“Just a mug,” the woman said. “It was just a mug.”
“What kind of security do you have here?”
“Locks. A security system.”
“Your alarm didn’t go off during the night of the alleged breaking and entering?”
“We had a power outage that night, so no, it didn’t go off.”
“I want a list of all your clients. And I suggest you alert each one about the breakin.”
When the apartment doorbell buzzed, Kaitlin rose off the couch, moving with careful precision toward the call box. She pressed the red button. “Yes.”
“It’s Detective Adler.”
She glanced toward the security camera screen now projecting his tall, wide shoulders and short dark hair. She admired his strong jaw and angled features before she caught herself and pressed the door release button.
She collected a plate of leftover pizza and an empty coffee cup from last night and took them to the kitchen. She quickly rinsed off both and placed them in the drying rack as the doorbell rang.
Anxious and nervous, she dried her hands and then ran fingers through her hair. She opened the door. “Good morning, Detective.”
Sharp eyes studied her. “Have you been resting, Kaitlin?”
“I feel great. I’ve turned a corner.” Well, maybe not a full corner, but close enough to get through this day.
“Ready?”
“Yes. Let me just grab my backpack.”
He stepped into the foyer and scanned her apartment as he must have when he’d dropped her off.
“I could lie and say the place isn’t normally this messy, but it is,” she said.
“It’s eclectic. That bed is an antique. Queen Anne, right?”
“I suppose. My aunt left it to me. It’s been in our family for three generations.”
His gaze dropped to the heart pendant around her neck. “Did your aunt also leave you that?”
Automatically her fingertips brushed over it. “Yes, this was Gina’s.”
“It’s nice.”
Kaitlin hefted her backpack without too much of a wince or pull. “Ready.”
“You look a little stiff.”
“I worked too hard yesterday grading my students’ projects. I figured with all that was going on, I better get the grades in now.”
“Are you sure you’re really up to the trip today?”
“Yes.”
He studied her closely. “There’s going to be no filming or recording today. This is an open murder investigation.”
“Understood.”
He opened her front door and waited as she passed. It locked automatically, but he checked to make sure it was secure before the two made their way to his waiting SUV. She clicked on her seat belt and settled into the seat as he slid behind the wheel.
He backed out of the spot in one swift, smooth move. “I was able to get the video footage from several Crowley neighbors.”
“What did you find?”
“You approached the front door, just as you said, hesitated a beat or two, and then entered the residence. The camera caught a shadow moving through the house just before you arrived.”
“It was a trap.”
“Yes.” Adler tightened his fingers on the wheel.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“There’s a farm about twenty miles outside of the city. That’s where Hayward and the uniforms are meeting us.” He flashed his police lights, and slower-moving vehicles parted, allowing him to glide past.
He took a westbound exit, drove past a mile’s worth of strip malls, and headed toward open country. They drove for ten minutes before he slowed. Automatically she unzipped her backpack and pulled out her phone.
“No recordings.”
“Just a description of the area for later.”
“Until the case is closed, no recordings.” When she readied a rebuttal he said, “Do you always press the boundaries?”
She shrugged and put her phone back in her backpack. “Every chance I get.”
“Not here. Especially not today.”
She would play nice because she needed to see this to the end. “Fine. No recording.”
His gaze traveled over her. “What’re your plans after you finish this podcast?” he asked.
“Good question. I have lots of contacts in Dallas, so I can return and find work fairly easily.”
“Is that what you want? To go back?”
“I don’t think so. I have about six months’ worth of savings, and if I’m careful, I won’t have to rush the decision.” She looked out the window toward the rolling land. “I’ve been here before.”
“When?”
“About a month before Gina vanished. There was a party here.”
The road grew bumpier, and he slowed down the car so the ruts weren’t as jarring. “Who owns the property?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask a lot of questions back then.”
Looking out of the car, she stared at the yellow crime scene tape rippling in the wind. The sky above was dark, and the plump clouds were heavy with rain. The wind skimmed over the top of the sprouting new green grass, and her skin tingled with unease. She wrapped her arms around her midsection. She edged closer to Adler.
“Gina loved her country parties,” Kaitlin said. “My aunt wasn’t crazy about us going.”
“She had cause to worry. Out here if something went wrong, no one could get in or out quickly.”
“I only came once on the Fourth of July. Randy and Derek shot off fireworks. There were a dozen kegs and fifty kids here.”
“Where was Gina?”
“She and her ex-boyfriend spent most of the night together. They looked like they were having intense conversations.”
“Were they fighting?”
“No. They still had feelings for each other, and breaking up was harder than Gina imagined.”
“Were Erika and Jennifer here?”
“They were. Jennifer had a date with Larry Jenkins.”
“I didn’t realize they were romantic.”
“It was just the one date.” Being here and talking about the past released a flood of emotions. “We might be on the verge of finding Gina, and I’m terrified.”
“That’s natural.”
“I’ve made so many mistakes,” she said, more to herself.
“When I visited with Hayward, he talked about the night Gina vanished,” Adler said.
“Did he admit he took Gina?”
“No.”
“Did he say if someone else was on the road that night?” she asked.
“No.”
She breathed in deeply. “He had to have had help that night.”
“He’s not giving us any details beyond Gina’s location.”
“I wish I could have saved her.”
“You were intoxicated and a confused, scared kid. You were no match for this guy.” He stopped and leaned in. “You could have stayed hiding in Dallas. Instead, you sobered up and came back here. We wouldn’t be this close to finding Gina now if not for you.”
“Was it worth the cost if Jennifer and Erika had their lives taken?”
He touched her arm. “You’re not to blame. You were the only one who gave a shit to reopen this case.”
A gust of wind cut through the tree branches heavy with spring buds. They followed a narrow path through the woods into a clearing. There were a dozen cop cars from city, county, and state, the medical examiner’s state forensics vans, and a shiny black Lexus.
“Everyone’s here,” Adler said, parking.
She scanned the crowd for Hayward. “I don’t see him.”
Adler came around the car and joined her. “He’s in the police car. Blackstone is standing by Hayward’s city police car.”
Blackstone wore a charcoal-gray suit, a dark fitted overcoat, and a stoic expression. The age difference between him and Gina had kept him on the periphery of her crowd, but he’d been at that Fourth of July party. Several times that night she’d caught him staring at her. His expression had left her unsettled.
Another well-dressed man got out of an unmarked state car and strode toward Blackstone. They shook hands, but it was clear that tension simmered between the two.
“Who’s that?” Kaitlin asked.
“Trey Ricker. He’s with the Commonwealth Attorney’s office,” Adler said. “He negotiated the plea agreement.”
Adler kept their pace slow as they moved through the grass toward the line of cops. Several officers and sheriff’s deputies shook his hand, welcoming him back to the job. The line finally parted and allowed them access to Hayward’s car.