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2
Two days later
Logan hung up the phone, got up from his desk, and headed to the office of his unit chief, Jefferson Cole. Supervisory Special Agent Alex Donovan looked up from her desk and smiled as he walked by.
Logan returned her smile. When he looked at her, his heart ached. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but he was smart enough to realize she wasn’t ready. For now, they were friends. Close friends. He wanted that to be enough ... but it wasn’t. A couple of times he’d been tempted to ask someone out on a date, but he’d put it off until he was certain Alex would never love him.
He sighed. That was a lie. He honestly believed he would never love anyone but her. Wanting Alex was painful, but it was a wonderful kind of anguish. He couldn’t explain it. He didn’t even understand it himself. He pushed thoughts of Alex out of his mind as he opened the door to Jeff’s office.
“Go on in,” Jeff’s faithful administrative assistant said with a smile. Logan had always liked Alice Burrows, even though she protected her boss like a mother lion protecting her cub.
“Thanks, Alice.”
Jeff looked up as Logan entered, then closed the door behind him. “Logan, you remember Chief Dixon, right? And Special Agent Lucas?” The local police chief sat in a chair in front of Jeff’s desk. Next to him was one of their agents from the Quantico field office.
“Of course.” He shook hands with both men and then took the third chair. “What’s up?”
Jeff nodded at Lucas.
“We have a problem,” the agent said after clearing his throat. “Chief Dixon contacted us about a missing woman. I’ve taken his statement, and we’re looking into it, but he asked to talk to the BAU as well. The chief knows I think it’s too early in the investigation to bring our unit in, but . . .”
Logan frowned and looked at Jeff. A missing woman? Why was the FBI involved at all? Usually the Bureau was brought in only for offenders with multiple crimes. People went missing for many reasons—and most of them weren’t anything the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit could address.
“I realize people disappear for many reasons,” Chief Dixon said, echoing Logan’s thoughts, “but Tracy Mendenhall isn’t the kind of person to just take off on her own. She’s a single mom who recently graduated from nursing school. She’s devoted to her two children, and she’s worked hard to provide for them. She just got a great job with a local clinic. Was so excited about it. There’s absolutely no way she would just leave.”
Jeff leaned forward. “Maybe the pressure of—”
“No. She’s a strong young woman. Not someone easily overcome by circumstances. If she weren’t, she would have buckled when her husband died. She and the children moved in with her parents while Tracy was in school. They’re very close.”
“When did she go missing?” Jeff asked.
“Early Sunday morning. She was out jogging, something she did at the same time every day. She runs from her house and into a nearby park. She was seen entering, but that was the last time anyone spotted her. Officers found her water bottle off the path, near some trees.”
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear,” Logan said, “but profiling an UNSUB with just one victim is almost impossible.”
“Do you have a photo of her?” Jeff asked.
“Yes.” Lucas pulled a file folder from his briefcase, then laid a large photo on Jeff’s desk. “This was taken at her graduation.”
Logan leaned forward to see a lovely young woman posing next to an older couple. She had a nice smile and looked very happy. He prayed she’d be found quickly and would smile like that again. But if she hadn’t left on her own, the chances of that were slim.
“We have a list of family and friends,” Lucas said. “We’ve just started questioning them. I can send you our findings as soon as we have them. So far no one seems to know anything, but they’ve all said Tracy would never just take off.” He placed the file on the desk next to the photo.
“Have you used ViCAP yet, Lucas?”
“Not yet.”
“We’ll do it. Run her description and the details of her abduction through to see if any other cases match hers,” Jeff said.
“That’s great,” Chief Dixon said. “Anything you can do will be appreciated. I know this isn’t the type of case the BAU would normally work, but I really care about Tracy. I’m asking for your help as a favor.” The chief’s eyes grew shiny. “Her parents are beside themselves. I ... I promised to do everything I can to find her.” He gulped and struggled to continue. “I’ve known her ever since her family moved here from Kansas a few years ago to be near David’s ill mother, who’s since passed away. They go to my church. If you could help us look in the right places—at the right people—maybe we can find her. So far we just don’t have any leads.” He sighed deeply. “Sorry to get emotional, but this hits so close to home.”
“We’ll see what we can do and get back to you ASAP,” Jeff said.
“Good to see you, Chief—although not under these circumstances,” Logan said. “I truly hope we can help you.”
“I do too.”
Lucas nodded and followed the chief out of Jeff’s office.
