Chapter 3

Doggett Residence Falls Church, VA 6:30 am

Doggett heard his phone ringing as he turned the knob, shutting off the stream of hot water that was stinging his face. "Awww, shit," he muttered as he quickly jumped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He sprinted towards the phone.

"Yeah?" For the first time in his life, he hoped the voice on the other end didn't belong to that attractive brunette he called his partner.

"John, it's Monica." Dammit. "There's been another murder."

"All right, I'll be in the office in 20 minutes." He hung up the phone. He liked Monica. Hell, maybe he even loved her. But this time, he was not looking forward to seeing her. He wanted this case closed, kaput, end of story. Before it was too late.

FBI Headquarters 8:15 am Washington, D.C.

"Sorry I'm a little late," Doggett said as he entered the basement office. He was more than a little late; he had taken every wrong turn between Falls Church and the J. Edgar Hoover building. He didn't want to deal with this shit. Not today.

Reyes looked up from the file she was studying and met her partner's gaze. His eyes - she shuddered as she remembered the dream last night. "A little late? John, you were supposed to be here at 7:10. What's wrong?" He partner was never late for anything.

"Nothing, just had a little car trouble, that's all." He was lying through his teeth, and he knew his partner could tell. She could always tell things like this.

"Ok, John." She quickly gave him a half-smile. "We'd better head out to the crime scene - they're expecting us there."



Graceham Apartment Complex 10:38 am West Virginia

The yellow police tape surrounded the outside of the apartment complex. Quite a crowd had gathered outside it; in this quiet country town, deaths of questionable nature were few and far between. The gray concrete building stood several stories high. It seemed normal enough, just like the other buildings in which the murders had occurred.

"Apparently this small town ain't used ta this kind of excitement." Doggett remarked as he eyed the large crowd outside the building.

"I guess not," Reyes said as she scanned the crowd. A tall figure wearing a cowboy hat caught her eye. She recognized the dark, handsome face at once. "Roland!" she thought to herself.

"Monica!" her partner's voice interrupted her. She looked forward through the windshield and observed that she was about to hit the curb and drive over some of the local bystanders. She quickly swerved back on to the road and continued into the parking lot.

"You ok?" Doggett asked, cautiously looking at his partner.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She smiled at him and parked the car.

Reyes slammed the driver side door shut. Her dark eyes looked up at the overcast sky, as if she were expecting it to offer some sort of answer. She noticed that the clouds seemed to come together in a pattern - almost as if they formed a straight line.

"You sure you're all right, Monica?" Her partner's voice brought her out of her daze.

"Yes." She decided to keep her findings to herself. She'd tell Doggett later, if it proved to be important enough. "Let's go inside."

Doggett held the door for her as they stepped inside. The two agents made their way up the stairs to apartment 302. A short, portly middle aged man stood in the doorway of the victim's apartment wearing a Sheriff's badge. The man turned out to be Harold Ellis, your typical small-town local Sheriff. He looked away from the doorway and straight at the two agents coming toward him.

"Who're you?" he asked, in what seemed to be an exaggerated West Virginian accent. Doggett flashed his badge.

"Special Agents Doggett and Reyes," he nodded to his partner. "We're with the FBI."

"Ah can see that," Sheriff Ellis said, furrowing his brow, "but wut in the hell is the FBI doing out here?"

Reyes jumped in. "Well, Sheriff, we've been investigating a series of murders just like this one," she gestured to the open door of the apartment. "Do you mind if we take a look around?"

"Yeah, sure. whatever. Ah don't care." The sheriff's rotund belly jiggled as he moved out of the way.

Doggett and Reyes entered into what seemed to be a very well decorated apartment. Cream colored curtains billowed around the open window. It was, after all, the middle of the summer. Officers milled around, dusting for prints and taking photographs.

"The victim's name was Christina Mayer. She was found early this morning by her boyfriend, who had stopped by to take her to the airport. The two of them were going on a vacation of some sort," Reyes informed her partner as they made their way into the bedroom.

"He noticed that the door was locked, so he broke it down. That's where he discovered her body. The door had been locked from the inside, as well as the windows. Once again, the gun is nowhere to be found." She turned to Doggett. "John, we can't just ignore this. Something weird - unexplained - is happening. Whether you want to admit it or not." She flashed her brown eyes at him.

"All right, Monica. What'd you got?"

"Well, umm." she looked out the window, "I've got a theory, but I'm not sure how plausible it is."

"Aww, well it wouldn't be the first time." He grinned at her. She turned and met his grin with a half-smile.

"I think it has something to do with." she quickly glanced out the window at the crowd below. The figure in the cowboy hat had reappeared - she hadn't imagined it, after all.

"Hold on a sec, John." She started towards the doorway.

"Mon - what are you doing?" John asked her, but it was too late, she was already gone. "Shit, Monica, what did you get us into?" He started after her.

Reyes left the building at a slight run. She turned the corner, and there he was, standing in the crowd. The figure - Roland - saw her and ducked behind his fellow excitement-seeking members of the crowd. Reyes picked up the pace, her feet pounding on the pavement. She flashed her badge and screamed "FBI! Out of the way!" as she raced after Roland. He was limping, but he was still faster than she was. He rounded the corner in front of her, his duster flapping behind him. Reyes sped up and followed him around the corner, coming to a crashing halt right in front of her partner.

"Jesus Christ Monica, what the hell is going on here?" Doggett shot his partner a concerned look.

"Did you see the man? Did you see where he went?" She frantically looked around for Roland. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

"Monica, no, there was no man. Let's just go back inside, finish our questioning, and head back to D.C. I think you need a few days off from this case. It's getting to you."

"John -" she started to protest, as her partner placed his hand on her shoulder. Looking at him, she knew she wasn't going to win this one.

His eyes had that fierce determination in them - which meant she had no chance. He removed his hand and started back towards the entrance of the building.