R. E. Bradshaw - Rainey Nights Read Online Free Page B

had been, whether Gillian realized it or not. Rainey had one final question.
    “Is there anything else that comes to mind? Let your instincts do the work. Close your eyes. What do you see?”
    Gillian obeyed and shut her eyes. She squirmed in the seat a little, and then her eyes popped open. “The ring. She wore an abstinence ring. She held up her hand in church to show us. I saw the autopsy report. The ring was not on her hand.”
    Rainey jumped up. She shuffled through several folders, scanning the information rapidly. Without looking up, she spoke to Gillian.
    “Go get the copy of the pledge and tell Agent McNally I need to see him.” Gillian didn’t move. She seemed stunned at Rainey’s sudden change. Rainey looked up. “Now, Knox. Get moving.”
    “Dammit! How did I miss that?” Rainey grumbled aloud. “Dammit!”
    She pulled out her cell phone and hit a button, speed dialing the Communication and Information Technology Unit, CITU, in Quantico. She waited for the familiar voice of Melatiah Brooks to pick up on the other end. After four rings, a harried voice answered on the other end.
    “Rainey Bell, you hold right there. Don’t hang up, I’ll be right back.”
    Rainey waited for the hold message to begin. Melatiah was famous for her messages that changed frequently, as did her mood. Agents either sang her praises or shrank at the mere mention of her name, a name so difficult to say, everyone just called her Brooks. Pronounced Mel-ah-TI-ah, it meant ‘one whom Jesus has set free,’ at least that’s what she told Rainey. As round as she was tall, which wasn’t very tall at all, Brooks certainly felt free to speak her mind. Rainey, at five feet ten inches, towered over her, but that didn’t stop Brooks from intimidating Rainey, at first. They became great friends over the years. Brooks was the daughter of a wealthy African American family from New York. She was educated at the best schools and found her niche in building hacking programs, which got her thrown out of the best schools and into the FBI academy. Brooks was no holds barred with attitude, but she could take it too, which is why she and Rainey got along.
    Today the hold message was a rant about the fact that everyone thought that his or her case should be a priority. It was a running monologue on the distinction between wants and needs, and how few of the agents actually understood there was a difference. It was quite hysterical, probably the only reason she had not been forced to remove it. Once instructed to delete the message, she would, but within a few days another would surface. Rainey usually found the messages entertaining, but she was anxious to find the answer to her question. Brooks was fabulously good at her job. If the information Rainey sought were out there, she would find it.
    Brooks clicked on just as the message was about to begin again.
    “Okay, Rainey Bell, you’re next.” She always called Rainey by both her names. “Where are you and what do you want?” Brooks sounded pleasant, but wasted no time getting to the point of the call.
    Rainey knew this tone. It indicated the short round woman was up to her ears in agents’ requests for information, some of which were life and death questions. What she could tell an agent could break a case and save lives. She was under a lot of pressure to get it right.
    Rainey answered quickly, “I’m in Botetourt County, Virginia, with Danny. We’re on the Highway 220 cases. I need you to find out what you can about the abstinence pledge people. Specifically, whom do they send out as representatives to local churches? Concentrate on anyone who’s been near the locations connected with these murders.”
    “Got it,” Brooks said quickly, and then asked, “How fast do you need it? Of course, I know the answer to that is as soon as possible.”
    Rainey smiled into the receiver. “Yes, that would be the answer. Did I tell you how much I appreciate how hard your job is and how much I