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“The children each had markings on them identical to those on the dolls they were found with. Those whose dolls had two sets of markings, on the head and the body, also had two sets of markings. No need to go to all that trouble if the dolls were simply found to go with the kids.”
They had no idea if the children had been branded shortly after they were taken or just before death. Both medical examiners, the one from thirty years ago and the current one, had noted that it had been done before death—the wounds had started to heal but hadn’t healed completely—but they couldn’t determine exactly how long before. Had Clara been branded? The thought of some sick monster burning her flesh to match markings on a doll filled him with a deep protective rage and anger that he’d never encountered before.
“Let’s focus on the doll aspect, get in contact with any store that sells antique dolls, focus on the four dolls found with our most recent victims, see if that leads us anywhere. And that brings us to Clara Candella.” Heidi’s brown eyes sought his and held his gaze. “Jonathon?”
“She’s not involved,” he replied, willing his voice to remain neutral, and pleased with the results.
She moved her gaze to his partner. “Allina?”
“She couldn’t have left the bodies in the park or abducted Katie Logan because she was here at the station, so it seems unlikely that she’s Thomas Karl’s partner. Assuming he is involved. I suppose it could be the original Doll Killers, plus her and Thomas, all working together, but she was fairly convincingly horrified by the entire ordeal.”
“So, she’s out as a suspect?” Heidi clarified.
Leaving it up to his partner to confirm, Jonathon looked at Allina. She rolled her eyes at him in response. “Yeah, she’s out.”
“So, how does she fit into all of this? Did you get anything else out of her when you interviewed her?”
“She says she doesn’t remember what happened to her in the six weeks she was missing, or how she and Thomas escaped,” Allina replied.
“Do you believe her?”
“Yes,” Allina confirmed. “She seems truly devastated about the children. I think if she knew anything that could help us find Katie then she’d tell us.”
“She remembers the abduction itself, though,” Jonathon spoke up. “Her reaction when we asked about that was different than her reaction when we asked about everything else.”
Allina nodded approvingly at him, liked he’d just passed some test he hadn’t known he’d been sitting. “I picked up on that, too. I think she remembers it, but she’s scared to talk about it for some reason.”
“Well get her to talk.” Heidi set the stress ball down, picked up a pen and began to twirl it between her fingers. “If she remembers the abduction, then she remembers something about the kidnappers and the way they operate. We need to know. Last time these killers managed to slip away; I’m not having that happen again. Eighteen victims back then, plus two who survived, another five already…I don’t want any more kids dying while we sit here and try and figure this out.”
“We have the doll angle. The statements from Clara and Thomas after they were found are basically useless—neither of them say much about anything. I think our best bet is to try and get Clara to remember. Maybe we can convince her to try hypnotism or something. With Thomas dead, she’s the only living person left who knows the identity of the original killers.” Jonathon wasn't sure how he was going to convince her to try getting help to get her memories back. He hadn’t even been able to convince her to go on a date with him; she’d turned him down flat. It had stung. A lot. But this wasn't about the two of them. This was about children in danger. And if Clara thought that they wanted to prove the original killers were still involved, then she might be willing to give hypnosis a try.
“So, do we think original killers or Thomas Karl working with a partner?” Heidi asked.
“Thomas Karl is involved,” Jonathon answered confidently. “It is way too much of a coincidence that Clara stops hearing from him around the time the murders start, and then out of the blue he turns up in her car with a knife and a gun, carjacks her and tells her he has to show her something. And the carjacking was deliberately targeting Clara, he was waiting for herinsideher car, so it was not random. It makes him look even more suspicious that he’d rather die than have to talk to us. When Clara’s car finally ran out of gas, he knew it was over. He knew that if he talked to us, we’d find out what he’d been up to. He knew shooting at cops was going to get him killed, and he’d rather die than get found out.”
“He’s replicated everything else, so it seems logical that he’s also working with a partner,” Allina added. “Tomorrow Jon and I are going to check out his apartment and then speak with his mother.”
“I like that plan. And if the original killers are working with Thomas, I think when we find proof that he’s involved, we’ll also find the identities of the Doll Killers. Then no one else will get hurt, and the victims and their families get their justice.”
Jonathon agreed one hundred percent with his boss’ words. Those children deserved justice. And so did their families. And he was determined to get it for them. Even if it meant hurting Clara. This case needed to be solved; the killers needed to be stopped, and if Clara reliving what she endured in those missing weeks helped make that happen, then her pain was a regrettable yet unavoidable consequence.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel guilty. Or that he wouldn’t feel Clara’s pain as sharply as though it were his own.
But this case consumed him.
The Doll Killerswouldbe stopped.
February9th
4:57 A.M.
“Wait,” he yelled.
But she didn’t wait.
She never waited.
Why didn’t she?
