Or did Clara choose the victims because the brides remindedherof his missing girlfriend?
Where was Clara the day Becca McCarthy disappeared?
“Ask the detective to send us everything he has on Becca McCarthy’s disappearance,” Catherine said.
“It’s already on its way,” Ryder said, refreshing his email.
Catherine’s phone vibrated. It was Michael.
“Do you have something new?” she asked.
“Alena Porter, the Sapphire Shoals manager, is unconscious and on her way to the hospital,” Michael said.
“What happened?”
“Before we talked to Davidson, I was looking to speak to her. She was supposed to be on site, but then we were told she went home sick. She fit the profile, even though we were leaning toward Hope Davidson, so I asked Detective Fuentes to follow up. When she arrived at her house, she found Porter unconscious in her vehicle, which was parked in the garage with the door open, ignition off—as if she came home, tried to get into the house, then passed out. She’s unresponsive.”
“People do get sick. Do you think she was poisoned?”
“Yes,” Michael said. “Fuentes retraced her steps and learned that immediately before she left, she went to the gym. She had told her assistant that she’d be back in her office, but then left from the gym saying she wasn’t feeling well. Hope—Audrey Reid—was still there.”
“You’re thinking what exactly?” Catherine asked, though she was beginning to see what Michael was seeing.
“That Porter may have been suspicious. She didn’t recognize Audrey from the photo, but perhaps there was something else that triggered a memory, before or after she saw her at the gym.”
“Have Fuentes follow up with the hospital to find out her status and what might have happened,” Catherine said.
“Fuentes already has a deputy there and we’ll know when and if she regains consciousness. I’ll go back to the gym and talk to the other staff.”
“Let me know,” Catherine said and then filled him in on what she and Ryder had learned. “We’re getting closer, Michael.”
“It’s taking too long,” he said and hung up.
29
Catherine didn’t want to leave Jacksonville before she spoke with Franklin Graves. She reached out again; again, no answer. She wondered if he was avoiding her calls and if it would be worth her time to go to his office. She was about to ask Ryder what he thought when Jim called her.
“Catherine, forensics came through,” he said, sounding excited. “I’ve spent most of the day going back and forth between Quantico and the Florida State Lab. We took the rust samples, water samples, trace evidence, and lung samples from the victims, then isolated common particles. I’m 99 percent confident they were all kept captive in a warehouse or factory that was flooded during the last hurricane, and I’m 90 percent confident that the location is southern Georgia or northern Florida. It could be farther out, but taking the entirety of the evidence I think I’m right.”
“That’s great work, Jim.” But was it already too late? Matt and Kara had been missing and presumably without food andwater for more than forty-eight hours. They were drugged, and based on what Jim uncovered, trapped in a dangerous warehouse.
But between the two of them, they would figure a way out, wouldn’t they? Except they hadn’t reached out, they hadn’t called anyone for help.
“The tech lab is currently running possible locations based on known flooding, but they might not have a complete list,” Jim said.
“It would need to be remote and abandoned, but accessible by vehicle.”
“I agree. I gave them the parameters and they know it’s a time-crucial situation. We’re going to find them, Catherine.” He sounded more optimistic than she felt. The more time that passed, the less confident she became.
“As soon as we get a list of possible locations,” she said, “we’ll bring in every FBI office, sheriff’s department, troopers—Tony has already given law enforcement in the region a heads-up, so we can cover a lot of ground in short time.”
“We’ll have something more in a couple hours. I’ll call you back.” He ended the call.
A couple hours. Hope Davidson—Audrey Reid—Clara Dolan—whatever name the woman went by, was in the wind. Had she run... or was she on her way to kill Matt and Kara? If the latter, they didn’t have a couple hours.
Ryder slid over a piece of paper. “Piper Dolan is Clara Dolan’s mother. Her father, Gerald, is deceased. Here’s her contact information. She’s still in California, it’s eleven in the morning there.”
“Thank you.” She looked at the address. It was in Bel-Air, one of the most expensive and exclusive Los Angeles neighborhoods.
