Page 18 of Holden’s Resurrection

This wasn’t unusual. Gemini Group had worked with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department many times.

“This is technically Vaughn’s case but something’s not sitting right,” Jonny started.

Vaughn Holbrook had been on Alec Hall’s team when they’d served in the Navy. They’d been stationed in San Diego so Holden had never crossed paths with the man. But Nixon had when he’d gone to California for training. Vaughn had separated from the Navy before any of them had and spent years wandering around until Alec had reached out and pulled him into the fold. Nixon offered the former SEAL a job at Gemini Group but he’d declined and joined the sheriff’s department.

One could say Vaughn wasn’t open to connections. The man made Jameson look friendly and in comparison made Holden seem well-adjusted. However, by all accounts, Vaughn was a good deputy who simply enjoyed solitude and isolation. Holden could understand the need for both. That was one reason he lived alone in his Airstream.

“Does this have to do with the two girls from a few weeks ago?” Holden inquired.

They’d found the girls, unharmed but freaked the fuck out. They’d been no help identifying the man who’d taken them.

Jonny scrubbed his hands over his face, and when he looked up, regret was clearly visible. “We’re missing something. The pieces are all here.”

“What’s your gut telling you?” Jameson inquired.

“Not sure. But something is not right.”

Jonny slid a file folder to the middle of the table. “This is from a year ago. A report was filed by the parents of a seventeen-year-old girl. They waited until she was two hours late for curfew, then they started calling her friends. An hour later, they called the KCSD to file a missing person report. She was found a few hours later sleeping in her car.”

“Out drinking and didn’t want to go home and get busted by her parents?” Weston tossed out.

“If her shirt hadn’t been torn, two fingernails hadn’t been broken, and pure terror wasn’t in her eyes, I’d say yes. But that was the story she gave to us and her parents.”

“Her parents didn’t question how her shirt was torn?” Nixon asked as he picked up the file and opened it.

“They did. She told them she was at a party with some girlfriends and they were jacking around and she accidentally ripped her shirt. The parents were overcome with relief that their daughter was safe, they didn’t question whether or not she was actually unharmed.”

Holden glanced at the report Nix had pulled from the file and waited for Jonny to continue.

“Next one, missing person report filed by parents when their sixteen-year-old was three hours late coming home. She showed up when the deputies were there taking the report. Unfortunately, both officers were in the house so they didn’t see the car that dropped her off. Her story was, she had a boyfriend who lived in Delaware, they’d lost track of time. However, the deputy noted her makeup was smeared and it looked like she’d been crying. Her skirt had blood on it, and she wasn’t wearing shoes. In that case, the dad was so pissed he asked the officers to leave. The last thing they noted was faint bruising on her wrists and ankles.”

Jonny paused and pulled out another file.

“This one.” He stopped again and cleared his throat. “Was my case. Six months ago, I was on shift and got called out to a noise complaint out on Perkins Hill Road. The caller said it sounded like cars were racing. Something that happens on that stretch of road a lot. We went out there, and indeed there was a group racing, but there was also a large gathering of cars in front of the Morgan residence. Two squads took care of the boys racing and I went to the house. The Morgans were out of town, leaving their eighteen-year-old son, Tyler, home alone. Kids scattered like cockroaches, a few were given alcohol citations, and the two twenty one year olds were given a summons for distributing alcohol to minors.”

Jonny looked around the table, shook his head, then glanced back at the report. “Molly Buchannan. I found her outside about thirty feet from the main house, behind a barn. When I walked up she was adjusting her clothes. I gave her a moment to get herself presentable and walked her back to the house. Mascara was running down her cheeks, she had scratch marks on her arms, and she was visibly terrified. She was also sober. She swore she was just embarrassed she’d been caught with her boyfriend and nothing had happened. Since she was sober, not breaking any laws, I had no reason to detain her. I did follow up with her parents and they said she was upset with herself because her friends had talked her into going to the party and there was drinking going on. I had no evidence a crime had been committed so there was nothing further I could do. But there are some things you just know in your gut but can’t prove. Whatever had happened to her was not consensual.”

“Playing Devil’s advocate here,” Weston said. “But getting caught by the cops having sex with your boyfriend would probably freak any teenage girl out.”

Undeterred by Weston’s comment, Jonny continued.

“Three months ago, a fourteen-year-old girl was reported missing at midnight when her mom heard a car stop in front of her house. The way the mom tells it, she had a bad feeling and went to check on her daughter. She found her daughter missing, the bedroom window unlocked and left open a couple of inches. The mom wasted no time calling the KCSD. The girl called her mom at five the next morning asking her to come pick her up from McDonald’s. Her story was, she’d snuck out and gone to a party in Queen Anne county. She refused to give any names because she was a freshman and they were seniors and she didn’t want to snitch. She’d rather take the heat from her mom than be shunned at school. Kimberly Lot committed suicide last month.”

Jesus fuck.

“Any prior issues with mental health?” Holden asked, then followed up with, “How did she look when you picked her up from the McDonald’s?”

“No prior issues on record. It was a shock to her teachers, coaches, and family.” Jonny held Holden’s gaze and he braced for Jonny’s next answer. “We took Kimberly’s mom to pick her up and all it took was one look at the girl’s dead eyes to tell she’d been violated. We brought in a female deputy and social services but Kimberly insisted nothing had happened, she was just scared her mom was going to be mad since she snuck out. And she said she was upset because the girls she thought were her friends left her at the McDonald’s instead of driving her home.”

Before Holden could process the horror of a young girl taking her life and the possibility of what could’ve been done to her that night, Micky spoke.

“You have a pattern. Every three months to the day.” Micky looked up from her laptop. “You also have a type. All blondes, all in high school. There’s a reason these girls aren’t reporting what happened to them. My guess would be he’s much older and someone in a position of power, or perceived power. The girls are scared of him—he likely threatened to harm them if they talked, maybe told them no one would believe them, or he could’ve threatened their families.”

“That’s my opinion as well,” Jonny agreed. “And the two girls we found, they were taken three months after Kimberly. Both blondes.”

“If you’re working a profile, Elliana and Ayla don’t fit. They said they were together the whole time.”

“Upping the thrill factor,” Jameson tossed out, and Holden’s stomach revolted at the suggestion.