After her FBI contact had notified Chloe that Portia hadn’t been seen in years, she’d immediately contacted Portia’s former foster mother. The call had been brief. Chloe had identified herself and said she was working in conjunction with the NOPD on a missing person’s case regarding Portia Strong.
The foster mother had immediately hung up on her. That was why the call had been brief.
Chloe had called a second time. Told the woman she wasn’t interested in any illegal payments that the foster mother had received while pretending to “care” for a missing girl. Chloe had just asked when the woman had last seen Portia. What Portia had been wearing at the time.
The foster mother hadn’t remembered the exact date. She did remember, though, that Portia had left early because she liked to get in her runs before school. She’d been wearing jogging shorts. A t-shirt. Red running shoes. Red had been Portia’s favorite color.
With that info, it had been easy to map out the most likely places that Portia would have used for her morning runs. After she’d done that, Chloe had called in a favor. Gotten the cadaver dog and—
“Cujo says this is the spot.”
The German shepherd wasn’t straining against his leash or doing anything dramatic like you’d see on a TV show. He’d simply run through the parks, one after the other. He’d sniffed the ground. He’d hunted.
When he found the right spot, Cujo stopped. Sat. Waited like a good boy.
“Cujo?” Joel queried from beside her.
Cedric nodded and waved toward the dog’s handler. “Mickey here is a bit of a Stephen King fan.”
Chloe stared at the ground beneath Cujo. “You need to get an entire crew out here, Cedric.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” He put his hands on his hips. “You’re seriously telling me that some poor girl has been under the ground for ten years?”
“The vegetation is denser beneath Cujo. The grass thicker in that area. The earth likes the nutrients.”
Cedric gaped at her. “Do not tell me more. I don’t like to hear that stuff.” He pointed at Mickey. “Your dog is sure?”
Cujo whined. Pawed once at the ground.
“Dead certain,” Mickey assured him.
***
Radar was brought in. It showed the body. Or, what was left of the body. The retrieval process was slow. Painstaking. The crime scene techs didn’t want to destroy even one bit of evidence. Chloe watched them from a distance.
Joel stayed at her side.
He hadn’t said much during the long hours, and she understood. This…this was one of the parts she hated, too. And for Joel, seeing a body unearthed had to be a reminder of his own hell.
One of the techs yelled out, “We’ve got her!”
Chloe found herself moving closer to Joel. Her hand reached for his. “Every bit of evidence we find brings us closer. We’ll stop the man who did this.”
He looked at her hand. Curled his fingers around hers. Slowly raised his head. “Damn straight we will.”
She had to swallow as she stared into his eyes. This whole arrangement with Joel was so different from what she’d expected. With every moment that they spent together, she felt as if he was truly getting to know her. Looking past the surface. Just as she was doing with him. She liked who Joel was beneath his surface. There was so much more to him than met the eye.
“Chloe!” Cedric’s deep voice rang out. “You’re gonna want to see this!”
She released a quick breath, nodded, but didn’t let go of Joel. “You don’t need to come with me.” She was afraid for him to get too close. “I know this is a nightmare scene for you.” A grave. He’d been buried alive, and now he was watching a young victim being uncovered. “You can stay over here, or if you’d like, you can even go back home. I can catch a taxi ride.”
“Where you go, I go.” Grim. Determined.
That was Joel. Determined to his core. She squeezed his hand. If they were doing this together, there was no way she’d let go of him. She wanted him to know that she would be there for him, every single moment.
They slipped under the yellow crime scene tape and darted under the lights that had been set up. When they neared the uncovered remains, Chloe made sure to stand a safe distance back. No contamination.
“Check out the jacket,” Cedric directed.
She could see the victim’s lower body. The running shoes that had been uncovered. Red shoes.