Faceless (Sinister Secrets Book 2), Candle Sutton [dar e dil novel online reading txt] 📗

hand gripping the phone and the tightness stretching across his back.

He ended the call and turned to Sid, whose drawn face surveyed the area.

There should be some trace of Kevyn somewhere. Yet so far they’d come up empty.

The sun lingered barely above the horizon, the darkness threatening to end their investigation before they even really got started.

The problem was that there was so much ground to cover here. It’d take days to comb through all the terrain. Any evidence they did find might not even be related to Kevyn’s disappearance.

He’d called for a forensics team, which was en route, but they wouldn’t have any answers tonight.

If only they knew where she’d last been, but all they had was the location of the picture she’d sent. It was a start, but it was unlikely that she’d remained in that same place.

“Let’s try retracing her steps.”

It felt futile, but he couldn’t do nothing.

Dak led the way back to where they knew the picture had been taken.

“The subject was there.” He pointed to where the subject in her picture had been standing. “Assuming he was headed that direction, Kevyn would have been trying to stay out of sight, right?”

“Right.” Sid gave a definitive nod and walked to a nearby shipping container. “If I were her, this would have been my next move.”

It was the most logical. They looked around on the ground, but didn’t see anything suspicious.

He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly. Shell casings? A personal item that may have been dropped?

They looked around. The next closest hiding spot was behind more shipping containers. They followed the imaginary trail to it and surveyed the area.

Still nothing.

Next up, a semitruck with attached trailer.

They walked around the truck.

A dark spot on the ground beside the passenger door caught his eye.

The spot, about the size of the burger he’d eaten less than two hours ago, was more oval than round.

Hard to tell in the waning light, but it looked reddish. Perhaps still damp in places.

He pulled a tissue from his pocket and dabbed at one of the wet-looking spots.

Blood. No question.

His breath thickened as he stared at the crimson spot on the tissue.

Was it Kevyn’s?

Without forensics, it’d be impossible to say for sure, but his gut said yes. While injuries occurred on docks, what were the odds it’d happen at about the same time that he lost contact with an agent?

“No sign of any gunfire.” Sid’s quiet words pulled his attention from the blood.

Sid was right. He didn’t see any bullet holes in the truck beside them, no discarded shell casings. Just a small puddle of blood.

Still, combined with the fact that Kevyn hadn’t responded to his texts or answered his calls, it all painted one very disturbing picture.

“Call the local hospitals. See if Kevyn was admitted.”

Sid pulled out his phone.

In the meantime, he’d check with dispatch to see if any 911 calls had been placed for this area.

The forensics team showed up as he and Sid finished their calls. No hospital admissions or ER visits for Kevyn or any Jane Does matching her description. No 911 calls.

Not only was Kevyn missing, it looked like she was also injured.

₪   ₪   ₪

Tio’s phone dinged.

He glanced at the display. A text from Zane.

Feds on the dock.

He cursed and hit the button to call Zane. “Feds? Are you sure?”

“Yep. They’re poking around by the truck. Looks like they’ve got forensics guys out there, too.”

He should’ve taken time to hose down that blood.

He knew that FBI agents rarely traveled alone, knew that she’d have other agents looking for her. Somehow he thought he’d have a little more time.

Well, they’d be safe here tonight.

“You ditched her phone, right?” Sure, he’d given Zane orders to do so, but the Feds were likely tracking that phone right now. He needed them to turn their attention far from this area.

“Yep.” Zane chuckled. “I put it inside a car with Oregon plates. With any luck, it’ll lead them all the way across state lines.”

Good. That wouldn’t solve all their problems, but it might buy them time.

The Feds would chase it down, discover it for the dead end that it was, and come back here, but hopefully that would be at least a day or two out.

Even when they did focus on this area again, it’d take them time to investigate and get the necessary warrants.

He’d make sure they were long gone by then.

And that all evidence of their operation was thoroughly destroyed.

Nineteen

Dak scanned the faces of his team, all of whom looked only slightly less sleep-deprived than he felt.

The fact that every one of them was in the office by seven a.m. after the fruitless raid on the hotel last night evidenced their concern.

They’d tracked Kevyn’s phone to a hotel in Federal Way the night before, locating it in the backseat of a car with Oregon plates. The owners, three college girls on vacation, had no clue how it had gotten there. Or when.

The girls hadn’t been anywhere near the docks, but had spent a few hours downtown.

While he had agents checking on the story, he suspected it would pan out.

The kidnappers had likely dumped Kevyn’s phone in the back of the car to throw them off.

He hated that the ploy had worked.

They’d devoted priceless time to locating her phone and questioning college students who likely knew nothing about the abduction.

Today was a new day. Today, they’d find her.

Special Agent in Charge Sorenson had given them several analysts to assist and the extra manpower would help.

“Did we arrest Divers?” Sid asked.

He wished. “No. They went to bring her in, but found her dead. Initial assessment is