The Silenced by Heather Graham Page B

conferences.
    Jackson passed him a file. “It’s all emailed to you, as well. But I figured you’d want your own take on the man and that you’d want to interview him right away.”
    Matt raised a brow. “I thought you wanted me on the trail of our missing woman, Lara Mayhew.”
    “I do.”
    “But what you’re saying is that we have a bird in the hand?”
    “Exactly.” Jackson hesitated. “I’m not sure yet what I feel about Lara Mayhew’s disappearance. We have nothing solid to link that to the murders of these young women and we certainly have nothing to link Congressman Walker to any of it. But sometimes our work is all about eliminating possibilities. If we can find Lara Mayhew alive, then we’ll know she was in hiding and that none of this is related.”
    “We may be on a wild-goose chase,” Matt pointed out.
    “We’ve been on a few. And on more than one occasion, we’ve caught the goose.”
    “Meg is convinced that her friend is dead.”
    “If so, the body may turn up. Until then, let’s proceed this way. Meg is due in here within the hour. Angela went over to the academy with a few agents and they’re moving Meg out of her quarters and into a town house she’s rented. Kat is at Wong’s office, and we’ve arranged to bring the first body to him, as well. You might want to go over there after you’ve met up with Harvey Legend—boss at the Big Fish—and see what Kat and Wong have to say, although I’m pretty sure we’ve got a budding serial on the rise.”
    “When I get back from all of that, we can head out on Ms. Mayhew’s trail,” Matt said.
    “Hey, it’s a road trip,” Jackson told him, with a smile that offered little humor. “Bring some music. That’ll pass the time.”
    “I know one thing,” Matt said.
    “What’s that?”
    “I’m doing the driving. I like being at the wheel, in control.”
    “Sure. Whatever. Cling to that power, Agent Bosworth.”
    “I like driving.”
    “I’m happy for you.”
    * * *
    Meg could hardly believe how quickly she could be packed and out of the quarters she’d called home for nearly four months. But that was because she’d had help.
    She wasn’t against doing the hefting and hauling herself, but she had Angela for organization and four agents for trips to the car with her boxes and gear. When Meg had said she could just hire a moving company, Jackson Crow had shaken his head and told her they could draw on their own manpower.
    Of course, it hadn’t been that difficult because she didn’t have much of anything. When she’d gone into the academy, she’d left most of her own belongings in storage in Richmond; she hadn’t arranged to have her bed, sofa, TV, books and other belongings sent to her new town house yet. It would take a phone call and a day of being there to receive them, but at the moment, she thought the place was rather sad. It was empty; it wasn’t home yet.
    Her room at the academy had been home.
    Saying goodbye wasn’t easy. Most of her class would be in their rooms for a few more days. The friends she was able to see were both sad and excited; some were headed off to field offices in other states, but they all had encouraging words for one another. “It’s the agency. We never know where we’ll end up, do we?” Or “It’s never goodbye in the agency. We’ll meet again somewhere.”
    And they might. And some of those who’d been with her for the four months might well meet again. But then, they might not. That made every goodbye sad.
    Still, everyone was curious. Fascinated that she’d been selected to join the “special” unit that held a certain mystique and seemed almost like a secret society.
    Everything had happened quickly; Angela had called her that morning. Since she’d be going off for a few days with Special Agent Bosworth, it might be best to get her moved now. She shouldn’t worry about logistics, Angela had said; she’d have all the help she needed.
    And she had. She’d been out in a