Kari nodded, but she didn't feel any better.Anyone, even a seasoned detective, could get ambushed, even in his own home.Especially if he was outnumbered.The thought made Kari want to stay with him until this situation was resolved, but that was a Catch-22.
How was she supposed to resolve the situation if she was sitting on her hands?
No, the best way to protect Ben was to catch the people responsible for kidnapping him and nearly ending his life.In other words, the best defense was a good offense.
"What are you thinking?"Ben asked.
"Nothing."She pushed off from the counter, straightening her shoulders."I should go.I've got more interviews to conduct, and Maria's sending over files on the other two victims.We're going to coordinate—share information, work the case from both ends."
Ben walked her to the door.At the threshold, he paused."Kari.This runner case—it's not connected to what happened to me.Different people, different motive."
"I know."
"But be careful anyway.You're already on someone's radar because of the Naalnish investigation.If you start making waves on another case, start attracting attention from another direction..."He didn't finish the sentence.
She smiled."I care about you, too."
She stepped out onto the porch, squinting against the afternoon sun."If that car comes by again, get the full plate.We'll run it, see what comes up."
"Will do."
She walked to her Jeep, feeling Ben's eyes on her back until she pulled out of the driveway.As she drove away, she checked her rearview mirror, scanning for dark sedans or anything else that seemed out of place.
Nothing.Just empty streets and quiet houses and the vast desert stretching toward the horizon.But she knew they were out there—watching, biding their time, making plans.They wouldn't wait forever.Eventually, even if they thought Ben had forgotten his ordeal, they would find a way to silence him for good.
A car accident, maybe.
Waiting wouldn't keep Ben safe.It was time to take the fight to the enemy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Maria Santos looked exactly the same as Kari remembered—the same battered leather jacket with the coffee stain on the left cuff, the same habit of standing with her weight shifted to one side, the same sharp eyes that missed nothing.
They'd agreed to meet at a diner halfway between Chinle and Phoenix, a truck stop off I-40 that catered to long-haul drivers and people who didn't want to be noticed.Kari had arrived first, claimed a booth in the back corner, and spent ten minutes watching the door before Maria walked in.
"You look good," Maria said, sliding into the seat across from her."Reservation life agrees with you."
"You said that last time."
"It's still true."Maria flagged down a waitress and ordered coffee, black, before turning her full attention to Kari."Thanks for meeting me.I know this is outside normal channels."
"Normal channels haven't been working."Kari pulled out a folder and set it on the table between them.She opened the folder and spread out photographs of the three victims—crime scene photos showing their bodies in their final positions, peaceful as sleeping children."Why would someone take the time to arrange them in these positions?If you wanted them dead, you might get close enough to make sure they weren't breathing, but you certainly wouldn't want to touch the bodies.Too much risk of DNA transference, of—"
Seeing the waitress approach, she quickly laid a menu across the photos.The waitress handed Maria her coffee, shot a puzzled glance at the splayed menu that didn't entirely cover the edges of the photos, then retreated without a word.
"Could be a ritual," Maria said when they were alone again."Or some kind of signature."
"But why?What's the motive?"
Maria studied the photographs, her expression grim."I talked to the medical examiners on the other two cases.Same cause of death—severe dehydration, heat exhaustion, organ failure.Same pattern of extreme physical exertion before death.Jennifer Hayes ran over forty-five miles before she collapsed.Jordan Rodriguez ran thirty-eight."
"Jessica Ramirez ran almost forty."Kari pulled out the GPS data printouts she'd prepared."The routes are similar too.Chaotic, zigzagging, moving generally away from roads and civilization.Like they were being herded."
"By someone who knows the desert.Someone who can anticipate where they'll try to go and cut them off."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Tell me about the victims," Kari said."Beyond the running.Who were they?"
