Once Hunted

“Riley, help me!”

She looked straight ahead and saw the silhouette of a young girl holding out her arms in desperate appeal.

It looked like Jilly. She was in trouble again.

Riley broke into a run toward her. But then another light came on and showed that the silhouette wasn’t Jilly at all.

It was a grizzled old man wearing the full dress uniform of a Marine colonel.

It was Riley’s own father. And he was laughing at Riley’s mistake.

“You didn’t expect to find anybody alive, did you?” he said. “You’re no good to anybody unless they’re dead. How many times do I have to tell you?”

Riley was puzzled. Her father had died months ago. She didn’t miss him. She did her best never to think about him. He’d always been a hard man who had never given her anything but pain.

“What are you doing here?” Riley asked.

“Just passing through.” He chuckled. “Checking in to see how you’re botching your life. Same as always, I see.”

Riley wanted to lunge at him. She wanted hit him as hard as she could. But she found herself frozen where she stood.

Then came a loud buzzing sound.

“Wish we could chat,” he said. “But you’ve got other business.”

The buzzing became louder and louder. Her father turned and walked away.

“You never did anybody a lick of good,” he said. “Not even yourself.”

Riley’s eyes snapped open. She realized that her phone was ringing. The clock showed that it was 6:00 a.m.

She saw that the call was from Quantico. A call at this hour had to mean something dire.

She answered the phone and heard the stern voice of her team chief, Special Agent in Charge Brent Meredith.

“Agent Paige, I need you in my office right now,” he said. “That’s an order.”

Riley rubbed her eyes.

“What’s it about?” she asked.

There was a short pause.

“We’ll have to discuss it in person,” he said.

He ended the call. For a groggy moment, Riley wondered if she might be in for a reprimand for her behavior. But no, she’d been off duty for months now. A call from Meredith could only mean one thing.

It’s a case, Riley thought.

He wouldn’t call her on a holiday for any other reason.

And from Meredith’s tone of voice, she felt sure it was going to be big – maybe even life-changing.

CHAPTER FIVE

Riley’s apprehension mounted as she entered the BAU building. When she walked into Brent Meredith’s office, the chief was at his desk waiting for her. A big man with angular, African-American features, Meredith was always an imposing presence. Right now he also looked worried.

Bill was there as well. Riley could see by his expression that he didn’t yet know what the meeting was about.

“Have a seat, Agent Paige,” Meredith said.

Riley sat down in a free chair.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your holidays,” Meredith said to Riley. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked. How are you doing?”

Riley was taken aback. It wasn’t Meredith’s style to start a meeting this way – with an apology and a query about her well-being. He normally got right to the point. Of course, he knew that she’d been on leave because of the crisis with April. Riley understood that Meredith was genuinely concerned. Even so, this struck her as odd.

“I’m doing better, thanks,” she said.

“And your daughter?” Meredith asked.

“She’s recovering well, thank you,” Riley said.

Meredith fixed his gaze on her in silence for a moment.

“I hope you’re ready to come back to work,” Meredith said. “Because if we’ve ever needed you on a case, it’s this one.”

Riley’s imagination boggled as she waited for him to explain.

Finally, Meredith said, “Shane Hatcher has escaped from the Sing Sing Correctional Facility.”

His words hit her like a ton of bricks. Riley was glad she was sitting down.

“My God,” Bill said, looking equally stunned.

Riley knew Shane Hatcher well – too well for her own liking. He had been serving life without possibility of parole for decades now. During his time in prison, he’d become an expert in criminology. He’d published articles in scholarly magazines and had actually taught classes in the prison’s academic programs. Several times now, Riley had visited him in Sing Sing, seeking advice on current cases.

The visits had always been disturbing. Hatcher seemed to feel a special affinity for her. And Riley knew that, deep down, she was more fascinated with him than she ought to be. She thought that he was probably the most intelligent man that she had ever met – and also probably the most dangerous.

She’d sworn after every visit never to see him again. Now she remembered all too well the last time she’d left the Sing Sing visiting room.

“I won’t come back here to see you again,” she’d told him.

“You might not have to come back here to see me,” he’d replied.

Now those words seemed disturbingly prescient.

“How did he escape?” Riley asked Meredith.