"I'll grant you that I'm emotionally involved," Thorpe said. "We're talking about a seventeen-year-old girl disappearing."
"They disappear every day," Parker said.
"That's pretty cold," Thorpe said.
"No, it's pretty realistic," Parker said.
"Listen," Thorpe said. "You were the one giving me lectures in Louisiana about family and how important it is."
"Point taken," Parker said. "Speaking of which, how are—"
"Could you do some checking for me on this?" Thorpe cut her off. "Maybe just call a few of the families of some of the missing girls and find out what they think? I'm leaving for Europe and I won't be able to do that."
"I thought your list was appropriated and you're not allowed in the computer anymore."
"True on both accounts, but I have a friend who backed up the list onto a disk. I can send it to you over modem; rather, the guy here in the office with me can send it. What do I need to be able to do that?"
"My E-mail address," Parker said. She rattled it off and Thorpe copied it down. There was a short pause, then her voice came back. "I've been thinking about this since the last time we talked," Parker said as Thorpe slid the address over to Takamura. "Why did you limit your search to Germany?"
"Because that's where Terri Dublowski disappeared," Thorpe said. "I figured if something happened to her there, then the someone who did the something was there too."
"At that time, yes," Parker said. "But why was Terri in Germany?"
"Her dad was stationed there," Thorpe said. He immediately saw what she was getting at. "You think the killer might be in the army, or even be a family member."
"It's possible," Parker said. "If that's the case, there might be some disappearances here in the States around military posts. If the killer is military, then he's moving just like his victims. In fact, I think it's a pretty intriguing possibility," Parker said.
"Too bad I can't run the search again," Thorpe said, "and do it stateside."
"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Parker said. "I've got the list on my computer. I'll get back to you. Out here."
"Out." Thorpe put the phone down, then looked at Takamura, who was eyeing him with a mixture of unease and anticipation after sending the data to Parker.
Thorpe tapped his computer. "You said some people consider you a genius on these things, right?"
"I know computers," Takamura conceded.
"Can you beat whoever's put this thing in the system and do another search for me?"
Takamura pulled his glasses off and nervously cleaned them on his BDU shirt. "Oh, I don't know. I suppose, but I'd have to do it in a way that the system doesn't know it's getting beat, and that makes it harder than just simply bypassing the—"
Thorpe held up a hand. "Can you do it?"
"I might be able to."
"Will you?"
Takamura pursed his lips.
"I'll take responsibility," Thorpe said. "If Kinsley finds out, I'll tell her I did it."
"She won't believe that," Takamura said.
"Okay, then I'll tell her I threatened to kill you if you didn't do what I told you to. She would believe that," Thorpe said.
"You're not serious, are you?" Takamura asked, edging his seat back.
"No, I'm not serious. Geez, Takamura, why'd you join the army? I've never seen anyone who looks so out of place in a set of BDUs."
"For the college money," Takamura said. "I want to go back and get my Ph.D."
"Well, live a little," Thorpe said. "Take it to the edge, you might like it."
"It would be a challenge." Takamura was still playing with his glasses.
"That's the spirit!" Thorpe said. He tapped the other man on his chest, on the set of cloth wings sown there. "You're airborne, Takamura. I know you crave a little excitement now and then. You could have served in a leg unit, not airborne. You volunteered to be here. That tells me something."
"Well," Takamura said, "I suppose I could try."
Thorpe watched the door as Takamura worked. He had no idea what the other man was doing. He knew that everyone else — Kinsley, the CID colonel and Parker — thought he was chasing a ghost. But there was one thing that made Thorpe want to push this, and that was the sergeant major. Dublowski and he had been through a lot over the years and he owed the man to give it his best, even if it looked like there was nothing to pursue.
The bottom line as far as Thorpe was concerned was that Terri Dublowski was somewhere, whether living or dead, and he meant to find her. This was the best avenue he could explore right now.
He also wasn't satisfied with either the CID colonel's explanations or Kinsley's reaction this morning. Especially the latter. Why had she changed so abruptly? It was out of character. Thorpe didn't have any idea why he was feeling suspicious, but his experiences over the past two decades had taught him to trust those instincts.
After three hours, Takamura was still at work. Thorpe went out and got them both some food from the Burger King on post and brought it back. They went into the afternoon with Takamura still on the computer. The only thing Thorpe could compare it to was trying to sneak up on an enemy in the field. It took a long, slow, cautious approach.
The phone rang and Thorpe picked it up. "SOCOM G-l, this line unsecure."
"Thorpe?"
"Yes."
"It's Parker."
"Yes?"
"I think you might have something. I used a couple of my assistants to contact the families to do an initial screening. We managed to get hold of eighteen of the twenty-four. Six of the girls did run away and the families heard from them subsequent to the CID investigation."
"Of the other twelve, I think there are five that are worth a real hard look. I talked to one or both of the parents and their situation is just like Dublowski's. They insist their daughter wouldn't run away. They say she just went out one night, off post, and simply never came back. No packing of bags, no withdrawal of money. Just disappeared and there's been no sign since. What's also interesting is that all five, in addition to Terri, have disappeared in the last couple of months."
"Do you have the six's name? Date and location of disappearance?" Thorpe asked.
Parker rattled them off and Thorpe copied them down.
Mary Gibbons, Kelly Barracks, July 1999.
Leslie Marker, Panzer Kaserne, Aug. 1999.
Catherine Walker, Kelley Barracks, Oct. 1999.
Terri Dublowski, Patch Barracks, Nov. 1999.
Patricia Mahoney, Ludwisberg-Komwestheim Military Subcommunity, Sept. 1999.
Kirsten Welch, Pattonville Housing Area, Sept. 1999.
Thorpe stared at the list, running through his brain where each of those sites were. "Damn, Parker, do you realize all six of those are grouped around Stuttgart? Within fifty miles?"
"I know," Parker replied. "If they are all clustered together, that makes the possibility of one person being responsible for their disappearance much more likely. I think you've stumbled across something important."
"I've got to go to Europe day after tomorrow," Thorpe said. "I'll check these names out over there. There's a warrant officer working in the office here — named Takamura. He's going to do some more checking on the computer, looking over CON-US disappearances. I'll have him call you if he comes up with anything."
"He can tell me in person," Parker said. "I'm coming down from D.C. in two days. I think this is worth pursuing and I have other business to take care of there at Bragg."
"All right," Thorpe said. "I'll give you Sergeant Major Dublowski's phone number and you can link up with him. And Takamura's."
When he was done he walked around the desks to look over Takamura's shoulder. Thorpe didn't have a clue what was on the screen as Takamura scrolled through the program he had written. He told Takamura about Colonel Parker and that he should tell her everything when she arrived."