The Girl Who Disappeared Twice (Forensic Instincts 1)

And, yeah, okay, it was also damned fun.

A crash caused Ryan to swivel around from what he was working on. On the floor lay a peculiar robot with suction-cup-like attachments on its feet. Ryan had been testing his latest toy—a small robot, not quite the size of a paperback book, capable of walking up walls and inside ductwork. Affectionately dubbed “Gecko” by the team, and the “little critter,” by Ryan—it sported miniature video cameras and microphones.

Ryan walked over and switched off the battery pack. The little critter needed more work. But that would have to wait.

He returned to his electronics bench, soldered the last connection and inspected his work. Pleased with the result, he walked over and reinstalled the modified hard drive assembly into the floor-standing copying machine, set the countdown timer for ten seconds, then walked back to the bench. A message flashed on the monitor: “E.T. phone home.” A mosaic of images began to appear. Each image was a thumbnail of the pages copied by the photocopier and temporarily stored on the hard drive—all transmitted via the cell phone that Ryan had just hard-wired to the copier hard drive.

“Test successful,” Yoda announced.

“Yeah, thanks, Yoda.” Still, Ryan had to iron out a few bugs. Once the copying machine was in place, it would have to be one hundred percent reliable.

So right now, fun was the last thing on Ryan’s mind. He had a job to do, a job that—between his own project and the one Casey had given him—was going to take all night.

So an all-nighter meant canceling his evening plans. There was no choice to be made. A five-year-old child’s life depended on him.

And the sands of the hourglass continued to trickle down to empty.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Day Five

Claudia Mitchell was in panic mode.

Joe was being held in custody for having connections to the mob. She was pretty sure the FBI suspected him of kidnapping Krissy Willis. And there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it.

She was alone, she was unemployed and she was devastated—again. She’d just gotten Joe back. She didn’t care who he worked for. He wasn’t a bad man—he was Joe. Plus, everything else aside, they were just beginning to put the pieces back together, to make a life together.

And now this.

Damn Judge Willis.

Claudia understood that her anger at Judge Willis was irrational. But that woman had taken everything from her: her career, her income and now her man. She wanted to strike out, to make Judge Willis pay.

But, in her heart, Claudia knew that the judge was already paying—in the most heinous way possible. Her little girl was gone. She’d been taken from her, maybe forever.

Given those circumstances, it was cruel to harbor resentment. Still, Claudia couldn’t squelch hers. It continued to boil inside her, like a volcano about to erupt.

Her life was in shambles.

The phone call she’d received from the employment agency was the closest thing to good news she’d had since this turmoil began. A nursing home north of Westchester County was looking for a bookkeeper and an office manager. It was a far cry, both in content and in salary, from her position as a court clerk, but it would help pay the bills. And the commute would be long, but it was doable.

Her interview was today.

She rose early, dressing in her most serious business suit, and mentally ran through prospective interview questions in her head. It had been a while, and she had to make the transition back to professional woman.

With a modicum of confidence, Claudia left the house and climbed into her car, beginning the hour-and-a-half drive up to the facility. She left herself plenty of time, since she was unfamiliar with the area and the winding, mountain roads. As it turned out, she made good time, and arrived at Sunny Gardens fifteen minutes early.

That gave her a short interval to scan the grounds from the vantage point of the administration building. From what she could see, the acreage was lovely—well manicured, serene, just the atmosphere a patient would need to enjoy the final stages of his or her life. The facility was set on rolling hills with expansive gardens. Aside from the main complex and the administration building, there was a modern clubhouse and a sprawling patio with a view of the sunrise. Claudia would have loved to stroll down to the lake, but the distance would make her arrival at the interview tight. Maybe afterward—if she had a shot at the job.

Which she did. The interview went beautifully. Claudia was direct and honest about her qualifications and experience. And, Ms. Babick, the human resources executive Claudia met with, was clearly aware that Claudia was overqualified. But she was also aware of the high unemployment rate, and the scarcity of good jobs. So, rather than being put off by Claudia’s years clerking for a judge, she was pleased by her organizational skills and her ability to take charge.

A half hour later they shook hands, and Claudia was on her way, with the guarantee of a prompt phone call to the employment agency.

Feeling good about herself for the first time in ages, Claudia decided to take that stroll down to the lake.

The stroll turned out to be a lot more than she bargained for.

Rounding the corner of the administration building, Claudia got a full panoramic view of the facility. The first thing that stood out was that a new wing was being constructed at the farthest end of the main building. The second thing was the large sign on the fenced-in construction area.