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

but maybe our crew doesn’t research their victims. Maybe it’s a random process.” From everything she’d seen, the crew seemed to be well prepared and organized, but that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t choosing the victims somewhat randomly.

If these victims were chosen randomly, it would be even harder to track them.

Dak blew out a breath. “Well, you know what I learned. Or didn’t learn. How’d the rest of you do?”

“Detectives had nothing to add that wasn’t in the report. Once they heard it was tied to our case, they dropped it and moved on.” JD jiggled his shoulders, his mouth quirking slightly. “Can’t say that I blame ‘em.”

“We didn’t do much better.” Felicia’s tone carried a hint of apology. “The rock climbing shop owner was super accommodating, but didn’t see anything. Andrews was the last climber to leave. The owner and the one staff member still on the clock cleaned up, then left probably about forty minutes after Andrews left. We talked to both of them but neither saw anything suspicious.”

“We reviewed security footage from an hour on either side of the abduction but nothing stood out.” Sid’s wiggling leg moved his whole body. “No sign of the abductors until they swooped in and took our vic.”

“That could mean they’re familiar with the area.” Kevyn looked between Sid and Felicia. “Does the camera cover the whole lot?”

“Yep.” Sid’s slate eyes locked on her. “No sign of them until it was too late.”

“What about the van?” Dak rested his forearms on the table and leaned in. “The abductors got into that cargo van. Was it in the lot the whole time?”

“Sure was.” Felicia’s bobbed hair swished with her emphatic nod. “Funny thing about it? We never saw them get out of the van. They came from somewhere else.”

Dak’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What time did the van arrive?”

“Little after noon. A skinny guy got out and walked toward the building. Angle of the camera doesn’t show if he went in or not, but the owner claims he didn’t. Even showed us interior security footage for that time and there’s no sign of the guy.” Sid rolled his head side to side, a loud pop echoing as his neck cracked.

“So we have a skinny guy, who isn’t one of the abductors, parking the van, pretending to go inside, but detouring somewhere else once he gets out of sight of the security cam?” A hint of disbelief lined Dak’s words.

“Pretty much.”

The whole thing felt wrong. A random attacker wouldn’t go to such lengths.

No, this was planned. Andrews had been purposely chosen, which probably meant that Boggess had been, too. “The guy who got out of the van. Can we see his face?”

“No. He had a hat on and kept his face down. Clothes are really generic, too, so we’re not going to be able to ID him that way.” Felicia sounded every bit as unhappy as Kevyn felt.

“There’s no way these are random.” Dak’s words mirrored Kevyn’s thoughts. “Andrews is our fresh lead. We track him. I want to know every move he made. Every building he entered. Every person he spoke to. Starting yesterday and working backward to three days before Boggess was abducted. There has to be a connection.”

That was going to generate a lot of data. Dak handed out assignments and the group dispersed.

She had the joy of securing a warrant for Andrews’ work schedule. Maybe she’d get lucky and learn that Boggess was a patient of Andrews.

The idea had barely flitted through her mind before she dismissed it.

Boggess worked in public relations in politics. He was an unlikely candidate for speech therapy. Maybe as a child, but not recently.

And with Andrews only being twenty-six years old, he hadn’t been practicing long enough to have worked with Boggess as a child.

Still, maybe something would pop. If statistics were any indicator, Andrews likely didn’t have much time.

₪   ₪   ₪

He didn’t trust her.

Agent Aaron Caldwell studied the file in front of him, even though he’d already memorized the pertinent details.

A surprising lack of trouble since coming to Seattle, but prior to that, Agent Kevyn Taylor was clearly one of those who thought the rules didn’t apply to her.

He narrowed his eyes on the list of minor infractions. Nothing big enough to land her in hot water, but when he added them all up, it equaled one thing.

Renegade.

He’d seen agents like her before. More times than he cared to count.

Sure, she’d said all the right things, but given her PhD and background in clinical psychology, not to mention her reputation for being highly intuitive, she would know precisely what to say, wouldn’t she?

Agents like her made the rest of them look bad.

What really surprised him was Agent Lakes’ response – or lack thereof – to Taylor’s tactics. Lakes was a good agent, one who was known for being a straight-shooter who played by the rules. Why did he tolerate someone like Taylor on his team?

Could there be something going on between the two of them? Something less than professional?

After all, he’d been at her house on the evening in question. Returning after everyone else had left.

Sure, he’d had a legitimate reason. But what if that was an excuse to cover up the truth?

He glanced again at Taylor’s official photograph.

She was a looker, all right. More seasoned agents than Lakes had been taken in by a pretty face before.

While fraternization in general wasn’t officially prohibited, the fact that Lakes was her superior made it a serious offense.

If there was anything even going on, something he had yet to prove.

Well, if there was, he’d prove it. If there was one thing he was good at, it was sniffing out the truth.

No matter how much someone might want to keep it hidden.

None of that