I See You (Criminal Profiler #2) - Mary Burton Page 0,44
Monday nights.”
Spencer showed no reaction. “Where were you two last night?”
He shoved out a breath. “There is a hotel in Crystal City where we stay. She left right before midnight, but I stayed the entire night.”
Vaughan got the name and made a note to pull security footage. “Okay.”
Spencer shifted directions, asking, “What do you know about Skylar Foster?”
“She’s as smart as a whip. Hadley thinks she’s going to get a full ride to a few top schools. When they first moved back, I used to see her quite a bit at the gym, but not too much in the last months.”
“Did something change in the girl’s life?” Vaughan asked.
“Hadley said Skylar has a boyfriend,” Dawson said. “I don’t know his name.”
“Do you know where he lives or goes to school?” Spencer asked.
“Her high school, I think,” Dawson said.
“Does Hadley have any close friends?” Spencer asked.
“I don’t know. She likes to work out, and she looks after Skylar. She’s always kept to herself.”
“There was a news report about Marsha Prince,” Spencer said. “Did you see it?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t really paying attention. Girl died a long time ago, or something.”
Vaughan shifted his stance. “Did Hadley ever talk about her family?”
“No. What does this girl have to do with Hadley and Skylar?” He looked genuinely frustrated.
“Marsha Prince was her sister. The girl was abducted and killed, and her remains were found back in June.”
Dawson stilled, held up his hands, and took a step back. “What?”
“She never told you her sister was killed?” Spencer asked.
“Hell no! Jesus. She never told me she even had a sister. She said her parents died in a car accident.”
“She wasn’t truthful,” Spencer said. “Her parents died of natural causes seventeen years ago. We met with her yesterday to inform her that her sister’s remains had been identified.”
Dawson shook his head. “She never said a word to me.”
“Did Hadley make a habit of lying?” Spencer asked.
“Not to me.”
“But to others?” Spencer asked.
“She worried too much about what people thought, so she tended to exaggerate.”
Vaughan had crossed paths with many skilled liars, and if Dawson was one of them, he was in the top of his class. He handed Dawson a card. “Call me if you hear from Hadley or Skylar or if you think of anything.”
Dawson glanced at the card, his face paling as he flicked the edge of the card. “Mark knows more than he’s saying. Bet on it.”
“Do you think Hadley summoned up the courage to talk to her husband about a divorce?” Spencer asked.
Tension rippled over Dawson’s body as he pressed his fist to his lips. “I was pushing her to talk to him. She swore she’d ask Mark for a divorce this morning.”
“Maybe she did just that,” Vaughan said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tuesday, August 13, 2:00 p.m.
Alexandria, Virginia
Seven Hours after the 911 Call
Vaughan returned to the Foster house and discovered the news vans were still parked across the street, and the cop cars lining the curb had multiplied. As he parked, Spencer pulled in behind him.
Vaughan waited for Spencer to join him before they approached the house. Each donned latex gloves and entered the foyer. Bud Clary, still dressed in protective gear, was dusting for prints on the front window.
“Detective Vaughan,” Bud said. “Agent Spencer.”
“What have you found out so far?” Vaughan asked.
“The initial assault occurred in the bedroom, as I first thought. The victim was carried down the stairs and out the garage door to where the Lexus was parked. There’s also a sizeable bloodstain by the entryway. Because Foster was found bleeding by the front entrance, we can assume that blood is his, but I can’t confirm until I run DNA.”
“You’ve sent off samples?” Vaughan asked.
“A couple of hours ago. We are collecting DNA from hair fibers in both the mother’s and daughter’s bathrooms as well as the blood drawn from Foster at the hospital. I’m also expediting the testing of the blood samples taken from the Lexus. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”
In the world of DNA matches, that was quick, but in the life of a missing kid, hours mattered.
“Bud, what about Skylar’s phone?” Vaughan asked. “You said you found it?”
“That’s correct,” Bud said.
“Were you able to access it?” Spencer asked.
“No. But a Neil Bradford called shortly after we recovered it. I answered it. Bradford sounds like a young kid, and he says that he’s her boyfriend.”
Vaughan scribbled down the name and number for Bradford. “Where’s the kid now?”
“He said he was calling from the local high school, and he was worried