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The dog jumped up onto the bed, snuggling between her and Akiko. Kit set an alarm on her phone, then stared at the audio app she still had open. She’d been listening to the anonymous call off and on all day. She still didn’t recognize the voice. Slipping in her earbuds, she got under the covers and started the recording again, putting it on repeat.
Hi. This message is for homicide detective Kit McKittrick. I have reason to believe you’ll find the victim of a murder in Longview Park at the following coordinates.
He sounded nervous. And maybe scared, as well.
Who was he? Why did he pick me? Do I know him?
How did he know about the grave?
Could he be the killer?
Kit found herself not wanting him to be. He sounded... sincere.
Rookie mistake, assuming a person’s sincerity.
She petted Snick, long strokes over her curly cream-colored coat. And listened to the caller’s voice over and over until she finally fell asleep.
CHAPTER TWO
SDPD, San Diego, California
Tuesday, April 5, 8:05 a.m.
Well?” Navarro asked when Baz and Kit were sitting in his office the next morning.
“We’re ninety-nine percent certain that the vic’s name is Jaelyn Watts,” Baz said. “She was sixteen years old when she disappeared last February, fourteen months ago. We’re going out later this morning to see the family. Hopefully their dentist will have dental records or the parents will have saved her toothbrush or hairbrush for DNA confirmation.”
“Her parents filed a missing-person report the same day she disappeared,” Kit said, placing a copy of it on Navarro’s desk. “But she’d recently played hooky to go to L.A. to try out for a part in a sitcom, so she was treated as a runaway. Parents contacted LAPD, who checked with the production company that had held the audition. They had no record of seeing her after she’d disappeared.”
“She obviously never made it to L.A.” Baz sighed. “She never made it out of San Diego.”
Navarro’s jaw tightened. “Sixteen. That was the average age of the other victims.”
Baz nodded. “Yes. Ricki Emerson was sixteen and the ME estimated the others around the same. And now Jaelyn.”
“Cause of death?” Navarro asked.
“ME suspects strangulation,” Baz said, “but she needs time for the autopsy.”
“Strangled like all the others,” Navarro muttered. “Did the ME find evidence of sexual assault?”
Both Kit and Baz nodded silently, and Navarro’s shoulders sagged. “Dammit.” He looked at Kit. “The caller?”
Kit scowled. “So far, nothing. IT can’t trace the burner. They say they’ll do an analysis of the audio to see if there are any identifying factors, but they didn’t have a lot of hope. We didn’t put a high priority on the analysis yet and there’s a long queue. We wanted to give you time to update the brass before we tagged the investigation as a serial killer.”
“You’re sure you don’t recognize the man’s voice?” Navarro pressed.
Kit shook her head. “I listened to that tape at least fifty times last night.” She’d even dreamed the guy’s voice when she’d finally gone to sleep. “If I’ve met him, I can’t remember it.”
Navarro shrugged. “It’s just as likely that he read about you online. If he’s a serious witness, it would make sense to choose you for first contact. If he’s the killer and just playing us, same holds true.”
Because Kit had a reputation for caring about the cold cases involving teenagers, closing nearly a dozen in the four years she’d been a homicide detective. One of the city’s online papers had done a profile on her two years before, resulting in a lot of unwanted attention.
Kit hated attention at the best of times, but the interviewer had been intrusive and far too personal. Tamsin Kavanaugh had made it her personal mission to follow Kit around ever since, reporting on her homicide cases.
“Maybe,” she said. “We pulled case files on the previous four victims and made a comparison chart for your meetings upstairs.” She gave him the chart. “I know that you know the details, but it might help the brass.”
Navarro had been involved in the first four investigations, first as a detective, then as their boss. “Thank you. I’ve been getting calls since yesterday afternoon. Walk me through this.”
