CHAPTER8

Walker had seenhis share of death and it never got easier.

Never.

Only, he’d never been required to investigate someone’s death.

He recovered the body with the white sheet and took a step back. The sun had dipped behind the mountains, leaving a fiery glow in the darkening sky. Soon the day would completely give way to the night. He scanned the area. There wasn’t much of anything but trees and road.

The hiking trail was a mile off the road.

Where Andrew’s and Levi’s phones had been found the trail hadn’t been too far away. So, where were their bodies?

Or why hadn’t the killer moved this one? Or taken it somewhere else.

Walker wasn’t a detective. He had no idea how to answer these questions, but he did know that something wasn’t adding up.

Sparrow strolled in his direction. She stood next to him and stared off into the horizon. She didn’t say anything. Just stayed there quietly with her hands on her hips as if to wait for him to speak first.

So he did.

“Why are Fay and I here?”

“She’s really smart,” Sparrow said, not really answering his question. “She also has had an interesting career with the CIA.”

“Fay’s one of the most intelligent people I know. Her mind sees things in ways most of us can’t.”

“She also has contacts and we’re about to be invaded by the FBI. Marty Hall, that’s the victim, was from Arizona and that means a murderer crossed state lines.” Sparrow turned. “We’ve got jurisdiction issues and the sheriff had no choice but to agree to bring in the feds.”

“Makes sense,” Walker said. “Fay already spoke to someone she knows with the FBI.”

“She’s filled me in.” Sparrow rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve got two missing young men. Their parents are now scared their bodies are dumped somewhere on the side of road because now I’ve got a murder. All in one week. I’ve got an entire country terrified to let their boys and young men out of their sights. To make matters worse, everyone thinks it’s the same perp from six years ago.”

“I’m sure Fay told you we’re not so sure about that.”

Sparrow nodded. “I agree. Although, Levi could be. He fits the profile,” Sparrow said. “But Andrew is a little different. All the other missing persons only left a cell phone behind. All of them. And then there’s the fact we have evidence that a body may have been dragged down the trail.”

Walker arched a brow. “That’s news to me. I hope you told Fay.”

“I did.” She held his gaze for a long moment. “I was a deputy when those eight boys went missing and I worked every single case. They have haunted me for years because it’s like they vanished. And now I’m in charge of this office. This is happening on my watch and I take that personally.”

“I’m sure both Stone and your father are telling you not to, so I won’t be redundant.”

Sparrow laughed. “This murder is a big fuck you to me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Whoever this is, he wanted us to think it was the same guy from six years ago, but now is just fucking with us—with me—because he can.”

“Why do you say that?”

“We’re not making this public or giving this to the feds. For now, we’re keeping this between you, Fay, Hank, Jake, Wilder, and my boss.” She pulled out a plastic bag with a piece of paper and handed it to him.

It read: You made this mistake before. You’re a disappointment.

“You don’t know that whoever wrote this is talking about you specifically,” Walker said, though he wasn’t sure he believed his words. “Has Fay seen the note?”

Sparrow nodded. “She asked me if anyone accused me of mishandling any of the cases or if the families had any issues with me. None of them did, or do, that I know of. We had no leads. No clues. No witnesses. There was no physical evidence. All the cars were wiped clean. Whoever our kidnapper is, he’s a professional and he’s organized. He has a ritual and a pattern that he doesn’t deviate from. Ever. He’s motivated by personal need. He has to do it and there is no arrogance involved.” She pointed to the body under the white sheet. “Whoever did this is someone entirely different. He’s driven by a deep-seated desire to be noticed. To be the center of attention. He’s incredibly cocky and he thinks he’s untouchable.”

“That’s how we’ll catch him.”

“We need to do that before more people die.”

Sparrow tucked the evidence bag into her pocket and headed in the direction of the medical examiner.

His cell vibrated in his back pocket. He snagged it and glanced at the screen.

Albert: Lee has arrived.

Lee: Saw on the news about the body. Is that related to our guy?

Lee: Chris and Pete had a meeting with some guy I don’t know. It was brief. It looks like Pete might be leaving. Do you want me to follow him?

Walker decided to deal with Lee first.

Tags: Jen Talty Romance
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