Danny asked, "Do you think that deputy will be alright?"

Rainey looked at the church. "Yes, I think she can handle herself."

"You know that's him, right?" Danny asked Rainey pointed at the windshield of the truck. "Look what's hanging on his mirror."

Danny looked up, saw the rings, and immediately started punching b.u.t.tons on his phone.

"I'm waiting for Brooks to call back," Rainey said. "Chambers was arrested at seventeen for s.e.xual a.s.sault, but charges were dropped. I'm sure there are probably more things that fit the profile, but guys like that get away with so much by just talking their way out of it. He suffered a severe beating his senior year of high school that ruined his athletic career. He dedicated his life to G.o.d after that. I want more details on his injuries."

Danny held his phone to his ear. "I'm calling Martin for some backup. He can start the search warrant process for the truck."

"Right now, it's all circ.u.mstantial, but I bet that truck has physical evidence in it, no matter how much he cleaned it," Rainey said.

Rainey's phone jangled in her hand. She answered, while Danny waited for the detective to pick up.

Brooks started talking as soon as Rainey said h.e.l.lo. "Okay, baby girl, you got your dirt bag. I got nothing from his credit cards, so I ran his parents' cards, and bingo! There are records of purchases near each site on or around the dates of the murders and when the bodies were found. b.a.s.t.a.r.d used his mother's accounts to finance his sicko tour."

"Hang on," Rainey said. She filled Danny in on what Brooks just told her. It would help with the search warrant. Then she put the phone back to her ear. "Okay, and what about the medical files?"

"Wow. No, 'Thank you, Magic Brooks,' for that case breaking input."

Rainey answered swiftly, "No time. This a.s.shole is about to walk out of this church and drive away."

"Oh s.h.i.t," was followed rapidly by, "he was a messed up boy. Whoever beat him paid special attention to his genitals. He was effectively castrated. I found the police report. There was some thought that this was retaliation by some brothers of a girl Chambers was suspected of raping. Chambers claimed he didn't know who did it. No charges were ever filed in either case."

Rainey saw it all fall into place in her mind. Chambers' sordid history laid out in front of her like a movie leading to this moment.

"Thank you so much. I owe you dinner," Rainey said, anxious to hang up and tell Danny. "I have to go."

Brooks signed off with her usual, "Rainey Bell, you be safe."

"Always," came the reply.

Rainey hung up and got Danny's attention. He was still on the line with the detective, explaining what to put in the warrant request. He told the detective to hold on and listened to Rainey.

"It's him, Danny. No doubt about it. He was beaten and castrated for raping a girl when he was eighteen. That's his motive. Revenge on all the virgins. We have receipts placing him at the scenes."

Danny responded, "More cops are on the way. Watch the doors, I'm going around back."

Danny returned his phone to his ear and began talking fast, as he moved around the building. Rainey undid the snap on her holster. She walked around the truck so that she was partially hidden from view. She removed the FBI issued, Sig Sauer P220, semi-automatic pistol from her waist, made sure she had a round chambered, and re-holstered it. Rainey hoped she wouldn't have to use it, but these guys were unpredictable when cornered. Hopefully Chambers would come down for questioning, without any fuss. She highly doubted it.

Rainey heard a door open. Looking up she saw Deputy Knox and the killer coming out of the education building together. She stepped around the truck and back into view.

"I was just admiring your truck. It's quite impressive. Looks like you keep it spotless," Rainey said, as nonchalantly as she could muster. She felt the adrenaline beginning to quicken her heart. She hoped it didn't show in her voice. She needed to buy time.

Dalton smiled his practiced grin. It wasn't genuine. These guys were consummate actors. "Yep, that's my baby. I spend a lot of time keeping it detailed."

Deputy Knox's eyes were locked on Rainey. She was looking for a sign as to what to do next. Rainey didn't have a plan. She was hoping a host of police cars would come sliding into the parking lot about now. She needed Dalton Chambers to feel too outnumbered to try anything.

Dalton looked around. "Where's your partner?"

"He went inside to use the restroom," Rainey answered.

She could see that Dalton was sizing up his situation. She thought he must know they weren't going to let him leave. This type of killer would think he was smart enough to wiggle out of anything. He was making a mental plan of action. He turned to look behind him and that's when Rainey saw it. Chambers was wearing a blue polo shirt. All three of the b.u.t.tons at the neck were undone. When he turned, the sun caught the gold cross around his neck and Rainey recognized it as the one custom made for Crystal. She wore it in her smiling picture. Rainey's hand went slowly to her weapon. Knox's eyes followed Rainey's hand. The young deputy stopped walking, freezing beside Dalton who saw the movement, too.

Rainey smiled, thinly. "I like that cross, Messiah." She drew her weapon quickly, shouting, "Freeze!"

The instant Rainey pulled the Sig, Chambers made his move. He grabbed Knox and pulled her tight to his body. Rainey had no shot. She kept her weapon trained on Dalton, but all she could do was watch, as Chambers grappled with the deputy for her gun. In seconds, the stronger man overcame Knox. He held her in a chokehold with one arm and put the barrel of Knox's nine-millimeter against her temple with the other. Rainey slid behind the truck bed, putting it between her and the serial killer, now brandishing a weapon and threatening to shoot a cop. Not good. The truck wouldn't stop the bullet, unless she was behind the engine block, but at least it would slow it down.

Rainey had not expected to run into the UNSUB. Unlike on TV, her unit was almost never involved in the actual hands on apprehension of a suspect. Their job was to tell the local investigators where and whom to look for. She had been involved in arrests before, but she always had on protection, and usually followed a SWAT team in. This time she wasn't wearing a vest. There was no SWAT team in sight, no sirens coming in the distance. She looked into Knox's terrified eyes and spoke as calmly as she could, even though her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

"Okay, Dalton, you need to just drop the weapon and we'll talk."

Dalton glared at her. "You drop your weapon and then we'll talk."

"You know I can't do that. Drop the weapon. You know how this ends, if you don't."

Knox struggled to get free, having regained some strength after the initial battle for her gun. The handsome face of Dalton Chambers transformed before Rainey's eyes. He tightened his grip around Knox's throat, enjoying the smaller woman's attempts to pry his arm from her throat. Knox gasped for air. Dalton chuckled and smiled at Rainey. He narrowed his glare and spoke in an almost jovial tone.

"Yes, I do know how this ends. The deputy and I are going for a ride. She's a little old for my taste, but d.a.m.n, she's a fighter. Look at her go." Knox kicked at his legs. Dalton laughed and then narrowed his eyes at Rainey, his voice now pure evil. "And if you try to stop me, I'll blow this b.i.t.c.h's head off."

Rainey was not only an FBI agent trained in tactical weapons, negotiations, and critical response, she was the daughter of a man who survived several Special Forces tours in Vietnam. He taught her to shoot, but more importantly, he taught her to survive. She knew she had to keep Dalton focused on her. Rainey hoped Knox would understand her next words.

"When she put on that badge this morning, she knew she might not make it home tonight. It's the nature of the beast. You might shoot her, but then I'm going to drop you like a sack of potatoes. No trial, no publicity, just a dead killer and a hero cop. They'll write article after article about the deputy and her tragic death. You, you'll be a footnote in the story."

Dalton started dragging his captive toward the driver's door of the truck. Rainey thought fast. She took a step back, dropped her aim, and fired. The right rear tire went flat. That got Dalton's attention and hopefully Danny's, too. She quickly reacquired her target, the only part of Dalton that was exposed, his head.

Rainey laughed. She needed Dalton off his game. "Wooo. That's gonna cost you. Bet those tires run over three-hundred dollars a piece."

Dalton said, through gritted teeth, "You b.i.t.c.h." He changed directions and started for the SUV.

Danny had a bad habit of leaving the keys in the ignition. Rainey could not let Dalton get to the vehicle. She dropped her aim again and fired at the back tire of the SUV. Bam, whoosh, the air left the tire.

"Now, that's gonna cost the government. Guess we'll put it on your tab."

Dalton was losing his composure rapidly. "Crazy b.i.t.c.h. I'm gonna drop this cop and then I'm gonna f.u.c.k you up."

Rainey was waiting for him to aim his weapon at her. If he pulled the barrel away from Knox's head, Rainey would not hesitate to shoot him. Still, Rainey kept the truck bed in front of her, in case he got off the first shot. She doubted he would. Rainey was the best shot in her cla.s.s and had every confidence that she would drop him where he stood. She would shoot now, but Knox could move the wrong way and catch the bullet, or he could spasm at the time of death and kill Knox. The truck was so tall she couldn't see in front of it, where Danny should be by now. Rainey had no choice, but to keep talking and hope Danny was creeping up behind Dalton.

"Come on Dalton, drop the weapon. You have no way out of this. My partner heard those shots. He'll be coming soon. n.o.body's hurt, yet. Let's just calm down and put the weapons away, before he gets the wrong idea and shoots you in the back."

Rainey saw the door to the education center begin to open. It creaked just enough to draw Dalton's attention. He turned quickly and fired, believing it to be Danny coming out of the church. Pastor Morrell hit the ground, crawling for safety. Dalton wheeled his arm back around and fired at Rainey. She hit the ground, too. The round hit the truck bed, where she had been standing. Instantly she sighted her gun on one of Dalton's legs and fired. At the same time, she heard Danny's weapon go off in front of the truck. Dalton crumpled, still holding on to Knox, but he lost his grip on her. She elbowed him in the ribs, rolled over, and jumped to her feet.

Knox kicked the pistol from Dalton's hand, the adrenaline coursing through her veins causing her to scream, "Motherf.u.c.ker!"

Rainey scrambled to her feet and ran around the truck. Danny appeared from in front of the truck. He had evidently been watching the whole time, waiting for a shot. Neither Dalton nor Rainey knew he was there.

"Everybody okay?" Danny asked.

Rainey kept her weapon on Dalton who was writhing on the ground, moaning in pain. "I'm fine. You okay, Knox?" Rainey asked the freaked out deputy.

"G.o.d dammit!" Knox was p.i.s.sed. "I can't believe I let him grab me. f.u.c.k!"

Rainey smiled. "You're all right. Just breathe. Pick up your weapon."

Dalton moaned louder. Rainey could see he was shot twice. Her bullet shattered his lower leg. Danny got him in the b.u.t.t. Neither wound was life threatening. Anyone who says they don't feel fear when confronted with a weapon is a liar. Through training, Rainey learned to channel that primal instinct into hyper alertness in order to reduce or stop the threat. Now that the danger had pa.s.sed, her fear turned to anger. Rainey went over to Dalton and stepped on his injured leg.

"How's that feel, a.s.shole? You like pain don't you? Isn't that what gets you off?"

"Get off me b.i.t.c.h. I'll kill you."

"I doubt it," Rainey said. "You have a date with a needle Mr. Chambers. Look up at the sky. The next time you see it will be through razor wire."

Rainey reached down, rolled him on to his stomach, slapping a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "You're going to prison Mr. Chambers. You just shot at a federal agent."

Danny started reciting the Miranda Rights. "To start with, Dalton Chambers, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a federal officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of..."

"I know my f.u.c.king rights."

Danny continued the recitation of the rights, ignoring Dalton's outburst.

Dalton kicked at Rainey with his uninjured leg. "I'm going to kill you, b.i.t.c.h. I'll hunt you down and kill you."

Rainey stepped back. She looked over at Knox and smiled mischievously. "Hey, Knox. You want to help me hogtie this uncooperative prisoner?"

Knox finally regained her composure and smiled back. "Yes, ma'am. It would be my pleasure."

Chapter three.

June 25, fourteen months later.

Wise County, Virginia A transparent blue mist blanketed the mountain range pa.s.sing beneath the helicopter. The only sound Rainey could hear was the m.u.f.fled plop-plop of the blades through the air. No one spoke on the headsets, as the sleek black chopper cut through the haze that gave this mountain range its name. They were closing in on the target destination. Surrounded by ridges of thick, green forest that opened onto multicolored fields of wild flowers, the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains was lost on the muted pa.s.sengers. From behind dark sungla.s.ses, Rainey glanced down at the fence and razor wire sparkling in the morning sun. She was making her final "descent into h.e.l.l," as she had begun to call this part of the trip.

A few minutes later, a tall, very large, prison guard motioned for them to follow. "Right this way, agents," he said, while sliding a key card through a slot and then punching a code into a control pad on a heavily armored door. A loud "thunk" signaled the release of the bolt and the door slid open.

Danny and Rainey entered the front gate of Red Onion State Prison, a super maximum-security facility housing the worst criminals the state of Virginia had to offer. From that moment on, they were never alone within the confines of the prison. A guard escorted them to the main intake area where they presented their identification to another blue clad guard behind the gla.s.s. It was a formality that seemed unnecessary since they had been there a dozen times in six months. Rainey and Danny removed their weapons and slid them into the security drawer, where they were pulled back out of sight. Rainey took her hair down from the ponytail she was wearing and shook it free, to fall across her shoulders. This was part of the game she had to play here. The guard behind the gla.s.s smiled at Rainey and motioned them to step through the opening gate, while he raised a phone receiver to his ear. The guard spoke into the phone and more locks clanged open. Two more guards appeared to escort them through the maze of halls and security checks of "The Onion."

Heavy steel doors ground opened, metal on metal screeching as they moved. The bolts banged shut instantly behind them, as they pa.s.sed. Loudspeakers barked orders and reverberated off the prison's concrete block walls. The sounds of ankle chains clanked in the air, keys jangled from the guards' Sam Browne belts, blurring with the roar of humanity from inside each pod. The din grew and dissipated as they made their way through the labyrinth of hallways to solitary confinement. Rainey endured the vile calls from inside the cells. The deeper they went into the prison where the worst offenders were held, the more abusive the taunts became. Men m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed openly, trying to rattle her. She kept her eyes focused ahead, not giving them the satisfaction of looking. Buried beneath the prison walls, where he would never take another free breath, Dalton Chambers waited.

At the end of a long hallway, they turned left to face a single, heavily guarded room. The reinforced gla.s.s and steel wall allowed them to see inside the high security interview area. Two guards stood watch by the door, two more in riot gear a few feet away. Five guards, dressed in Prisoner Removal Team gear, stood outside the door. With extra armor and helmets, they were prepared to make the prisoner comply, forcefully, if necessary. A few of them wore an eager expression, apparently hoping for a chance to use their unique skills.

Dalton's wrists were cuffed and attached to a chain connected to a belt at his waist. His leg restraints glinted under the table. A guard stood watch in the corner of the room, holding a black box in his hand. Rainey recognized the box. It operated an electronic custody control stun belt, also around Dalton's waist. At their last meeting, Dalton became furious, lashing out at Danny. It took three guards to restrain him. They were taking no chances this time. If Dalton so much as twitched, Rainey was sure the guard would not hesitate to send 50,000 volts coursing through his body.

Their escort spoke into his radio. "Control, open on twelve."

The door in front of them slid open. Danny entered first, a stack of file folders in his hand. He walked straight to the table. Tossing the files down, he glared at Dalton.

"I'm not going to have any trouble with you today, am I?"

Dalton ignored Danny. He looked around him at Rainey as she entered. "Why Agent Bell, you look beautiful."

Rainey woke up on, what her dad would have called, "the wrong side of the bed." She was in no mood to pretend to like Dalton, but she had to. Her part in the investigation was to appear sympathetic to Dalton's situation. She pulled her hair down, because he liked it that way. Rainey didn't want Dalton to be attracted to her, but her looks distracted him. Their tactics were for Danny to push and prod, while she coaxed and cajoled the information out of this s.a.d.i.s.tic rapist murderer. In his plea deal, to avoid the death penalty Dalton was given six consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole, in exchange for the location of other victims' bodies tied to him after his arrest. Nothing he said about his Virginia crimes after the deal could be used to prosecute him further. He had been careful not to mention any unknown crimes in North Carolina.

Once again, television and movie portrayals of behavioral a.n.a.lysts were wrong. The BAU did not like to interview serial killers until after incarceration, because they had reason to lie before trial. Dalton had no reason to be anything but honest about his Virginia crimes, now. He was under the mistaken impression that once he was locked up for life, North Carolina would not be interested in spending the money to continue their investigation or hold a trial there. Rainey certainly did nothing to dispel this belief. In total, Dalton admitted to s.e.xually a.s.saulting and murdering eighteen young women over the course of three years and two states. It made Rainey sick to her stomach to feign interest in his long rambling descriptions of his crimes. She interviewed dozens of s.a.d.i.s.tic criminals and never felt the disgust she did for Dalton Chambers, but they needed to study him. What they learned from him could one day prevent or help solve future crimes. It was her job, but she didn't have to like it. Today, she especially loathed being there.

Rainey produced a smile and took a seat at the table. "How are you? Are you eating enough? You look tired."

Dalton sneered at the guard in the corner. "These f.u.c.kers won't let me sleep. Rousting my cell in the middle of the night and I haven't had my hour in the yard in a week."

Dalton's muscular body had actually increased in size since his incarceration, partly due to getting and taking his medication on a regular basis. On the outside he saved his meds and took them in bunches, instead of daily as they were prescribed. The rage brought on by the exploitation of steroids was evident in his crimes. The drugs did not cause his actions. He simply used them as a tool to enforce his already s.a.d.i.s.tic fury. Now, he had nothing to do but exercise within his cell, where he was locked down for twenty-three hours a day, more if he misbehaved. He was allowed to shower three times a week and was supposed to get one hour in the tiny enclosed exercise yard every day, but that could be withheld if he broke the rules. Dalton had been misbehaving.

Rainey knew Dalton was approaching that time in a prisoner's life when the futility of his existence and the permanence of his situation set in. This time was usually accompanied by acting out. With no way to release his anger on his choice of victim, he demonstrated it by being less than a model prisoner. Rainey read the discipline reports during the helicopter ride from Quantico. Since she saw him last, two weeks ago, he had attacked a guard while being led to the shower, thrown feces at the doctor who came to check on him after the guards had to use physical force to remove him from the shower, and exposed himself to the facility nurse charged with administering his synthetic testosterone treatments. Rainey thought the testosterone should have been withheld, but the court ordered it for health reasons produced by his traumatic castration.

Rainey answered Dalton's whining with, "I'm sorry. I'll see what I can do about that."

The guard in the corner of the room let out a short laugh.

Dalton reacted. "See, these a.s.sholes are just looking for a chance to f.u.c.k with me. One of them told me I killed the warden's cousin. Is that true? Was one of those girls kin to him, cause if that's the case, then you guys better get me out of here."

The guards were having a joke at Dalton's expense. Rainey tried not to laugh and instead answered, "No, I don't think that's true, but I'll look into it just to make sure."

Danny snickered, drawing Dalton's attention away from Rainey. He glared at Danny, momentarily showing his true colors. "f.u.c.k you, McNally. You're lucky I didn't break your neck the last time you were here."

Danny smiled. "And you're lucky the guards stepped in, because I would have saved the Commonwealth a lot of money keeping you alive for however many years you have left, before one of these other fine upstanding citizens in here shanks your a.s.s."

The muscles in Dalton's neck tensed, his temples began to pulsate, and his right eye twitched. He glanced at the guard with the black box. Rainey knew Dalton was contemplating what he could do to Danny before the voltage took him down. He relaxed back against the chair, after a moment, turning his attention back to Rainey. This was all part of the plan her team had come up with. Danny would get nowhere with his questions, but Rainey, who had gained Dalton's trust, would. Evidently, he had forgotten his threats to kill her, or more likely, his psychopathic personality was trying to win her over, completing his need to make her a victim of his charm. The angrier he got with Danny, the more he reached out to her. Rainey took her cue.

"Dalton, don't make things worse." She turned to Danny. "Agent McNally, maybe you should step out and compose yourself."

Danny made a show of being livid. He pushed his chair back violently and stormed towards the door. The guard on the outside spoke into his radio again and the door opened. Just before leaving, Danny turned back around.

"We've got everything we need from this a.s.shole. Don't play his games, Rainey."

That was just it; they didn't have all they needed. They had the how and why of his crimes, but they were sure not all of his victims. From the information they had so far, the team decided that Dalton fit the anger excitation rapist's profile developed in the 1980's, by some of the original behavioral a.n.a.lysts. Dalton got his s.e.xual gratification from the victim's suffering. He got off on inflicting excessive physical pain and psychological terror. He used a planned con game to gain his victim's trust, initially charming and intelligent, only to become hostile and violent once he gained control. Like others who committed similar crimes, he often asked, "Do you like that, b.i.t.c.h," while using bondage and torture during the prolonged s.e.xual a.s.saults. He was lethal after his initial years of maturation into a full-blown methodical, ritualistic murderer. Escaping this type of rapist was almost impossible. The women who encountered Dalton were doomed from the moment he met them. There were more similarities to the profile and Rainey knew them all.

What they needed to know were the facts surrounding the first murder, a much younger victim than the others. The BAU was positive he committed the brutal slaying, but could not get him to admit it. Dalton had a good reason not to tell, whether he realized it or not. This murder occurred after his lengthy recovery from his own brutal beating. The crime scene photos showed a thirteen-year-old girl beaten beyond recognition, her body mutilated. Dalton had lost complete control of his anger with her. Even if she couldn't get him to admit to the murder, Rainey was charged with finding out why that crime changed his behavior. Something about the murder shook him. It was followed by a two-year period where he seemed to have lost his nerve for killing.

A string of unsolved s.e.xual a.s.saults ensued with no more bodies discovered. The victims reported being attacked from behind, stunned, and then beaten. The perpetrator wore a ski mask and became extremely violent when he could not complete the rape. While Dalton had no t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, he did have a p.e.n.i.s, although it was a bit malformed from the surgeries he had to endure. He could obtain an erection, but with great difficulty. When he began killing again, at age twenty-two, he used a d.i.l.d.o to complete the rapes. These crimes showed a criminal with much more control and the use of extensive planning. He was a mature killer at an earlier age than most serials. Since his injuries kept him from pursuing other distractions, he had nothing to do but fantasize and plan his crimes. He did not work. Instead, he lived off his moderately wealthy parents, who were just thankful he survived his own attack. They encouraged his work with the young Christians he claimed to be trying to save from the dark path of sin and debauchery, happily funding his "mission."

Rainey needed to be sure he didn't actually commit murders during his two years of apparent down time. There were missing young women, but none they could tie specifically to him without his confession. Still, the families of the missing girls wanted answers. So did Rainey. Why did he modify his behavior during the later rape/murders? If he committed the a.s.saults after he killed the first one, why did he start killing his victims? What changed? That was the question she most wanted answered.

Rainey knew she might never find out. Besides his unwillingness to talk about it, the fact was, this was her last trip to see Dalton at "The Onion." They had already spent more time on interviews with him than most of the serial killers in the FBI database. Rainey remembered reading that John Douglas, one of the original Behavioral a.n.a.lysts, said, "When you tell me we should keep someone like Bundy alive to study, I say, fine, keep him alive six hours longer; that's all I need. I really don't think we're going to get much more beyond that."