Page 47 of Long Past Deadly

Alanna slipped out of the back seat, not waiting for anyone to open her door. The less they argued, the faster they could get to searching.

Quaid came around the car and frowned at her. She braced for a lecture about getting out on her own, but he didn’t say anything. He caught the direction of her gaze. “Frank Walker, Sergeant SDPD.”

“So this is the man who lives next door to Hunt and Cait?”

“Yes.”

“And we didn’t trust him because…?”

“At that point, I wasn’t willing to trust anybody with our safety.”

Except his core group – Mackey, Hunt, Cait, Harrison, Elizabeth.

The thought soured her stomach. Was it a natural human reaction to need to be part of groups? Because she’d never considered it so. She had studied those concepts as part of her degrees, but never applied it to her behavior. Some psychologist she was.

Mackey joined them. “Walk and talk, Williams.” His eyes trailed to the earphones.

She raised a brow. “I got lectured.”

“My fault. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

She stepped to him. “Yes, you should have. It was smart and necessary. Don’t downsize your standards, Mac. This man is expert trained and ten steps ahead of us from years of murdering people. Let’s elevate the threat and not be stupid. As you said.”

“Agreed.”

She took a step back and settled. “Sorry. It’s the smells and the vibe here. God, it brings back unpleasant shit.” She started walking again.

“You aren’t alone this time, though.” Quaid stayed in step with her. “It’s not only Whit.”

She glanced around and noted the many QM teams arriving and the police cars that were already here. She wasn’t a girl anymore either. She didn’t expend all her energy to get her degrees and her job by being a timid Tilly. “Let’s find him.”

They approached Frank, and Alanna studied the man. Tall, graying with a wise and wrinkled face, this handsome man was a cop with years of experience. Trust oozed out of him. He didn’t smile. He put out a hand. “Agent Williams.” That he knew who she was said he’d done his homework.

“Sergeant Walker. I’d say pleasure to meet you, but none of this is pleasure.”

She took a few more steps and studied the area. She remembered this parking lot, but it wasn’t part of her usual circle of streets. “How was he sighted, Sergeant?”

“Frank, is fine. Patrol stopped to help a couple of young girls. They were hysterical. They’d been approached by a man who attacked them. They are both pretty banged up, but they escaped and ran.”

“Did they live on these streets?” She mentally pushed to keep her past behind the steel door in her head.

“No, by the beach. They were exploring.”

“Are they here alone?”

“No. They both had a parent at the campground near here. They were bored and wandered off.”

“Ages?”

“Thirteen, both of them.”

She nodded, assimilating the facts. “Where?”

Frank cleared his throat. “Are you familiar with this area?”

“Yes.”

“Alley. Market Street between 11th and 13th. There’s nothing there but vacant lots, fenced off property, older warehouses.”