TENACITY

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Melissa extended her hand, shaking his. "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant."

"It's my pleasure as well," he replied, pulling away. "And please, call me Billy."

They followed Billy to the same conference room they'd used the last time they were here. "Was Dustin able to find something?" Trey asked as soon as the doors closed, his hands behind his back.

"Yes," Billy replied, moving to the intercom. "I'll call him in."

Trey turned to Melissa with a tight smile. "I'm sorry I have to make you do this."

She sighed, adjusting her weight on her heels. "If it's for her safety, I might be able to live with that."

He nodded, turning to the door when it opened. Dustin Rayner stopped after closing the door behind him to give a salute, coming further inside when he was given the go ahead.

"How have you been Dustin?" Trey asked, seating himself at the head of the table.

"I've been good sir," he replied, standing.

"Good. Please, sit," Trey said, and the others followed, doing the same. When that was done, he turned to Dustin. "Did you get something?"

"Yes. Between my wife and I, we were able to give a description of the man that held us at gunpoint and had a few of the guys look him up," he began, putting the folder he'd brought in with him on the table. He opened it, showing them a picture of the guy.

"Did you get a name?" Mitchell asked, looking at the man in the picture.

"Leander Matthews. He was jailed for killing his wife and burning up her remains together with their house. In his defense, he had mentioned that after cheating on him, she had contracted her lover to kill him.

"The lover was next, of course. He became a serial killer when he went on a killing spree, annihilating people he thought deserved to die—like his wife and the lover."

"So, he thought of himself as doing society a favor?" Mitch asked, passing the picture to Melissa.

"Correct."

Melissa shuddered, dropping the picture. "And you say he's out of prison?"

"Yes," Dustin replied. "It's quite clear he's working for someone. Someone influential who can throw in a couple of favors to have him released. Fits the profile of our suspect perfectly," he added, referring to Ethan.

"I heard about Leander when I was in the military," Billy said. "He was taken to a mental institution instead of serving his sentence, because he was thought to have lost his sanity.

"However, once there, he killed two men for reasons we don't know. We do know that he was thrown back in jail for life." Billy sat forward, clasping his hands atop the table.

"The point here is that we're dealing with an unstable serial killer. He might ignore orders because he likes to do things his way—which," he emphasized, "will put your wife in danger if he's the one coming for her."

Melissa stood to pace, for what she was hearing made her sick to the stomach. "May I say something?" Dustin asked, and Trey nodded for him to continue. "You mentioned while briefing us, sir, that it's likely he has something over your wife."

Trey nodded again, wondering what he was getting at. "What if it's the same with Leander? What if he's not doing this willingly? Because from what we know so far, he does not seem like one who'd work for someone."

They sat quietly, mulling over that possibility. "Look into that. Search for any possible thing in his past that could be used over him, and we'll decide where we go from there," Trey ordered, and Dustin nodded, noting it down.

Billy turned to Melissa who was still up and pacing. "If you're willing to help, we need to be able to hear your conversation with Mrs. Robinson directly, so you don't have to repeat it."

He pulled out a tiny, colorless device from the front pocket of his shirt. "It's a normal earpiece, except that your brother just modified it to be colorless so it will not be identified. You need to have it on when you ask her about that night."

"Got it." He handed it over to Melissa who paused her pacing to insert it in her ear. Melissa resumed her pacing, thinking things over. She felt bad she had to betray Lexi's trust, but it was for the best... right?

They held their breath, waiting on her decision. She expelled a deep breath, hating that she was about to do this to Lexi. "Okay, I'll do it."

Trey gave her a relieved smile. "Thank you. We'll take care of the rest."

She nodded. "Can I leave now? I think I've heard enough for one day."

Trey stood from his seat, saying, "I'll see her out."

He walked side by side with Melissa in silence, both lost in their thoughts. He decided to break the silence with something that had nothing to do with this unstable killer, and the possible danger it posed on his little family.

"That day at my office when you tried telling me what I'd said was enough, and that I had no idea what I'd just done," he began, keying in the code for the elevator, "did you mean it with respects to the babies?"

"Yes," she replied, going in after him. "You were stressing her. But I also didn't want you to ruin your chances of seeing and spending time with your kids."

He smiled sadly. "I might already have. Is she mad at me?"

Melissa glanced at him. "Not as much as she's hurt. She claims she knows you did what you thought was right, and that she'd have done something similar if the roles were reversed.

"But the pain you put her through isn't something that would go away soon."

"I know," he responded quietly, closing his eyes. The elevator came to a stop at ground level with a 'ding' and they both stepped out into the garage. "But if this doesn't work, both of you will have to move in with me."

"Look, Trey, I understand that you're worried," she started, trying to find the right words. "But Lexi doesn't trust you again yet. So, let's take it a step at a time, yeah?"

"Sure," he murmured, pulling his sister into a hug. "Take care," he said when he pulled away, jamming his hands in his pockets. "Let me know when you get home." 

"Will do." She walked off to her car and started it, waving at Trey through her lowered window. He lifted a hand in a wave, only turning back into the house when she was out of sight.