being walked. Joggers heading into the park. A grocery truck making a delivery. People going to work. But to a woman who’d survived a massacre, none of these activities meant a thing.
Joe understood. Anna had built a life again. And then Petrović had appeared. How could it not enflame her?
Joe spoke to her across the roof of his car.
“Anna, listen to me. You asked for my help. I’m a federal law enforcement agent. I’ll do what I can legally do, the right way. Please. Look at me.”
She dragged her gaze away from the disappearing car.
Joe continued.
“Do not confront this man on your own. You know if he feels threatened, you won’t get away from him. Promise me you’ll let me handle this. Promise me you’ll do that.”
“I promise,” she said.
Anna got back into Joe’s car.
CHAPTER 11
This all happened five years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
That week I had a lunch date with Cindy Thomas. She was waiting for me at Fast ’n Good, a coffee shop two blocks from her office, and I was late. I was still ten minutes away, walking toward Fourth Street as fast as I could without breaking into a run.
Jacobi had called an impromptu meeting that morning. He stood at the front of the squad room and barked, “We have to get a grip on this case. A clue. A witness. A theory that holds water. As you know, Boxer is lead investigator. Boxer—no one goes home until we have something with legs.”
We were all with him. Where were Carly, Adele, and Susan? No freaking idea. A death clock was ticking, and the dozen investigators in the homicide squad were working nonstop and hoping beyond reason that the schoolteachers would be found alive.
Cindy, one of my best friends, is a crime reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. The first time I met her, she was covering a savage double murder and had finagled her way into the crime scene. My crime scene. In the end, she helped me solve the case and we bonded for good. It was no surprise to me that she was now making a name as a talent with a big future.
Late as I was that day, I knew Cindy would make use of the found time to return calls, check in with sources, write notes, or draft her story. When I showed up, she’d jump right into the business at hand—or grill me until I gave her a scrap of printable news.
But in return she was likely to tell me something I didn’t know.
The OPEN sign hanging in Fast ’n Good’s plate-glass window was blinking. I pulled the door open and scanned the place from the vestibule until I saw the mop of blond curls showing over the back of a booth. I strode down the aisle, slid into the banquette across from Cindy, and said, “Hey. Sorry to hold you up.”
I could already see the question in her cornflower-blue eyes.
“You anywhere with the schoolteachers?” she asked.
“Just what I had yesterday, girlfriend. Nothing. Please don’t rub it in.”
CHAPTER 12
Cindy put down her half-eaten BLT and said, “I give the tomato rice four stars.”
I ordered a cup of soup and a grilled cheese with bacon. Then I said, “Whatcha got for me?”
She poked at her cell phone and called up a photo of a woman stooping to hug a large dog that was washing her face with its tongue.
Cindy said, “Look past the girl and dog.”
I enlarged the photo, bringing up the couple in the background walking across a parking lot away from the camera. The male was lanky, taller than the woman, and had spiky hair. The female had turned to look at the male. Her face was in profile. Yellow lines on the asphalt marked parking spots. I could see one side of a dark SUV and almost make out a building at the edge of the frame.
“Okay. What am I looking at?”
“It was sent to me by a confidential source,” Cindy said. “A guy who reads my blog. The attached note said, ‘Carly Myers and friend. She’s one of your missing teachers, right?’”
I looked closer. I’d seen only a formal head shot of Carly Myers. This snapshot was not in sharp focus and showed only the woman’s profile. But it could be her.
I asked Cindy, “Who’s the guy?”
“Don’t know. Yet.”
“Where’s this parking lot? Is this the Bridge?”
“That’s all I have. This picture. My source was taking a shot of his girlfriend and her dog.