“I’ve got my team looking at that cot frame more closely,” Ed said. “Under better lighting, we may be able to see more. I did find what she used to scratch her name, though.” He held out a plastic bag. “A chip of broken tooth.”
Luke’s brows lifted. “Resourceful girl.”
“Let’s hope she stays that way,” Chase said. “Do we have anything on the girl who got away? What’s her name? Where is she from?”
“Her first name starts with M,” Luke said. “That’s all we were able to get. She’d just woken up from surgery and has a breathing tube, so she can’t talk. We submitted her prints and photo to NCMEC. So far, no hits, but it’s only been a few hours. Worst case, we wait until tomorrow to get the rest of her name.”
“Good,” Chase said. “Pete, what did the fire investigator say?”
“He’s still sifting through the wreckage, but he found traces of accelerant. He hadn’t found the detonator as of about twenty minutes ago. When he does, he’ll call me.”
“How’s Zach Granger?” Luke asked, and was relieved when Pete smiled.
“They saved his eye. He may still have some vision loss. We won’t know for a few days. The rest of the team has some cuts and bruises, but we’re all cleared for duty.”
“At least we got some good news,” Chase said. “ Nancy?”
“The bomb squad had just arrived at Mansfield ’s when I got here,” Nancy said. “If they rigged both houses to blow, we’ll have the device to study. Hopefully our arsonist left some kind of signature. If we find the arsonist, we just follow the money.”
Chase held up his crossed fingers and turned to Chloe. “And you?”
“I’ve got the warrant in process for Garth Davis’s phone records. I can hold him till Monday, tops. I’ll ask for remand, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“I’ll put somebody on Davis the minute he’s released,” Chase promised.
“Not Germanio,” Chloe said darkly. “Chase, y’gotta stop your guys from picking up the phone and hitting redial unless they have a phone warrant.”
Chase winced. “Again?”
“Yeah. You have to make him stop. Especially the phones in Davis ’s office. Davis is a lawyer. He could have been talking to a client and we’d be hit with a dismissal based on violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. I’m serious, Chase. Fix this.”
“I will. You have my word, Chloe.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “I checked out the name Germanio gave me. Kira Laneer.”
“Was she a stripper?” Luke asked dryly.
“Not in recent years, but I’m still betting she was in her misspent youth. She’s thirty-four, makes about twenty-five grand a year, and drives a brand new Mercedes. Her car loan was cosigned by Garth Davis. The loan came from Davis Bank in Dutton at well below the going interest rate. She might know something.”
“Does she know where Garth’s wife went?” Luke asked. “Because right now that’s what I want to know. I checked the airlines and there were no tickets sold to Davis ’s wife or kids and their minivan isn’t in their garage, so I’m assuming wherever she went, she drove there. She contacted Davis ’s sister once, maybe she will again. I’ll find out.”
“Why is Garth Davis’s wife so important?” Ed asked.
“Because Davis knows about a cabin Granville had access to thirteen years ago,” Luke said. “They used it for one of the rapes when they had to find a new location.”
Ed’s brows went up. “And why is the cabin so important?”
“Because Granville had a mentor thirteen years ago. Someone who was teaching him to manipulate others, to control their responses. The cabin’s owner could be a link to the mentor. Davis won’t give up that information until he sees his kids.”
“You think this mentor is his partner?” Nancy asked.
“Maybe.” Luke shrugged. “Either way, it’s the best we’ve got right now.”
“What about Granville’s wife?” Pete asked. “She’s still in the wind.”
“I checked the airports for her, too, but she hasn’t taken any planes,” Luke said. “Chase, let’s get photos of Mrs. Granville to all the bus stations.”
“Daniel grew up in Dutton,” Chloe said. “Maybe he knows about this cabin.”
“He’s still unconscious, isn’t he?” Pete asked.
“Sedated actually. But his sister might know,” Luke said. “I’ll ask her.”
Chase nodded. “Sounds like we have a plan. Let’s-”
“Wait,” Ed said. “What about Mack O’Brien?”
Chase frowned. “He’s dead. Daniel killed him.”
Luke drew a breath. “Oh my God, you’re right, Ed. Remember, Mack O’Brien found out about the rape club because he stole his brother’s journals from Jared’s widow. We never found where Mack hid the journals. Jared’s widow told Daniel that he wrote about each rape in detail. What if he also wrote about the one night they went to the cabin? What if those journals have the same information Garth Davis refuses to tell us?”
Chase smiled, a genuine smile for the first time all night. “Find them.” He pointed to Pete. “You find Davis ’s wife, just in case we don’t find those journals. She had to have left a trail. Nancy, you get back to Mansfield ’s and as soon as the bomb squad disables the detonator, you search that house from top to bottom. Ed, keep searching the bunker. Nate, you’d be helping us a lot if you could track Angel.”
“And I’ll interview Beardsley again,” Luke said. “He might remember something now that he’s had a chance to recover.”
“Then let’s go. Be back here tomorrow at eight a.m. And be careful.”
Chapter Seven
Atlanta , Friday, February 2, 10:15 p.m.
That’s her, Rocky thought, relieved she’d come a little early. The shift didn’t change for a while. Nursey must have left early and her step was brisk as she walked toward her car. Not the step of a woman who’d just committed her first murder and not a good sign at all. Rocky was now responsible for making sure this nurse killed the girl. It was a test, she knew. If she succeeded, she’d earn her way back into Bobby’s good graces.
She pulled next to the nurse and slowed to match the woman’s pace. “Excuse me.”
“Not interested,” the nurse snapped.
“Yes, you are. Bobby sent me.”
The nurse stopped abruptly and turned, fear in her eyes. But no guilt. Rocky sighed. “You didn’t do it, did you?”
The nurse stiffened. “Not exactly.”
“What does that mean, not exactly?”
Desperate fury flared in the woman’s eyes. “It means I didn’t kill her,” she hissed.
“Get in.” Rocky drew the pistol from her pocket and pointed it. “Draw a breath to scream and it will be your last,” she said calmly, even though her heart was pounding. Please get in. Please don’t make me shoot. The nurse obeyed, shaking visibly, and Rocky let herself breathe.
“Are you going to kill me?” the woman whispered hoarsely.
“Well, that depends. Start by telling me exactly what ‘not exactly’ means.”
The nurse stared straight ahead. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill her. But I made sure she wouldn’t talk to anyone else.”
“Else? What do you mean, anyone else?” Shit.
“She had two visitors tonight. A man and a woman.”
Bailey and Beardsley. Damn that Granville. Rocky had had no idea he’d brought them to the bunker until Bobby’d confronted her with it-and her lie. You said they were dead. You said you were sure. You lied to me. This girl could ruin us all.
She’d thought fast, but her lie that she had checked but simply missed the girl’s thready pulse hadn’t been good enough. Rocky resisted the urge to waggle her jaw. Bobby had hit her hard. Her jaw wasn’t broken, but it throbbed like a bitch.