Chapter 16: Part 4

Bill knew he couldn't delay any longer. The helicopter sat on the tarmac and his wife sat in the hospital. His boss called him five times over night and told him to get his ass back home, pronto. He had no choice but to go help Delanie, but he'd lose his job. It would all be over with and there was nothing he could do.



The chance of working for the BAU was screwed. Unless he did something amazing. Something so totally out of the ordinary that no one would believe his amazing luck. He might be able to pull it off. If only he could get out to the damned chopper and find the bastard who had tormented so many women in the Bahamas.



Somehow his wife had gotten in a traffic accident. She'd been drunk and gotten in a fight with her new boyfriend while he was driving. It pained him that she had to suffer, but what the hell had she been doing. If it were any consolation to him the boyfriend had been driving his own car but Bill was sure the enterprising schmuck they'd hit would find a way to sue him if they ever found out who his wife was.



He couldn't keep up with Shana's misadventures. He wanted her to get help. She needed to dry out and find some peace in her life. Eventually they would divorce. After all she'd done he didn't think he would ever enjoy spending time with her. It was over.



His job was another thing. He'd only answered twice when his boss called. Baker had wanted him to drop the case. After Baker had threatened sanctioning him Bill had somehow been able to calm the man down. It had been a miracle. Somehow the pressure to solve this case hadn't caused Bill to blow a gasket. He'd been cool, calm and collected as he talked to Baker. Explaining how much this case meant not only to him but also to the safety of all American's abroad. Somehow he'd finally been able to cut through his boss's thick skull and get the man to agree to him staying for a few more days.



The helicopter lifted off, banking sharply away from the island and over the crystal clear water of the Bahamas. He wondered how his vacation home had faired during the storm. Concern for the property hadn't entered his mind until now. It was irrational to own such a property and to not even care if it blew away in the storm or not.



Priorities had gotten in the way. Shana would say his priorities were screwed up. He knew they weren't. Sometimes catching killers was just more important than having tea with the Bellman's or who ever in the hell else she wanted to socialize with.



The seas were filled with sailboats, fast boats and catamarans. Unless they caught this guy right now there would be no hope of catching him. They were outnumbered. Too many people on the water. Too much water to check.



The sheer number of islands overwhelmed him. Their guy could be anywhere. He knew using Delanie as bate was wrong. He never should have allowed her to go out there alone. He hated that he'd been hung up by circumstances beyond his control. His wife wasn't supposed to be this stupid. His boss was supposed to be more supportive of his efforts to catch a killer. But nothing worked out the way he thought it would.



Sometimes you just had to throw up your hands and say what the fuck. He hopped this wasn't one of those times.



The pilot kept quiet, already aware of their destination. He flew as straight of a path as possible. Only an hour more and they'd be on the island, possibly catching the killer but definitely rescuing Delanie.

Copyright Sara Thacker 2011