her house at one of the chain hotels. He left her in the lobby with coffee and brochures that advertised airboat rides and the wonders of the park.
He was equally fast, and in a matter of minutes had returned. He was quiet as they headed for Nigel’s station.
At last she said, “Andrew and Nigel were telling me about a young woman who disappeared years ago. You were all in on the search.”
He nodded. “We were young then—too young to be much good, but we did know the area where we were searching. Everyone came out. You haven’t been to the village yet, but believe me, we’re all the same beneath our skin. We all care when a young woman disappears. We never found her, though.” He looked over at her.
“And you think that maybe...?”
“I’m not an expert on bones, I’m afraid. That could have been a man or a woman, dead a few years or maybe a hundred, though I sincerely doubt that. That environment can be harsh and brutal even on bone.”
Raina shook her head. “That was...thirteen years ago. Almost fourteen. Could the same person have abducted her...and still be killing people now?”
“I don’t know. I hope not. If so, there may be more bodies out there. More people who’ve disappeared.” He was quiet a minute and then he turned to her. “Here’s what scares me—that the murderer isn’t just one person. But maybe, just maybe, the murders are being perpetrated for one reason—and perhaps orchestrated by one person. Or one group.”
“Like an order of assassins?” she asked, frowning.
“Or, more likely, a murder association. Murder for a reason. Maybe even for hire. I don’t know. I have my own sense of intuition, you know, but nothing as good as the magic in your touch. I truly believe these people are being killed for a reason. We just have to find out what that reason might be.” He was quiet a minute. “There’s something. Something these victims have in common. I can’t help but believe if we find out what it is, we’ll understand what’s going on.”
“But what might thirteen years ago have to do with today?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. And maybe it doesn’t.” He glanced her way. “But my intuition tells me they’re all connected.”
Ten
“We have some footage from a bank security camera and a traffic cam,” Nigel’s tech, Jeff Gamble, told them. He was a serious young tech at Nigel’s station. “I’ve gone over them, and looked for our girl. And this is what I’ve found. Bank camera first.”
There was Jennifer, a cup of coffee in her hands. She was greeting a patron in a dark suit. Somehow, though, the man had managed to approach the coffee shop with his back to the camera, talk to Jennifer with his back to the camera, enter the coffee shop and leave backward, ostensibly opening the door with his back to carry out a cardboard tray with several cups of coffee in it.
Axel asked him to run it several times. He studied the way the man moved. Studied his height, and everything he could.
“Thanks,” he said. “Anything better from the traffic cam? Was it at a different angle?”
“Oh, yes, but you’ll see why that didn’t go so well, either,” Gamble said, shaking his head. “I’ve enlarged the best I can, but see for yourself. It’s as if this guy knew where the cameras were. The traffic cam has only his back, too.”
Jeff Gamble was telling them the absolute truth. He slowed down the footage, froze it, went over and over it, but it was true.
Jennifer Lowry’s possible date for the evening never once showed his face.
“Well, he’s tall, right? Six or six-one?” Nigel said.
“Dark-haired, so it appears,” Axel said.
“I’m sorry, guys—uh, sirs. Detective, Special Agent,” Gamble said, stuttering and looking at them both.
Axel smiled. “You can only show us what’s there, and we sincerely appreciate your efforts,” he assured him.
He and Nigel left the conference room where Gamble had allowed them to see the footage on a large screen.
The size of the screen hadn’t helped when it came to seeing the man’s face.
They had seen Jennifer Lowry’s face. Seen her smile, even seen her giddy, happy little laugh when she’d moved away, heading back to Dr. Wong’s office.
“How can anyone know to avoid a camera like that?” Nigel asked with disgust.
“We’re looking for a tall man with dark hair,” Axel said. “That’s something.”
“What do you want to bet there are several tall men with dark hair at this place?” Nigel