“Sir, I was acting on impulse,” Mackenzie pleaded. “A mysterious figure was lurking at the edge of a murder scene. It was private property. He was trespassing. He then took off suspiciously. Was I supposed to just let him run? All I did was stop him. I didn’t assault him.”
He frowned.
“White, I’m on your side on this. One hundred percent. But there’s another factor that I can’t get past. The State PD is involved now. They caught wind of the confrontation with Pope, too. There’s also the fact that you were MIA when they showed up to the scene on State Route 411 this afternoon. I’m pissed about that one myself. But they saw it as sloppy work on your part. Not a good impression.”
He raised a hand before she could talk.
“As if that wasn’t enough, I got a call from Ruth-Anne Costello about half an hour ago. She complained about your being rude and aggressive. She, too, lodged a complaint.”
“Are you serious?”
Nelson looked depressed as he nodded his head.
“Yes, unfortunately, I am. Add all of that up and we get a shit storm.”
“So what do we do to fix this?” she asked. “What is Pope asking for to stay quiet? How can we appease the State and make the nun happy?”
Nelson sighed and then sneered toward the ceiling, making it apparent that he was not happy with what he was about to say.
“It means that effective immediately, I have to take you off of the Scarecrow Killer case.”
Mackenzie felt her skin grow cold. The thought of the killer out there, continuing to kill, and her being unable to try to stop it, was just too much for her.
She didn’t know what to say.
Nelson’s frown deepened.
“I went to bat for you and tried to get them to ease up,” he said. “I even tried to simply let them allow you to finish up this case and then get expelled for a week or so. But Pope and the State PD weren’t having it. My hands are tied on this one. I’m sorry.”
Mackenzie felt fury replacing the fear that had been boiling up in her stomach. Her first instinct was to lash out at Nelson but she could tell that he was pretty angry about this turn of events, too. Plus, given the way he had been showing her more respect in these last few days, she didn’t doubt him when he said he had tried everything he could.
This was not his fault. If anyone was to blame, it was Ellis Pope. And, quite possibly, she herself as well. Ever since she’d heard that creaky floorboard three nights ago, she’d not been herself. Things going askew with Ellington had not helped, either.
Yes, this was mostly on her. And that was perhaps the worst thing of all.
“So who handles the case now?” Mackenzie asked.
“The State Police. And they’ve got the FBI on stand-by if they’re needed. But being that we think we have the exact location of where the killer is coming next, we’re hoping it’s going to be a pretty simple case.”
“Sir, I don’t even…”
She stopped here, not knowing what to say. She had never been much of a crier, but she was so angry as she sat in Nelson’s office that her body seemed to have no other way to express it other than the threat of tears.
“I know,” he said. “This sucks. But when it’s all said and done – when this asshole is behind bars and the paperwork is being done – I’m going to make sure your name is all over it in the best ways possible. You have my word on that, White.”
She stood up in a state of shock, looking to the door as if it might transport her to some magical world where this conversation had never happened.
“So what am I supposed to do now?” she asked.
“Go home. Get drunk. Do whatever you need to do to shake this off. And when the case is closed, I’ll call you and let you know. The State won’t care about this ordeal once the killer is arrested. Ellis Pope will be all we have to worry about and that should be easy once you’re not in the spotlight.”
She opened the door and stepped out.
“I’m sorry as hell, White,” he said before she closed the door. “I really am.”
She could only nod as she closed the door behind him.
She made her way through the hallway, keeping her eyes on the floor so she would not have to look anyone she passed in the eye. As she made her way out to the front of the station, she looked up to Nancy. Nancy, apparently assuming that Mackenzie was now in the know, gave her a polite frown.
“You okay?” Nancy asked.
“I will be,” Mackenzie said, not knowing if it was true or not.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
While the idea of getting drunk was certainly an enticing one, it also reminded her of what had happened the last time she’d had a drink. Yes, it had only been yesterday but the embarrassment of what had happened made it seem like it had happened years ago and had haunted her all of the time in between. So rather than drink her anger away, Mackenzie did the only other thing she knew to do.
She went home and placed all of the files concerning the Scarecrow Killer on her coffee table. She brewed a pot of coffee and went over every scrap she had on the case. While part of her felt that having the fourth murder site on lockdown was a sure-fire way to an arrest, her instinct told her that the killer would be smart. All it would take was him seeing the merest sign of a police presence to change his plans. Nelson and the State PD likely realized this, too but the fact that they were so close now might make them a little too conservative in their approach.
Outside, night had fallen. She stared out of her blinds for a moment, wondering how the events of the last few days might affect the course of her life. She thought of Zack and realized, for perhaps the first time, that she was glad he was gone. If she was being honest with herself, she’d only tolerated the relationship so she wouldn’t be alone – something she had feared ever since walking into her parents’ bedroom and finding her dead father.
She also wondered what Ellington was doing. His call with the profile earlier was proof that he was still involved in the Scarecrow Killer case, even if it was only in a background capacity. Thinking of him, she also wondered if she would have taken the profile and the visit to Holy Cross so seriously if it had come from anyone else. Had she been trying to impress him or had she been trying to impress Nelson?
As she looked back to the files in front of her, a very simple yet provocative thought filled her head: Why impress anyone? Why not just do a good job and work to the best of my abilities? Why care what anyone else thinks of me, much less a useless ex-boyfriend, chauvinist supervisors, or a married FBI agent?
As if provoked by such thoughts, her cell phone rang. She picked it up from the clutter of files and folders on her coffee table and saw that it was Ellington. She smirked at the phone and almost didn’t answer it. He was probably calling to receive thanks for the rabbit trail of Holy Cross, or maybe he had some other insightful idea that would lead her astray and get her reprimanded. If she’d had a clearer head in that moment, she would have ignored the call. But, as it was, some of the fury from Nelson’s office was still lurking in her heart and demanded that she answer it.
“Hello, Agent Ellington,” she said.
“Hey there, White. I know I keep bothering you, but I’m wrapping up for the day and wanted to see if anything on that profile panned out for you.”
“No, it didn’t,” Mackenzie said, skipping the niceties. “In fact, it seems that the only thing my visit to a Catholic school did was piss off the head nun.”