Page 38 of Long Past Deadly

Quaid stayed silent for several seconds. “If Esme was already gone, it’s more likely Mercer took her first and came back for you. Whit stopped him.”

Alanna’s gut rolled, greasy fear and remembered pained balled tight. Over the years, she’d reasoned the sequence out, but never uttered it. “I never found out what happened to Esme, and believe me when I got in the FBI, I searched. Nothing.”

“And now, Whit is missing. The police report suggests there was a fight with a lot of blood.”

“I’ve read it.”

“Where have you checked?”

“All our old haunts, some of his hide spots. I can’t ask questions on those streets as easily as I used to. It’s the badge. I guess I do act like an FBI agent.”

Quaid huffed out a laugh. “Yes, you do tend to give off that vibe.”

She eased back from the memories, glad to be finished talking about it, and followed him to the door. “I’m sorry. You requested me for a cold case review, and this is interfering. I’ve read all the case files and made notes with some suggestions for how to proceed.”

Quaid waited for her to come alongside him, and they left his office and slowly made their way down the hall to Operations. “It’s a cold case for a reason. It’ll wait.”

Confession time. “I was trying to find Whit, too. I’d exhausted FBI assets and figured yours were worth a try. The FBI doesn’t have as many street sources as your people do.”

Quaid grinned. “You were using us?”

“Yeah, your case and Whit’s dovetailed nicely.” Relieved to get the truth off her chest, she laid aside the guilt for using him. She did what she had to.

Quaid paused with his hand on the Operations door handle. The office was quiet. It was unusual for middle of the day by her short experience, but Quaid didn’t notice. “How do you do this work?”

“It’s fascinated me since college when I realized I could study the subject and figure out why Mercer was like he was.”

“Trauma leads to destiny.”

“In some ways, yes. He identified how vulnerable I am from the parking lot attack, but he also saw how you operate, here and at the hotel. As you say, he may be an assassin with a couple tried and true methods, but logic isn’t part of his current operation.”

“Emotions fuck with thinking straight.”

“A compulsion pathology that he’s had longer than his assassination tendencies is more likely. There’s too many reasons it could be spilling out, though. We can’t guess. It won’t help us find him.” Alanna let the sigh trapped in her chest ease out. Talking more practically about those violent moments had helped keep the sensory grit at bay – the vivid colors, the smells, the terror.

“If he remembers you from that street incident, which I’m guessing he does, it stands to reason he’s done his own investigation into you. Something triggered this. When was last time you searched for Esme?”

She took a drink of her coke, wetting her throat with the last of the can. “Six months ago. I started with the Jane Doe database at the Medical Examiners Office, then branched to hospitals and funeral homes. You understand the process. I was using a fifteen-year-old’s memory. With no last name, it gave me a lot of records to sift through.”

“You think she’s dead?”

“I’m operating on that assumption. Given the incident, it was a plausible conclusion given she completely disappeared. She was a teenager without the resources. I know.” She held up a hand. “My search assumes he used established sources for her body or dumped a Jane Doe for the police to find. Flimsy, at best. We’ll never find a dumping ground if that’s what he did. But searching for a live Esme is a worse maze. Too many sources, too many directions. The morgues are finite.”

“How far did you get?”

“This is an urban area. You have no idea how many funeral homes there are. The only plus I have is her age. It eliminates dozens.”

“Not very far, then.”

She twisted her face in disbelief. “I did have a demanding day job at the time.”

Quaid grinned, then finished his own drink. “Still do.”

She conceded the point by tipping her head in agreement. “None of which helps us find Whit.”

“Mac won’t quit until he finds him. No worry there.”

“We need the piece from Iraq. Those two fought like they hated each other twice, and the police report doesn’t give me any clues for why now.”