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Corbin went on, "Katz only owns one property. Your friends at the FBI are looking into every property he's currently representing too. No sign of the girls anywhere."
"Then he has them somewhere else," Ken said. "I don't care if you think his uncle's a good guy. His uncle is the one who gave me this black eye," Ken said, gesturing to the swelling on his left eye. "Either way, Katz is connected to Meghan, and he has a long history of assault. He's our guy, Sheriff. I'm sorry."
But even as Ken was saying that, Nicky wasn't all that convinced.
Some things definitely did not add up with Katz. She'd been so convinced it was him before, but now she wasn't so sure. The more she thought about it, the more she was starting to realize it didn't make sense.
She needed to talk to Ken alone, so she said to the sheriff, "Thanks, Corbin. We'll let you know if we need anything else. Katz stays here for now."
Begrudgingly, Corbin nodded and took off, leaving Nicky and Ken alone in the hall.
"Well, what should we do?" Ken asked. "We have probably cause to arrest him, that's for sure, and I know we'll find evidence soon."
Nicky chewed on her lip. "Walker, I'm not so sure he’s our guy."
"What?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"I don't know. Maybe he's not the one. We don’t have any physical evidence yet.”
Ken crossed his arms and scowled. "But he has a direct connection to Meghan and the warehouse. Everything points to him."
"I know that." Even as Nicky was saying it, she doubted herself. "Its just not right, Ken. If he'd just freshly kidnapped a new victim, then why bother with the black-tie event? Why wouldn't he do it on a day where he's not busy? And if he were trying to cover it up and give himself an alibi, why wouldn't he be smart enough to secure one for earlier? Get one of his police buddies to lie for him?"
"I don't know. Maybe he's hotheaded. Maybe he's desperate. Maybe he's planning on killing her and taking off right after."
"I don't know,” Nicky said. “Something about this doesn't feel right."
"We've got plenty of time to check him out," Ken said. "I'm not letting him go."
"I know." Nicky stared at the floor. "But what if we're wrong? If we are, then..."
"It's a big risk. I know."
Nicky nodded. But this was her team—she was in charge, and she got to call the shots. She just hoped Ken would have her back. She said, "Let's keep him in custody, but keep searching other leads, okay?”
"All right,” Ken said. “I can agree on that."
Nicky was glad they could come to a consensus. But she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety in her gut.
If the killer was still out there, then he'd realize soon that he'd lost his kill basement. The police and FBI were all over it looking for DNA and clues, but Nicky knew she'd get a call the moment something came up. They were also staking the place out, just in case he hadn't already seen the commotion. There were officers and agents patrolling the area at all hours.
But still.
The guy could slip by. And if he did still intend on killing Meghan, and he picked up his new victim today, then that likely meant Meghan was due to die tonight.
If the killer didn't have his basement, where would he go?
He'd likely want another spot similar to the warehouse, as it had been working for him for so long.
Bernard Brown's message slid back into Nicky's mind.
So far, the word "home" had led her down several paths. Maybe it could lead her down another.
"What are you thinking, Lyons?" Ken asked.
She frowned. "I'm thinking we need to look for other abandoned buildings with the word 'home' in their title. Defunct businesses like Home Furniture."
It could be a shot in the dark, but Nicky was used to taking those. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
