his letter. There were a handful of agents in the Bureau who thought they could safely draw him out. Ultimately, the network attorneys and my own personal attorney felt it would be too risky for me. Without a consensus, the whole thing fell flat.”
Josie asked, “What did Codie think of the whole thing? She would have been on the air with you if you’d gone forward with trying to draw him out.”
“She didn’t think there was any harm in it. In fact, she believed I should do it because it might save lives.”
“You didn’t think you could save lives?” Gretchen asked.
“It wasn’t up to me. It was up to the attorneys, the network. Besides, it was all a joke. The killer did kill again shortly after that. Then Codie died and, well, life goes on, doesn’t it?”
Josie had to bite her lower lip to keep something snide from coming out. This man had used his clout with the network to get rid of Trinity, pouncing on one of her mistakes to ensure her exit so that he could bring his much younger girlfriend into a position she hadn’t even earned. His actions had caused a domino effect that ultimately led to Trinity desperately looking for a story that would put her back on top. A story about the Bone Artist. Now she was gone, and Josie didn’t know if they’d get her back.
Life would go on for him and for Mila Kates but what about Trinity? What about Josie, Shannon, Christian, and Patrick? What about Nicci Webb? Her daughter and granddaughter? Had the Bone Artist taken her because Trinity had drawn him out? The faces of Monica Webb and little Annabelle flashed through Josie’s mind. She had a job to do, she reminded herself. That didn’t change, no matter how angry she was with Hayden Keating. Swallowing her rage, Josie asked, “Does the name Nicci Webb mean anything to you?”
He shook his head, the lines at the corners of his eyes tightening in look of puzzlement. “No, it doesn’t. Who is she?”
Josie took out her phone and pulled up the photo of Nicci. The press hadn’t yet caught wind of her murder. Their only focus was on Trinity. There was no way that Josie was giving this snake a tip. She ignored his question. “Do you recognize this woman?”
He stared at the photo. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t. Who is she?”
Josie pocketed her phone. She stood up and Gretchen followed suit. “Mr. Keating, thank you for your time,” Josie said. “If we have any more questions, we’ll be in touch.”
Hayden jumped up, knocking his chair back. He threw both hands up in front of him. “Wait, wait,” he said. “Who is that woman? Is she connected to Trinity’s abduction?”
Gretchen said, “We thought she might be, but she’s clearly not. Like we said, Trinity was working on a lot of things before she was abducted, trying to develop a story, but not all of them panned out.”
“Oh, okay,” Hayden said. He scurried around the table and followed them to the door. “Please let me know right away if you learn anything,” he implored them. “I worked side by side with Trinity for three years. Anything you can tell me would put my mind at ease.” He smiled and Josie noted it was the same smile he used on air when he did cooking segments.
Forty-Two
In the car, Josie seethed. “That son of a bitch. He ruined my sister’s life.”
“I’m sorry, boss,” Gretchen said, turning her key in the ignition. “You showed admirable restraint back there.”
Josie’s hands curled into fists in her lap. Through gritted teeth, she said, “He doesn’t think Trinity’s coming back. That’s why he didn’t care if we knew about him and Mila Kates.”
Gretchen said, “We’d better get to finding her then. Getting her back alive would be big news. Big enough to make Mila Kates a distant memory.”
Josie looked over at Gretchen and smiled, her rage receding a bit. “Yes,” she said, loosening her jaw. “We’d better.”
“Codie Lash got a letter from the Bone Artist,” Gretchen offered.
“Absolutely,” Josie agreed. “I don’t think she told Hayden about it—or anyone.”
“Why didn’t she turn it in?”
“Maybe she got it after Hayden Keating received his, or maybe she didn’t open it until after he received his. If you look in the Bone Artist file, the anchors at the other networks received their letters on different days but within the same week,” Josie pointed out.
Gretchen pulled out of the Eudora parking lot and headed