“She did sell the kid,” I told David when I got him on the phone. “She met Benoit in the park. It sounds like he was watching, looking for an unhappy mom to target, one who wasn’t paying attention to her kid, a mom who looked like she’d rather be anywhere else. These guys have antennae for that type of thing. Benoit told Crystal he wanted a child to raise, that he was rich and he’d give the boy everything he wanted, to give her an easy out. It gave her an excuse, like she was doing it for Joey, not the thirty grand.”
“Yeah,” David said, his voice overflowing with a deep loathing. “What did you find out about where he might take the kid? Anything that will help?”
“I’m not sure about this. It seems too easy. Maybe it’s a false lead, to throw us off, but Crystal says Benoit did talk about taking Joey to Galveston, to the beach, someplace with a fishing pier near a park.”
A thoughtful pause, time to consider, and then David agreed. “You’re right. He could be trying to mislead us. But on the other hand, this guy breeds drama, and a pier in a hurricane is a perfect setting for his big moment.” Again silence, and then: “Plus, Benoit has consistently given us clues to help us trail him but not catch him. Like we discussed, he wants us one step behind, like when you got close to catching him last night, the fourth bull in the field. Having us hot on his trail increases the thrill of this sick game he’s playing. So his wanting us in Galveston, searching the island, could mean that’s precisely where he’s going. He hasn’t given us any other clues leading anywhere else.”
“All true,” I said, still doubtful, wondering if Benoit would give us any guidance that was so precise. Still, I couldn’t dispute David’s logic. “So do you go with that?”
“Yeah, we have to. We haven’t anything else,” he said. “I’ll run it by the captain, see if he has other ideas, but I think we’ll concentrate on the piers, especially anything near a park. Try to find a safe vantage point and set up surveillance. Anything else?”
“A description of Benoit’s car. Crystal says that he was driving a large Japanese SUV, dark blue. She doesn’t remember a license plate number, but it has a bumper sticker on the back. It’s another symbol, two capital Es turned inward, facing each other, with an I in the center. Looks a little like a butterfly.”
“Great. That could help. What does it mean?”
“It’s another Adinkra, this one called Pempamsie,” I explained. “I found a reference to it on the Internet. It symbolizes strength that cannot be crushed.”
“More gloating,” David said. “More taunting.”
“Yeah,” I answered. “But maybe it’ll backfire. Maybe it’ll help you spot the SUV. I’ve already e-mailed the information on the vehicle to the sheriff’s department and Houston and Galveston PD, so they can all start looking. I’ve also alerted Galveston to the description of the possible site, and they’re pulling together information on the piers for you, both on the Gulf and on the bay side of the island, especially anything near a park.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Great.”
In the background, I heard what sounded like a loud gust of wind. “David, where are you?”
“We just crossed the causeway onto the island,” he said. The connection was bad, cutting in and out. “It’s getting pretty rough. We’re hearing on the radio that the Gulf side of the island is beginning to flood, and the storm’s not scheduled to hit here for another six hours.”
“Be careful,” I said. “Please, David, be careful.”
At that, the phone went dead.