Clue

Nick rubbed his temples and downed the rest of his stale coffee. He fought a yawn, but it won. With as little sleep as he’d gotten the night before, he would be yawning all day. He might have to take a catnap on the couch in his office.

Right then sounded good, but he’d just gotten to the office within the hour. And besides, people kept coming in with questions or new information.

Knock, knock.

Right on cue. 

Nick glanced through the blinds at Detective Garcia and waved him in. 

The detective entered and sat on the other side of Nick’s desk, talking a mile a minute. He was exhausted, too. His accent became more defined during the tougher cases.

“Slow down.” Nick put his hand out. “Did you say they found even more bodies?”

Garcia nodded. “We’re up to almost thirty. Thirty!”

“What’s the actual number?”

“Twenty-eight.”

Nick’s stomach twisted. “Whoever this guy is, he’s up there with some of the state’s most notorious serial killers.”

“Especially if this isn’t his only burial ground. If he has another property or two…” 

Both men shared a disturbed glance. 

“How much of the property has been dug up?” Nick asked.

“Most of it, and they’re still going. Can’t rely on the dogs for a lot of the older ones.”

Nick flipped through some of his notes. “The oldest ones are estimated to be about thirty years old?”

“I’m no bone expert, but that’s what it looks like. We’re waiting on official word, and everything’s being taken to Seattle.”

Nick raked his fingers through his hair. “We need to consider sending some of the remains elsewhere. It’s going to take them forever to get through all that. Plus, they’re sure to have plenty of their own cases to work on.”

Garcia nodded. “At least this case is top priority. With so many victims attributed to one guy.”

“What about the media circus outside?” Nick had seen a crowd out front when he’d arrived at the station. He parked in the back where the vultures weren’t allowed, so he’d been able to avoid them.

“It’s getting worse. News is spreading far and wide. There are camera crews from the east coast and even Canada. Chang got some calls from Australia and London earlier. We’re famous.”

Nick groaned. “I already am.”

Garcia lifted an eyebrow.

“When I took the kids to the Seattle Center recently, a twenty-something stopped me near that big fountain and wanted a selfie with me. He recognized me because of how many times I’ve been interviewed on the news. It’s crazy, especially given the size of this town.”

“Seriously?”

Nick nodded.

“I never would’ve guessed. When I applied here, I thought this was a sleepy little town. Nice quiet place to start my career until I settled into the job.”

Both men burst out laughing. Between all the abductions and killings, their police force was double other towns twice their size.

Garcia unbuttoned his top button and leaned back in the chair. “What do you think it is about this place? What draws all the crazies?”

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

They discussed theories for a few minutes before Garcia went back out to deal with some calls.

Nick dealt with a few pressing emails before walking around the office and stretching. As much as he hated having another serial killer on their hands, he was grateful it had brought Genevieve back into his life. 

Ever since she’d left on her sabbatical, he’d been trying to find her without any luck. 

Now she was staying in his condo and had agreed to a playdate with the kids. If Nick could get away early today, he’d take the kids over after school. Maybe he could even talk her into letting him treat her and Tinsley to a movie to get everyone’s minds off everything. It was Friday night, so nobody would have to get up early the next morning.

Except maybe Nick. It was already an all-hands-on-deck case, which meant there were no excuses. Be there or risk your job. 

It was nice to be on the case after not being allowed on the last two big ones, since he was close to the victims. Once the Fosters were cleared as persons of interest, Nick had nothing to do with this case or anyone involved, other than that Genevieve and Tinsley had dug up the first two bodies.

He stopped pacing, and glanced out the window. Everyone was busy, either typing furiously on a laptop, talking on the phone, or running from one place to another.

Which reminded him to get back to work. Between the stack of papers on his desk and the unusually high number of unanswered emails, he had enough to keep him busy for weeks—even if he stayed at the office and didn’t sleep the entire time.

Nick glanced over at Genevieve’s empty desk and sighed. Would she return to the force? Or was she thinking about working on a different force so they could pursue a relationship?

His chest tightened. Genevieve was the only one he’d given his heart to other than his ex-wife—the woman who would now be spending the rest of her life behind bars due to her part in hiding a kidnapper. He didn’t like to admit he was glad to not have to deal with her any longer, especially given how hard she’d made it for him to see his kids. But he did hate how her incarceration hurt them. 

They were all in therapy to deal with it. There was only so much Nick could do to help them through something so traumatic. His parents were still married and living a quiet life, so he had no way to relate to what his kids were going through. 

“Focus on the case, Fleshman,” he muttered to himself. Once he clocked out, he could worry about his kids and love life.

Nick opened his door and headed straight for the coffee pot. 

A woman about his mom’s age was just closing the lid. She smiled at him. “Fresh coffee…” She glanced at his badge. “…Captain.”

“Wonderful. Thank you.” At least it would be hot. He poured some into a cup, then introduced himself.

She smiled warmly. “I’m Mary. Just started today.”

Nick raised the hot drink to his lips then froze mid-sip.

Mary’s eyes widened. “Is everything okay, Captain?”

He lifted the cup into the air. “This is the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had here! Someone give Mary a fat raise!”

A few people chuckled, but even more raced over to try the drink. Officer Grant declared her Queen of the Snack Table.

It was the perfect distraction from the stress of the case, but unfortunately it only lasted a few minutes before everyone dispersed. 

Nick opened his door when someone called out his name. 

“Captain! You have to see this.”

“What is it?” Nick turned to see Detective Anderson. His expression was solemn.

Anderson gestured to Nick’s office. They went inside and sat on either side of the large mahogany desk.

Nick waited. It was obvious by the look on the detective’s face the news wasn’t good.

“We have an ID on one of the bodies.”

“That’s good news.” Nick breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d misread Anderson.

His expression was still dark. “A teenage girl. Thirty-two years ago. Dental records confirmed her identity. Amy Michaels.”

“Go on.” Nick’s stomach tightened, waiting for the bad news.

“She was reported missing from the house where we found all the bodies.”

Nick nodded, taking in the news. That wasn’t altogether surprising since a girl living there had gone missing around that time. “Okay, so what’s the problem?”

Anderson took a deep breath and paused. “Her father worked with Walter Foster at the time.”

Everything spun around Nick as he tried to make sense of the news. “Come again?”

“Nick, the dead girl is connected to Genevieve’s father.”