A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain Read Free Book Online

in the head,” she muttered irritably, sticking the straw in her mouth. “Sir.”
    Leeds smiled, a little more genuine this time. “Well, your attitude’s the same.”
    â€œI feel like shit.”
    The smile disappeared. “I’m sorry, Kendra. Carson will be the one to debrief you, but what the hell happened?”
    Kendra’s hands trembled as she put the plastic water cup on the metal-arm tray that had been wheeled beside the bed. “Major clusterfuck—sorry. Terry Landon sold us out. Or would’ve, if he’d had time.”
    Briefly, she closed her eyes; saw Sheppard’s head explode. She opened her eyes, and Leeds could see the torment swimming in the inky depths. “He killed Daniel Sheppard right in front of me. Fucking bastard.”
    â€œAre you certain?”
    â€œYeah. He’s a fucking bastard.”
    â€œKendra.”
    â€œHe’s the one who shot me. I wanted to go after Balakirev, Greene. That’s when Landon . . . shot Daniel. Then me.” Her gaze fell to her hands restlessly twisting the bed linen. She forced herself to stop. “If I hadn’t tried to go after Balakirev, Daniel would be alive.”
    â€œYou know better than that, Agent Donovan.” Leeds waited until she lifted her eyes. “You didn’t kill Sheppard.”
    â€œI sure as hell didn’t help him.” Her breath hitched. “I worked with Landon. I’m a profiler, for Christ’s sake. I should’ve seen him . . . should’ve recognized—”
    â€œYou’re not that powerful. Or that perfect.”
    She raised her hands, pressing her knuckles against her eyes. She shook her head. A mistake, since it once again sent the merciless knives slashing into her skull. They’d offered to increase her morphine intake, but she’d refused. She sighed, dropping her hands. “I took out Landon. The doctor . . . Dr. Campbell said he’s dead.”
    â€œHe is.”
    â€œWhat about Greene and Balakirev? The ricin?”
    â€œBalakirev’s dead. He was caught in the cross fire. The ricin was packaged in pellet form, just as you predicted. We confiscated it—and Balakirev’s laptop. We’ve got CAT working on it. There’s a lot of encrypted information. Once they crack it, we hope to infiltrate several terrorist cells the bastard was doing business with.”
    â€œSo we didn’t need Balakirev after all. We just needed his laptop.”
    â€œWell, I don’t think Peter Carson sees it quite that way. But technology makes most of us obsolete, doesn’t it?”
    â€œGod, I’d love to get my hands on it.” Kendra’s fingers curled in frustration, digging into the crisp sheets.
    â€œI’ll bet you would.” He glanced at his watch. “My five minutes are up. I’m going to go before Dr. Campbell boots my ass out. I’ll check on you tomorrow. The Director indicated that he may stop by.” He walked to the door. Hesitated. “If you need to talk to anybody—”
    â€œI don’t.”
    He stared at her for a full minute, and decided not to remind her that she’d be required to do a full psych evaluation before returning to the Bureau. For now, he simply nodded. “You’re a valuable member of our team, Special Agent Donovan.”
    â€œThank you. Ah . . . sir? Have you informed . . . do my parents know that I’m . . . never mind.” Her throat closed tightly, cutting off the remainder of her words. She was embarrassed to see her fingers, twisting in the bed linen again, tremble. She already regretted her impulsive question, could see pity in the associate director’s eyes.
    â€œAs your nearest relatives, both your parents were informed,” he said gently.
    She nodded, and could no longer hold his gaze. “Thank you.”
    Leeds hesitated, and felt an unfamiliar anger burn inside him against the two scientists. Both, he