“A .38.” She heard the tapping of computer keyboards. “Looks like he was arrested yesterday late afternoon, around four p.m. He was driving a bronze SUV. The gun was stolen and he had enough drugs that they arrested him for intent to sell. Trust me, Showalter won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon.”
“Okay, thanks.” She ended the call, realizing the timing of his arrest meant Showalter wasn’t her intruder.
Oswald was still a possibility, though.
“Coffee?” Jordan set a steaming mug near her elbow. Cutie crawled under the table to nestle beside Bear, who let out a heavy sigh.
“Thanks.” She wished she wasn’t so keenly aware of him. Taking a cautious sip of her coffee, she was about to comb through her list of perps when her phone buzzed with a text message.
Task force meeting at 15:00. Check email for link.
Feeling Jordan’s gaze, she showed him her phone screen. “Looks like we’re meeting soon.”
“Do you think they found something?” Jordan asked.
“Not sure.” She gestured to the computer. “I’ll participate via webcam. I don’t think you should listen in, Jordan. I don’t want to compromise the investigation.”
He scowled. “But I need to know what’s going on. Maybe something they discuss will trigger a memory or an idea. I want to help you with this, Autumn. Jenny is gone but her baby is still out there, somewhere.”
He made a fair point. Dodger Andrews was participating in the task force meetings discussing information related to his granddaughter’s disappearance. She knew Dodger’s donations to the K-9 facility was part of the reason he was getting special treatment, but Jordan deserved to be included, too. Especially since their priority was to find Mia and the missing babies. Protocol shouldn’t stand in the way of that.
Still, she quickly sent a text to Emmett to ask permission. The task force leader agreed, but only if he didn’t interrupt. Relieved, she looked up at Jordan. “You can listen in, but don’t say anything. If you have a question, write it down for me and I’ll ask it.”
“Thank you.” Jordan gestured to her computer. “Have you learned anything about the suspects on your own case?”
“One guy was arrested yesterday so he’s off the list.” She shrugged. “I’ll keep pushing through the names of people I’ve arrested. Maybe Peters will come up with something, too.”
Bear crawled out from beneath the table, giving her an imploring look. She sighed and stood. “Let’s take the dogs outside for a bit, first. Then I’ll work on my case until it’s time for the task force meeting.”
“Great. Let’s go, Cutie.” Jordan shrugged into his jacket and headed outside. Cutie ran ahead as she and Bear followed more slowly.
The dogs did their thing, then played for a few minutes. Bear could still be playful, but then he began to sniff intently at the ground. At first, she thought he’d scented the bad guy, but then he moved on.
Bear’s actions reminded her that they needed to search other fields in the area to see if he alerted on anything. Bear was a human tracker first, but his cadaver instincts were amazing, too. She eyed her watch, then decided they could take time to do that after the task force meeting.
At three o’clock sharp, Autumn was at her computer with the link open. Emmett was already on the call, and soon the other members of the task force popped into view.
Jordan sat across the table, positioned where he could hear but was out of sight from those on the call.
“Thanks for coming together,” Emmett said somberly. “I wanted to give everyone a quick update. We have the pathology results back on all the women. Each one of them was killed shortly after giving birth, the way we suspected.”
Autumn glanced at Jordan who was staring down at his clasped hands. Praying? Maybe. She hoped so.
“The murdered women went missing under their own free will, from what we know,” Emmett continued. “Mia’s case is a little different in that there were signs of a struggle, indicating she was taken by force. We recently learned that the father of Mia’s baby was on vacation with his family during the time of her disappearance. We have confirmed his alibi, which clears him as a suspect,” Emmett went on. “We’re still trying to find the fathers of Gayle Gorman’s baby and Nina Olson’s baby. So far, the few friends we’ve talked to have not been able to provide any information on their names or even what the respective men look like.”
When Emmett paused, Autumn spoke up. “We know that Eric, the father of Jenny’s baby, was killed two weeks after she went missing, so he’s likely not involved. I’m leaning toward this being the work of a stranger, rather than someone related to the infants.”
“I agree,” River spoke up. “Makes me think someone approached these girls with an offer to help them out, maybe with cash along with a place to stay. I could see a pregnant teenager succumbing to something like that.”
“That’s a good working theory,” Emmett agreed. “I’m asking all of you to touch base with the OB clinic providers in your area to warn pregnant young women not to accept help from strangers.”
Eva spoke up next. “Autumn found a phone number that could belong to a burner phone that was used to be in touch with Jenny. I found the phone was purchased using cash at a drugstore in Denver. They don’t have any video surveillance so that’s a dead end for the moment. I’m also digging into some private adoption agencies in the Denver and Boulder areas. I know they’re generally legit, but it could be that one of them has gone off the rails to begin smuggling babies.”
Jordan winced, but didn’t say anything. Autumn felt for him. “That’s great, Eva.”
“I want you all to be hypervigilant out there,” Emmett said. “We are hoping and praying that Mia will be kept alive until she delivers her baby in October. But that also means we don’t have a moment to waste. We need answers.”
Jordan’s gaze turned grim and she knew he was thinking that every clue they uncovered now was far too late for Jenny.
