“Look,” he said.
He pointed to a strip of red fabric dangling from a branch. “Seems like he wants us to find him. Take a break. You’ll need fresh legs.”
“Agreed.” She sat on a rock and wiped the sweat from her eyes. “Why would a guy come all the way up here to kill himself? It makes no sense.”
“No, it does not.”
She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. “People do all kinds of crazy stunts when they’re stressed or under the influence. And some just don’t want to go quietly but want to make their last act a show.”
“Maybe.”
“No theories on this guy?”
“I deal in fact, not theory. But I do know for certain that you will come out of these woods alive and well.”
He had her back on the mission. Of that, she had no doubt. However, that confidence didn’t extend to their personal lives. “I saw Tony today. He’s the pimp that ran Cassie.”
Bowman frowned. “Where?”
“Truck stop. My regular beat. He’s also looking for the person who killed Cassie.”
“So he wasn’t the one that sold her that last time?”
“Apparently not. As tempted as I was to offer Jax and Darla up to Tony, I didn’t want to out Sandy, who is still with him. He’s the kind of guy that would make her pay for talking to a cop.”
“What did Tony have to say?”
“Said there seems to be a high demand for women who look like Vicky and Cassie.”
“And you.”
“He said I should be careful.”
Bowman reached for a branch and snapped it in his fingers. “He’s right.”
“I need to flush this Shark guy out. He needs to be caught.”
Bowman looked up the last twenty feet of steep climbing. “I’m retaining point position.”
“Cooper can take point.”
“Not now.”
The last ten feet were nearly hand over hand, and when he reached the top, he extended his hand down toward her. She readily accepted it, appreciating his strength when he pulled her to the top. Cooper climbed easily beside her.
They moved toward the falls where the river raced past, swollen by recent high rains. A cloudless, clear-blue sky touched the mountains. The view was stunning. “Lenny!” she shouted.
Her voice echoed, traveled, and bounced. Neither one of them moved or spoke as they listened. Water crashed and splashed. But no sign of the man.
“I’m Trooper Riley Tatum with Virginia State Police. I’m here to help you!”
Again Riley and Bowman stood in silence waiting for an answer. Wind rustled through the trees. Nothing moved.
She stared at the pool of water below, searching for signs of his body. Hell, if he’d fallen in the water, the current could have pinned him to the bottom of the deep basin. Where the hell was he?
Seconds later a gunshot rang out. She and Bowman both dropped into a crouch and reached for their weapons. “It came from the woods to the east,” Riley said.
Bowman moved toward the gunshot while she and Cooper followed. The woods grew less and less dense, then opened into a small clearing. Leaning against a rock was a tall man with dark hair. He wore a suit, dress shirt, and shoes. His arms lay limp by his side. Clutched in his right hand was a revolver. There was a single gunshot wound in his head.
Bowman crept up to the man, his gun drawn. He pressed two fingertips to the man’s neck. “He’s dead.”
“Why the hell would he come all the way up here? Look at his clothes and shoes. And those buffed nails. This is the last place a guy like this would come.”
“There’s a note in his front breast pocket.”
“Let me get it.” She handed him Cooper’s tracking line while pulling latex gloves from her side pocket and tugging them on. Using her fingertips, she pulled out the white folded paper. A playing card flittered out to the ground.
For a moment, she didn’t breathe as she stared at it. Carefully, she picked it up and turned it over.
It was the queen of hearts, and written on it were scrawled words that read, I win. You lose.
Bowman muttered an oath. Hand on his Beretta M9, he searched the woods around them. “That’s the Shark’s brand of cards.”
“And he’s talking directly to me.”
Wind whispered through the trees. “We’re chasing a killer who likes to play games.”
Fear tightened her gut. “He wins. I lose.”
“After we get off the mountain, I want you to go directly to Shield Security.”
“Why?”
“For once, don’t question. Do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Wednesday, September 21, 6:00 p.m.
After they came out of the woods, Bowman followed her home. While she changed, he searched her house and around it, confirming no one had left a package or broken in. After she walked Cooper, they each got back in their SUVs and she followed him to the Shield Security offices.
Bowman stopped at the security entrance, showed his ID, and spoke to the guard. When Riley approached, the guard waved her through.
She drove up the winding road bracketed by thick trees, passing tall light posts outfitted with cameras. Probably infrared coupled with motion detection. State-of-the-art equipment. No other buildings lined the road, and she’d heard that Shield had purchased a couple of hundred acres. Not a cheap or easy purchase this close to Quantico and the DC area.
At the end of the road, a five-story building stretched along the landscape like a long, sleek animal. The front of the dark building was covered in smoked glass.
She parked and grabbed Cooper’s long leash. Clay scanned her carefully, pausing on her freshly scrubbed face and the waves of brown hair draping her shoulders. His expression was neutral and impossible to read, but if she were standing in his shoes, she’d be making associations with the dead girl.
“I called ahead. They are waiting for you upstairs.”
“Who’s waiting?”
“The IT guy.”
“Is this about the video?”
“You’ll see.”
As they made their way up the elevator and along the carpeted hallway, she was again made aware of his height. Most men his size had a tendency to lumber, but not him. He moved with an easy grace more like a wide receiver than a linebacker.
He held open a tinted-glass door for her as she entered. The computer room, as he called it, looked like something out of a science fiction movie. The state patrol had good equipment, but Shield must have an unlimited budget. Joshua Shield was clearly in this business to win first, profit second.
Shield moved toward her. He wore a light-blue shirt, red tie, and charcoal-gray suit pants. No jacket, which was likely his idea of casual.
“Trooper Tatum,” he said, extending his hand. “Good to see you again.”
She accepted it, noting restraint in his firm grip. “Mr. Shield. Pleasure to see you.” He didn’t hide his scrutiny as he studied her with a precision that logged every detail of her face. She found the cool calculation terrifying. “I understand you have some details about the video.”