Devlin carefully turned the evidence bag containing the wax casing around in his hand. “We have the portable lab set up over here. I’ll do a DNA check as well as fingerprints. Then we can open it up.”
“So, all the evidence inside the mine is here?” Ava asked in surprise. If that were the case, she’d coordinate the evidence here with the pieces they’d retrieved from the other crime scenes. Members of her team as well as local law officers, including Detective Hunter, were going over everything at Caleb’s lodge.
“That’s right,” Devlin told her. “We thought it would be easier. Come with me.” Devlin led them to the mobile lab.
“Stay.” Ava gave Shadow the command to wait outside to keep from contaminating evidence.
Inside the van, several of Devlin’s team worked on evidence.
Devlin handled the analysis himself, working meticulously to preserve any evidence Wax left behind. Once he’d completed both steps, he carefully removed the wax coating from around the object.
Ava held her breath as the last layer of wax was peeled away to reveal a tiny bracelet with initials. HL. “That looks like a baby’s bracelet.” She didn’t understand any of the clues Wax had given them.
Caleb leaned in closer, studying the bracelet. “Three different uses of the letters HL. I think we have to accept HL isprobably the initials of someone important to him or maybe Wax himself.”
“You’re right, but where do we even begin to find answers?” Ava shook her head.
“I’ll swab it before I give it over to you.” Devlin went to work while Ava struggled to understand.
“So, we have a key, a lake, a lodge, rings, and now a bracelet. How are they all connected?”
Caleb looked around the van at the work taking place. “Right now, my brain is not working clearly enough to figure it out.”
Devlin finished with the bracelet. “I’ll leave it in the evidence bag but at least you can make it out better.” He eyed them both. “You two look exhausted. There’s food in the tent along with coffee.”
“He’s right. Let’s clear our heads for a second.” Ava asked Devlin to let her know if anything came up. She and Caleb stepped from the van where Shadow waited.
The storm continued to intensify.
“It’s been hours since Shadow had anything to eat. I’ll see if I can grab him something inside.”
The tent was set up with several long tables lined with a buffet of food. There were only a few people inside refueling.
At the corner of the space, a smaller table had been set up with food for the K-9s with bowls for the food and water.
She poured some of the kibble and fresh water into bowls and set them down for Shadow who ate voraciously. She was glad one of them had an appetite.
After the strenuous chase Shadow had led, she wanted him to rest because Ava had a feeling he was going to prove key to capturing Wax.
“I feel like I want to be part of the search going on now, but I have no idea where to start.” Ava sighed deeply. “The clock is ticking. I can’t lose Rachel to him, Caleb. I can’t.”
“Don’t even go there, Ava,” he told her and pressed a hand to her shoulder. “My gut is telling me he’s using her to draw you out. He wants you to be there when he kills her, which means he’ll keep her alive until then.”
The horror of possibly witnessing Wax kill her friend was reflected on Ava’s face.
“Hey, we’ll figure it out. We’re not going to let him win. But right now, you need to take a beat and regroup. Let’s grab some coffee and something to eat and then sit and clear our thoughts.” Caleb pointed to the food.
Ava’s appetite wasn’t there but she placed a couple of pieces of fruit and a sandwich on a plate before finding a table close to Shadow. She set her plate down and got them both coffees.
Wireless charging stations were set up at each table. Ava plugged in her phone.
Shadow finished his meal, lapped up some water and came over, curling up at her feet.
Once Caleb joined her, Ava asked if he minded if they prayed. She could tell the question came as a surprise.
When she and Caleb were together, they attended church regularly. Occasionally, they’d visit her parents and go to her father’s church.
Though she never told her parents, praying—worshiping God—attending service—had always been part of her life until Wax. That monster had destroyed her faith and had taken away her ability to pray to God because her heart had been filled with doubts and bitterness. She was slowly finding her way back, but it had taken three years just to set foot in church. During that time, she hadn’t said a single prayer.
