he’s the most methodical evil genius in history. Given the condition of his apartment, I think it’s safe to say he isn’t our man.”
“And the others?”
“The report on the old guy was negative. The agents conducted an interview but walked away from it believing he’s clean. The third suspect has an alibi for two of the nights — we’re in the process of checking it out.”
“What if it isn’t someone related to the victims? Have we looked at boyfriends of the daughter who was killed? Or maybe close school friends?”
“Seth is driving that effort, but my guess is no. Since Sam took over, there’s not a ton of time to follow up on that line of inquiry. He’s made clear the direction he believes will be the most fruitful, and I don’t think anyone wants to cause any friction with the new boss in the first few days he’s running things.”
“I was afraid of that. But listen — I have access to the computers, so I’m going to keep at it. I think Sam’s well intentioned, but dead wrong on this one. The way he’s killing them has to be the key. I’ll go into the system and pull everything from the interviews and see if anything pops up, and I’ll call Seth to see if he’s onboard to help. I hope you are…”
“Silver. You don’t even have to ask. Surely you’ve figured that out by now? And listen. About the other night-”
“Richard, it was magical. And I don’t regret a second of it. But with Kennedy missing, I’m not able to devote anything to it right now. I hope that doesn’t sound cold, but as much as I’d like to pick up where we left off, it’s not a good time.” As she said it, she realized it sounded distant and detached.
“Don’t worry. I figured you’d have other things on your mind — I know I would.” She made to interrupt but he kept speaking. “Silver, what I’d like to say is that it was special, and I’m here if you need anything, and I will be until this is all resolved. We’ve got time.”
Saying nothing to this, she silently thanked him for his understanding.
“One thing, though,” he continued, “and I’m saying this because I care. Do you really think it’s a good idea to be devoting a lot of your bandwidth to the task force? I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but you’ve got…well, you have other fish to fry.”
“Richard, if I don’t occupy myself with something that keeps my brain engaged, I’m going to spend my days sitting in Kennedy’s room, crying. Putting some effort into trying to nail the killer may not be at the top of any therapist’s coping strategies, but for me it’s a way to stay sane. I’ll drive Art crazy calling him every ten minutes otherwise, and my temptation to insert myself into his investigation won’t end well.” She hesitated. “So this is all I have.”
Richard paused for a few seconds. “It isn’t everything you have, Silver.”
“Perhaps. But for now it’s the only way I have to fill the next ten hours today that won’t have me locked in a padded room by the end of the week.”
He conceded the point. She knew herself better than he did.
“Fair enough. You can depend on me for anything you need, Silver. Anything at all. I mean it.”
“I know you do, Richard. Thank you. Now I’m going to try to find Seth. I need him to run me a couple of errands.”
“I’ll call later, after my day’s over.”
“You know where I’ll be.”
They ended the conversation, and Silver stared at the handset for a good minute. Part of her wanted to ask him to come over and stay with her, hold her while the world collapsed around her, but another part wanted to push him away. She knew she’d need to deal with her feelings sooner than later, but today wasn’t the day.
She dialed Seth and was reassured when he picked up.
“Seth. How’s everything going?”
“Silver! Fine, I suppose. What about you?”
“I’m alive. That’s about as far as I’m willing to push it today.”
“Any…developments with the kidnapping?”
“No. They’re doing all the usual stuff, but so far, nothing.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But they’re staying in touch?”
“Of course. Art is running it, and he’s top notch. But they don’t have a lot to work with. No call yet, so the motive is an unknown.”
Seth didn’t say anything. There really wasn’t much he could add that wouldn’t sound like a bromide.
“That’s not why I called, though. I heard about Sam and the task force, and I wanted to follow up on the traffic cam photos as well as the research you were doing on the similar incidents.”
“Yeah, well, Sam has decided to move the investigation in a different direction, and that got de- prioritized.”
“I heard. But I’m just sitting around my flat waiting for the phone to ring, so I thought I’d work that angle. You know how I feel about Sam’s theory. How far were you able to get on other crimes that might be associated in some way?”
“Boy, Silver. I finished the search on decapitations going back ten years, and all I can say is there are a lot of bizarre accidental deaths, as well as a few really sick bastards out there. But nothing connected in any obvious way.”
“What about geographically? Did you try filtering them and limiting the results to only the areas near the fires?”
“No. I never got that far. I was going to do that next, and also look for any connections with any of the names.”
“How long would it take?”
“It’s not a fast process. Sam’s got me doing a whole stack of other things now, focusing on the people at the latest victim’s brokerage. He’s really fixated on the Masenkoff feeder thing, as well as all the jihad buddies of the fourth victim’s partner.”
“Could you shoot me an e-mail with an outline of how to do the searches so I can take that on? I want to go through all the evidence to date and look at it with fresh eyes. Can’t hurt, and maybe I’ll have a breakthrough.”
“Sure. No problem. Give me a little time, and I’ll get it to you.”
“Thanks, Seth. I appreciate it.”
The bolt on the door slid open, startling Kennedy out of the half slumber she’d fallen into. She’d busied herself killing any spiders or other bugs she could find in the room to avoid a repeat performance once the lights were turned off again, but had exhausted the pursuit hours ago and was now left to her thoughts. She was no longer thirsty, but the headache was still bad. The breakfast bar had helped, but not to the point where she felt normal.
The door swung open, and the man stood looking into the room. Kennedy met his gaze.
“Bathroom time.”
She stood and dutifully moved ahead of him.
“Five minutes. You know the drill.”
She nodded and went in, closing the door behind her.
The window was far too high to reach, even if she could somehow balance on the toilet tank, which didn’t seem like a great idea. It looked old and decrepit and was fixed haphazardly to the wall. She studied the empty room with defeated resignation. There wasn’t much promise she could see from a toilet and a sink, and there were no cabinets or any junk lying around she could use. He had obviously sanitized the area of anything before bringing her there.
When she came out, he had a sandwich wrapped in plastic and a liter bottle of water.
He held up the sandwich. “Peanut butter and jelly.”
She eyed it distrustfully.
“It won’t kill you. I ate one a few minutes ago, and I’m still standing. Now come on. Back to the room.”
She clumped to the doorway and then stopped. “What are you going to do with me? Why did you take me?”
“None of your business. For now, be glad you’re getting food and water and being allowed to use the
