Daniel closed his eyes. “He was the only father I really ever had.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” His eyes still closed, Daniel frowned. “Fifty-two,” he said, then opened his eyes and Luke saw renewed vitality. “I was seeing the moment Frank died. He’d come to warn me that it was a trap. There was a gunshot and he just slid down my window.”
Luke remembered the bloody streaks on the window. “What’s fifty-two?”
“The boat. I tried to back away, but Mansfield had blocked the road and I crashed and hit my head. For a minute I thought Alex was dead, but she was just stunned. Mansfield made me carry her into the bunker and as we were walking around to the door I saw the boat as it passed. Those numbers were on the bow.”
“There should have been a GA, four numbers, then two letters.”
Daniel closed his eyes, concentrating, then shook his head. “Sorry, I only remember the fifty-two. I only glanced at it. It was moving really fast.”
“And you were seeing stars from the crash. This is the closest we’ve come so far.”
Daniel sagged back against the pillows. “Good.”
“I’ve just got one more and then I’ll go. Does the name Rocky mean anything?”
Daniel pondered, then shook his head again. “I’m sorry, but no. Why?”
“We think that’s the name of Granville’s partner.”
“There are no pictures of the partner in Mansfield’s Sweetpea file?”
“Not that I saw, but there are five hard drives to search, so we might find one.” Luke stood. “Get some rest. That nurse outside looks like she’s going to take off my head.”
“Wait.” Daniel swallowed. “I need you to tell me what’s going on with Susannah.”
“What do you mean?” Luke asked warily.
“Not like that.” His jaw tightened. “Although you make her one of your affairs and we will speak, and not kindly.”
“Relax, Daniel. Susannah’s made it clear she’s not interested.” Crystal clear.
“But you are?”
Luke considered, then decided he’d been friends with Daniel too long to lie. “I was from the moment I saw her at your parents’ funeral, but not in the way you think.”
“So not as a time-passer?” Daniel asked, very seriously.
“No. She’s been through too much.”
Daniel swallowed. “I know. She told me.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “She did? When?”
Daniel lightly touched the brown stain on his hospital gown. “Before you got here. She told me about her friend Darcy and everything else.”
No, my friend, Luke thought sadly. Not everything. Susannah would not tell Daniel that Simon had brutalized her. “She’s strong, Daniel.”
“Nobody’s that strong. But I know there was more. More she didn’t tell me.” His eyes narrowed. “You know.”
“She’s safe. At this point, that’s all I can tell you.”
“Because you don’t know or because you won’t tell me?”
Luke stood up. “Don’t push it, Daniel, please. Just know that I’m watching over her.”
“Thank you.” His eyes moved and a smile bent his lips. “Mama Papa. You came.”
Luke’s mama came in, her arms opened wide. “I just hear from that nurse that you are awake.” She arched an eyebrow at Luke. “Some people tell their mamas nothing.”
Daniel closed his eyes as Mama hugged him, and the look on his face was one of a man finally warm after months of winter. Luke remembered the yearning in Susannah’s voice as she insisted Jane Doe’s mother loved her and his heart hurt.
“Did you drive yourself, Mama?” Daniel asked, teasing reproach in his tone.
“No.” Mama sat in the chair, her huge purse in her lap. “Leo drove me.” She looked up at Luke with a frown. “Your refrigerator was disgusting, Luka.”
Luke’s lips twitched. Obviously Leo had called in the Special Forces to deal with his kitchen. “I know. Did you clean it?”
“I did. And stocked it with food.” Her frown became a sly look. “So if you bring home any visitors, she will not think you a pig.”
Luke’s smile faded. He knew what she insinuated and he knew it was unlikely to ever occur. “Thanks, Mama.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you later.”
Atlanta, Saturday, February 3, 3:30 p.m.
“I hate that this girl’s parents are going to see her this way,” Felicity said fiercely.
Luke forced himself to look at Kasey Knight’s grotesquely gaunt face. Her cheekbones were razor sharp, nearly protruding through her skin. A bullet hole was centered in her forehead. “They insisted. She’s been missing two years. It’s closure.”
“Then let’s get this over with,” she snapped, but he took no offense because her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Go get the parents.”
In the lobby both parents sprang to their feet. “We’ve been waiting, dreading this call for two years.” Mr. Knight’s throat worked as he gripped his wife’s hand. “We need to know what happened to our daughter.”
Mrs. Knight was dangerously pale. “Please,” she whispered. “Take us to her.”
“This way.” Luke led them back to the viewing room. It was decorated in warm colors and comfortable furniture, small details aimed at easing the ordeal of grieving relatives. “Does your wife need a doctor?” Luke murmured as Mrs. Knight sank onto the sofa, her body trembling. She looked as though she might pass out any minute.
Mr. Knight shook his head. “No,” he said hoarsely. “We just need this to be over.”
Luke wanted to prepare them, but knew there was no preparation for what they were about to endure. “This girl doesn’t look like the picture of Kasey you gave the police.”
“It’s been two years. Kids change.”
“It’s… more than that. She only weighs about eighty pounds, but her height is five-eight, the same as your daughter was when she disappeared.”
Mrs. Knight stiffened. “Kasey weighed one-thirty.”
“I know, ma’am,” Luke said gently, and he could see they understood.
Mr. Knight swallowed audibly. “Was she sexually…” His voice broke.
“Yes.” Multiple times, but Luke didn’t say that. These parents were in enough pain.
“Agent Papadopoulos,” Mr. Knight asked hoarsely, “what did they do to my baby?”
Vile, unspeakable things. But Luke didn’t say that either. “You’ve asked to see her face and the ME will comply with your wishes, but please, focus on other parts of her body. Her hands, her feet, any birthmarks or scars.” He knew the waiting was making it worse, so he tapped the intercom button. “We’re ready, Dr. Berg.”
From the other side of the glass, Felicity opened the curtains. Mr. Knight’s eyes were tightly closed. “Mr. Knight,” Luke said softly. “We’re ready when you are.”
Clenching his teeth, Knight opened his eyes, and the strangled whimper that emerged from his throat broke Luke’s heart. Felicity had covered the torso with a smaller sheet, affording the victim as much decency as she could. And sparing the parents as much pain as she could.
“Oh, Kasey,” Knight whispered. “Baby. Why didn’t you listen to us?”
“How do you know this is your daughter, sir?”
Knight barely breathed. “There’s a scar on her knee from when she fell off a bike. And her middle toe was longer than the others. She had a mole on her left foot, too.”
Luke nodded to Felicity and she pulled the curtains. Mr. Knight knelt so that he met his wife’s eyes. Tears were running down her face. “It’s Kasey.” He uttered the words on a moan and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him. Her silent tears became anguished sobs and she slid from the sofa to kneel with her husband. Her sobs became his and together they rocked, leaning on each other through their pain.
“I’ll wait in the hall,” Luke said roughly. The Knights reminded him of his own parents. Married nearly forty years, they were each other’s bulwark, able to withstand every crisis that had come their way. Luke loved them fiercely, but at the same time envied them. Now, listening to the muted sounds of suffering coming from inside the viewing room, Luke pitied the Knights, but envied them as well. In all the world, Luke had never found a woman he trusted enough to allow her to see him like that, defenses down, soul bared. He’d never met a woman who he thought would understand.