“Yeah, it, uh, looks as though it was placed postmortem.” He winced.
Blessing and Charlie both made a stink face while Liliana put both of her hands in prayer position at her chest.
Genesis just stared at Jonah with a compassionate expression.
“There was a series of numbers and a letter on the paper.”
“Can you share it with us? Or is that confidential?” I asked.
“No, Ryan and the Director think it’s some type of clue to where he is or perhaps it connects to a past or future victim. We wanted to see if the numbers made any sense to you. Keep in mind this is all extremely confidential. The FBI doesn’t make a habit of sharing case details with civilians but in all honesty, we’re at a dead end. This is pretty much all we have until we get her toxicology report and I doubt they’ll find anything but alcohol since we know she was at the pool hall.”
I shrugged. “Lay it on us.”
Jonah pulled out his phone and read the number. “A121094.”
“That’s it?” Blessing asked. “No dashes or spaces? The numbers ran all together like that?”
“Yeah. We’re thinking maybe it’s an address or an ID of some kind. We’ve already checked drivers’ licenses and license plates and have a list of addresses that have variations of the numbers. Boots are on the ground knocking on doors now, but I don’t think he’d be so obvious as to give us an address or a license number. My gut says this is a clue to the next victim or someone he already has.”
Liliana closed her eyes and started praying under her breath in Spanish.
“That’s whack, leaving numbers on a sheet of paper in a dead woman’s mouth.” Blessing gagged and covered her mouth breathing deeply through her nose.
“Since this guy is obsessed with you and Simone, that number has to relate somehow,” Charlie said. She reached for a crayon and a blank coloring page on Rory’s book. “What’s the number again?”
“A121094,” Jonah repeated, and she wrote it down.
She wrote it down a few more times and ripped the scraps of the page and gave a piece to each one of us. “My theory is, keep looking at it. Let your mind wander, then do it again. Maybe it will make sense at some point. It has to be obvious. I mean this guy doesn’t know that much about Simone. Maybe he knows more about you?” Charlie continued. “My guess is it’s super simple and the odds are you’re thinking too far outside the box.” She shrugged and tapped the ripped piece she’d kept.
“It would be great if you all could think on it. Go over it with your mother and Addison too. I’ll share it with my folks and her parents to see if the connection is on mine or Helen’s side instead of yours.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Sonia stood up. “I have to go, Quinn is waiting for me. I have a press conference to attend about all of this. Would it be possible to talk to Agent Russell, maybe have him speak on the FBI’s behalf?”
Jonah scrubbed his hand across his clean-shaven chin. Another thing he’d tended to before I got up, instead of waking me and having morning nookie. Dammit.
“I don’t know. It’s all hands on deck…”
“We have to address the public. The media is in an absolute tizzy over Simone’s involvement and her being my sister. And according to Quinn, a few of the rag mags have put two and two together about your relationship. There’re photos of you coming and going outside of your home in the same car. They’ve figured out that she is staying at your house and calling the whole thing a tawdry love triangle. Not only does that look bad on you, it looks bad on the FBI.”
“There’s no rule against me falling for a survivor,” Jonah mentioned flatly.
“Aw, honey. A survivor instead of a victim. I like that.” I stood up from my position on the couch and wrapped my arm around his back. “She’s right, though. If something involves Sonia, the press goes nuts. And since I’m the wild child to her prim and proper, it’s some juicy gossip.”
“I’ll talk to my Director and get back to you.”
That appeased Sonia as she nodded, buttoned her blazer, and ran her hand down the sides of her hair. “Excellent. I look forward to hearing from you.”