Hothouse Orchid (Holly Barker 6)

“Oh, shit,” Holly said.

“I’m going back to the office to work this. I just thought you’d like to know.”

“Thanks, Hurd,” she said. “I appreciate the call. Maybe you’ll get a print or two off the car.”

“Lauren’s with me. She’s staying with the car until Forensics gets here.”

“Keep me posted?”

“You bet I will.”

“Will you call Jimmy Weathers? He’s the lead on the case, and I know he’d appreciate it.”

“Sure. I’ll do it right now. I’m going to keep Jim Bruno out of the loop for as long as I can.”

“Good. Oh, Hurd, I had a call from the doctor who treated me the other night. He got the tox screen back. The perp used Rohypnol on me.”

“I’ll let the morgue know.”

“He says it metabolizes quickly, but the girl could have died from it very quickly if the perp hit a vein or artery, so you might get lucky.”

“I’ll take all the luck I can get,” Hurd said. “Bye-bye.”

Holly hung up.

“What?” Josh said.

“They’ve ID’d the woman Daisy and I found on the beach. Sounds like a tourist.” She didn’t mention the hand.

“Will it help you catch the guy?”

“God, I hope so,” Holly said. “He’s not going to stop this now; he’s having too good a time. It’s all working for him.”

“Anything I can do?”

“You can tell your ER to be on the lookout for any other women who come in-women like me, hurt or unconscious.”

“I can do that,” he said, sitting up and reaching for his clothes.

13

Holly parked a few yards behind the state van and walked up to the blue car.

Lauren Cade was looking into the backseat with a flashlight. She straightened up, then saw Holly. “Hey, there,” she said.

“Hey, Lauren. I see you got your transfer pretty fast.”

“I sure did, and I thank you again for the recommendation to Hurd. He’s a good guy.”

“Yes, he is. Found anything on or in the car yet?”

“There are some prints around the driver’s windowsill and some sand around the pedals. I guess Hurd must have told you about the stuff in the trunk.”

“Yes. Can I see the hand?”

“You mind, Terry?” Lauren said to the guy from Forensics working the car.

“Go ahead. It’s in the van, bagged.”