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“I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Lynne.”
“Anytime. And feel free to call me Simon. Most everyone does.”
Theo had been monitoring Abe, Amelia, and a male subject who had joined her behind the desk. He was wearing blue scrubs. While there were several nurses and aids on staff, Theo recognized the man. His photo had been uploaded to the software program—Noah Clark.
“Simon?” Theo called out before the man could get too far away from earshot. “Do you remember Dillon Buchert?”
“Of course, I do. I haven’t seen him since he was a young boy. Why do you ask?”
“He was with his father yesterday,” Theo replied with a small shrug after having garnered a reaction from none other than Noah Clark. Both he and Amelia were no longer pretending not to listen in on their conversation. “He told me to give you his regards.”
Before Mr. Lynne could respond, the administrator of the facility walked through the front entrance. Theo had been keeping a close eye on the entries made into their software program, and he recognized the man from a photograph.
Had Jim Risner attended another dental appointment?
The man’s absence this morning would be worth following up on, especially since the team believed that the unsub in all likelihood had already chosen another victim. If so, that meant they had roughly two weeks before another woman with ties to this facility went missing.
Mr. Risner had come to an abrupt halt at seeing Edgar Lynne speaking with someone out in the lobby. He clearly wasn’t thrilled about the disruption.
“May I help you?” Jim asked as he began to slowly remove his winter gloves. He’d mumbled a greeting toward Abe, but his sole focus was on Theo. “I’m Jim Risner, the facility’s administrator.”
“Theo Neville.” He waited for Jim to extend a hand after removing his gloves. “I work with Brook Sloane. I was simply following up on some questions that I had for Mr. Lynne. I must say that this is a beautiful facility.”
“Thank you.” Jim glanced toward the large counter where Noah seemed to be in the process of walking around to the opening. He almost certainly didn’t want to receive a lecture about not performing his duties. “I’d like to extend an apology to Ms. Sloane. I might have overreacted to a phone call that I received from a family member. While their concerns are valid, I also think it’s wise that we help your investigation in any way that we can. Ms. Sloane is always welcome here.”
“I will pass along your message.”
Theo fastened one of the upper buttons of his winter peacoat so that his scarf was snug against his neck. The lining of the coat wasn’t thick enough in this weather, but the design gave him easier access to his firearm.
“I also plan to courier over those paper sign-in sheets from three years ago to your office by this afternoon,” Jim said as he shoved his gloves into the right pocket of his coat. “The electronic ones will be sent via Dropbox at the same time, if that’s alright.”
“That should be fine,” Theo replied as he palmed his keys. “We appreciate your cooperation. Have a good day, Mr. Risner.”
Theo nodded his goodbye to Abe before exiting through the glass doors. He didn’t bother putting on his own gloves, but instead reached for his cell phone. Bit was no doubt monitoring Theo’s progress from the front door to the Jeep.
“Hey, Big T. Learn anything new?”
“Maybe,” Theo replied vaguely as he was mindful of a slick spot in the parking lot. Before too long, he was opening the driver’s side door of his Jeep. “Do me a favor. See if you can find any connection between Noah Clark and Dillon Buchert. There might be something there. Also, is there a way to find out why Jim Risner was running late today? Maybe he had a follow up dental appointment? I find it strange that he was late two days this week.”
“On it.” The way Bit answered had Theo staying on the line as he settled in behind the steering wheel. “I spoke to Kate right before you called. Apparently, Boss walked into the office about twenty minutes ago. She holed up in her office until Agent Houser arrived. The two of them are having what appears to be a very serious conversation.”
“Did Kate say anything else?” Theo asked guardedly as he turned the key in the ignition. The Jeep’s engine purred to life. “Was Brook expecting Agent Houser?”
“Only that Boss walked in through the glass doors, entered her office, and closed the door behind her. By the time that Kate came out from the tech room, Agent Houser was being buzzed in by Brook. He said good morning to Kate before joining Boss in her office.”
“I’m heading back there now. Would you please let me know if Risner or Clark leave the premises?”
“Roger. Wilco. Bit out.”
Theo disconnected the call before setting his phone in the cup holder. He shifted the gear into reverse before proceeding to back up the Jeep so that he could start his trip back to the office.
Bit was an odd one, but Theo didn’t mind his quirks, so long as he wasn’t the reason all of their asses landed behind bars. Bit had a way of blurring the lines when it came to gathering information via the internet.
Right now, Theo wouldn’t have minded if Bit had a way of listening in on Brook’s private conversation. She tended to go into battle on her own, even though they had all gone out of their ways to prove that they had her six.
Something told Theo that today’s meeting with Houser was more than just about Jacob having a sympathy card delivered to the office. Her brother might have left behind books and such after checking in on her every so often throughout the years, but this time there was a sense of foreboding attached to the situation.
Theo had spent enough time studying the murder board that had been created for Jacob’s case to know that the psychopath was obsessed with his sister.
