Faceless (Sinister Secrets Book 2), page 6
An almost gaunt face stared back at him. A hint of a smile curled the corners of her full lips and heavy eye makeup made her eyes look unnaturally large and dark. Straight brown hair hung to her shoulders. Pretty, in a slightly emaciated way.
He checked her stats. Twenty-six years old. Five three, one hundred pounds. He wasn’t an expert on body weight, not by a long shot, but that seemed a little low for an adult woman.
Sounded like she needed to eat less veggie stir fry and more meat and carbs.
“Why’d you get sent out on this, anyway?”
The detective’s question brought Dak’s attention up from the picture. “You know the Jason Boggess case?”
The detective’s eyes narrowed. “Not every abduction is connected to him.”
“True. But would you want to take the chance that it’s not?” The mayor breathing down his neck was bad enough. If they missed a related case that could have helped bring Jason home sooner, heads would roll.
Probably his.
Dak returned the wallet to its original position and rose. “I’d appreciate a copy of your report when it’s done.”
“Sure.” The detective’s tone said he was less than thrilled with FBI interference in his case.
He’d be even more unhappy if and when Dak’s team took over the case, but that wasn’t a decision to be made tonight.
After thanking the detective for his time, Dak headed for the Thai restaurant and the middle-aged Asian man the detective had indicated.
His stomach growled as the scent of spicy meat drifted on the evening air. He’d ask the man some questions before calling it a night… and maybe pick-up a to-go order for dinner.
₪ ₪ ₪
“Sorry I’m late.” Kevyn dropped into the chair across from her friend Wendy and tried to let go of the stress and busy-ness of the day.
Wendy grinned. “No worries. Isn’t that what you’d say?”
Kevyn laughed. “You got it.”
Wendy’s smile slipped and she leaned in. “Did you hear? They’re granting another extension.”
Yes, she’d heard. At least she didn’t have to worry about how she was going to tell Wendy. “Trane’s paying dearly for some expensive defense lawyers. Stalling is a common tactic.”
“I want this to be over.” Emotion dripped from Wendy’s words.
It’d been over eight months since Jackson Trane had abducted Wendy on her way home from work. Eight months of waiting for closure. She couldn’t blame Wendy for being discouraged.
The friendship they’d formed following Wendy’s rescue had been unexpected, but it was one of the closest friendships she’d ever had.
“Try not to worry about it. The evidence is overwhelming and the case is solid. He won’t get away with what he did to you and the others.”
Wendy’s lips trembled. “I hope not. You know, I still can’t leave work alone. I’ve waited by the door for up to an hour before, just to make sure someone is walking out at the same time.”
Not surprising. “I’m assuming you’ve talked to the counselor about that?”
“Yes.” Wendy’s sigh deflated her trim frame. “He tells me to be patient with myself. That it’ll get better with time.”
“He’s a smart man.” Kevyn smiled her thanks at the waiter who dropped off a glass of water for her.
The busy bistro bustled around them. Kevyn turned her attention to the menu. When she and Wendy got together, which was usually every Wednesday, they almost always tried a new restaurant.
“You look tired.”
Kevyn glanced up from the menu to find Wendy’s narrowed eyes assessing her closely. “It’s been a long week.”
“Work or personal?”
How did she answer that one when the answer was both?
If she said work, Wendy would leave it alone. If she said personal, Wendy would expect her to say more.
Part of her longed to spill everything about her father and the conflicting emotions he’d stirred up.
Another part of her wanted to forget it all, at least for tonight.
Wendy wouldn’t judge her and could offer an opinion that wasn’t biased by the FBI’s rule book or fear of OPR repercussions.
“A little of both.” Now that it was out there, her mouth wanted to keep running. “My father showed up at my house last night.”
Wendy blinked. “I thought he was MIA.”
“He was. Until last night.”
“What’d he want?”
A logical question – and one she was sick of answering. “No idea. I didn’t let him speak.”
Wendy nodded as though the answer didn’t surprise her. “I’m not sure I would have either.”
“I let him have a piece of my mind, then shut the door in his face.” She swallowed back the information about her father possibly having ties to their current investigation. That little detail was privileged information.
“Do you regret it?”
Yes, but not for the reason Wendy might assume. “I don’t know. I mean, he wasn’t there when I needed him. Now that I don’t need him, he thinks he can step in and be a father? No way.” She sighed. “But, at the same time, I’d like to know where he’s been all this time. Why he never tried to re-establish contact.”
“Did he leave you a way to contact him?”
“No. I’ve searched online, but haven’t had any success finding him there.”
Wendy tilted her head. “What about at work? I mean, doesn’t the FBI have all sorts of databases and resources to find people?”
“I can’t use work resources for personal reasons.” Especially since the FBI was now looking for her father and she’d been ordered to stand down. “If he really wants to connect, he’ll try again, right?”
“Sure.” Wendy smiled. “If he does, you should hear him out. Maybe there was a good reason for his absence.”
“Oh yeah? What could possibly be a good reason to abandon your wife and daughter for thirty-five years?”
“Um… witness protection? Prison? Coma?” Wendy offered a small smile. “You’ll never know if you don’t let him explain.”
“Well, if he shows up again, maybe I’ll let him.” If she could bite her tongue long enough to let him speak.
The waiter arrived to take their orders. After a quick glance at the menu, Kevyn settled on ginger-glazed halibut with rice and mixed vegetables.
As the waiter walked away, Wendy put her elbows on the table and leaned in. “I can’t pretend to understand how it felt to see him there. But that couldn’t have been easy for him, either. I mean, how do you go to someone you massively let down and try to explain a three decade absence?”
“I really don’t want to see his side of this.” Kevyn traced her finger through the condensation on the outside of her water glass. “But you’re right. There are always two sides. The decent thing to do would be to let him tell his before I make a final judgment.”
“The Bible tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Mercy was the last thing she wanted to extend to that man. “Yeah, well doesn’t it also say something about an eye for an eye?”
“Passing judgment is easy, but it takes real strength to extend mercy.” Wendy’s face took on a gray hue and her chin wobbled slightly. “And you know I don’t say that lightly.”
No, she didn’t. Wendy’s kindness toward one of her kidnappers was what had drawn Kevyn to Wendy in the first place. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“On your own, probably not. But God can help you do anything.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d asked God to do anything for her. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever prayed.
Yet now, here she was, sitting across from a woman whose faith was central in her life. And working beside a man whose faith guided his actions.
It was funny where life took you.
Still, she wasn’t sure she was ready to make the leap from believing in God to being all in like they were. Sure, it worked for them. But it might not be for her.
“If he comes back, I’ll hear him out. I can’t promise any more than that.”
“Just try to keep an open mind.” Wendy sighed. “I’d give anything to have a distant relative show up on my doorstep.”
Easy for Wendy to say. Her parents had been around, involved, and loving. Neither of them had turned their backs on her like she didn’t exist.
Enough.
She was ready to forget her father and the troubles he’d brought her, at least for a little while.
Because something told her this drama was far from over.
₪ ₪ ₪
The silence spoke to him.
The whirring of his laptop booting up was the only sound in the early morning hours as Agent Caldwell sipped his coffee.
Black and strong. It was the only way to drink coffee.
While he waited for the log-in process to complete, he flipped open Agent Taylor’s file and reviewed his findings from yesterday.
How could there be zero trace of her father? The man clearly existed, but he had yet to find a single record that tied to him.
If he could track down the right social security number, that would help, but there were too many Mitch Taylors out there for him to accurately isolate the correct one.
Using the information Agent Taylor had given him, he’d tried to trace it through her mother but even that had fallen flat. There was no record of a marriage license in Florida, where Agent Taylor had been born. Mitch Taylor’s name had been listed on her birth certificate, but that didn’t help Caldwell track down the man now.
Today he’d turn his focus on Florida.
Maybe by focusing on college records from around the time Agent Taylor had been born, he could locate the correct Mitch Taylor and track his movements forward.
It beat the needle in the haystack approach he’d wasted so much time on yesterday.
Honest men didn’t live in the shadows.
If Mitch Taylor was an honest man, he shouldn’t be hard to track down.
Caldwell would stake his badge on the fact that Mitch Taylor was not only dishonest, but involved in shady dealings up to his eyebrows.
₪ ₪ ₪
“We may have another victim.”
The fruit and oatmeal Kevyn had enjoyed not more than ninety minutes ago settled like lead in her stomach. One glance at the rest of her team, all seated around the conference room table, indicated similar feelings.
Another victim. And they were no closer to bringing home the first two.
Dak tacked a picture of a young woman to their board.
Her cheeks appeared slightly hollowed, but her eyes glowed with life. Straight brown hair framed her narrow face, curling beneath her chin in a long bob.
“Noelle Orson.” Dak’s gaze moved across everyone in the room. “Daughter of Randall Orson.”
A weight descended.
Why, Kevyn wasn’t sure. The name clearly meant something to everyone but her. “Who’s Randall Orson?”
“Only one of the richest dudes in Seattle.” JD swiveled his chair to face her. “He founded one of the largest tech firms in the state.”
If this case was connected to their previous two abductions, then clearly Jason Boggess wasn’t an anomaly. Their kidnappers weren’t fazed by high-profile targets.
“Why do we think this is connected?” Felicia asked the question running through Kevyn’s mind.
“First, I’m not completely convinced that it is. But it occurred in the same vicinity as the other abductions. A van pulled up as she was leaving work and a guy forced her inside.”
“But our other two vics were both male,” Sid pointed out.
“True. But we don’t know that our kidnappers are only targeting men. Orson is a yoga instructor, so she’s likely fit, like our other two vics. She’s mid-twenties, like our other vics.” Dak shrugged. “Until we rule her out, we need to consider her as victim number three. SPD officially has jurisdiction on this one. For now.”
“Do we have security footage to review?” JD asked.
“I’m waiting for the footage from a Thai restaurant across the street. It’ll probably be low resolution and a little far away, but should still give us a visual of the abduction. I also want to check other surrounding businesses and pull area traffic cams to see what we might turn up.”
Dak outlined what little information they had so far.
The abduction was reported by the Thai restaurant owner, who knew the victim and saw the abduction from a distance. He’d described the vehicle as a white van like what plumbers or electricians use, but said there were no markings on the vehicle.
Kevyn waited for Dak to finish before asking the question burning her tongue. “Was she drugged?”
“Unknown. The witness didn’t think so. He thought he saw her fighting back, but said he was too far away to see it clearly.”
That would make three key differences between Orson’s abduction and the other two. Gender. The van pulling up rather than already being present. No drugs.
On their own, none of those was entirely conclusive, but put together? It could indicate a different kidnapper with a different purpose.
Although what were the chances that they’d be looking at two sets of kidnappers at the same time? Stranger abductions were rare, very rare, and the odds of having two sets of kidnappers active in the city right now were lower than her chances of being struck by lightning.
The cases had to be connected, didn’t they?
“Let’s either tie this case to our other two or rule it out quickly.” Dak assessed the group. “Kev, dig into this latest victim. See if there’s a reason someone might want to abduct her. Sid, you get the local businesses. Check for surveillance cams that may have caught the van entering or exiting the lot. JD, pull traffic cams within a six block radius. Let’s see if we can’t get a license plate to track. Felicia, you and I will keep working the other two abductions.”
As the meeting broke up, Kevyn headed for her desk.
They were rapidly approaching that critical twenty-four hour mark. If this case had any connection to their other two, she needed to find it.
Fast.
₪ ₪ ₪
Lorelei Divers.
Dak studied the background information in the file on his desk.
Grew up in Mississippi, moved around a bit in her late teens and early twenties, then landed in Seattle where she attended a technical school to earn her phlebotomy certification.
Nothing that made her stand out as a person of interest, other than her date with Jason Boggess on the night of his abduction.
In fact, security footage at the blood bank put her walking out the door, dressed for a night on the town, at 6:44pm. There was no way she could have been at the abduction site when Boggess was taken.
Plus, the fact that she’d dressed up and styled her hair before leaving work confirmed her story that she was expecting to meet someone that night.
For now, she’d remain on the suspect list, but he doubted it’d go anywhere. She had no apparent motive and little opportunity.
The desk on his phone shrilled.
He jolted at the interruption of the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevyn startle, too.
He picked up the receiver. “Lakes.”
“Agent Lakes, Wilson here. SPD. I was asked to give you a call about the Orson abduction.”
Wow. They were calling him? He’d fully expected to have to initiate the follow-up himself. Actually had it on his to-do list for immediately after lunch.
“Orson turned up. They’re taking her to Downtown Regional for a full work-up.”
Wait. “She’s alive?”
“Yeah. Don’t know any more than that, but she’s expected to be okay.”
He was already reaching for his gun. “Thanks for the call. I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.” The officer’s tone said he was anything but thrilled to have received the assignment.
Ending the call, Dak looked up to find Kevyn’s gaze on him.
Should he take her with him? Having a woman along, especially one so good at reading people, might help him get more out of Orson.
Besides, which was more important now that Orson had been found? Digging into Orson’s background or actually talking to the woman in person?
“Orson turned up alive. I’m headed to the hospital now. You interested?”
She stood. “Absolutely. Let’s go.”
Maybe this was the break they’d been waiting for. If Orson had been abducted by the same crew, she might have valuable intel that could help them stop the kidnappers and bring both Jason Boggess and Wes Andrews home.
He didn’t want to think about the other possibility – that this whole thing was a waste of time.
Six
Hospitals reminded her of death.
Kevyn’s stomach clenched at the scent of antiseptic. At the gleam of harsh florescent lights on sterile white tile. At the rattle of gurney wheels rolling patients from one place to another.
Too many days and nights spent in hospital rooms while her mother experienced the ups and downs of cancer had forever changed her.
At least she no longer had anyone to lose.
An image of her father’s face flickered through her mind, but she pushed it away.
The man was a complete stranger. If he died tomorrow, it would mean nothing to her.
Would it?
The elevator dinged as the shiny brushed stainless doors slid open. A nurse in floral printed scrubs pushed an elderly man in a wheelchair inside and turned as the door closed.
Dak walked past the elevator and she followed.
Noelle Orson was still in an exam room here in the ER and, from what little they’d heard, likely wouldn’t be admitted. Although the hospital wouldn’t reveal any details about Orson’s condition, they’d managed to learn that her injuries were minor.
“Did you talk to Orson’s father this morning?” Dak’s low question competed with the intercom voice paging a doctor.
“Left a message.” She grinned. “Did you know it’s almost impossible to speak with the founder of a Fortune Five-Hundred company?”
He checked her stats. Twenty-six years old. Five three, one hundred pounds. He wasn’t an expert on body weight, not by a long shot, but that seemed a little low for an adult woman.
Sounded like she needed to eat less veggie stir fry and more meat and carbs.
“Why’d you get sent out on this, anyway?”
The detective’s question brought Dak’s attention up from the picture. “You know the Jason Boggess case?”
The detective’s eyes narrowed. “Not every abduction is connected to him.”
“True. But would you want to take the chance that it’s not?” The mayor breathing down his neck was bad enough. If they missed a related case that could have helped bring Jason home sooner, heads would roll.
Probably his.
Dak returned the wallet to its original position and rose. “I’d appreciate a copy of your report when it’s done.”
“Sure.” The detective’s tone said he was less than thrilled with FBI interference in his case.
He’d be even more unhappy if and when Dak’s team took over the case, but that wasn’t a decision to be made tonight.
After thanking the detective for his time, Dak headed for the Thai restaurant and the middle-aged Asian man the detective had indicated.
His stomach growled as the scent of spicy meat drifted on the evening air. He’d ask the man some questions before calling it a night… and maybe pick-up a to-go order for dinner.
₪ ₪ ₪
“Sorry I’m late.” Kevyn dropped into the chair across from her friend Wendy and tried to let go of the stress and busy-ness of the day.
Wendy grinned. “No worries. Isn’t that what you’d say?”
Kevyn laughed. “You got it.”
Wendy’s smile slipped and she leaned in. “Did you hear? They’re granting another extension.”
Yes, she’d heard. At least she didn’t have to worry about how she was going to tell Wendy. “Trane’s paying dearly for some expensive defense lawyers. Stalling is a common tactic.”
“I want this to be over.” Emotion dripped from Wendy’s words.
It’d been over eight months since Jackson Trane had abducted Wendy on her way home from work. Eight months of waiting for closure. She couldn’t blame Wendy for being discouraged.
The friendship they’d formed following Wendy’s rescue had been unexpected, but it was one of the closest friendships she’d ever had.
“Try not to worry about it. The evidence is overwhelming and the case is solid. He won’t get away with what he did to you and the others.”
Wendy’s lips trembled. “I hope not. You know, I still can’t leave work alone. I’ve waited by the door for up to an hour before, just to make sure someone is walking out at the same time.”
Not surprising. “I’m assuming you’ve talked to the counselor about that?”
“Yes.” Wendy’s sigh deflated her trim frame. “He tells me to be patient with myself. That it’ll get better with time.”
“He’s a smart man.” Kevyn smiled her thanks at the waiter who dropped off a glass of water for her.
The busy bistro bustled around them. Kevyn turned her attention to the menu. When she and Wendy got together, which was usually every Wednesday, they almost always tried a new restaurant.
“You look tired.”
Kevyn glanced up from the menu to find Wendy’s narrowed eyes assessing her closely. “It’s been a long week.”
“Work or personal?”
How did she answer that one when the answer was both?
If she said work, Wendy would leave it alone. If she said personal, Wendy would expect her to say more.
Part of her longed to spill everything about her father and the conflicting emotions he’d stirred up.
Another part of her wanted to forget it all, at least for tonight.
Wendy wouldn’t judge her and could offer an opinion that wasn’t biased by the FBI’s rule book or fear of OPR repercussions.
“A little of both.” Now that it was out there, her mouth wanted to keep running. “My father showed up at my house last night.”
Wendy blinked. “I thought he was MIA.”
“He was. Until last night.”
“What’d he want?”
A logical question – and one she was sick of answering. “No idea. I didn’t let him speak.”
Wendy nodded as though the answer didn’t surprise her. “I’m not sure I would have either.”
“I let him have a piece of my mind, then shut the door in his face.” She swallowed back the information about her father possibly having ties to their current investigation. That little detail was privileged information.
“Do you regret it?”
Yes, but not for the reason Wendy might assume. “I don’t know. I mean, he wasn’t there when I needed him. Now that I don’t need him, he thinks he can step in and be a father? No way.” She sighed. “But, at the same time, I’d like to know where he’s been all this time. Why he never tried to re-establish contact.”
“Did he leave you a way to contact him?”
“No. I’ve searched online, but haven’t had any success finding him there.”
Wendy tilted her head. “What about at work? I mean, doesn’t the FBI have all sorts of databases and resources to find people?”
“I can’t use work resources for personal reasons.” Especially since the FBI was now looking for her father and she’d been ordered to stand down. “If he really wants to connect, he’ll try again, right?”
“Sure.” Wendy smiled. “If he does, you should hear him out. Maybe there was a good reason for his absence.”
“Oh yeah? What could possibly be a good reason to abandon your wife and daughter for thirty-five years?”
“Um… witness protection? Prison? Coma?” Wendy offered a small smile. “You’ll never know if you don’t let him explain.”
“Well, if he shows up again, maybe I’ll let him.” If she could bite her tongue long enough to let him speak.
The waiter arrived to take their orders. After a quick glance at the menu, Kevyn settled on ginger-glazed halibut with rice and mixed vegetables.
As the waiter walked away, Wendy put her elbows on the table and leaned in. “I can’t pretend to understand how it felt to see him there. But that couldn’t have been easy for him, either. I mean, how do you go to someone you massively let down and try to explain a three decade absence?”
“I really don’t want to see his side of this.” Kevyn traced her finger through the condensation on the outside of her water glass. “But you’re right. There are always two sides. The decent thing to do would be to let him tell his before I make a final judgment.”
“The Bible tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Mercy was the last thing she wanted to extend to that man. “Yeah, well doesn’t it also say something about an eye for an eye?”
“Passing judgment is easy, but it takes real strength to extend mercy.” Wendy’s face took on a gray hue and her chin wobbled slightly. “And you know I don’t say that lightly.”
No, she didn’t. Wendy’s kindness toward one of her kidnappers was what had drawn Kevyn to Wendy in the first place. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“On your own, probably not. But God can help you do anything.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d asked God to do anything for her. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever prayed.
Yet now, here she was, sitting across from a woman whose faith was central in her life. And working beside a man whose faith guided his actions.
It was funny where life took you.
Still, she wasn’t sure she was ready to make the leap from believing in God to being all in like they were. Sure, it worked for them. But it might not be for her.
“If he comes back, I’ll hear him out. I can’t promise any more than that.”
“Just try to keep an open mind.” Wendy sighed. “I’d give anything to have a distant relative show up on my doorstep.”
Easy for Wendy to say. Her parents had been around, involved, and loving. Neither of them had turned their backs on her like she didn’t exist.
Enough.
She was ready to forget her father and the troubles he’d brought her, at least for a little while.
Because something told her this drama was far from over.
₪ ₪ ₪
The silence spoke to him.
The whirring of his laptop booting up was the only sound in the early morning hours as Agent Caldwell sipped his coffee.
Black and strong. It was the only way to drink coffee.
While he waited for the log-in process to complete, he flipped open Agent Taylor’s file and reviewed his findings from yesterday.
How could there be zero trace of her father? The man clearly existed, but he had yet to find a single record that tied to him.
If he could track down the right social security number, that would help, but there were too many Mitch Taylors out there for him to accurately isolate the correct one.
Using the information Agent Taylor had given him, he’d tried to trace it through her mother but even that had fallen flat. There was no record of a marriage license in Florida, where Agent Taylor had been born. Mitch Taylor’s name had been listed on her birth certificate, but that didn’t help Caldwell track down the man now.
Today he’d turn his focus on Florida.
Maybe by focusing on college records from around the time Agent Taylor had been born, he could locate the correct Mitch Taylor and track his movements forward.
It beat the needle in the haystack approach he’d wasted so much time on yesterday.
Honest men didn’t live in the shadows.
If Mitch Taylor was an honest man, he shouldn’t be hard to track down.
Caldwell would stake his badge on the fact that Mitch Taylor was not only dishonest, but involved in shady dealings up to his eyebrows.
₪ ₪ ₪
“We may have another victim.”
The fruit and oatmeal Kevyn had enjoyed not more than ninety minutes ago settled like lead in her stomach. One glance at the rest of her team, all seated around the conference room table, indicated similar feelings.
Another victim. And they were no closer to bringing home the first two.
Dak tacked a picture of a young woman to their board.
Her cheeks appeared slightly hollowed, but her eyes glowed with life. Straight brown hair framed her narrow face, curling beneath her chin in a long bob.
“Noelle Orson.” Dak’s gaze moved across everyone in the room. “Daughter of Randall Orson.”
A weight descended.
Why, Kevyn wasn’t sure. The name clearly meant something to everyone but her. “Who’s Randall Orson?”
“Only one of the richest dudes in Seattle.” JD swiveled his chair to face her. “He founded one of the largest tech firms in the state.”
If this case was connected to their previous two abductions, then clearly Jason Boggess wasn’t an anomaly. Their kidnappers weren’t fazed by high-profile targets.
“Why do we think this is connected?” Felicia asked the question running through Kevyn’s mind.
“First, I’m not completely convinced that it is. But it occurred in the same vicinity as the other abductions. A van pulled up as she was leaving work and a guy forced her inside.”
“But our other two vics were both male,” Sid pointed out.
“True. But we don’t know that our kidnappers are only targeting men. Orson is a yoga instructor, so she’s likely fit, like our other two vics. She’s mid-twenties, like our other vics.” Dak shrugged. “Until we rule her out, we need to consider her as victim number three. SPD officially has jurisdiction on this one. For now.”
“Do we have security footage to review?” JD asked.
“I’m waiting for the footage from a Thai restaurant across the street. It’ll probably be low resolution and a little far away, but should still give us a visual of the abduction. I also want to check other surrounding businesses and pull area traffic cams to see what we might turn up.”
Dak outlined what little information they had so far.
The abduction was reported by the Thai restaurant owner, who knew the victim and saw the abduction from a distance. He’d described the vehicle as a white van like what plumbers or electricians use, but said there were no markings on the vehicle.
Kevyn waited for Dak to finish before asking the question burning her tongue. “Was she drugged?”
“Unknown. The witness didn’t think so. He thought he saw her fighting back, but said he was too far away to see it clearly.”
That would make three key differences between Orson’s abduction and the other two. Gender. The van pulling up rather than already being present. No drugs.
On their own, none of those was entirely conclusive, but put together? It could indicate a different kidnapper with a different purpose.
Although what were the chances that they’d be looking at two sets of kidnappers at the same time? Stranger abductions were rare, very rare, and the odds of having two sets of kidnappers active in the city right now were lower than her chances of being struck by lightning.
The cases had to be connected, didn’t they?
“Let’s either tie this case to our other two or rule it out quickly.” Dak assessed the group. “Kev, dig into this latest victim. See if there’s a reason someone might want to abduct her. Sid, you get the local businesses. Check for surveillance cams that may have caught the van entering or exiting the lot. JD, pull traffic cams within a six block radius. Let’s see if we can’t get a license plate to track. Felicia, you and I will keep working the other two abductions.”
As the meeting broke up, Kevyn headed for her desk.
They were rapidly approaching that critical twenty-four hour mark. If this case had any connection to their other two, she needed to find it.
Fast.
₪ ₪ ₪
Lorelei Divers.
Dak studied the background information in the file on his desk.
Grew up in Mississippi, moved around a bit in her late teens and early twenties, then landed in Seattle where she attended a technical school to earn her phlebotomy certification.
Nothing that made her stand out as a person of interest, other than her date with Jason Boggess on the night of his abduction.
In fact, security footage at the blood bank put her walking out the door, dressed for a night on the town, at 6:44pm. There was no way she could have been at the abduction site when Boggess was taken.
Plus, the fact that she’d dressed up and styled her hair before leaving work confirmed her story that she was expecting to meet someone that night.
For now, she’d remain on the suspect list, but he doubted it’d go anywhere. She had no apparent motive and little opportunity.
The desk on his phone shrilled.
He jolted at the interruption of the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevyn startle, too.
He picked up the receiver. “Lakes.”
“Agent Lakes, Wilson here. SPD. I was asked to give you a call about the Orson abduction.”
Wow. They were calling him? He’d fully expected to have to initiate the follow-up himself. Actually had it on his to-do list for immediately after lunch.
“Orson turned up. They’re taking her to Downtown Regional for a full work-up.”
Wait. “She’s alive?”
“Yeah. Don’t know any more than that, but she’s expected to be okay.”
He was already reaching for his gun. “Thanks for the call. I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.” The officer’s tone said he was anything but thrilled to have received the assignment.
Ending the call, Dak looked up to find Kevyn’s gaze on him.
Should he take her with him? Having a woman along, especially one so good at reading people, might help him get more out of Orson.
Besides, which was more important now that Orson had been found? Digging into Orson’s background or actually talking to the woman in person?
“Orson turned up alive. I’m headed to the hospital now. You interested?”
She stood. “Absolutely. Let’s go.”
Maybe this was the break they’d been waiting for. If Orson had been abducted by the same crew, she might have valuable intel that could help them stop the kidnappers and bring both Jason Boggess and Wes Andrews home.
He didn’t want to think about the other possibility – that this whole thing was a waste of time.
Six
Hospitals reminded her of death.
Kevyn’s stomach clenched at the scent of antiseptic. At the gleam of harsh florescent lights on sterile white tile. At the rattle of gurney wheels rolling patients from one place to another.
Too many days and nights spent in hospital rooms while her mother experienced the ups and downs of cancer had forever changed her.
At least she no longer had anyone to lose.
An image of her father’s face flickered through her mind, but she pushed it away.
The man was a complete stranger. If he died tomorrow, it would mean nothing to her.
Would it?
The elevator dinged as the shiny brushed stainless doors slid open. A nurse in floral printed scrubs pushed an elderly man in a wheelchair inside and turned as the door closed.
Dak walked past the elevator and she followed.
Noelle Orson was still in an exam room here in the ER and, from what little they’d heard, likely wouldn’t be admitted. Although the hospital wouldn’t reveal any details about Orson’s condition, they’d managed to learn that her injuries were minor.
“Did you talk to Orson’s father this morning?” Dak’s low question competed with the intercom voice paging a doctor.
“Left a message.” She grinned. “Did you know it’s almost impossible to speak with the founder of a Fortune Five-Hundred company?”
