The Dollmaker(The Forgotten Files #2)(95)

Dakota shoved out a sigh. “No, we haven’t. I’ve left her several voice-mail messages, and we’ve been by her apartment, where we did find a doll. I’ve had a BOLO out on her for a few days.”

She wanted to peel off the layers of bandaging right now and prove to herself this was not Elena. But she stifled the urge, knowing to do so would risk evidence contamination. But back at the lab, unmasking this victim would be her top priority. “I think you’ve found her.”

“You think this is Elena?” Dakota said.

“I’m not completely sure. It’s been twelve years since I’ve seen her, and this woman is so covered and disfigured. But it could be.”

“Run her prints as soon as you can,” he said.

She looked at him, realizing how all these years of never really accepting the cause of Kara’s death had not been off base. Knowing he’d carried this burden tore at her heart. “If this is Elena, she’s the second of Kara’s friends to die.”

The lines around his eyes and mouth furrowed deeper. “Think about the picture taken of the four of you at the party, Tessa. Kara was far left, next Diane, then Elena, and you’re on the end at the far right. If this is Elena, he’s working his way across the photo.”

The four of them were the target of a killer? Nearly impossible to grasp, but she trusted Dakota. “Jesus. Why us?”

“Hell if I know.” His words were clipped with anger and frustration. “I’m going to tell the uniform to stick to you like glue now.”

One thing to theorize but another to tie up patrol officers. “Most of my day is spent in the medical examiner’s office or surrounded by cops. It doesn’t feel right having some officer follow me around.”

“I’m not arguing this point.”

“I made it to Southeast Asia and survived the jungles without an issue. I can get by in Richmond.”

“Your team in Vietnam also had security attached to your detail twenty-four/seven.”

“How do you know?”

“I checked.”

“You checked? With who?”

“I still have contacts.”

He’d been checking up on her while she was away. “I’m touched.”

He showed no hints of emotion. “You get a guard.”

Easier to move a mountain when his expression hardened like this. “Sure. Fine.”

As she turned to leave, he took her arm. His fingers clamped warm, gentle, and unyielding around her arm. “I’m not doing this to be a hard-ass. You have to see that we’re dealing with someone that’s clever and dangerous.”

She lowered her gaze to his fingers. She liked his touch. Wished he could pull her into an embrace and tell her that this was all a horrible nightmare. “I understand.”




Sharp and Vargas met Veronica Hayes at the medical examiner’s office. She sat in the waiting room, her back straight, her hands gripping a handbag that likely cost more than he made in a month.

“Ms. Hayes,” he said.

At the sound of his voice, Veronica rose and faced them. Three-inch heels put her at eye level with Sharp. Dark hair draped her shoulders, and a white blouse and a fitted pencil skirt showed off her trim frame. “Why am I here?”

Vargas ignored the question by asking, “Did Elena like dolls?”

The question caught Veronica off guard. “She’s a little old for dolls, don’t you think? Why do you ask?”

“We found one in her apartment when we searched the place,” Sharp said.

Veronica squared her shoulders. “I don’t know what you found, but it wasn’t hers. Dolls are not her style.”

“Did she mention seeing anyone recently that she might have crossed paths with in college?”

Veronica glanced at her phone. “No.”

A local boy. “Anyone she might have seen recently?” Sharp asked.

Her brow wrinkled with a frown. “We were in a new restaurant near the Boulevard and Cary Street intersection. What was it called? I remember. Island View. There was a guy. He spoke with her as she was coming out of the ladies’ room. They talked for several minutes. She didn’t recognize him, but she said he knew her. She said it was a little weird not to recognize someone who remembered you so well.”

“Do you have a name?” Sharp asked.

“No. I didn’t ask and she didn’t offer.”

His phone buzzed with a text from Tessa. It read: The body has been identified as Elena Hayes. He texted back, Understood.

As he raised his gaze, he realized Veronica was watching him closely. “Ms. Hayes, I don’t have good news.”

Vargas tossed him a glance, her face hardening with understanding.

Tears sparkled in Veronica’s eyes as she held up the phone. “We just need to give Elena more time to call back. She’s on some beach soaking up the rays.”

“We asked you here because we strongly suspected that the body of a woman brought in a couple of hours ago is your sister. Our office just confirmed this as true.”

“You’ve made a mistake. How did she die?” Veronica challenged.

“The medical examiner will make the final call on that.”

“The final call. How could you not know?” She took a step back, pressing her fingertips to her closed eyes. “This just makes no sense.”