I wonder if they're waiting for us to fail."

He didn't know what to say.

"I have to remove you from this case now. You realize that. I know you do."

Fuck, yes, he'd known this was coming but that didn't mean-

"And I need you to stay away from Dawn Alexander."

"No." An immediate denial. When it came to Dawn, he knew exactly what to say.

Samantha held up her hand. "We're going to continue giving Dawn protection. Her safety isn't an issue."

"Samantha, this is bullshit. You originally wanted me on this case because of my personal involvement."

But she shook her head. "I wanted you on the case because I knew that you understood Jason Frost. Your tie to him would allow you to see if this killer was truly emulating the Iceman's crimes or not. It would allow us to potentially predict the killer's movements, but...this case isn't going the way I intended."

No, it wasn't going the way anyone had intended. 

"A partial DNA match." She pressed her lips together. "I can't overlook that. The evidence we have points to the fact that one of your family members is the killer."

"I don't have any family-"

"Maybe you don't know about this person. Maybe your dad had an affair. Maybe it's a cousin you didn't know... But this killer is family, and I'll be damned if I keep you around and wind up causing you to have to kill another blood relation."

His eyes widened.

"You think I don't see the guilt you carry? I do. You had to make a choice. Your brother or the woman you loved."

The woman you loved. His shoulders stiffened. "I would make the same choice today."

"I know you would. That's why I want you away from here. You shouldn't have to make that choice."

There wasn't a choice for him. "This guy is pulling me in. He's deliberately trying to incriminate me. He gave Heather my name. Hell, he let her believe that he was me." His hands were fisted at his sides. "He's trying to make me look guilty, destroy all credibility I have. And you think I can just walk away from this? Get on a plane and head back to DC?"

"I think it's what you should do. Distancing yourself would undermine this perp's plan, and it's quite obvious to me that he's had a plan in place for some time."

"Because he's a cold, methodical killer." Tucker raked his hand over his face. "Only I didn't fully understand his motivation before. I thought it was about finishing what the Iceman had started. It's not... It's about...me. Me and Dawn."

"Your supposed connection to Heather Hartley will find its way to the media outlets. It's only a matter of time. Her roommate will talk... We're lucky Bowen got to her first. As soon as the press discovers her story, you're going to find yourself plagued by reporters. That much intensity will do nothing but hamper the investigation. I need you to back away from the case." Her face was solemn. "If I had my way, I'd send you back to DC on the next flight, but the NOPD has requested that you stay in town...because you're a person of interest for them."