Once Forsaken

She wished she hadn’t been interrupted.

She was sure she’d been about to crack through Hazel Webber’s deceptive facade.

But her opportunity wasn’t gone.

When Webber came back, Riley would start in on her again.

After less than a minute, Webber returned. She seemed to have recovered her self-assurance.

She stood by the open door and said, “Agent Paige—if you really are Agent Paige—I’m afraid I must ask you to leave.”

Riley gulped hard.

“I don’t understand.”

“My assistant just called the BAU. They have absolutely no investigation underway concerning suicides at Byars College. Now whoever you are—”

Riley pulled out her badge.

“I am Special Agent Riley Paige,” she said with determination. “And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that such an investigation gets underway as soon as possible.”

She walked past Hazel Webber out of the office.

On her way out of the house, she knew that she had made an enemy—and a dangerous one at that.

It was a different sort of danger from what she usually faced.

Hazel Webber wasn’t a psychopath whose weapons of choice were chains, knives, guns, or blowtorches.

She was a woman without a conscience, and her weapons were money and power.

Riley preferred the kind of adversary she could punch out or shoot. Even so, she was ready and willing to deal with Webber and whatever threats she could muster.

She lied to me about her daughter, Riley kept thinking.

And now Riley was determined to find out the truth.

The house seemed empty now. Riley was surprised to leave without encountering a single soul. She felt as if she could rob the place and not get caught.

She went outside and got into her car and drove away.

As she approached the manor gate, she saw that it was closed. Standing just inside were both the burly guard who had let her in and the enormous butler. Both had their arms crossed, and they were obviously waiting for her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The two men definitely looked threatening. They also looked a little bit ridiculous—the smaller of the two wearing his guard uniform, his much more massive partner wearing his ultra-formal butler’s outfit.

Like a pair of circus clowns, she thought.

But she knew they weren’t trying to be funny.

Riley pulled her car to a stop right in front of them. She rolled down her window, looked out, and called to them.

“Is there some sort of problem, gentlemen?”

The guard came closer, directly in front of her car.

The colossal butler lumbered toward her passenger window.

He spoke in a rumbling bass voice.

“Representative Webber would like to clear up a misunderstanding.”

“And that would be?”

“She wants you to understand that snoops aren’t welcome here.”

Now Riley got the picture.

Webber and her assistant had come to the conclusion that Riley was an imposter, not an FBI agent at all. They probably suspected that she was a reporter getting ready to write some sort of exposé about the congresswoman.

No doubt these two guys were used to dealing with nosy reporters.

Riley pulled out her badge again.

“I think there has been a misunderstanding,” she said. “I really am a special agent with the FBI.”

The big man smirked. He obviously believed the badge was a fake.

“Step out of the car, please,” he said.

“I’d rather not, thank you,” Riley said. “I’d really appreciate if you’d open the gate.”

Riley had left her door unlocked. The big man opened it.

“Step out of the car, please,” he repeated.

Riley groaned under her breath.

This isn’t going to end well, she thought.

Riley stepped out of the car and shut the door. The two men moved to stand side by side a short distance from her.

Riley wondered which of them was going to make the first move.

Then the huge man cracked his knuckles and strode toward her.

Riley took a couple of steps toward him.