“Yeah, I talked with her. That part of the job—talking to victims—is the hardest part.”
“I’ve got no love for it, either.”
Jacob hung up a few minutes later, both of them agreeing to touch base in a few days. Chay spent the rest of the morning reaching out to the different police stations trying to speak to the officers who’d written the reports.
He spoke to two, and both times their statements were similar. They victim was a solitary woman with few connections other than jobs or maybe a neighbor. He already knew they’d all come out of the foster care system and asked each officer if they’d spoken to the care homes.
They hadn’t, because as far as they had been concerned, it was an isolated incident in their town.
Chay added that to his list of to-dos. Maybe these women had something that the police reports were missing. Were they all extremely beautiful or had blond hair or a skill set that no one else knew about?
Where was the line?
Taking out a yellow notepad, he wrote down,foster care—that’s the first line. Where had the girls come from? Could that be the second line?
They’d all been taken, which was a line at the bottom. He drew one. Making it a curve and adding in the cities they’d been taken in. Plotting out the distance between them all.
Pulling the map toward him, he tried to see if there was a pattern there. But they were all equal distance apart.
Transporting the women would be an issue if they were connecting. Fern had been held near tribal lands, but she’d been alone. He hadn’t thought to ask her if she’d seen signs that someone had been there before her.
He called Ava, but her phone went to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s me. When you are with Fern again, would you ask her if she saw evidence that anyone had been held in the cabin before her? Looking forward to dinner later.”
He called back one of the officers he’d spoken to earlier. “Do you have any abandoned places on the outskirts of town?”
“A few. Mostly they turn into squats for homeless or addicts. Why?”
“We found a woman at an abandoned cabin. I’m searching for a connection to her abduction,” Chay said.
“I’ll take a drive out there. What am I looking for?”
“Well, the woman here was held alone, bound and kept drugged. They came by once a day to feed her and then drug her again. So…I’m not entirely sure what you’ll find. Maybe signs that someone’s been there.”
“No promises,” the officer said.
“Thanks for checking.”
It was almost time to go home, so he typed up his notes and sent an email to Jacob updating him on what he’d found.
Ava saw she missed a call from Chay when she came out of the pediatrician’s office. Gracie was in for her nine-month check-up. The office had limited hours on Saturdays which Ava had to take advantage of because of her work schedule. The baby was doing well but a little weepy since she’d had a shot. Ava planned to take her back to the park where they’d walked the other day.
The weather was clear and crisp. Having the sun on her face felt so good. She listened to Chay’s voicemail, the sound of himtalking sending a sweet thrill through her. Parking, she took her time gathering her stuff and getting Gracie out of her car seat.
The baby was sucking her thumb, which the doctor said wasn’t an issue right now. Out of the corner of her eye, Ava thought she saw a dark-haired man watching her. Pushing her sunglasses up on her head, she turned toward him, but no one was there.
God, was she getting paranoid?
Was it just that she was afraid to let herself be happy with Gracie and Chay?
Getting Gracie into the front baby carrier, she put her hat and gloves on as she double-checked she had her keys and that the truck was locked before she headed toward the path.
“This is nice, isn’t it? Sorry you had to get a shot today. You know that’s just to keep you healthy,” she said to Gracie, rubbing her hands on the little baby’s feet. Gracie murmured back a response around her thumb.
“What’s that? You need a treat if you’re going to forgive me?”
“Uh-huuh huuuh.”
