The two made a methodical search of the first and second floors, but each room was like the last. Dusty and empty.
“I bet he’s busy outfitting his new van,” she said. “He wants it just right before he hunts again.”
“A guy like him might have multiple locations,” he cautioned. “There’s no sign that he brought anyone inside, so perhaps this was strictly a dump site.”
“He’s definitely not been inside for a while,” she said.
Ramsey considered setting up a perimeter on the property and waiting for Mecum’s return. It would only be a matter of time before he came back. But as much as Ramsey wanted to stay in Nashville and see this case to the end, he had a finite amount of time remaining before he had to return to Washington.
As if sensing his thoughts, Melina asked, “How much longer are you going to be in Nashville?”
“A few more days at most. I’ve got to get back.”
“Hopefully you’ll be around for the takedown. It would be a shame to miss the party,” she said.
“It’s been a while since I was involved in an arrest.” Again, he flexed his fingers as adrenaline rushed through his body. God, he missed this part of the job.
“I should go back out on the street near the Mission,” Melina said. “You said this killer circled back on one of his victims.”
“No way.”
“If he doesn’t know the cops have found this place, he soon will. If we don’t catch him now, he’ll take his money and fly away.”
His phone chimed with a text. “It’s from Andy. She has the DMV picture of Mecum.”
She inspected the picture, studying it closely. Mecum was attractive. He had dark hair salted with enough gray to make him look distinguished. His face was long, lean, and tanned. He had a patrician nose and stark brown eyes that were so dark they reminded her of a great white shark’s lifeless gaze. “It’s impossible to tell. My guy was wearing a wig and it was dark.”
“How did he move? Did he move like a sixty-two-year-old man?”
“He was strong as hell. No couch potato could have pulled it off.”
“We need a solid identification on this guy.”
“Is that a yes or a no to putting me on the street? I’d do it myself, but I’m on thin ice with the boss.”
“And rightly so.” They stepped outside onto the back porch, and he surveyed the property. The forensic team had set up several tents and worktables. They got into the car, and he nosed it down the driveway. Gravel crunched under the tires, and she found herself drawn back to the night she had been left on the side of the road not too far from here.
“I can show this picture around the Bottom,” she said. “One of the girls might have seen him out of disguise. I’ll also ask Sarah.”
“It’s a start. And our only play.”
“A john with a limp is also memorable.”
It was possible but likely a long shot. Only a fool would return to old hunting grounds knowing the cops were canvassing the area. “Okay.”
Melina rolled her shoulders as her gaze skimmed the wooded countryside. “While we’re out here, there’s a diner I’d like you to see.”
A grin tugged at his lips. “But you just ate.”
She shrugged, unapologetic. “It’s true that I’m always hungry. But that’s not the reason I want to see this diner. When I was a child, whoever called the police and reported I was on that roadside did it from that diner. Seems plausible that Sonny may have been back to it.”
He understood the reasoning behind the visit, but he wanted to hear her thoughts. “Explain.”
“Bonnie commented that Sonny was sentimental. Couldn’t let go of the past. Maybe that’s where he goes to mourn the sister he could not save. Like you said, killers are creatures of habit.”
Melina and Ramsey arrived at the diner just before the dinner crowd would be coming through. She led the way, reaching for the diner’s door seconds before Ramsey.
Growing up as the only child of Detective Hank Shepard, she was basically the son he never had. Her mother had tried to expose their daughter to more ladylike pursuits, but Melina had always gravitated toward hikes in the woods and the garage, where her dad would tinker on his 1974 Cutlass Supreme.
Which was now why she was uncomfortable having a man holding a door or allowing her to walk ahead first. With Ramsey she sensed the moves were automatic. He had been so steeped in old Virginia culture that it was now a part of his DNA.
Ramsey did not seem to mind when she took the lead and followed her and the hostess to a booth in the corner. She slid into the booth as he did, and each reached for a menu. She glanced around and searched for the public pay phone that an unknown caller had used twenty-eight years ago to save her life. There was no sign of it. She had seen pictures of it on the wall by the counter when she had pulled the police report detailing her rescue.
“Have you ever been here before?” Ramsey asked.
“I come about once a year. I always speak to the owner, Pop. He said he was here the night the police received the call about me.”
“Does he remember who made the call?”
“No.”
The waitress arrived at their table. Each accepted a cup of coffee. He ordered the omelet. She asked for a Big Boy burger with fries. Then she asked for extra fries. The waitress took one look at her slim figure and joked, “There is no God,” and turned to place the order.
Melina looked out the window toward the four-lane highway, watching as the traffic rushed past. “Who leaves a kid on the side of the road?”
“You’ve already met one of them. Sadly, there are many more.”
Her mind returned to the body found in the woods behind Mecum’s house. “I shouldn’t gripe. I wouldn’t be here now if not for Bonnie.”
“Good way to look at it.”
She regarded him, watching as he raised his cup to his lips. He moved with precision, as if he never wasted energy on anything unnecessary.
“I know,” she said. “Speaking of evil, is there anyone in the Nashville area who knows Mecum? It’s clear that house is not his hideout.”
“Jackson’s team and Andy are searching for other residences, properties, and possible associates.”
Their meals arrived and she immediately picked up a hot, slightly oily fry and grinned. Nervous energy aside, it had been a couple of days since she’d had a real hot meal. And she did not know when she would see the next one.
As they ate, their conversation centered on old cases they each had worked, and she realized their paths had almost crossed several times before. At the end of the meal, he insisted on paying. When they stepped outside and got into the car, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was always glad to leave that place.
Her phone rang as he pulled onto the highway. “Andy,” she said. “That was quick.”
“When it comes to computers, I can do magic,” Andy said.
“I’m here with Agent Ramsey. Mind if I put you on speaker?”
“As long as you don’t mind Agent Ramsey hearing a few details about your past.”
“I’m an open book.” Melina actually trusted Ramsey with the details of her past more than anyone she had met in a long time. She hit the button.
“Hello, Andy,” Ramsey said.
“Hey, boss. Glad I caught you as well. This might be of interest to you both.”
Ramsey started the car but, instead of driving, sat as he focused his full attention on Andy’s words. “Ready when you are.”
“As you likely know, Agent Shepard provided me access to her DNA account. First thing I did was cross-check her DNA against the sample collected from Jennifer Brown’s sink. It was not a match.”
She was disappointed and relieved. “Are you sure?”
“Very,” Andy said. “I was able to upload it to GEDMatch, an open-source site. Because your DNA is available for access, GEDMatch is able to crossmatch it with its entire database. Any blood relative who has done the same will create a match. From there, a family tree can begin to be constructed. Best hit we had for Melina was a great-grandmother.”
“How did my great-grandmother get in the system?” Melina asked.
“One of the many hundreds of relatives you have is likely an amateur genealogist and uploaded it.”
“What is the bottom line?” Melina was more anxious than she realized to have something concrete about her past.
“The great-grandmother, Ann Talbot, had a son named Howard by her first marriage. Ann remarried when Howard was only five, and her second husband adopted the boy. His name changed from Talbot to Guthrie.”
“Our connection to Bonnie Guthrie,” Melina said.
“Correct. Howard and his first wife, Felicia, had two children. The boy, born in 1959, and his sister, in 1960. After thirty years of marriage, Felicia died. Howard married Bonnie Franklin, now known as Bonnie Guthrie, in 1989.”
“Is what Bonnie told me about her late husband’s family true?” Melina asked.
“Yes,” Andy said. “Lizzie Guthrie, Howard’s daughter, was born in 1960 and earned herself a long rap sheet. I know this because Agent Ramsey sent me her name and I did a complete search. Her offenses were mostly related to drugs and prostitution. She’s in CODIS and I was able to cross-check her DNA against Agent Shepard’s. They’re a match. Mother and daughter.”