While they settled, Holt glanced at the selection of marker pens and checked them quickly.
Red. Green. Blue. Brown. Black. Purple. Orange.
Holt turned to the center board first.
At the top, in black pen, he wrote in block capitals:
CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS
Then he paused for a second, considering the layout.
Holt had originally planned too many categories. That would only make the board look like a chaos map from a television crime show, and all that would do was lose people. He needed it clear, simple, and direct. Enough structure to guide the room, not enough to drown it.
Holt drew five strong vertical lines, dividing the board into six columns.
In blue, at the top of the first column, he wrote:
INCIDENTS
Then, beneath it in black, he began writing.
1. Windows at the cottage broken. Margo.
2. Tires slashed. Willa and Rad.
3. File cabinets pushed over. Rad.
4. Locked in police files room. Rad.
5. Collapsing shelf in office. Likely aimed at Rad. Tom injured instead.
6. Stolen or missing evidence from police lockup.
7. Lured to the burnt-out cabin in the forest. Lacey. Intended target likely Lucy and June.
8. Security cameras at Henderson Farm parking area vandalized and down for several days.
9. Stolen truck. Belongs to Lucy. Taken from Harvey’s repair shop.
10. Dr. Judy Vernon kidnapped from Cedar Key beach parking area. Smartwatch believed to be hers found there.
11. Judy Vernon’s hotel room searched. Devices left behind.
12. Cedar Key Inn reported Judy checked out by phone at 8:30 p.m. the night before she was found. Night clerk said she sounded strange, as if she had a cold.
13. Lucy’s truck found on outskirts of Gainesville. Completely wrecked and missing bumpers.
14. Duplicate truck found hidden under tarp about five to seven miles from Hollow Pond, opposite side of road from where Judy was found.
15. Duplicate truck stripped of identifying marks. Missing bumpers from Lucy’s truck attached to it.
By then, the room had gone quiet enough that he could hear Margo set down a spoon.
Holt wasn’t finished yet so he moved to the second column and, in orange, wrote:
THREATS
Under that heading, again in black, he listed:
