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“Keep him here,” Faith said, “I want to talk to him.”
The officer obliged, lifting Carter to a sitting position.
“Where is thevictim?” Faith repeated, emphasizing the word.
He chuckled. “No, you already broke the rules with the last three targets. The last target you would have rescued if I hadn’t gotten lucky with that open grave.”
Well, there’s one question answered,Faith thought.
“But that’s not the game,” he said. “They don’t get professional help. They have to rely on the mercy of God and the compassion of their fellow citizens. My target has the only chance she’ll get.”
Faith glanced over at the van. Missy turned to her and shook her head, indicating the van was empty. Turk took a menacing step closer to Carter and growled, but Carter only grinned down at the dog. Faith’s eyes narrowed. “Things will be much easier for you if you tell me where I can find her.”
He met Faith’s eyes, and though he still grinned, his eyes and his words were deadly serious and completely devoid of humor. “There’s no help for me, Special Agent. My sister’s dead.”
Faith looked at Michael, and the same frustration showed on his face.
The same determination showed as well.
She turned back to Carter but addressed Missy. “Detective St. George, do me a favor and pull up the file on Amanda Harrison. I need to know everyone involved in her medical care starting from the paramedics who picked her up.”
Carter laughed. “Good luck getting through all of those names before she dies.”
Faith smiled thinly. “Well, at least we know it’s a she.”
Carter’s smile faded, and Faith felt a rush of satisfaction. “Have a seat for me, Mr. Carter,” she said. “This won’t take long.”
***
An hour later, Faith didn’t feel the same. Night was approaching fast, and depending on where Carter had buried the body, they only had a few hours left to find it. Missy was calling different cemeteries asking them to check for freshly dug unauthorized graves while she and Michael worked through the list.
Even with the males eliminated, it was a long list. There were over a dozen different nurses and several doctors besides Ames who cared for Mandy, not to mention the orderlies, specialists, and hospital security. They had a team of officers working through portions of the list with them, contacting the list members and in some cases their workplaces or family members to ensure they were safe and accounted for.
One by one, they checked names off. The list dwindled, which meant they were getting closer, at least Faith hoped. Part of her worried that the final target could be someone not directly related to her care. She wondered if she should call Ariel, Hucksley’s assistant, just to make sure she was safe.
Then Michael called for her attention. She walked over to see him on the phone. “Okay, Mr. Ford. We’ll find her. If she comes home, or you hear from her, call us immediately.”
He hung up and looked at Faith. “Beulah Ford. She was the discharge nurse who released Amanda Harrison.”
Faith privately marveled that Carter would choose the discharge nurse as his final victim when she was probably less involved with her care than anyone else in the hospital, but then again, murderers rarely made sense.
She looked over at him and said loudly, “Beulah Ford?”
Fear flashed across Carter’s face, briefly but long enough that Faith caught it. “Yeah, that’s her,” she said to Michael.
“We need to figure out where her family was buried,” Michael said. “Fast. She’s been in the ground for at least an hour, maybe more than that.”
Faith called Missy over. She said something into her cell phone, then hung up and jogged over to Faith. “What is it?”
“We need to know where the relatives of a Mrs. Beulah Ford, maiden name Cartwright, are buried.”
“That’s the victim?”
“That’s her. She was the discharge nurse at the hospital where Mandy was treated.”
“You’ll never find her!” Carter called. “I didn’t leave a bell this time!”
“Get him out of here!” Faith called to the officers watching him.
