Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [50]
“Of course.”
“That’s it for now,” Griff said and ended their conversation with those succinct words.
Maleah slipped her phone into her pocket. On her way upstairs to pack, she bumped into Derek on the landing. Before she could do more than glare at him, his phone rang and he quickly nodded to her and headed downstairs. Griff certainly hadn’t wasted any time phoning Derek. She wondered if he’d ask her new partner if he had a problem working with her. Probably. Everyone at the agency knew about the animosity between them. And yes, she admitted that, for the most part, it was her fault. She wasn’t very adept at keeping her mouth shut. She talked too much. Her mother had been a quiet, almost shy woman. Her brother Jack wasn’t much of a talker, either. But one of the things she remembered about her father—other than his wide smile and loud laugh—was that he was an extrovert, a friendly man who never met a stranger.
What would Derek reply when Griff asked if he could work with her? He’d probably laugh and then say something to the effect of “I never met a woman I couldn’t handle.” She could almost hear him spouting off those exact words.
Arrogant son of a bitch!
Maleah hadn’t realized she was mumbling to herself until she heard someone ask, “Who’s an arrogant son of a bitch?”
She whirled around and saw Lorie standing in the doorway of the guest bedroom.
“Sorry. I was thinking out loud. Don’t pay any attention to me.”
“Do you know what time Ms. Gilbert will get here? I’ve started packing and I have to admit that I’m eager to go home.”
“You do know that Jack and Cathy would be more than happy for you to stay here until—”
“I’m sure they would, but I really want to go home. And I don’t want them in the line of fire, when…” Lorie took a deep breath. “If the killer comes after me, the last thing I want is to put Jack or Cathy or Seth in danger.”
“I understand.”
“I thought you would. I…uh…I’d like to ask a favor.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Would you keep me informed about what’s happening, how the case is going? After all, it’s my life that’s in danger. I have a right to know—”
“You don’t have to convince me. I agree. You have every right to be kept in the loop and I promise that I’ll call you with regular updates. How’s that?”
Lorie managed a fragile smile. “Thank you.”
Both of them heard the doorbell.
“I’d better get that,” Maleah said. “You stay here until I see who it is.”
“I’ve got it,” Derek called from below.
Maleah raced down the stairs and arrived in the foyer just as Derek opened the door to Mike Birkett and a broad-shouldered, auburn-haired man wearing tan dress slacks and a blue blazer. Although he wasn’t traditionally handsome, masculinity oozed from his pores and sparkled mischievously in his hazel brown eyes. Maleah liked him on sight. There was a gentle calmness to the man, and his warm smile expressed an easygoing manner.
Mike made the introductions quickly. Derek Lawrence, former FBI profiler, now a Powell Agency employee. Special Agent Hicks Wainwright, from the Birmingham field office.
“And this is Maleah Perdue,” Mike said. “She’s the Powell agent that Lorie Hammonds hired as soon as she received the second of two threatening letters.”
Maleah shook hands with the federal agent. When he smiled at her, she returned his smile. Her gut instincts told her that Hicks Wainwright was her kind of guy.
“Special Agent Wainwright has been assigned to investigate the three murders we believe are linked and make a judgment call on whether or not the Bureau should form a task force,” Mike explained.
The usually charming Derek said rather gruffly, “It won’t take much investigating to figure out that we’re dealing with a serial killer.”
Mike and Maleah stared at Derek, both surprised by his tone of voice. But Wainwright seemed not to notice and replied, “I’m sure I’ll discover that you’re right. And if I do, I’ve been instructed by SAS Josh Freidman, from headquarters in DC, to ask for the Powell Agency’s cooperation. We don’t want to work at cross-purposes, do we? And I’m sure your team does not want to interfere