Scene of the Crime: Baton Rouge. Carla Cassidy

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СКАЧАТЬ anyone in this room leaked anything to the press, I’ll have your job.” Alex’s voice didn’t hold a threat, but rather held a determined promise. “Now, let’s get to the updates.”

      The first came from Tim and Jeff, who had spent the day before with both paper maps and working on the internet to locate vacant buildings that were isolated enough for seven people to be held captive.

      “There’s dozens of places,” Tim said. “There are abandoned warehouses and old factories all over the surrounding areas and within the city.”

      “We’re making a list of addresses and working through city records to find out owner names,” Jeff said. “But it’s going to take at least a week or two for us to get them all and even then there might be some places that slip through the cracks.”

      “I’ll check with Director Miller and see if we can get some help from the local authorities to physically check out the places on the list you’re compiling,” Alexander said.

      It wasn’t unusual for the FBI to occasionally work with the Baton Rouge Police Department when it came to a job too big for the agents to handle alone. The police would be able to cruise by the buildings and check them out in person, lightening the manpower needed for the actual footwork of the investigative end of things for the FBI.

      Despite the tired lines that creased his forehead and made the small wrinkles around his eyes look deeper, Georgina couldn’t help but notice that Alex hadn’t changed much in the two years they’d been apart. His shoulders were just as broad, his stomach as flat and the air of command that emanated from him came naturally.

      He was born to lead, and if it hadn’t been for the Gilmer case, he would have led most of the difficult investigations that had come along in the past couple of years. She knew he’d been asked to be lead in other cases but had declined, indicating a lack of faith in himself. She was glad he’d finally decided to step up once again.

      There was no question that if she allowed it, she would be attracted to him again. All the qualities that she’d fallen in love with in the first place he still possessed. But she couldn’t allow it and besides, he’d given no indication that he wanted it.

      Although there had been little change in him physically in the last two years, she had no idea what changes had occurred on the inside. The one thing she knew for sure was that nothing had changed her. She’d been wrong for him then and she’d be wrong for him again.

      She tightened her fingers around the pen she held, telling herself it was vital she maintain her objectivity where he was concerned. Alex was nothing more than her partner, her immediate boss, and that’s the way it would stay for as long as they knew each other.

      When Jeff and Tim had finished their report, Alex moved on to Nicholas and Frank. “We’ve got nothing,” Frank said, his brown eyes dark with frustration. “We went through social media, used Google on all the names of the missing people, used Google on the FBI agents, and nothing popped up to tie them together other than the fact that they are all agents.”

      “Actually, I found something,” Nicholas said, a touch of smugness in his voice as his partner looked at him in obvious surprise. “There’s an author who has a new book out and the book includes sections about Sam Connelly, Amberly Caldwell and Jackson.”

      A touch of new disdain swept through Georgina. It was obvious Nicholas had blindsided his partner, kept the information to himself so that he would get all the glory of the find. Nicholas Cutter was definitely not a team player and that was a big strike against him as far as Georgina was concerned.

      “Continue,” Alexander’s voice was like a gunshot in the room.

      “The author’s name is Michelle Davison and the book is titled Heinous Crimes / Men of Honor.” Nicholas sat up straighter in his chair, obviously pleased to be the center of attention. “She has a section about Sam Connelly, who was head investigator when four children were kidnapped and he successfully recovered them. Amberly Caldwell is showcased for her work on what was called the Dream Catcher murders in Mystic Lake. She also has the details of the case Jackson worked a year ago...the Twilight Killer.”

      As much as Georgina hated Nicholas’s showboating, his information sent a rush of excitement through her. This was the first definitive tie they’d found among the three.

      “Do we have an address for Michelle Davison?” Alexander asked.

      “She lives in New Orleans, but I spoke to her literary agent last night and Michelle is set up to have a book signing right here at the Baton Rouge College bookstore at seven tonight,” Nicholas said.

      “Georgina and I will attend the book signing and do an initial interview with her,” Alexander said, ignoring how Nicholas’s smile fell into a pouty frown. He’d obviously hoped to do the interview himself.

      One of the agents had moved a box of doughnuts into the center of the table and Frank reached for one. “I don’t see how a woman writer could have anything to do with kidnapping seven people. There’s no way I believe we’re dealing with a female perp.” He took a bite of his doughnut and grabbed a napkin as raspberry filling fell down his chin.

      “We all have to keep an open mind,” Nicholas said. “At this point we can’t know if the perp is male or female or even a team. We just don’t have enough information to make that call.”

      “That’s right,” Alex answered. “Matt and Terry, anything new on your end?”

      “Not yet,” Matt replied. “But we’re digging for anything we can find.”

      As he continued to reaffirm assignments for the day, Georgina was already eager for the night to come. This was their first real lead and she couldn’t wait for them to follow it.

      “Nicholas, get me everything you can on Michelle Davison by noon. Frank, continue to look for other connections between the missing people. Georgina, you and I are going to get the files of the cases that this author showcased in her book and see if we can figure out exactly why she chose these particular cases, these particular agents to write about.”

      Georgina nodded. Catching a killer was rarely like it was shown on television, with high-speed chases and shoot-outs in dark alleys.

      So much of the work to catch a killer took place in chairs, researching the victims’ lives, going through reports until you were nearly blind, searching the web for something, anything, that might burp up a clue.

      Granted, they didn’t know if this particular unsub was a killer or not, but he or she was definitely a serial kidnapper and these cases would be investigated as if they were chasing a killer.

      Her gaze drifted up to the bulletin board where the victims’ photos remained. Her focus was drawn to the little girl who had vanished with her parents.

      Of all the people showcased on the board, Macy Connelly would be the most expendable. The seven-year-old would be of no use to the kidnapper, especially a kidnapper who claimed to be an FBI-trained serial killer.

      Georgina had always loved children, but even when she’d been married she had never envisioned having any of her own. She knew what she was capable of giving and it had never been enough to be a mother.

      Still, there was something that haunted her about Macy Connelly, an emotion that skewered deep into her soul. It was as if Macy might have been the daughter she and Alex would have had if Georgina had been different, СКАЧАТЬ