When the chief finished talking, Nicky nodded.
"I understand," she said. “I’m ready to take on the task, even with the risks.”
"Good," the chief said. "Because I wouldn't have given this to you otherwise." A smile tugged at his lips. "But I knew you'd change your mind. The senator will be ecstatic." Franco stood up, his chair skidding against the floor as he did. Behind him, the city stretched endlessly into the morning sky.
Nicky felt good about this. Optimistic.
If she didn't want any more dead girls on her hands, then, well, she would just have to act faster and get the job done better. She'd have to work harder. She'd have to save them first.
"Come on," the chief said. "Let's go meet the rest of your team."
Franco led Nicky through the bustling office, their steps echoing off the walls. People hurried back and forth, carrying files and talking on their phones. They passed the reception desk and turned a corner, finally coming to a briefing room. The walls were a deep, rich red. The floor was polished wood. The windows were large and let in light and air. A large table with chairs was in the center of the room. A map of the city was taped to one of the walls.
Inside, Agent Ken Walker was sitting down, reading over some paperwork. Nicky had a feeling working with him could create some friction, but at the same time, she was looking forward to seeing his skills.
The other person was new. A short, spindly girl with brown hair and big doe eyes stood at attention as soon as the chief and Nicky walked in.
She was one of those girls that would look adorable if she wasn't so fierce looking. Her features were delicate, but the sharpness of her eyes hinted at a toughness that lay just beneath the surface. She was short enough that she'd be beneath most of the other girls in the office, but her body was lithe and graceful. She looked like she could fight and win, and that was a good thing.
"Agent Lyons," Chief Franco said, "This is Agent Grace Taylor. She's an up-and-comer in our office, a real savvy tech. She's been doing very well, and she'll be working closely with you."
Nicky didn’t know what to think. She'd seen her type before. A petite girl, an attractive girl, a girl that wasn't being taken seriously, not by other agents. But sometimes, those girls were the ones with the fiercest souls. Nicky wasn’t about to pass judgement on Grace—she just wanted to see what the girl could do. She looked determined to prove herself.
"Agent Lyons," Grace said, walking forward. She shook Nicky's hand. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot."
"Nice to meet you too," Nicky said.
"And you already know Agent Walker," the chief said, nodding at Ken. Ken stood up and stiffly nodded.
"Lyons. You changed your mind," he droned out. Nicky wondered if he was slightly bitter she’d been chosen instead of him.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Walker," Nicky said.
"Likewise," Ken muttered as he sat back down.
"Agent Lyons, what are your initial thoughts on how we should proceed?" the chief asked.
Nicky felt all eyes on her, and the pressure that she was the leader of this suddenly became real. But she needed to prove she could handle this, so she kept her back straight, her posture strong.
"Well, Chief, first, I need to know exactly who we're dealing with here. Senator Gregory mentioned the first victim we're to focus on is Meghan Salinger. We need to know everything we can about her--who she was, when she went missing. Everything."
The chief flicked off the lights and pulled out an overhead projector. Nicky sat down next to Grace at the table, ignoring the sour look she received from Ken.
The chief turned on the projector, filling the dark room with a pale white light. He turned on the computer connected to it. Then, he loaded up a picture of Meghan.
"This is Meghan Salinger, twenty-four," the chief said. "She vanished a year ago on her way to a studio in Southern Florida to record her first single. A rising music star, she was growing quite the impressive social media following before she was taken. We theorized she'd been kidnapped for a ransom, but we never heard from the kidnappers."
"So how the hell do we know she's still alive?" Ken asked. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest.
"Good question," Nicky cut in. "I'm wondering the same thing, Chief. Senator Gregory said there was intelligence reported on Meghan Salinger, and I need to know exactly what that intelligence was, where it came from, and how credible it is."
"Lyons, I agree with you." The chief used a remote to flick to another image on the projector screen. This one was a mugshot of a sallow-faced man in his late fifties or early sixties. His eyes were dull, and they seemed to stare straight into Nicky's soul.
"This is Bernard Brown," the chief said. "A convicted serial killer with a long history with the law. Brown is our intelligence in this case."
Nicky, Ken, and Grace all exchanged confused looks. Nicky sensed they were all thinking the same thing--what did a convicted serial killer have to do with this? He was surely already in jail when the girls went missing.
"I can see your confusion," the chief said. "Let me explain. Brown shared a cell with another convicted felon--a murderer named John Wentz. Brown testified that Wentz claimed he had a friend on the outside who had made a bet with him that he could make a girl vanish without a trace, without actually killing her. Meghan Salinger went missing around the same time Brown claims Wentz's friend made such a statement, and he was in the same area of Southern Florida, so the timeline matches up."