Sixth Avenue, 2:45 p.m.
Jess had already called Fergus Cagle three times and gotten his voice mail. Certainly his phone could have died on him. It had happened to her a time or two. He could have damaged it in the field. She’d endured one of those uh-ohs as well. Or, the man could just be avoiding her because he had taken Janey Higginbotham and he knew Jess was on to him.
Whatever the reason, she intended to find him and she would save that little girl. She had studied the remains of a child the last time she ever wanted to. She closed her eyes a moment and imagined that Dan’s arms were still around her. He’d known exactly what she needed, no matter that they’d been right there in public for all to see.
No getting distracted, Jess. If she stayed on task with this investigation she wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to think about the other. She couldn’t think about it. Not right now. It was difficult enough to look at all those pictures of those precious little girls and not wonder if she was pregnant and what hers and Dan’s child might look like.
Jess and Harper entered Cagle’s department at Alabama Power to see Ruthie was still at her desk. Thank God for small favors. “Hello again, Ms. Jeffreys.”
The secretary had a stack of notes and messages on her desk that had apparently accumulated since Jess was here a few hours ago.
“Chief Harris.” She couldn’t quite follow through with the smile she attempted, leaving a sort of lopsided expression. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Cagle hasn’t been in the office and he hasn’t called so I couldn’t give him your message.” She waved her hand over her desk. “As you can see, there are a lot of people who need to speak to him.” Her face pinched. “And we just heard that Mr. Bullock is dead.”
“Murdered,” Jess clarified. She should be ashamed of herself for adding insult to injury, but she needed this lady to understand how important it was that she speak with Cagle.
Ruthie’s hand went to her throat. “Oh no. What happened?”
“I’m afraid we can’t discuss an ongoing investigation, but I hope you can see that it’s imperative that I speak with Mr. Cagle. The sooner the better.”
Defeat slumped the secretary’s shoulders. “I don’t know what else to do. I can’t reach him. No one can.”
As far as Jess was concerned, the secretary’s inability to get in touch with Cagle confirmed a problem. The man was either dead or hiding something. “There is a way you can help me, Ms. Jeffries. I need Mr. Cagle’s home address and I need his daughter’s phone number and address.” She’d tried getting the daughter’s number already. Obviously she was no longer a Cagle. Jess had no idea what her first or last name was or even how old she was.
“I can give you Mr. Cagle’s home address, but I don’t have any contact information for his daughter. Mr. Cagle’s very private. Frankly, I don’t even know her name, and I’ve worked with him for five years, ever since he moved up to assistant supervisor and then supervisor. He never talks about his family.”
The whole scenario just got stranger and stranger.
“His address will at least get me started in the right direction. I’ll need phone numbers and addresses on Kennamer and Gifford as well.” The addresses for all three would be in the case file somewhere, but they could have moved in the past dozen or so years—unless that was part of what Corlew had misplaced. Idiot.
With the information in hand, Jess hurried out of the building. She had to find this man. Harper kept time with her determined strides.
The instant they were outside, she turned to him. “We need a warrant for Cagle’s home.” Her nerves were taut and her instincts were shouting at her. “I don’t want to wait. That little girl could be there, and we have no idea how long he waits before he makes the kill. If we can’t get a speedy warrant, we’re going in without one.”
“You’re that certain it’s him.”
“It’s him. He has at least one golden retriever. He had opportunity. And his nervous coworker is dead.”
“We could be wrong,” Harper suggested.
“We could be,” Jess agreed. “But the chances that he got a call from Bullock this morning are pretty slim. The guy was dead. Which can only mean one thing—Cagle lied. And now he’s disappeared.”
“You think Bullock was on to him. Followed him to the Higginbotham home. Cagle caught him and bopped him on the head?”
“That’s the direction I’m leaning in, but for all we know the two could have been partners. Maybe Bullock decided he didn’t want to go there again.”
“What about Kennamer and Gifford?”
Jess had pondered the concept the whole group was involved, but that would be way out of the ordinary. Serial killers at times worked in pairs as partners. Typically one was dominant. But the idea that three or more would gang up together was way outside the norm. Not to mention the possibility of screwups escalated with the number of people involved. It was highly unlikely that they would have gotten away with snatching little girls for twenty years under those circumstances.
The concept that Spears was here and working with several others or with so-called followers filtered through her mind. She would not let him distract her right now. Finding this little girl was top priority. The Bureau was working the Spears case. This was Jess’s case.
“Have Lori locate Kennamer and Gifford and question each man again. Tell her to push. If either one has the slightest suspicion about Cagle I want to know. Cook can finish up the search at Bullocks’s house. You and I are going after Cagle.”
Her cell warned she had an incoming call. Lily calling. Jess answered as she walked to Harper’s SUV. “Hey, sis.”
“Jess, I’m on my way to Dr. Collins’s office. His nurse said he needed me to come in right away. He wants you to be there, too. I’m terrified, Jess.”
Oh hell. “Where’s Blake?”
“Blake isn’t home yet. Please tell me you’ll be there. I can’t do this alone.”
For two decades Jess had rarely been home. She’d missed the births of both her sister’s children. She’d missed birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, and every damned thing else. She wasn’t letting her sister down now.
“I’ll be there.”
Jess shoved her phone back into her bag. She worked at slowing the pounding in her chest as she turned to Harper. “Okay, you get the warrant started. I can’t imagine a judge in town denying our request, but don’t let that slow you down. I want you in Cagle’s house as soon as possible.” She had no idea how long this visit with Dr. Collins would take and they didn’t have the time to spare. “I have to get to my sister’s doctor’s office. I’ll catch up with you as soon as I’m out of there.”
Harper shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but I have orders.”
Well, damn. Fear and frustration warred inside her, but there just wasn’t time to argue. Besides, he was right. Spears was here. And she was mad as hell… and scared to death at the same time. Her family was here… her friends… Dan. And she could be pregnant. Shit. She blinked fast to hold back a rush of tears.
“All right, Sergeant. Let’s go.” She gave him the address for Dr. Collins’s office. “I’ll call Lori on the way.”
“I’m on the warrant,” Harper assured her.
Jess made the call to Lori and then she closed her eyes and said a prayer for her sister. Then she prayed her instincts wouldn’t fail her. That little girl was counting on her.
It has to be Cagle.
She prayed for the women Spears had targeted and lured into a trap.
Last, she prayed for the ability and strength to find both these monsters and end their reigns of terror.
Twentieth Street South, 3:30 p.m.
Jess held tightly to her sister’s hand as Dr. Collins made a production of taking the seat behind his desk and reviewing his notes before he began. Jess wanted to shake him and tell him to get the hell on with it! Her sister had waited long enough to know what was going on inside her body. Knowing this old coot, he was just doing this to get back at Jess. She’d given him a hard time since she was eighteen.
That’s what he got for being a judgmental old fart.
“Ladies.” He looked up over his glasses, his expression difficult to decipher. “We have found the culprit causing all these issues. Wilson’s disease.”
Jess exchanged a look with Lily. Both repeated the terrible-sounding disorder.
“You will immediately start an oral treatment, Lily, and we’ll need to do screenings from time to time but—” a smile spread across his chubby-cheeked face “—you’re going to be fine.”
Happiness bloomed big inside Jess. She hugged Lil even as tears filled her eyes. This was the first thing she’d had to get excited about in weeks.
Okay, maybe there was one other thing, but she wasn’t sure excited was the way she would describe how she felt as each day passed with no period.
But this—this was excellent news! “You’re going to be fine,” Jess echoed.
Lil nodded. “I can’t believe it!”
When they’d gathered their composure once more, Lil asked, “What is Wilson’s disease?”
Jess would like to know the answer to that as well.
“It’s the strangest thing,” Collins reported, “and most difficult to diagnose. Wilson’s disease is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of hepatic copper metabolism. To put it plainly, the anomalies you’ve been suffering are caused by the accumulation of copper in organs and tissues. You end up with all these strange symptoms that tend to send your doctor looking for answers in a whole different direction from the actual cause. Copper is a necessary element to our health and well-being, but not when it isn’t properly metabolized and starts to build up.”
“So I take medicine,” Lil clarified.
“We’ll be starting you on that regimen right away. You’re one of the lucky ones, Lil, you have very little liver damage. It really could have been so much worse. As long as we keep an eye on your numbers and you take your medicine, you’ll be fine.”
Jess and Lily hugged again.
Lil drew back first. “I have to call Blake!”
“There’s just one other thing,” Collins said.
The room went instantly silent.
“This is an inherited disorder. You’ll need to be tested, Jess. The children too, Lil.”
Well, that wasn’t so bad. Wait. The idea that she could be pregnant and this could affect more than herself almost made Jess flinch.
No going there today. She had too many other worries at the moment.
“I’ll make the appointments,” Lil offered, “because Jess has a killer to catch and she needs to go.”
Jess thanked her sister and gave her another round of hugs. Though she wasn’t sure he deserved it, she gave Dr. Collins one as well. Then she really did have to go. Lil was right. She had a killer to catch.
Harper was waiting in the lobby. “I’m guessing by those tear-stained cheeks and that smile the report was a good one.”
Jess couldn’t help herself. She hugged him too. “It was, Sergeant. It really, really was.”
Before she could ask, he said, “The warrant has been inked. Detective Wells spoke to Kennamer and to Gifford, and both were happy to cooperate. Kennamer and his wife were at their daughter’s house last night, and Gifford and his wife were at a church function. The daughter and the minister confirmed their whereabouts. Cook is finished at the Bullock residence. He’s picking up the warrant and meeting us at Cagle’s house. I’ve requested a forensic team to roll as well. Lori should be there by the time we get there.”
The man had been on the ball. Her whole team was the best. Jess was damned lucky to have their support.
As they rushed across the parking lot, she felt that surge of adrenaline she got when she knew she was getting close.
The Man in the Moon wanted her to find them… she was coming.
“Hold on, Janey.”
Warrior River Road, Hueytown, 4:30 p.m.
Cagle’s home was an older farm-style house standing on a good-sized chunk of land. Neighboring homes were spread apart with mostly woods in between. The Ford truck registered to him was nowhere to be seen. Since there was no garage, just a barn in the distance, it seemed reasonable that he was MIA.
Jess dragged on a vest and waited for Harper to don his. In addition to her team and the surveillance detail, Burnett had sent along two detectives from Black’s division, Detectives Roark and Dotson. She was grateful. They needed all the help they could get just now.
At least two dogs were going crazy inside Cagle’s house.
“I didn’t consider the dogs,” Jess muttered, as they walked toward the front of the house. She couldn’t help looking back over her shoulder as she moved away from the protection of the vehicle.
Spears was here, and as much as she wanted to pretend she could ignore that fact and concentrate solely on this investigation, she would only be lying to herself.
“We need to get in there now.” She shook her head. “But those dogs don’t sound too welcoming.”
“I can handle the dogs,” Cook announced as they approached the front porch. “There’s a pen out back. I’ll go in and calm ’em down, then take them one at a time to the pen.”
“I don’t want you getting injured, either.” Damn it. Why hadn’t she thought about the dogs?
“Chief,” Cook pressed. “I love dogs. Dogs love me. I can do this. Trust me.”
“I don’t want any dogs being shot, either,” Jess warned. “If you get in there and get into trouble…”
“I have pepper spray,” Lori offered.
Cook held up his hands. “That will not happen. I swear.”
“I’ll go around back.” Harper called to Mitchell and his partner to follow him. “We’ll cover the back and any side doors.”
Jess needed a second to think about Cook’s offer. “Detective Roark, you and your partner take the barn and any other outbuildings.”
The team dispersed, with Cook waiting impatiently for her answer.
“All right, but don’t do anything I’ll regret,” she reminded him.
“No prob, ma’am.”
As Cook prepared to enter through the front door. Jess and Lori braced to cover him from whatever was on the other side besides the very excited dogs.
Cook elbowed the old glass in the door, shattering it, and reached carefully inside to release the locks, all the while talking to the dogs.
Jess found it quite strange that a man she suspected of being a heinous killer didn’t have better locks. Maybe he figured the dogs would do the trick. Thieves didn’t generally like to deal with ferocious animals, and these sounded reasonably ferocious.
Two large golden retrievers growled and bared their teeth, but Cook somehow managed to sweet-talk them into allowing him closer and then petting them. As much as she appreciated his ability to make that happen, he needed to get on with it. Every second that ticked by was one more that little girl might not have.
Cook removed his belt and used it as a leash. He exited the house, closing the door behind him, and led the first dog around to the pen in the backyard.
Jess and Lori shrugged at each other. “The man has skills,” Lori acknowledged.
When the second dog was out of the house and on its way to the pen, Jess followed Lori inside. Harper and Mitchell were already coming through the back door. Mitchell’s partner would keep an eye on the yard just in case Cagle or someone decided to join the party.
In the foyer, a staircase divided the front of the house in half. “Take the second floor,” she said to Harper and Mitchell. She and Lori spread out to cover the downstairs rooms. The furnishings were older, comfortable-looking pieces. Only one framed photo, maybe an eleven-by-sixteen, on the wall.
Jess scrutinized the thirtyish woman and two children in the photo. “Well, hello, daughter. And grandchildren.” Cagle had mentioned a daughter and grandchildren, and here they were. If only she knew their names.
A cell phone lay on the table next to the sofa. “Well now we know why he’s not answering his cell.” She scanned the call lists, all deleted, except the ones Jess had made. Contacts, deleted. “I thought you wanted me to find you,” she grumbled.
The team’s first priority was to ensure there was no one in the house who was in trouble or who presented a danger. Living room, dining room, and kitchen were clear. Powder room was as well. Harper and Cook reported the same for the four bedrooms and two baths upstairs.
“Listen up, folks,” Jess announced, “at this point our priority is finding a name and address or a phone number for the daughter.” Since none of Cagle’s coworkers had a clue where he was, maybe the daughter would.
The more tedious part of the search began.
Damn it. She had hoped for more glaring evidence rather than another in-depth search. While her team took the rooms apart piece by piece, she walked through again trying to spot anything she might have missed.
A closet under the stairs snagged her attention. She opened the door and something rushed past her.
Jess stumbled back, almost lost her balance.
A cat… long white hair with black spots…
“You son of a bitch,” Jess muttered. Spot. The cat Emma James had drawn in her pictures.
Fury roaring through her like a tornado, Jess moved back to the closet. She found nothing but winter coats and boots. She started to close the door, but after a second thought she parted the coats and had another look. One of the foster homes she’d lived in as a kid had a closet under the stairs like this and the door to the basement had been in that closet.
“Ah-ha.” An access door lay hidden behind the coats.
Not a full size door. Maybe two feet by four feet. But plenty large enough to climb through. Anticipation had her feeling for a way to open or remove the panel. Could be nothing more than a way to access plumbing or electrical features, but she had to be sure.
She felt a tiny lever behind the frame around the panel. Jess pressed the lever and the panel opened into the space behind it. A narrow set of stairs disappeared into the darkness below. “And what have we here?”
Lori joined her. “A basement? Awesome. Let me get a flashlight.”
“No need.” A big old-fashioned flashlight sat on the floor of the closet.
“I’ll go first.” Lori elbowed her way into the closet.
Jess was never going to get used to everyone jumping in to protect her. But right now all she wanted to do was get down those stairs, so she acquiesced and followed her detective into the darkness.
The steps were narrow and steep. In the basement Lori searched overhead with the beam of the flashlight until she found a light fixture. Just a bare bulb, but it would do. She pulled the string and the basement filled with light.
An open box was the first thing to catch Jess’s eyes. Inside the box were Christmas decorations. Red and green glittery balls and silver tinsel.
“This is it.” She turned to Lori. “This is where he kept the last set of remains.”
Lori called Harper. “We need one of those forensic techs in the basement. And anyone else who isn’t otherwise occupied.”
As quickly as possible Jess and Lori went through the remaining boxes. Nothing relevant. One entire box was filled with old framed photographs. In most of the photos someone had been cut out of the picture. Jess decided it was Cagle’s wife who’d been erased. Several were labeled on the back with a girl’s name and a date. Judging by the dates, this Lucy was his daughter. The photos abruptly stopped when the girl was about nine or ten.
In the larger framed photo in the living room the daughter was much older. Late thirties, judging by the dates on these photos, but it was definitely this little girl all grown up.
Roark showed up to let her know they’d found nothing in the barn or the tool shed.
Jess checked the time. Five forty-five. She had to get to that press conference.
“Hold on, ma’am.”
She turned to see what Harper had found.
“These bricks are loose.” He was tugging at the wall behind the stack of boxes.
As Jess moved closer she noted that the mortar around the bricks on that wall was different, maybe a little newer than that of the surrounding walls. Her heart started to race.
Cook joined Harper and bricks began to fall. Jess dropped her bag to the floor and rushed to help, anticipation roaring in her ears.
When the bricks stopped crashing to the floor and the dust settled. Jess stood before the opening and tried to assimilate what she saw. “Oh my God.”
It wasn’t until the words echoed in the silence that she realized she’d spoken aloud.
Beyond the brick wall that had served merely as a divider was another room… filled with dolls and toy furniture… even a tricycle. Everything a little girl would want.
“We’re going to need more evidence techs,” Lori murmured.
Jess climbed through the opening they had made and stood in the middle of the space—the playroom. She reached up and pulled the string that turned on the bare bulb overhead. The meager light chased away the dark shadows.
Jess started to tremble.
Most of the brick walls had been coated over with concrete. Those portions were covered in drawings of animals and stick-figure little girls lined up in a long row like old fashioned paper dolls. All done in sidewalk chalk. Names… little girls’ names were everywhere. Dorie Myers… Emma James… Sierra Campbell… and so many others. Jess’s head spun and tears crowded into her throat as she tried to take it all in.
Good God, how long had he held each child before her time was up? Her heart thundered so hard she could barely hear herself think.
Dust was thick on every surface… including the floor. No one had been in here in more than a decade.
What on earth had awakened this monster?
Jess stared at the dolls on the toy bed and in the little carriage. If not here, where would he have taken Janey Higginbotham?