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“You got my previous message?”
“I did.”
“Did you find anything?”
Navarro shook his head, confirming the response she’d planned. “How can I help you, sir?”
The man huffed. “You can tell me if you found anything.”
She waited a beat, then repeated, “How can I help you, sir?”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded like a curse. “I want to report a possible threat to a student at Tomlinson High School. She’ll be blond and small. Plays lacrosse.”
Kit barely managed not to gasp. Quickly she pulled up the list of missing-person reports on her computer and motioned for Navarro to look.
Cecilia Sheppard had gone missing eight months ago. She was sixteen years old, blond, petite, and had played lacrosse at Tomlinson High.
“How do you know this young woman?” she asked calmly.
“Just... take care of her, okay?”
And then he ended the call.
“Dammit,” Kit hissed. “I wanted to keep him talking.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Navarro said, satisfaction in his tone. He’d been typing into his phone while she’d been talking. “The number he called from is a pay phone at the trolley station at the junction of I-8 and I-15.”
“I’ll get surveillance tapes of the area,” Kit said, excited once more. “What is this guy’s game? Cecilia Sheppard went missing eight months ago. Why would he be worried about her now? Is he taunting us?”
“Didn’t sound like it, but if he’s been killing for twenty years—at least—he’s got to be good,” Navarro said grimly. “Let’s go check for security footage.”
She looked up at him with surprise. “You’re coming with me?”
“Yeah. I want to know who this bastard is. Was Cecilia into drama?”
“Yep. Wanted to be in movies. Had taken a few trips to L.A. with friends for tryouts in the past. Her parents had grounded her, but she’d left the house anyway. Goddammit. We’re going to be too late for her.”
“Probably. Let’s find out what this caller of yours knows.”
San Diego, California
Friday, April 8, 9:10 p.m.
“Well?” Baz asked as he jogged into the bullpen. “What did you find?”
Kit looked up at him sharply. “You were supposed to stay at Luna’s birthday party.”
Baz pulled his desk chair next to hers. “I did. She’s five, Kit. The party lasted two hours. After the cake, the parents took the other kids home and my daughter took Luna home, too. She’s probably tucked into bed, getting her daddy to read her favorite book three times as we speak.”
Kit’s lips curved. “She got me to read it four times the last time I was there.”
Baz grinned, unrepentant. “Five is my record. She loved Harlan’s horse carving, by the way. I got video of her opening the box. Which I will show you after you share all.” He pointed to her computer screen. “So, the mystery man called back? Have you ID’d him yet?”
“Not yet. He’s wearing a funky hat that hides his face.” She toggled to the security footage that offered the clearest view of the man’s face. “He looks like he’s acting in some kind of desert flick.” The hat’s brim hid the top half of his face, the flap hanging at the back hid his cheeks and neck.
“Did you pull the coins from the phone?”
“I did. Navarro got Latent to do a rush analysis. None of the prints popped in AFIS. Well, that’s not true. Three of the prints popped, but they were for people who didn’t match this guy’s description. Our guy either isn’t in AFIS or he wiped the coins.”
