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“Yes, it is a shamrock.”
“She’s wearing a light blue bodysuit with jeans over it. Her shoes are gone.”
“They were never found.”
Colleen nodded, wincing slightly. “I think I have a good idea about Emily,” she said.
“Lainie Nowak,” he said, changing the range of the photos.
“You and Red found her, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, we found her.”
“Before I look at the photos, any details you remember?”
“Earth and dirt. And knowing quickly we were way too late. And while at that point, it was two such murders with the same pine boxes and notes, we knew we were going to be tracking a serial killer.”
They studied the crime scene pictures.
The body as it was found, as it was cleaned, as it appeared on the morgue table.
“Little jade earrings,” Colleen noted. “And a mole at the side of her cheek. Clothing, navy blue business suit, white ruffled blouse. No stockings or shoes.”
No. The Embracer had redressed her. Shoes were not important.
“Yeah. Details,” Mark said. He glanced over at the screens showing the two hospital rooms.
Brant Pickering was sitting next to Sally Smithson, tenderly holding her hand.
Gary Boynton was seated by Dierdre. He held her hand and rested his cheek on it where it lay on the bed.
Perfect boyfriends.
And maybe they were.
But he was still convinced Carver had been startled when he’d learned another girl had been kidnapped.
And that meant someone else was out there.
Ragnar returned as they continued to study the screens.
He looked somewhat disgruntled.
“Everything all right?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, sure, of course.” Ragnar glanced at Colleen. “Um, your sister is a little stubborn.”
“Probably,” Colleen agreed. She shrugged. “My brother is stubborn too. Maybe because we’re triplets...but, hey—” she paused and gave him a crooked smile “—we’re great at sharing. It was a simple necessity with our folks going crazy with three kids the same age at the same time.”
“Must have been nice,” Mark said.
She looked at him and said softly, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I forgot—”
“You don’t need to be sorry but thank you. I was a lucky kid. I loved my mother; she gave me a strange gift by reappearing when she was gone, and I was adopted by the kindest couple in the world.” He laughed. “And they made me share too.”
“Yes, of course,” Colleen said.
“You two should get going,” Ragnar urged.
“One more thing: let’s pull up the articles in the paper. We need to see what likenesses of Lainie and Emily were shown to the public.”
“I’ll pull them up on the computer,” Ragnar offered.
Two pictures of Emily Watkins had surfaced in different papers. In one, she was beautifully decked out in a shimmering ballroom gown. The necklace she wore was made of rhinestones. Her hair was swept back in a braided updo.
In the other, she was in a T-shirt and jeans, wearing no jewelry, her hair tumbling around her shoulders.
They pulled up Lainie Nowak. She was shown in an elegant black dress, spike heels, and no jewelry.
The second was a natural look as well. She was in tailored pants and a short-sleeved blouse, a broad sash at her waist.
“I’m good,” Colleen said. “We’ll get going.”
“Is Red going with you or staying with me?” Ragnar asked.
“We’ll take him,” Colleen said, adding quickly, “If that’s all right.”
Mark and Ragnar both nodded.
As they left, Mark noted Ragnar was already watching the screens.
