“That ghost town has a lot of potential areas for concealment. He wouldn’t have to leave her in the same place. Anyway, it won’t hurt to make sure, right?”
“No, it won’t,” the chief said with a warning look at Boxner. “I think it’s as good an idea as any. We don’t know how this guy thinks.”
“He’s got to be smart enough not to hide his victims in the same place every time.” Boxner shrugged. Glanced at Kennedy. “It’s your funeral.”
“Rexford?” Jason asked when he and Kennedy were alone in their office.
“I can’t think of a better place to hide her body. Can you? It’s the last place anyone would think of searching now.”
“True.”
Kennedy shrugged into his vest. “I forgot you were heading out to Boston this morning. If you want to follow that trail, I’ll see if I can borrow a vehicle from Kingsfield PD.”
“I want to follow that trail,” Jason said, “but I’m going to Rexford with you.”
Kennedy’s smile was grim. “Even if she’s there, she’s not going to be alive, West.”
“I know that.”
Kennedy watched Jason performing his weapon check. “You’ve potentially got a good lead to follow up with those art dealers. I don’t know that you should waste time on this.”
Jason holstered his pistol. “The art dealers will wait. I’m going to Rexford.”
Kennedy looked up in surprise. He chuckled. “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?”
“I think there’s a good reason the Bureau partners agents in the field,” Jason said. “I think if I told you I was headed out to Rexford on my own, you’d have a thing or two to say about it.”
Kennedy grinned. “Maybe. You’re way too smart for a move like that, West.”
“I’m way too smart to answer that,” Jason said.
* * * * *
A lot of the undergrowth had been chopped back to allow the emergency vehicles closer access, but it was still a good hike back into Rexford.
The air was a little cooler, heavy with moisture, and Jason and Kennedy made good time, reaching the fork by the old mill by noon.
Kennedy took his binoculars out, studying the rooftops and chimneys behind the trees. The heavy cloud cover threw an eerie silver-green light over the wild terrain—did they call that witch light?—but so far the precipitation didn’t amount to more than a few drops.
“What do you think?” Jason asked. He took a drink from his water bottle.
“Looks quiet. There are some birds circling to the south.”
Jason nodded.
They moved on, their boots scraping rock and dirt. The only other sign of life was a fox trotting across the trail some distance ahead. The breeze blew in the opposite direction today, and even the sounds of the highway were hushed.
The rain began to pepper down harder when they reached Rexford. Fat drops pattered in the dust and darkened the peeling paint on the old buildings.
“North or south?” Kennedy asked. “Take your pick.”
Jason said tersely, “North.” He would prefer they did not split up, but that was impractical. They needed to split up in order to have even a chance of covering this much territory in an afternoon. Which didn’t change the fact that something about Rexford made him uneasy. Really uneasy. In fact, he was probably going to have nightmares about this town for years to come.
“You just want to see your girlfriend the mermaid again,” Kennedy said.
“Yeah, baby,” Jason replied. “I gots to get me some of that tail.”
Kennedy laughed. “Watch yourself.” He turned away and started down the street in the opposite direction.