Fatal Exposure - By Gail Barrett Page 0,64

told her, his mind still on the case. His instincts urged him to focus on Hoffman, given his possible involvement in the Walker girl’s death and his relationship to Brynn. But Parker couldn’t afford to discount Delgado—because if he made a mistake and guessed wrongly, Brynn would pay the price.

“Did you find out anything about my father?” Haley asked, walking over to the fax machine.

“Not yet.” But if he had defended Markus Jenkins, it provided yet another link in this twisted chain. “I doubt he had anything to do with his release, though.” Collins was a better bet.

But that still left both Hoffman and Delgado as potential suspects. And until he figured out who the killer was, he couldn’t trust either one.

“Oh, no,” Haley groaned, looking at her fax.

“Bad news?” Brynn asked.

“It never stops.” Haley walked over and handed the paper to Brynn. “This girl went missing last night. Any chance you’ve seen her around?”

Brynn took the page from Haley. Her gasp caused his heart to skip. “What is it?”

Her hand trembling, she turned the paper his way. On it was a picture of a preteen girl. A girl with a long, black ponytail. “It’s the girl from High Rock Camp.” The girl who’d been sitting beside Hoffman at the campfire.

And she wore that now-familiar necklace around her neck.

* * *

Her stepfather had attacked another child.

Brynn stared at the photo of the girl, her head light, the room weaving in and out of focus as the realization sank in. Hoffman had struck again. Another child was suffering the hell that she’d been through. She’d failed to stop him in time.

“Are you all right?” Parker asked, his voice sounding far away.

“Yes, I...”

“Come on. You need to sit down. You look like you’re going to faint.” He led her to the couch, and she slumped down on the threadbare cushions, jarring her injured arm.

“Here. Drink some water,” Haley thrust a bottle into her hands.

Brynn obediently took a sip, then shuddered hard, fighting down an onrush of bile. Hoffman was on the hunt. He’d harmed another innocent child. That necklace had to be the proof.

“Hoffman took her,” she whispered, feeling sick. “We didn’t stop him in time.”

Parker lowered himself to the couch beside her, his eyes dark with concern—and something else. Fear. Determination. Guilt?

Shaking away that wild thought, she motioned toward the fax. “The necklace she’s wearing,” she asked Haley. “Have you seen it before? We think that symbol might mean something.”

Haley studied the picture again. “No, but I can ask the girls.”

Parker climbed to his feet. “I’ll go with you. I want to hear what they have to say.”

But Haley shook her head. “You’d better stay here. They won’t talk to a cop.” Taking the paper with her, she rushed away.

Parker returned to the couch. His gaze traveled over her face. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Just scared.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. Her worst fear had just been realized. Another innocent child was at the mercy of that sadistic man. “We have to find her, Parker.”

“We will.”

“But Hoffman—”

“You don’t know for sure that he has her.”

“Of course he has her. You can’t possibly think this is a coincidence. Not when she has that necklace on.”

“It looks bad,” he agreed. “But we still need evidence. I can’t get a warrant based on a hunch.”

“You saw that picture. He sat next to her at the campfire.”

“Which he had every right to do. For God’s sake, Brynn, he’s friends with a powerful senator. He’s the head of the Criminal Investigation Division. No one’s going to go against him without proof.”

“Not even to save that child?”

He rose and paced to the window. He spun on his heel and came back. “Listen. I want to stop him as much as you do. Probably more if he had anything to do with Tommy’s death. But I need something else to go on—facts, evidence. Suspicions aren’t enough this time. If I try to have him suspended, it’s going to look personal, like I’m retaliating for his charge about drugs. I need something to back me up.”

She stared at him, slack-jawed. “I don’t believe this. He tried to arrest you. He tried to kill you. And you’re still protecting him?”

“I’m not protecting him.”

“Of course you are! He’s a cop, so of course you’re going to take his side.”

“It’s not that. It’s just...a charge like this...they’ll suspend him. Someone will leak it to the press. Word will get out that he’s a pedophile, and he’ll never recover from that. Even