Left to Kill (Adele Sharp #4) - Blake Pierce Page 0,16

you Agent Sharp.”

“One other thing,” Adele said. “If you could do me a favor, and I know it’s a big ask, but it will help; could you write out, to the best of your knowledge, your daughter’s itinerary? From the moment she left the US, to when she went missing. Anything you can think of. Where she might’ve traveled to with her friends, any emails she sent from the different places you visited. Hotels, motels, B&Bs. Like I said, I know it’s a lot, but it would help. I’ll have the agent who first contacted you give you my email. You can send it directly to me.”

“Happy to,” said Mr. Johnson, a slight strain to his voice.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then Adele bit her lip and, before she could stop herself, a spurt of what she was feeling internally made itself known to the room. “I’ll find who did this. I promise you,” she said, her voice strained all of a sudden. “I’ll find who did this. Your daughter deserves that… At the very least—I’ll figure it out. All right? I know it’s scary, being far away. Feeling like you can’t help. But just know, I… I’ve been there. And I’ll find them. I promise.”

This sudden leak in the dam of emotions seemed to prompt a similar reaction on the other end of the phone. Adele heard someone crying quietly in the background before Mr. Johnson spoke in a gruff voice. “A bold promise, Agent Sharp. I half believe you mean it.”

“I do.”

“Good evening, Agent. Godspeed.”

They bid their farewells, and Adele lowered her phone, allowing the grieving couple to shut the line first and end the call.

“Anything?” John asked. He’d grabbed a bag of chips from the vending machine, but mercifully had waited to open the packet before the phone call ended. Now, though, before Adele answered, her phone downturned, he opened the crinkling bag.

“Nothing,” she said, over the sound of munching chips. She breathed through her nose, calming herself as best she could. Then refocused. The case came first. Promises meant nothing without procedure. “Nothing new, at least. It was usual for them to split up from each other. I don’t know. We may have to speak with some of her friends. We’ll see.”

“Usual for her to go missing for five months?” said John. “Something happened—something out of the ordinary. But what?”

Adele nodded. “That’s where we come in.”

She pocketed her phone, adjusted her sleeves, and then move toward the door.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Adele sat at the small table in her airport motel room. John was across from her, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen, sifting through the files open on his computer. He’d taken his sweater off and wore only a tight, black T-shirt. It introduced itself in interesting ways across his muscled form. Adele far preferred watching him than the content on her screen.

“Anything?” she asked, still watching him. John looked over, and she glanced sharply away, swallowing as she did and pretending she’d simply been scanning the little kitchen.

She dutifully returned her attention to her screen and her eyes glazed as she flicked through the various files and records Agent Marshall had given them access to. For now, the young agent was helping organize a manhunt in the Black Forest. But Adele had wanted to first look into other missing persons.

“Surprising amount,” John said. “Here’s a fellow named Henry Walker. Went missing two years ago. Another one, Cynthia Davis, missing last year. Both of them Americans.” He raised his eyebrows significantly. He continued, “Another one named Pierre Costa. French fellow. Went missing three years ago. Two more girls, went missing at the same time. Both last year.”

“How many of them were found again?” Adele asked, glancing over the lip of her laptop. This time, she didn’t examine the tight shirt or his long, proportioned form. John’s eyes found hers, and he held her gaze. His next words jarred all thoughts of her partner from her mind. “Three of them were found. Two with bullets in the back of their head. One at the bottom of a ravine, looks like a hiking accident.”

Adele gnawed on the corner of her lip. “We’re not looking for anyone who’s been found. Just focus on the ones who are missing. Tell me how many you see.”

John sniffed, and there was a rapid clicking sound. He continued to cycle through the files. For her part, Adele paid closer attention to the details of the few names she’d already found in the database. All