Her thin frame shuddered with the force of her tears.
Alissas throat closed, and she reached out to touch the girls scraped-raw ankle, the only part of Lizzie she could reach from her seat.
God, she hated this. She wanted to gather the young woman in her arms and tell her not to think about it. Instead she forced her voice calm and asked about the place where Lizzie had been held. About the man, whod always stayed in the shadows. About what hed said, what hed done. What hed looked like.
Lizzie cried as she talked. The words came pouring out of her as though shed wanted to talk about it, needed to talk about it, even though shed said she remembered nothing.
But she remembered, all right. She remembered plenty, though maybe not enough. As she talked, Alissa sketched furiously, trusting her microcorder to catch all of the girls descriptions for later analysis. The images engraved themselves on her heart, wounding her with fear for the others, for herself.
After ten minutes Lizzies words slowed. After fifteen, they stopped altogether and the girl slipped back to sleep, her body shutting down when her soul couldnt handle any more.
Instead of being frustrated, Alissa was grateful. She wasnt sure she could have handled more, herself. So she sighed, swiped her sleeve across both cheeks where sympathetic tears had dried and pushed to her feet. The outer door moved slightly as she crossed the room, but by the time she opened it, McDermott was leaning against the far wall, looking like hed been there all along.
She jerked her head towards the exit. Come on. Lets talk to the task force.
Instead of moving right away, he stared at her, dark eyes intense, until she raised a hand to her cheek, expecting to find that shed missed a tear. Then he uncoiled and crossed to her. He stopped a breath away, and the warmth of his body eased the tension inside her chest even as it tightened another, lower down.
He started to say something and stopped. Started again and stopped. Then he blew out a breath and said simply, If were going to be working together, I suppose you should call me Tucker.
Surprise rattled through the numbness left by her painful sketch session, and she nodded. Thanks. Im Alissa.
Sneaky pleasure warmed her. It wasnt quite acceptance, wasnt quite a pat on the back for how shed handled Lizzie.
But it was a start.
STILL FEELING GUT PUNCHED by what hed overheard of Alissas interview with the rescued girl, Tucker ushered her down the hall toward the exit. He was careful not to touch her, because if he did, he might pull her into his arms and tell her that it was okay, that shed done the right thing by questioning the witness, by keeping her talking.
Hed seen the self-doubt in her eyes, seen what the interview had taken out of her.
They passed a small, intimate waiting area that was painted in soothing blues and golds. The psych specialist, Maya, sat there with Lizzies mother, father and brother, all of whom looked exhausted and haggard but happier than hed seen them in the weeks since the kidnapping.
Tucker nodded as the family stood and filtered back toward the hospital room on Mayas heels, all save for Lizzies father, a shaved-bald patriarch who stank of the cigarettes hed chain-smoked while they waited for news.
Reginald Walsh stopped near Alissa and said in a low voice, I dont care what it takes. I want you to get the bastard. Find him.
A few of the officers had reported having problems with Walsh, who operated used-car lots around the city and seemed to think money should be enough to buy his daughter home. The morning after her kidnapping, hed thrown a chair through the front window of his house when one of the officers had suggested Lizzie might have run away.
Knowing this, Tucker stepped between Walsh and Alissa. Were working on it. You take care of your daughter and your family. Well take care of finding and punishing her kidnapper.
He kept his voice low but stared the guy in his bloodshot eyes. The last thing they needed right now was a vigilante out for justice.
Walsh glared. I dont give a damn about punishing the bastard right now. Not yet. Thatll come later. Right now, I just care about finding those girls for their families. His voice went strangled. For Gods sake, theyre just kids.
He pushed past Tucker, who felt a punch of shame at having misjudged the man. On the heels of shame came fatigue. Hed been up nearly thirty hours without a break, and the last few had been a hell of a ride.
Hey, Tucker. You okay? Alissa asked, concern darkening her blue eyes. A wisp of hair slipped from its twist and brushed across her forehead, making her look soft and vulnerable.
Her use of his first name echoed back to that night, when theyd been Alissa and Tucker, and theyd danced close enough that they might have been inside each others skins. Ever since theyd been reintroduced through the BCCPD, hed been McDermott and shed been Wyatt.
It shouldnt have made a difference. But because it did, and because he was tired and feeling a little mean, he turned away and headed for the exit. Im fine. Come on, lets get out of here.
He didnt need to look to know that she had his back. He could feel her presence like a slow-burning fire in his nerve endings, one that reminded him of his transfer request. Hed be gone as soon as this case was wrapped up, and shed be staying in her roomy, family-friendly house. The house alone should be enough to make him back off.
So how come every time he meant to back off, he seemed to take a step closer?
IT WAS COMPLETELY DARK when Alissa and Tucker made it back to the PD, but most of the task-force members were there, looking tired, haggard, and run-down by too many questions and not enough answers.
Maya hadnt returned from the hospital yet, but Cassie had saved their seats, as usual. Alissa felt a small pang, as though she was abandoning Tucker when he took his customary position against the back wall. Hed been broody and curt during the ride from the hospital, but his mood seemed to have gained a layer of desperation that made her nervous.
It was as though he was reaching the end of his endurance in some way, though she didnt think it was physical. It was more like he was pushing himself to a mental brink.
On a professional level, she didnt think it was good for the case. On a personal level, she wished she could help but knew she didnt have the right to press. Hed made that perfectly clear when hed bailed out of her car that night at the club. Tucker was a no-relationships kind of guy.
Heck, at least hed been honest about it.
She tried to convince herself she was grateful as she took her seat. One look at Cassie turned her thoughts in an entirely new direction. Whats wrong?
Her first unsettling thought was that thered been a breach in the chain of evidence. But the anger in Casss sky-blue eyes seemed more personal than that, the scowl on her face more directed when she said, Trouper is threatening to bring in a new guy, an evidence tech from the FBI, to help me. She stressed the word as if it was poison. I dont need help. Im already doing everything that can be done.
Alissa tried to shift her brain into this new gear, tried to sympathize with Cass, who could be territorial when it came to her lab. Welldoes this guy have access to equipment you dont? Can he get you into the federal databanks more quickly? She took a breath, thought about the blond pixie in the hospital bed and exhaled. I dont think we can let this be about a power struggle. Its about finding the other girls and catching the kidnapper.
Her first unsettling thought was that thered been a breach in the chain of evidence. But the anger in Casss sky-blue eyes seemed more personal than that, the scowl on her face more directed when she said, Trouper is threatening to bring in a new guy, an evidence tech from the FBI, to help me. She stressed the word as if it was poison. I dont need help. Im already doing everything that can be done.
Alissa tried to shift her brain into this new gear, tried to sympathize with Cass, who could be territorial when it came to her lab. Welldoes this guy have access to equipment you dont? Can he get you into the federal databanks more quickly? She took a breath, thought about the blond pixie in the hospital bed and exhaled. I dont think we can let this be about a power struggle. Its about finding the other girls and catching the kidnapper.
Cassie winced and looked faintly ashamed. Youre right. I know youre right, its justthis whole thing has me unsettled. I talked to the new guy, Seth Varitek, on the phone, and I already dont like him. Hes pushy. Hecrowds me. And besides, I hate that it feels like us versus them on this case. If Im protecting my back from the good guys, then whos going to be looking for the bad guy?
Its not that bad, Alissa said, thinking Cassie was overreacting and wondering whether there was more to the story. But before she could ask, Maya slipped in through the back door and Chief Parry stepped to the front of the room, ready to start the meeting.
Good work today, people. Parry looked to the back of the room, where Alissa could feel Tuckers presence like a disturbance in the air. Then the chiefs eyes moved to her and on to the others. Elizabeth Walsh is safe and sound, and has already been through a round of interviews. However he sobered, his eyes going hard both the victim and Officer Wyatt were nearly killed today by an explosive device we presume was set by the kidnapper. We were led to the site by a note addressed to Detective McDermott.
Though the twenty or so cops on the task force already knew the details, a rumbling murmur ran through the room. A slick-haired veteran named Piedmont, who always found reasons to avoid greeting Alissa in the hallway, glanced over at her with less than the usual dose of venom in his glare. Hes playing with us.
Yeah. Hes playing with us. Chief Parry let the silence linger a beat too long before he said, So lets end the game. Lets find him. He gestured to Alissa. Wyatt will start us off with her report.
She felt twenty-plus pairs of eyes on her, felt the bruises on her cheek and chin throb, and forced herself to stand tall. Always before, shed given her report to a sea of glowers or studied disinterest. This time the room felt slightly different. A hair less hostile. Maybe even a little bit ashamed.
A bubble of irony lodged in her throat. Either Chief Parry had succeeded with his plan to partner her with McDermott, or else the best way to catch a break with her new coworkers was to nearly get herself killed on the job.
Whatever. Resolved to follow her own advice to Cassie and focus on the case rather than office politics, Alissa squared her shoulders and made her report. Pendelton is copying a sketch for me. Elizabeth said she fumbled slightly as the memory of the girls sobs tore through her Lizzie was able to give me a partial description of the suspect and the place where she was held. He kept her in a small, single room made of wood. She thought it was one of those prefab sheds, the kind you can get at a garden store.
She could almost feel a collective indrawn breath at the new information. Chief Parry pointed to a pair of homicide detectives. Piedmont. You and Mendoza follow up on that. Get me lists of the local distributors and their customers, especially multiple orders. Maybe well get lucky.
It would be a huge list. But it would be a start.
Alissa glanced at her notes and continued, Lizzie was given unwrapped energy bars and two-liter bottles of diet soda every few days. Which could mean that that her captor wasnt on the premises 24/7. She heard wind and birds, creaking trees. No motor noises or other human beings, though she says that he drugged her at least once. Most important, she could hear the other girls. As of yesterday morning, they were both alive.
A ripple of energy ran through the room at the news. New purpose. Strengthened determination. They had to find those girls.
As for Lizzies captor, Alissa spread her hands, I did my best, but she was understandably distraught. And putting the girl through the description had made her feel faintly slimy, as though some of the evil had rubbed off on them both. There was motion at the back of the room as the door opened and the desk clerk passed a stack of pages to McDermott. Alissa gestured, As youll see from the sketches TuckDetective McDermottis passing around, our suspect is a white male, under six feet tall, with a round head, either bald or wearing a skull cap. Lizzie said he didnt talk much, and when he did, exclusively to threaten her, he pitched his voice in a low growl.
She saw the other officers frowning over her sketch and felt a slide of professional embarrassment. Im sorry its not more detailed. Ill talk with her again tomorrow, and Ill reinterview her friends, the ones who might have seen the guy outside the MovieMogul 10.
But instead of the eye rolls and sneers she half expected, she got nods and eye contact. Tracy Mendoza, Piedmonts partner and another of the less-than-welcoming cops, said, Its more than we had earlier. Thanks.
It wasnt until the rumble of agreement rolled over the room that Alissa realized how uncomfortable shed been since starting work at the BCCPD.
And how much the faintest hint of acceptance meant to her.
She retook her seat on numb legs as Chief Parry called on Cassie to discuss the skeleton and the explosive device, both excavated from the ice tunnel.
The room cooled back to studied indifference or outright hostility as Cassie swaggered up to the front, chipped shoulder firmly in place. Lizzies clothing is next on my list for examination, but a preliminary scan suggests we wont get much. Between the wet and the dirt from the tunnel, its going to be tough to tell the trace evidence from the rest. The explosive-device fragments have been forwarded to an FBI expert. She didnt acknowledge Trouper and she certainly didnt look happy about the interdepartmental cooperation as she continued, and the skeleton has gone to the ME for examination. A preliminary scan indicates that we exhumed a complete skeleton, with a couple of the smaller bones missing. No cause of death was immediately apparent. She shrugged. Well know more in a day or so.
Chief Parry frowned. How quickly can you get the skull to Wyatt for facial reconstruction?
Shell have it first thing tomorrow.
Good. See that she does. Parry waved Cassie back to her seat and called another officer to report.
The rest of the meeting amounted to a whole lot of negatives. The suspects questioned to date all had solid alibis, including Lizzies neighbor, Bradford Croft, whose name had dinged on the sex offender registry, making him an immediate suspect. A few other names were kicked around, including a longtime local named Michael Swopes, who had a string of low-level juvenile priors, and had done custom cabinet work for the families of the first and third kidnap victims.
It was near 10:00 p.m. when Parry closed the meeting. Okay, people. Night shift, you know what youre doing. Day shift, go home and get some rest. His eyes slid to Alissa. You all look like you could use it.