Leading Ladies Anthology [FEATURED STORY]

Excerpt from 'Buried' by MNJGreenhill

Memories that had not surfaced in years erupted violently like molten lava ejected from an angry volcano. She pushed them back down, reached into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone. She needed to reconfirm what she had just seen. Maybe she was mistaken?

The headlines 'Has the Boston Wolf Killer returned?' repeated as she flicked through the various news outlets. The walls of the small cubicle felt as though they were closing in and suffocating her. Distant, hazy memories bombarded Kaitlyn's senses as she struggled to quell the stampede of emotions.

Over the years, the memories she had of her father had faded. She could no longer remember his face; old photos were the only thing to remind her of the parent she had lost so very long ago. The only memories she still retained was how she felt in his strong arms when he swung her around the room, and the sound of his laugh, deep and warm.

The other memory, the one that she rarely visited, was the one of her mother collapsing in grief when the Chief of Detectives arrived on their doorstep to inform her that she had lost her husband, and Kaitlyn would now be without a father.

It wasn't until years later, that she learnt that the serial killer the police had been after had murdered her father. More significantly for the city, Detective Ryan Quinn was also the last victim of the Boston Wolf Killer before he disappeared without a trace.

Twenty-years. Twenty-years she had been without a father. Twenty years where the killer had been allowed to run free. But now he was back - and she wanted revenge. Slowly but surely, Kaitlyn re-built her carefully constructed protection. Brick by brick, until the last piece slipped back into place. She wasn't going to show any weakness.

Not now. Not ever.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath, unlocked the bathroom door and checked her face in the mirror. She didn't want anyone to notice the results of the rollercoaster ride she had just taken. With renewed purpose, she returned and refocused on finishing her reports. If her father's killer was back in town after a two-decade absence, she wanted in on the case.

Nothing was going to get in her way.

Kaitlyn had to cool her heels for two days. Protocol dictated that the FBI couldn't become involved in local law enforcement cases unless requested or it fell within the FBI purview. Until it was confirmed, her hands were tied. She was getting ready for work when she received a text message from her boss. Her expression grew dark as she glanced at her phone.

'BWK struck again. FBI now taking the lead. Am assigning you to case with Profiler. Doug'

"Not going to happen!" she said through gritted teeth as she grabbed her keys and rushed out the door. She needed to do some damage control before it was too late.

To say Special Agent Quinn disliked profilers was an understatement. Her animosity to paperwork couldn't hold a candle to the one she harboured for this particular group of con artists. Especially as the quack assigned to one of her cases was responsible for the death of two colleagues.

Arriving at One Center Plaza in record time, she threw her bag on her desk and raced to the corner office which housed Doug Baxter, the Special Agent In Charge - and her immediate boss.

Kaitlyn burst through the doorway without knocking, marched straight to his desk and threw a death stare that would fell lesser men. Douglas, used to the mini tornadoes that inevitably brewed when she got herself worked up about something, remained quiet.

"How many times do we need to have this conversation," she began before Doug could say anything. "I will not work with a profiler. They're nothing but a bunch of self-important paper pushers with no real world experience who think they know it all, and only spout out probabilities and best guesses."