Page 147 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“Two records,” Sabre corrected. “Not necessarily identities. They could be constructed.”

“Or reused,” JP said.

Sabre nodded. “Either way, that might explain the gap. Maybe Oceanside was getting too risky, so they moved out of the county for a while.”

“Five years ago,” she said. “If that record is real, she was there long enough to establish identity.”

“Same with San Bernardino,” JP added. “Three years ago.”

“Which means,” Sabre said, “they weren’t moving constantly.”

JP nodded. “They were settling,” he said. “Then resettling.”

“Only when they had to,” Sabre added.

“So, Oceanside early,” he said. “Then we have Riverside, San Bernardino, and El Cajon.”

“He or she must’ve felt safe enough to come back to this area. Probably because Hannah had changed so much. But they stayed long enough in at least two places to create paper.”

“Which means those places felt safe,” JP said.

“Yes.” Sabre turned back to him. “So, what makes a place safe for someone like this?”

“Low visibility,” JP said. “Cash rentals. No schools. No neighbors asking questions.”

Then Sabre said, “Bay told me she let the other girl talk to Maddox. That it was her fault.”

“So, the other girl, Hannah or not, breaks the rules,” he said.

“Yes.”

“And that creates exposure.”

“Yes.”

“And that exposure leads to Todd.”

“And Todd leads to movement,” Sabre finished.

“We need to know what Maddox figured out,” JP said. “Or what he knew that spooked them.”

“Or what the other girl told him.”

“So, I’ll dig deeper on Maddox,” JP said.

Sabre pulled a report out of her briefcase. “Maybe this will help.” She handed it to JP. “It’s the police report from Nelson, and the ME’s prelim report.”

“Good. That ought to tell us something.”

Sabre met his eyes. “I’ll go back to Bay and let her know that we know about Riverside and Oceanside. Maybe I can spook her a little. She’s feeling vulnerable right now because no one has come to help her. A little pressure might get her talking.” Sabre held his gaze. “So, we have a plan.”

“There’s something I can’t wrap my head around,” JP said.

“What’s that?”

“How could a father see his missing little girl and not report it?”

Chapter 55