And they’d be questioning Anniston, too.
They had concrete proof now. Lily Adams hadn’t just disappeared of her own accord. This investigation wasn’t merely based on Kyle’s hunch or gut instinct.
Lily Adams had been abducted.
Somewhere, out in the small town of Paradox, her abductor could be waiting.
We’re going to find you.
CHAPTER TWO
They’d taken over the small police station in Paradox. Curtis Adams was in a holding cell, and Kyle hoped the jerk would hurry up and become more coherent for them soon. Trying to question a guy high on meth was useless.
Officers in three counties were now searching for Lily. Her face was being splashed across the news. Time was of the essence. They’d caught this case early, thanks to Anniston, and if they could move fast enough…
“It reminds you of her, doesn’t it?”
He turned, not surprised to see Captain James Anniston standing in the doorway.
James looked over his shoulder, glancing back to where Cadence was hovering over an old computer. Then he crossed the threshold and shut the door behind him.
Since it was his office, the guy should have felt plenty comfortable heading inside, but judging by the look on his face, comfort was the last thing James felt. “The minute I saw Lily’s car, it reminded me of Maria, too. That’s why I had to call you.”
Maria. His sister’s name seemed to echo in his mind, but Kyle didn’t let his expression alter. “The setup is the same.” A car, abandoned in the dead of night on a long, lonely stretch of highway.
In the same damn town.
When he’d been out on that road, memories had burned through him. It had been all he could do to hold onto his control. Cadence never had a problem with control. He had to fight to keep his every minute.
Kyle cleared his throat and tried to stay cool. “The cases are sure similar, but my sister was eighteen when she vanished. Lily’s thirty-two.” It was a big age gap for a serial—not that anyone had ever tied his sister’s disappearance to a killer.
No one had ever found Maria McKenzie. She’d gone on a road trip, determined to exert her independence as she headed down to Florida for a summer vacation. Her friends had been waiting for her in Pensacola, right on the beach. White sand, blue waves. That was what Maria had told him. Pensacola Beach. She’d been so eager to start her journey.
But she’d never made it to those sandy shores.
Officer James Anniston had found her car. Traced her tags. Contacted Kyle.
Then my world fell apart.
Because he’d promised his parents he’d go on that trip with Maria. Sworn he wouldn’t leave her on her own.
He’d broken his promise.
“There were no signs of a struggle at Maria’s scene,” James said. “Just like with Lily.”
Only with Lily, they had a lead. They had a voice. They knew she’d been taken.
With Maria, even James hadn’t been convinced—not at first—that she’d been taken. They’d thought she hooked up with some man—that she went off to enjoy her summer.
And what? Just left her car behind on some Alabama road?
No. He’d never bought that story. When Maria hadn’t turned up in a few days, weeks, or months, his parents had started to understand.
Their daughter wasn’t coming home.
His mother had turned to the bottle. He’d always thought she drank herself to death. His father had thrown himself into his work. A heart attack had taken him away at just fifty-eight.
And as all of those long days rolled past, James had come to understand that Maria hadn’t disappeared with her boyfriend. Evil had come to that small Alabama town on that long-ago night, and that evil had taken Kyle’s sister.
Kyle had kept in touch with James over the years, calling just in case any new evidence had been found.
There had never been any news. Until now.
“Lily.” James’s voice was musing. “She kind of looked like Maria. That same long, blonde hair.”
Kyle had noticed the slight physical similarity right away. It was another reason he’d busted ass convincing Cadence they needed to get down to Alabama.
“You know we’re going to investigate every officer you have here.” Cadence had already started to run background checks on the men. They’d interview them next, to see if anyone slipped up in interrogation.
“It’s not one of my men.” James was adamant on that point. “Two of ’em—Hollings and Wentworth—were breaking up a fight at Phillip Long’s place. That dumb SOB is always hitting his wife.” He ran a hand over his face. “She just always runs right back to him.”
Because of Lily’s phone call to Curtis, they had an exact time for Lily’s abduction. An exact time meant it was easier to confirm alibis. Or break them.
“You’ve got other officers,” Kyle pointed out.
“We know Heather Crenshaw didn’t do it. She was with her partner, Jason Marsh, all night on patrols.”
There was only a small number of officers in the Paradox Police Department, and Kyle knew he and Cadence would work their way through all of the alibis.
The problem was the guy they were looking for might not be part of Anniston’s crew. He could work in another county. He could be a state trooper.
Or he could be some ass**le who’d bought a plastic badge at a costume shop. It wouldn’t be the first time a perp had pretended to be a cop to get close to his prey. Awhile back, the same thing had happened in Mississippi. A guy pretending to be a state trooper had raped four women before he was finally stopped.
If you want to make a victim trust you, become someone they can count on. Someone they need.
“A woman alone like that, in the middle of the night,” Kyle sighed. “She would have been grateful to see a cop pull up and offer to help her.”
On the recording, Lily had sounded relieved. Officer. But the relief had turned to fear all too quickly.
“We’re the good guys,” James said with a sad shake of his head. “Or at least, we’re supposed to be.”
Cocking his head, Kyle studied the captain. James was still in good shape. The lines near his eyes were deeper than they’d been, and while they’d been talking, Kyle had noticed James’s hands shook.
“In all my years here in Paradox, there have been only two missing-persons cases.” James eased into the rickety chair behind his desk. “Your sister and Lily Adams.”
He’d have to tell Cadence his sister had disappeared in this town. No getting around it. He wanted to tell her when they were alone, not in front of a room full of avid cops.