The chief grunted, which was his fallback answer to most everything. The skeleton will go to the ME for a preliminary workup, and then well let Wyatt have the skull. Maybe we can get a recognizable face from it.
Tucker stuck his hands in his pockets. Fitz said there was no way to reconstruct a face from a skull.
Fitz also wasnt a big fan of blood-spatter trajectories and DNA. If it wasnt a fingerprint, he didnt want to know about it, Parry said with uncharacteristic asperity. And I wish you guys would get off the Fitz kick already. You know as well as I do that he was a pain in the ass and long past retirement. Yeah, he cleared a hell of a lot of cases, but he was a damned dinosaur. You should be kissing these girls butts for bringing in new techniques, not bitching because they do things differently. If they didnt, I wouldnt have hired them!
The chief kept his voice low so they wouldnt be overheard, but there was no question that he was serious.
And knowing that the chief had a valid point, Tucker felt a low burn of shame. But, Chief
No buts. I want you with me on this. Parry leveled a finger at Tucker. If you lead, the others will follow. I want you to give those women a break, particularly Wyatt.
Tucker shifted uneasily. I dont have anything against Wyatt.
The captain grunted. Baloney. You glare any time youre within fifty feet of her, and you do a damn good job of not letting that happen too often. Since youre usually a pretty level guy, I figure theres one of two reasons for that. Either youre hot for her or you hate her guts. Which is it?
The chiefs question hung on the air between them as the cold day dimmed toward a colder dusk. Tucker hid the winceor tried toand said, Neither. Im just not sure shes the right cop for the job. Shes awfully young and tiny, delicate, breakable to be in charge of evidence collection.
Shes older than you were when you took the oath, McDermott. She has eight years on the job in Tecumseh, and more training than Fitz ever bothered to get. Parry shot him a look. So whats your real problem with her?
Knowing he wasnt going to win, Tucker set his teeth. No problem, Chief.
Good, Parry said in a voice that told Tucker he didnt believe a word of it. Then you wont mind working with her on this case. Youll be good togetheryou see the big picture while she focuses on the details.
Damn, Tucker thought. He shouldve seen this coming a mile away. He shifted uncomfortably. I dont think thats such a good idea.
Well, I do, and thats whats important, isnt it? Though Parrys voice remained quiet, his slate-blue eyes held a hint of steel in their depths. I need her at the hospital to interview the girl. Go with her. Now a hint of frustration, of worry worked its way into the chiefs expression. Im not doing this to ride your ass, McDermott. I need the team working together, and right now its not. If were not working together, we might not find this guy in time. Edgy concern snapped in his tone. We might not find the other two girls in time.
Tucker felt it, too. The sense that an invisible timetable had been moved up by the kidnappers mocking note. Was it simply a taunt, or did it mean something else?
Hell, he didnt know. And damned if the chief wasnt rightas usual. The task force needed to work together, not against itself. So Tucker nodded grudgingly. Okay, Ill do it.
Of course you will, Parry said. Its an order.
ALISSA WAS STOWING her gear in Cassies truckand trying to hide the winceswhen a strong arm grabbed her pack and Tuckers voice said, Youre riding with me.
She hated that, even after an afternoon as physically and emotionally bruising as this one, her pulse still kicked into overdrive at his nearness. Because of it, and because of the pounding aches in her back and neck, she turned and scowled at him. Youre kidding.
Nope. He didnt look happy about it, either. Chief Parry wants us together on this one. He wants us to go to the hospital and talk to Lizzie.
Thats where Im headed, she snapped, but not with you.
Sorry. He slung her pack over his shoulder and gestured towards his vehiclea black SUV with oversize tires and mud flaps emblazoned with the letters BCCPD. Chiefs orders. He wants his team working together on this.
Oh. She tried not to slump as she understood. She, Cass and Maya hadnt been able to make friends, so the chief was going to do it for them. Damn, she hated being manipulated, hated that she hadnt been able to work it out on her own. Worse, she hated that part of her was excited at the idea of partnering with McDermott, even temporarily. Knowing it spelled trouble all the way around, she shook her head. I can drive myself to the hospital and hook up with you later. Theres no reason for us both to goshe might not even be conscious yet.
True, but orders are orders. He slung her pack in the vehicle and left the passenger door ajar.
Fine. She climbed stiffly into the SUV.
As they drove out of Bear Creek State Forest, she felt the sore spots burn and pound, felt her muscles stiffen up. Shed gone from being trapped under hundreds of pounds of rocks and dirt directly to working the scene. Shed refused to go to the hospital with Lizzie because the other victims needed her more than shed needed medical attention.
Now, a soft bed and some aspirin was sounding real good.
When McDermott blasted the heat, she expelled a grateful sigh, let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes.
And opened them right up again, because the first thing shed seen in her tired brain was a small patch of yellow flashlight beam and a wall of dirt six inches from her face. She shuddered at the memory.
Ive got the heat as high as itll go.
She glanced at him, then away, trying to ignore how intimate the area seemed as the dusk faded to night. I didnt say anything.
And she didnt say anything else until he pulled up in front of the small house shed leased for a year, with the option to buy if everything worked out with the BCCPD.
She stared at the lit front entryway, battling the urge to bolt inside, jump into bed and wish the whole day away. I thought we were going to the hospital to interview Lizzie.
That was where she wanted to go. Needed to go. Not just to do her job, but also to reassure herself that the girl was alive. To thank her, ironically, for being human company beneath the ice and snow. If it hadnt been for the feeling of Lizzies ankle beneath her fingertips, Alissa thought she might have lost it completely.
We are, he said. But you need to take a shower first. Or at least change clothes and wash your face. Youll terrify the poor kid if you show up looking like that.
His voice held a tone of censure, and something else. Something darker and more dangerous, that sent a skitter of awareness shooting through her body.
With a start, she realized he hadnt asked for directions. Hed known where she lived.
She wondered what it meant, and then decided probably nothing. He was a cop. He knew his neighborhoods.
Yeah. Youve got a point. And, God, would it feel good to soak her bones in the Jacuzzi tub that had sold her on the house. Since there wasnt time for a bath, shed settle for a fast shower, but itd help.
She pushed open the door and stifled a groan as her weary legs went rubbery. Since there was no way she was asking McDermott for help, she forced some strength into her body and shuffled into the house. All the way, she was too aware of him following, not close enough to crowd, but close enough to catch her if she fell.
She felt his presence there in the little prickles of electricity on her skin, in the subtle warmth in her core, and was reminded of another time, when theyd followed each other out of the club with no other thought than to get naked, damn the consequences.
Only, he hadnt damned the consequences. Hed bailed the moment hed realized she was a cop and a coworker. Part of her was grateful hed had the strength. Part of her still yearned for the sizzle. And the whole of her was ashamed that shed nearly given in to something as pointless as lust with a man whoaccording to PD rumoralready had one foot out the door.
Been there, done that. Dont need to do it again, no matter how hot he is, she told herself.
Inside the house, she waved him to the kitchen and ignored the oddness of seeing him standing there, in her space. Food and drinks are in the fridgetake whatever appeals. Guest bath is at the end of the hall. Ill be five minutes, no more.
When shed picked the house, shed loved the convenience of having everything on one floor. Now it seemed like a disadvantage. A vulnerability. Even once she was inside the master bath, with its Jacuzzi tub and sybaritic adjoining lounge, she felt exposed.
She stripped naked and jumped into the shower fast, hissing at the sting of water on bruises and scrapes, then nearly moaning as the warmth eased some of the pain. But she didnt dally. She had five minutes to shower and dress and get the hell on the road to the hospital.
She had a witness to interview. A murderer to sketch.
Two missing girls to find.
Chapter Three
At the Hawthorne Memorial Hospital, Alissa and McDermott were IDd twice, once at the main desk and once again as they approached the private room where Lizzie lay. Though the kidnapper had left her as bait, there was no telling whether or not hed try to get her back. Frankly there was no telling much of anything yet.
The whole case was clear as mud, Alissa thought, as she followed McDermott down the hall. The kidnapper appeared to have a plan, but what was it? Would the other girls reappear one at a time? Or were they already dead? Was he using the girls to get to the policeas the canyon attack suggestedor vice versa?
At the door to Lizzies hospital room, Alissa held up a hand. Im going in alone.
No way. McDermott scowled, and the overhead lights darkened his deep-brown eyes to nearly black. Remember what Parry said? Were working together on this.
But he didnt say we needed to be joined at the hip, did he? She lifted her chin and ignored the fine buzz that ran across her skin at his nearness. Im going in alone. Im betting shell be more relaxed with a woman than a man, and the more she relaxes, the more Ill be able to get out of her.
Not waiting for him to argue, she opened the door, stepped through and shut it in his face. Then she breathed through her mouth in an exaggerated sigh of stress. Frustration.
She wished she knew Chief Parry better, wished she knew whether it was safe to complain to him. Because there was no doubt in her mind that she and McDermott working together was a bad idea. They were just going to annoy each other.
Distract each other.
You okay?
The question startled her, because it came in a very familiar voice. Maya!
Who else did you expect? The dark-haired beauty unfolded herself from a chair beside the bed, which held the blond pixie that Alissa knew from her picture.
Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Walsh, taken from the MovieMogul parking lot by a man in a light-colored van. And now, miraculously, home safe.
Or so Alissa hoped.
Almost afraid to ask, she glanced at Maya. Is she?
She seems generally okaybumps, bruises, exposure and hypothermia, but nothing else. The BCCFDs forensic psychologistand counselortouched the sleeping girls wrist. Shes been in and out. Her parents and younger brother have been here for the past few hours. I just sent them off for a snack and a walk.
Mayas long-lashed eyes were dark with sympathy. Alissa knew the family couldnt be in better hands. Maya had a way with victims and suspects, just as Alissa had a way with scenes, and Cassie with evidence.
The three made a strong unit, stronger even than the retired Fitz, who had left before they arrived, not bothering to help ease their transition onto the force. Alissa gritted her teeth. Well, to hell with him. To hell with men in general. She was here to do a job, not make new friends.
Can you intercept the parents? she asked Maya. Id like some time alone with her.
Sure. Ill speak with them about easing her back into her normal life and dealing with the aftermath. Theyve asked about counseling, so Im hopeful that well be able to help her move on. The warning in Mayas eyes was velvet gentleness over a core of steel. Dont mess up her head.
But how could Alissa promise that? She needed the young womanlittle more than a child, really, she was so small and fragile lookingto remember things she would probably rather forget. In the long run, it would help herbut the short run was going to hurt.
Ill do my best, Alissa answered, though they both knew it wasnt really an answer at all.
Maya, being Maya, smiled and touched her arm in passing. I know you will, Lissa. She turned back with her hand on the door. You want me to send one of the boys to sit outside the door and make sure you have your privacy?
Already taken care of, Alissa said. McDermotts outside. Then she held a finger to her lips and mouthed, and hes probably listening.
Lord knows she would be, under the same circumstances.
Maya raised her eyebrows but didnt comment beyond a cautious, Okay. Ill be back to check on you in twenty.
Good enough. Alissa watched as Maya pushed through the door. Sure enough, McDermott was right outside, not even bothering to pretend he wasnt eavesdropping.
She glared and he flicked an unrepentant half-smile. Then the door swung shut between them, separating them some, but not enough. Irritated and faintly anxious, she forced her mind back on to the job. On to the girl, the victim who had seen the face of her kidnapper.
Or so Alissa hoped.
She pulled out her pad and turned back to the bed, intending to sit with Lizzie until she woke up. But the girls eyes were open and wary. I already told them I dont remember anything, Lizzie said, voice faintly petulant, as though Alissa was interrupting her.
Okay. Alissa sat and settled her sketch pad in her lap. When she lifted the hard charcoal pencil she used for initial blocking work, she saw the girls eyes follow. Well just chat a little until your parents come back. No pressure.
Instead of tarting off or repeating her denial, Lizzie surprised Alissa.
The girl began to cry.
Huge tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over, and she rolled to her side and hugged her knees to her chest beneath the thin hospital blanket. I th-thought he was going to kill me. He said he was going to, that I wouldnt have any warning. That one night hed just do it, maybe while I was sleeping. She swallowed a racking sob. I t-tried not to sleep much after that, but it was so cold. So dark. Once, I woke up and he was standing over me. He had a knife. She burrowed her face into the pillow and howled, straining her body into the mattress as though she wished it would swallow her up. Then he put me in that cave. He drugged me. I was out of it, but I knew what hed done. I knew there was a bomb. I thought I was going to die when you came. I thought we were both dead.