Ready when you are, he said quietly.
Chapter Three
This is not going to work! Kelsey thought.
Jackson Crow seemed pleasant enough, like a man who could be a team player. But Logan Raintree seemed almost hostile. Except that hed pitched in with information about the Longhorn and hed also risen to her defense when Crow had been hammering away about what shed seen at the inn. Still, it was pretty obvious that he didnt want to be a member of any team, and if he wasnt part of the teamwas there a team? There would be a task force, she supposed. Now that the FBI had become aware of the number of corpses, thered have to be. The fact that a serial killer was suspected of targeting the area was bound to become known, and the public would demand it.
But did she want to be part of it?
Something inside her wanted to recoil. And something else wanted to go with the two men, go and look at the available evidence.
So she went. She had certainly seen violence and death as a U.S. Marshal. Gun battles happened on the open sea when drug traffickers found themselves under siege. Bodies were dragged out of the Gulf and the Atlantic. Shed seen the ugly side of human nature. Despite that, the murders of the women seemed far more horrific than the cold and impersonal violence she most frequently witnessed. Cocaine dealers shot their rivals and their enemiespeople who worked for the law.
True, shed found those bones in Key West . And because she had, the victim had been identified, and a family had learned the sad truth.
She forced herself to appear cool, professional, stoic as they reached the police station and passed through the outer areas, where petty offenders were being booked. San Antonio was not without its share of prostitutes and thieves, and a number of them were being interviewed, along with traffic offenders and others brought in by the police for their various misdeeds. But Jackson Crow barely noticed them. With a brief word to the desk sergeant, he led her and Logan through a hallway to a large room enclosed by smoked glass. Within that room were several desks, a free-standing, forty-inch computer screen, a small lab area, a board with marker notes and a private snack station with a large coffeepot and a small refrigerator and microwave oven. It was almost its own little fortress.
This could be her place. For now at least.
A man sat at one of the desks, but rose when they all entered. He was tall and striking in a lanky, easy way, and was quick to shake their hands when Jackson introduced him as Jake Mallory. On Jacksons own team, he was adept with cameras, recorders and, he admitted dryly, a guitar.
Only one member of your teams here, Logan pointed out.
I told you, Jackson Crow said. Were stretched too thin. Theres been a murder at an old hotel in D.C. Some of my people are there.
Logan Raintree merely nodded.
So what do you have? Kelsey asked Jake Mallory.
Youve given them the information about Chelsea Martin and Tara Grissom? Jake asked Crow.
Again, Crow nodded. Jake sat at his computer and hit a key. The large screen against the far wall came to life. Thats Chelsea Martin on the left, Tara Grissom on the right, he said. Both photos were taken a few months before they disappeared.
No matter how long a person worked in law enforcement, Kelsey thought, it was heartbreaking to see the image of a young woman in lifeand to know how that life had ended. Chelsea Martin had huge blue eyes and dark brown hair. Tara Grissom was a blonde, with green eyes. Chelseas face had been round, while Taras was slim with high cheekbones. Chelsea peered out at them, smiling. The close-up had been cropped, and it looked as if her face had been taken from a picture with kids in it. Shed presumably had her arms around some of them. They mustve been children shed taught. Taras picture had probably been a publicity photo, because it had a neutral background and she smiled at them from a posed angle.
These are the young women we know, and theyre at the morgue, along with six we have yet to identify, Jake said. The killer isnt going for a particular look, or not that we can pin down from these two, at any rate. Ones a brunette, the other a blonde. One was plump, and one was lean. And although we havent identified the other remains, theres hair on most of them, or remnants of hair, and the colors vary. He cleared his throat. I was listening to Chelseas last phone conversation when you arrived.
Her phone conversation? How was it recorded? Logan asked. If her friend answered the phone, there wouldnt be a recording.
Apparently, she answered right when the recording began. We got lucky. Nancy McCall had an old-fashioned answering machine, Jake said. Its strangeIve been isolating sounds on the tape, butwell, you want to listen to the original recording first?
Crow nodded.
This is the conversation, Jake said, hitting another key.
Chelsea Martin, with her wide cheeks and big eyes, smiled at them from the screen as they listened. Nancy! Hey! said her voice, sweet and excited.
You were supposed to call me when you landed, came the reply.
Im sorry. I went straight to the Alamo, which is crazy, cause Im dragging around a bag and all. But I had to come here! Ive read so much about it, so many stories about the siege and the battle and the people who were hereoh! Too funny! Theres a man in costume. Ive been flirting with him. Hes pretty cute, too!
Before her friend could respond, another voice broke in. It was deep and husky, and had a rattling sound, almost as if someone were speaking through a mouthful of dust.
Come away, come away, now. Youre in danger!
They heard Chelsea giggle. The battles over, she said.
Youre in danger, the rattling voice said again, Please, listen to me.
That voice. Kelsey had been in dire situations several times, but she couldnt remember when any sound had caused such a chill to suddenly sweep through her.
Nancy, I think a ghost is playing with me, Chelsea said, and she laughed again.
Chelsea, whats going on? her friend asked.
I
And that was it. Silence. For a moment, those in the room were silent, as well.
And just how do you figure the third voice got on the phone? Logan Raintree asked. His voice was hard and cold. For it to be that clear, he had to have his mouth right next to the phone. What did the friend say when you questioned her about it?
I called Nancy McCall earlier this afternoon, Jake said. She didnt hear the other voice when she spoke to Chelsea, and she has no idea how it can be so clear on the recordingor even how it managed to record at all. I told you, Ive been isolating sounds, but I cant separate this voice from Chelseas when I try to bring them onto different frequencies. I just played you the original. I can isolate Chelseas voice, and youll hear that its still in there.
He played the recording again.
Afterward, Jackson walked over to Jakes desk, which held a pile of folders. He picked up two of them. Take these, he said, handing one to Logan and one to Kelsey. They have all the information weve got on Chelsea and Tara, and the times and dates the six unidentified bodies were discovered. Please take a look at the folders. If you decide to join the team, Id like you to come to the morgue with me tomorrow.
Have those bodies been there all this time? Logan asked.
No. Weve exhumed them, Jackson told him. They were buried by the city as unknowns.
Logan shook his head, eyes narrowed. His expression was impassive, and yet Kelsey felt that some kind of emotion was seething inside him. Why now? he asked. If he exploded, hed be frightening.
Yet she was equally certain that he never just exploded. He controlled himself at all times.
Its in the folder, Jackson said.
Next, Jake passed out pages hed obviously printed for them. I was looking up information on another case when I found out that a young woman, Vanessa Johnston, has recently disappearedon her way here, he told them. Right now, shes a missing person. She was driving in. Neither she nor her Honda has been seen since she stopped at a gas station near the county line. I brought the problem to Jacksons attention. Everythings on those sheets I gave you.
Kelsey slipped hers inside the folder.
I spoke with your captain about this case, Raintree, Jackson was saying. And he invited us in.
Kelsey watched as Logan Raintree nodded curtly and headed toward the door.
He paused and turned to face them. What time are we going to the morgue? he asked.
9:00 a.m.
Ill meet you there.
He left the room.
Id like to hear the recording again, please, Kelsey said.
She found a chair at one of the empty desks and sat, listening as Jake replayed it. Once more she felt the strange chill, but along with the sense of fear and dread, she felt
A sense of something being oddly right. Not about the recording. About her. She might miss the water, miss home, miss being a Marshal, but she knew she could help on this case. And she wanted to.
She held her folder with hands that seemed to freeze around it. When the recording finished, both men were watching her.
Nine? she asked. Shed heard Jackson the first time. Shed just needed to say something.
Yes, Jackson said. Ill pick you up at the Longhorn.
One more thing. Jake touched a key. The picture on the large computer screen changed.
Another young woman of about twenty-five smiled out at her. She was wearing a tiara on sandy-colored hair.
Thats our missing girl, he said. Vanessa Johnston. Last years Miss Maple Queen of Montpelier, Vermont.
Kelsey rose. Ill have these read by tomorrow and be completely up to speed, she told Crow. Im in, provided you still want this team to exist if Raintree opts out.
She was surprised when Crow smiled grimly. Hell be at the morgue tomorrow, and he wont opt out.
Kelsey decided not to answer. Raintree hadnt looked as if he planned to agree. Not in her opinion, anyway.
But then, maybe she was better at understanding the dead than the living.
Good afternoon, she said. And she left the two men, still feeling the same sense of dread.
And the same sense of purpose.
* * *
Logan drove straight to his own office. Others greeted him as he walked through the main room, both those sworn in as Texas Rangers and civilians busy at other tasks. The world hadnt changed for any of them; they waved at him, smiled, chatted. He went to Captain Aaron Bentleys office, tapped on the door, but walked in without waiting for an answer. Bentley was on the phone. He was a big man with snow-white hair, as rugged-looking as any man whod ever run a Texas Ranger division.