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“Did he have anything interesting to say?” Jo handed him Zorro’s leash and sat down opposite him. She nodded when the server came with a pot of fresh coffee and waited for her to refill the cup. “I took images of his truck.”
Carter rubbed Zorro’s ears. His dog looked absolutely normal and had a sparkle in his eye. “You know, you’re the first person I’ve allowed to take him for a walk? I’ve been easing Dave into working with him just in case anything happens to me. He seems to be well settled with Duke. Even left to his own devices on their ranch, he would survive just fine. He knows how to find the doggie doors and the food and water.”
“That’s good to know, but what did Sage say?” Jo removed her gloves, pushed them inside her pocket and wrapped her hands around the hot coffee cup. The end of her nose was red and her cheeks rosy from the freezing cold.
Carter explained. “I didn’t read anything into Sage, but you can see things in people that I miss. If he is telling the truth, then we have a timeline for Billy Stevens’ disappearance. We have a basic ID of the truck. Now, we know it’s a dark-colored pickup with a covered tray.” He laid his palm open on the table. “Let me look at your phone.” He scrolled through the images of Sage’s truck. “He’s not running run-flat tires. I figure we can take him off the list.”
“Or is he as smart as a whip?” Jo sipped her coffee and sighed. “Imagine if you had abducted a ton of people and you ran into the FBI. How would you react? We know psychopaths are smart and can think on their feet. The information he gave you would have some elements of truth to make it believable, but if he is the abductor, then it might be the complete opposite.”
Impressed as always by Jo’s intellect, Carter shook his head. “You know I’m not a trusting person by any means, but I have to admit that psychopaths’ minds work on a completely different level.” He let out a long sigh. “I thought I could read people really well.”
“That hasn’t changed.” Jo gave him a sympathetic smile. “Normal people are usually quite easy to read as they show their emotions and act in a certain way. There are no absolute hard and fast examples of psychopathic behavior for any of us to follow. This is the problem we face. Because being a psychopath doesn’t mean they’re killers. Many have different psychoses as well, in one or in multiples. This makes them react differently to different situations and sets the ones capable of murder aside. The only thing they all have in common is that they are overconfident. The way Joshua Sage willingly agreed to hand over information to you was a red flag to me because most people coming face to face with an FBI agent would be a little nervous. That man was very confident in your presence, which means that he believes he can outwit you.”
Carter tipped back his hat, stared at the ceiling and whistled. “You’re saying I could have just eaten dinner with a psychopathic killer? Do you think he could have been involved in abducting all those people?”
“Maybe.” Jo drained her cup and replaced it on the saucer. “He might not be involved with the abductions but his behavior is suspect. We should keep his name on the back burner should anything else happen in town over the next twelve months or so.”
Shaking his head, Carter stood, pulled out his wallet and dropped bills on the table. “Let’s head back to Black Rock Falls. I’ll see if I can get Zorro to the vet for a checkup. By that time, Jenna and Kane will be back at the ranch. We need to discuss our information with them. I hope they’ve had better luck than we’ve had today.”
“Hmm.” Jo collected her things and stood. “Joshua Sage’s pickup fits the description he gave of the truck he saw last Wednesday night.”
Carter frowned. “He wouldn’t be that stupid, would he?”
“More like overconfident. If the signs on the side of his truck are the magnetic ones some contractors use when they have one vehicle for both home and work, he could be describing his ride. It would be part of the game to him, to see if you noticed the similarity.” Jo shrugged. “He seemed way too comfortable in your presence for my liking.” She sighed. “Let’s go. I’ll call ahead for an appointment for Zorro.”
THIRTY-THREE
“Maisy, Maisy, Maisy.” The Smiling Man stood in the open doorway staring at her. “What did you think you could achieve climbing through the air-conditioning vent?” He chuckled in that sinister way that sent shivers down her spine. “Surely you didn’t believe there would be any possible way of escaping this building—did you? I know this place from top to bottom. You’re not the first person I’ve kept here for a time. Do you have anything to say to me? An apology after I’ve been so darn nice to you?”
Terrified of what might happen next, Maisy pressed her back against the wall. She understood being nice was just his way of taunting her. He needed her cooperation to finalize his plans but the way his dead eyes moved over her face, nothing he could say could hide the evil behind the smile. She searched her mind for something reasonable to say to him but deep inside she knew no matter what she said it wouldn’t be a good enough excuse. “I needed some fresh air. I wanted to see the sky and see if it was snowing outside. It will be Christmas soon and it’s the best time of year, with the town decked out with decorations. It doesn’t matter what town you’re living in, every one of them is the same.”
“I like the holidays too.” The Smiling Man leaned against the doorframe. “When I was a kid it was the only time of the year people were nice to me.”
Trying to forge a connection, Maisy nodded in agreement. “I know how that feels. Why do you figure I came all this way to work in Black Rock Falls?” She sighed. “I’ve seen pictures of the town over the holidays. It looks like a Christmas card and everyone joins in the celebrations. Did you know that every year they all get together and build a Nativity scene in the park and sing Christmas carols around it?”
“Yeah, I know.” The Smiling Man gave her a long look. “The problem is they change after the holidays. Don’t you know that people are not who they seem to be?”
He’d changed in that second. Maisy stared at him, hardly believing her eyes. The man who had walked into the room looked almost normal but this man was a predator. His eyes had hardened as they looked at her, and his posture had become rigid as if he was trying to contain the monster within. She nodded. “Yeah, I understand. Many people are nice to your face and then plan to stab you in the back as soon as you turn around.”
“Exactly.” He suddenly laughed maniacally and turned away from the door, leaving it wide open. “They look all milk and honey on the outside, but inside they’re rotting.”
Confused, Maisy walked to the door and peered into the hallway just as he disappeared through the double doors into the makeshift morgue. The next door along the hallway was wide open. Nervous, she made her way slowly toward it, frightened at what she might find inside. It was as if he’d given her a warning. Edging her way toward the open door, she peeked inside. It was the room she’d escaped from and nothing had changed. She turned back and looked both ways up the passageway. He would be busy with his bodies for a time and it was her only chance to discover the way out. The stink of death oozed out of the morgue as she passed by, hurrying to the door at the end of the passageway. She turned the knob, pushed hard on the door and choked back a cry of anguish. If she’d made it this far, she wouldn’t have escaped. The door, like all the others, was locked.
Disappointed, Maisy walked slowly back to her room. She dragged clean clothes out of the drawers and carried them to the bathroom. After locking the door, she peeled off her filthy rags and climbed into the shower. There could be only one way of escaping this man. She had no choice but to go along with his plan. Pressing her forehead against the tile and letting the hot water run over her, she allowed the tears to come. If she wanted to be free, she must give him the innocent life of a child.
THIRTY-FOUR
SUNDAY
Noisy conversation hummed around Jenna’s kitchen table as everyone spoke at once, discussing the case and the interviews they’d conducted the previous day. The room filled with the delicious aroma of crispy bacon and maple syrup as Kane served up yet another stack of hotcakes for the hungry group. As she refilled everyone’s coffee cups, Jenna listened with interest about the potential suspects. All of them were stillpotentialbecause no bodies had been discovered, nor had actual proof or circumstantial evidence come to light, which left the team chasing their tails. The list remained the same, and although Kalo had done an extensive search to discover any other potential suspects in the area, he’d come up with zip.
“We have evidence that doesn’t lead anywhere. It seems a ton of vehicles have run-flat tires, and that’s only circumstantial evidence, at best. We do have the partial footprint, but all the men we’ve interviewed are around the same size. It could be any one of them.” Carter leaned back in his chair and sighed. “We haven’t received any ransom requests or found any bodies and I can’t even suggest what next steps to take. We’ve done everything possible. It’s like chasing smoke.”
After a lengthy discussion with Kane the previous evening, Jenna had reluctantly come to the same conclusion. The thought that people might be out there in the cold and in danger worried her, but without one single lead to find them, there was nothing more she could do. She nodded. “I figure we should let the investigation sit until Monday. It will be Christmas in a few days and we haven’t even got our tree up yet. I’m sure that Jo would like to go home for the day to see Jaime, and as the stores are open until late, I wouldn’t mind taking some personal time to buy Christmas gifts.”
“I hope you’re all planning on staying over for Christmas this year.” Kane pushed plates piled with bacon and hotcakes onto the table. “I have enough festive food here to feed an army for six weeks.” He smiled. “The roads will be cleared from here to town if the snow comes and we can go into town on Christmas Eve and watch the carolers. It’s a lovely atmosphere with all the townsfolk joining in the celebrations.”
“Jaime would love that.” Jo beamed and then shot a glance at Bobby Kalo and her face dropped. “If you have room for all of us?”
