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Elijah scowled. “It would be the last place that Corey would think to look.”
Kaj opened his mouth, then closed it. His son had a point. “Dammit.”
“What if,” Val said, “we hold on to him until André can check out Corey’s camp and verify his story? Maybe they’ll get lucky and catch Corey and his partners. We’ll ask Burke if we can keep Lucien for a little while longer. And we can keep Jace cuffed.”
“Except maybe while he showers.” Elijah made a face. “He stinks.”
“I’ll take his clothes as evidence,” André said. “Once we know if he’s a perpetrator or a victim, we’ll know how to better proceed. And I’ll need the date and time of that phone call about Elijah’s math team. I’ll have Nolan or Drysdale go through the camera feeds to ID anyone who was within hearing distance. I want this leak gone.”
“You and me both.” Kaj rubbed his temples. “I hope I’m not making a big mistake.”
“You aren’t, Dad.” Elijah’s face was set in a determined look that reminded Kaj so much of Heather. “You always say that the mark of a man is how he treats other people. That’s even true when you’re scared, right?”
Kaj sighed. “I wish I’d brought you up to be a little more self-centered.”
Elijah’s lips curved. “No, you don’t. You like me just the way I am.”
“I really do.” Kaj kissed the top of Elijah’s head. “Go on up to bed now. I’ll be up in a minute to tuck you in.”
12
Bayou des Allemands, Louisiana
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 8:00 A.M.
HERE.” BURKE HANDED Kaj a cup of coffee he’d poured from a thermos after Kaj stifled a yawn. He’d only slept those few hours before Val had woken him earlier. “Val makes it strong.”
He and Burke were in an NOPD boat along with André, Officer Nolan and Detective Drysdale, who’d been at his house the night before, a second detective named Clancy, and two police divers. Two other officers had searched the night before but had found nothing.
“Thank you.” Kaj chugged the brew, which was exactly as he liked it. Val had made it for them before they’d left for the bayou—and, hopefully, Corey’s camp. So far they hadn’t seen anything resembling what Jace had described. “Do you think Jace was lying?”
Burke surveyed the riverbank. “Not necessarily. They may not have gone far enough. The bayou can get you turned around, especially when it’s dark. My camp is down one of the tributaries. If you don’t know where to look, you’ll miss it, even in the daytime.”
They rounded a bend and Burke rose from his seat smoothly, not rocking the boat. Kaj seemed to rock it every time he moved. Before coming to New Orleans, the only time he’d been on a boat was the Staten Island Ferry. Not the same thing.
He hadn’t complained, though. He was happy that André hadn’t fought him coming along as the DA’s rep. He was recused from Aaron’s case, but this was a new case. The homicide of Dewey Talley.
Not that Kaj would have taken no for an answer even if André had fought him. He needed to see Corey’s camp with his own eyes. He wanted Jace to be telling the truth.
“André,” Burke called, getting the cop’s attention. “Just up ahead. There’s a dock.”
Using his binoculars, Kaj confirmed what Burke had seen. “There are no vehicles parked nearby,” Kaj said. “Jace said there were five there when he ran, including Dewey’s truck.”
Two might have belonged to the people Jace had seen arrive blindfolded in Bobby’s boat. The other two could have belonged to Corey, Bobby, or Ed. But at the moment, the land behind the dock was bare.
“Bring us closer,” André ordered, and the boat slid up to the dock.
Detectives Clancy and Drysdale hopped out. “Tire tracks in the grass,” Detective Clancy called down. “Fresh ones. They head toward the trees.”
Drysdale and Clancy walked toward the woods, skirting the area where the cars would have been to keep from destroying the tire tracks. A few minutes later, they reappeared, joining them in the boat.
“Three vehicles, sir,” Detective Clancy told André. “A Chevy Suburban, a white minivan, and a Hyundai sedan. None had license plates or VINs.”
“What do you mean, no VINs?” Kaj asked. “Are they scratched off?”
Detective Drysdale shook his head. “Gone completely. The VINs have been removed from the dashboards and the labels from the insides of the car doors on all three vehicles. The Hyundai’s floorboards were ripped out. That’s where the hidden VIN is on that model—stamped into the chassis. Someone took a blowtorch to the chassis to remove the VIN. We can check the minivan and the Chevy Suburban, but I think we’ll find that their VINs are missing, too.”
André frowned. “Is the minivan the same one that was used on Monday night in the abduction attempt? And last night when Rick Gates was left at ADA Cardozo’s house?”
