The Sleeping Doll

They nail him and CBI gets the credit, with no more loss of life in California. USP misses him, it’s their flub.
    “Charles, I’m sure Utah’s a false lead. He’s not going to point us there and—”
    “Unless,” her boss said triumphantly, “it’s a double twist. Think about it.”
    “I did, and it’s not Pell’s profile. I really want to go forward with my idea.”
    “I’m not sure. . . .”
    A voice from behind her. “Can I ask what that idea is?”
    Dance turned to see a man in a dark suit, powder blue shirt and striped blue-and-black tie. Not classically handsome—he had a bit of a belly, prominent ears and, if he were to look down, a double chin would blossom. But he had unwavering, amused brown eyes and a flop of hair, identical brown, that hung over his forehead. His posture and appearance suggested an easygoing nature. He had a faint smile on narrow lips.
    Overby asked, “Can I help you?”
    Stepping closer, the man offered an FBI identification card. Special Agent Winston Kellogg.
    “The babysitter is in the building,” TJ said, sotto voce, his hand over his mouth. She ignored him.
    “Charles Overby. Thanks for coming, Agent Kellogg.”
    “Please, call me Win. I’m with the bureau’s MVCC.”
    “That’s—”
    “Multiple Victims Coercive Crimes Division.”
    “That’s the new term for cults?” Dance asked.
    “We used to call it Cult Unit actually. But that wasn’t PCP.”
    TJ frowned. “Drugs?”
    “Not a politically correct phrase.”
    She laughed. “I’m Kathryn Dance.”
    “TJ Scanlon.”
    “Thomas Jefferson?”
    TJ gave a cryptic smile. Even Dance didn’t know his full name. It might even have been just TJ.
    Addressing all of the CBI agents, Kellogg offered, “I want to say something up front. Yeah, I’m the Fed. But I don’t want to ruffle feathers. I’m here as a consultant—to give you whatever insights I can about how Pell thinks and acts. I’m happy to take the backseat.”
    Even if he didn’t mean it 100 percent, Dance gave him credit for the reassurance. It was unusual in the world of law enforcement egos to hear one of the Washington folk say something like this.
    “Appreciate that,” Overby said.
    Kellogg turned to the CBI chief. “Have to say that was a good call of yours yesterday, checking out the restaurants. I never would’ve thought of that one.”
    Overby hesitated, then said, “Actually, I think I told Amy Grabe that Kathryn here came up with that idea.”
    TJ softly cleared his throat and Dance didn’t dare look his way.
    “Well, whoever, it was a good idea.” He turned to Dance. “And what were you suggesting just now?”
    Dance reiterated it.
    The FBI agent nodded. “Getting the Family back together. Good. Very good. They’ve gone through a process of deprogramming by now. Even if they haven’t seen therapists, the passage of time alone would take care of any remnants of Stockholm syndrome. I really doubt they’d have any loyalty to him. I think we should pursue it.”
    There was silence for a moment. Dance wasn’t going to bail out Overby, who finally said, “It is a good idea. Absolutely. The only problem is our budget. See, recently we—”
    “We’ll pay,” Kellogg said. Then he shut up and simply stared at Overby.
    Dance wanted to laugh.
    “You?”
    “I’ll get a bureau jet to fly them here, if we need one. Sound okay to you?”
    The CBI chief, robbed of the only argument he could think of on such short notice, said, “How can we refuse a Christmas present from Uncle Sam? Thanks, amigo.”
    •    •    •
    Dance, Kellogg and TJ were in her office, when Michael O’Neil stepped inside. He shook the FBI agent’s hand, and they introduced themselves.
    “No more hits on the forensics from Moss Landing,” he said, “but we’re hopeful about the Pastures of Heaven and vineyards. We’ve got health department people sampling products too. In case he’s adulterated them with acid.” He explained to Kellogg about the trace found in the Thunderbird during Pell’s escape.
    “Any reason why he’d do that?”
    “Diversion. Or maybe he just wants to hurt people.”
    “Physical evidence isn’t my expertise, but sounds like a good lead.” Dance noted that the FBI agent had been looking aside as O’Neil gave him the details, concentrating hard as he memorized them.
    Then Kellogg said, “It might be helpful to give you some insights into the cult mentality. At MVCC we’ve put together a general