Before he Kills (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1) by Blake Pierce Page B

her best to
bully her way forward.
    They took off, but Mackenzie knew it was
already too late.
    Come tomorrow, her picture would be on
the front page of all the papers.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    As it turned out, Nelson had been wrong
about the FBI. Mackenzie got the call at 6:35 in the morning requesting that
she drive to the airport to pick up an agent that had flown in. She’d had to
hurry, as the flight arrived at 8:05, and was embarrassed that she’d have to
make a first impression without even having time to fix her hair.
    Her hair, though, was the least of her
concerns as she sat in the uncomfortable airport chair, waiting at the gate.
She was pounding down a cup of coffee, hoping to push her mind beyond caring
that her body had only managed five hours of sleep the night before. It was her
third cup of the morning and she knew she’d get the jitters if she didn’t slow
down. But she couldn’t afford to be tired and sloppy.
    She reviewed everything in her head as
she waited for the agent to get off the plane, recircling the gruesome scene
from the night before. She couldn’t help but feel as if she had missed
something. Hopefully, the FBI agent would be able to help get them on a clearer
path.
    Nelson had e-mailed her the agent’s
dossier, which she had read quickly while eating a breakfast of a banana and a
bowl of oatmeal. Because of this, Mackenzie spotted the agent right away as he
stepped off the jet bridge and into the airport. Jared Ellington, thirty-one
years old, a Georgetown graduate with a background that included a stint in
profiling in counterterrorism cases. His black hair was slicked back as it had
been in his picture and the telltale suit he wore painted him as someone on
official duty.
    Mackenzie walked across the gate to meet
him. She hated the fact that she kept going back to her stupid hair. She felt
frazzled and out of sorts, having been rushed earlier in the morning. More than
that, she had never really cared much about first impressions and had never
been the sort of person to worry too much about her appearance. So why now?
    Maybe it was because he was from the
FBI, an agency she revered. Or maybe it was because, despite herself, she was
struck by his looks. She hated herself for that, not only because of Zack, but
because of the urgent and gruesome nature of their work.
    “Agent Ellington,” she said, extending
her hand, forcing her tone to be as professional as possible. “I’m Mackenzie
White, one of the detectives on the case.”
    “Good to meet you,” Ellington said.
“Your chief tells me you’re the lead detective on the case. Is that right?”
    She did her best to hide her shock but
nodded.
    “That’s correct,” she said. “I know you
just got off the plane, but we need to hurry and get you to the station.”
    “Of course,” he said. “Lead the way.”
    She led him through the airport and back
out to the parking lot. They were silent during the walk and Mackenzie took the
time to size him up. He seemed a little relaxed, not stiff and rigid like the
few Bureau guys she’d encountered. He also seemed very serious and intense. He
had a much more professional air than any of the men she worked with.
    As they drove onto the interstate,
fighting through morning airport traffic, Ellington started scrolling through a
series of e-mails and documents on his phone.
    “Tell me, Detective White,” he said,
“what sort of person do you think we’re looking for? I’ve looked through the
notes that Chief Nelson sent me and I have to say that you seem pretty sharp.”
    “Thanks,” she said. Then, quick to
dismiss the compliment, she added: “As for the type of person, I’m thinking it
stems from abuse. When you consider that the victims were not sexually abused,
yet stripped to their underwear, it indicates that these are murders based on
some need for revenge on some woman that wronged him earlier in life. So I
think it might be a man that is embarrassed by sex or, at the very