Teresa Watson by Death Stalks the Law

him.”
    I thanked him and left. Trixie was leaning against the wall, filing her nails. I nodded to the agent outside the door, grabbed her arm and walked to the elevator. “We need to go see Owen right now.”
    “Why? What’s going on? What did Hopkins tell you?”
    I quickly gave her a recap of the conversation as we got on the elevator. “Just like the FBI to feel like they have it all under control,” she said.
    I pushed the down button and watched the doors close. “We need to tell Owen what is going on so he can start his own search.”
    “He isn’t going to like having the Feds on his turf without his knowledge.”
    “I agree, which is why he will send out his own people. And we are going to be one of the search teams.” The doors opened on the ground floor and I stepped out. “Are you coming?”
    “What is this ‘we’ bit?” Trixie said, following me. “I’m not a search and rescue kind of gal. I’m more of a give aid and comfort person.”
    “Well, after we find him, you can give him aid and comfort. Now, let’s go,” I said, grabbing her arm and dragging her out the door.
     

 
    Chapter Nineteen
    Needless to say, when we told Owen and Jake about our plan, they were less than enthusiastic. Okay, so they flat out said “No!”
    “I am not about to let you take my sister out on a manhunt for a serial killer!” Owen said.
    “But Debra isn’t after me. She’s after you and T.J.,” I pointed out. “She’ll be much safer with me than with you.”
    “She’ll be safe, period, because neither one of you are going out there.”
    “Besides, you are still recovering from your last run in with Debra,” Jake said.
    “What, this?” I said, holding up my cast. “Just a scratch.”
    “If that is just a scratch, I wonder what you’ll call a gunshot wound,” Owen replied.
    “The point is,” I said, “you need us. You don’t have enough people to do a big search. With the manpower you have, it will take you twenty-four hours to go to every single farm. Unless you’d rather the Feds find her first. They’ve already got at least a two-hour head start.”
    Owen’s eyes narrowed. “No way are they going to come onto my turf and arrest her.” He rummaged through a cabinet behind his desk and pulled out a county map. “We’ll split this up into five search areas. Lizzie, you and Trixie take the east side of town. There are about ten farms out that way. I doubt you’ll turn up anything. I think she’ll stick close to Interstate 35 for a quick getaway, so my men and I will cover those areas.”
    I wanted to smack him in the head for assigning us to the weakest area, but on the other hand, I didn’t really want to run into Debra, so I kept quiet. I’d have a talk with him later about his chauvinistic attitude.
    “What about me?” Jake asked.
    “You aren’t that familiar with the area, so you won’t be much help to us out there. But you can stay here and be our home base. Each group will check in after they clear a farm, and you can check them off the list.” Owen left the office for a minute and came back with a walkie talkie. “You’ll be able to stay in touch with Jake with this,” he said, handing it to me, “and you’ll be able to get in touch with me if you find something. If you do find her, don’t do anything stupid. Just stay a safe distance away and call for help.”
    I gave him a mock salute. “Aye aye, Captain.”
    “I’m serious, Lizzie. I don’t need to give her any more hostages. That will just make the situation more volatile. If she feels cornered, she might kill T.J.”
    “I get it,” I said, standing up to leave.
    “Besides, if anything happens to Trixie, my mother will kill me.”
    “And I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life if I get killed,” Trixie told me.
    I rolled my eyes at her and headed for the door. Jake stopped me. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said quietly. “I would like a chance to get to know the person you’ve