Abandoned in Death (In Death, #54)(18)

He let out a long breath. “We concluded Elder had been abducted between her workplace and her residence. Her routine was the same when she worked the night shift. She traveled the same route, and in general, between zero-two-twenty and zero-two-thirty.”

“You concluded it would have been possible for someone to note this routine.”

“Yes, sir. We interviewed former relationships, bar regulars, neighbors, and canvassed her route. The thing is, Lieutenant, there was nothing. We looked into finances, her family’s, her cohab’s, but even if this had been for ransom, there wasn’t really enough there. The cohab’s family’s got some, but why take her? Nobody saw her after she left the bar. We didn’t find a trace of her. Our EDD tracked her ’link from the bar to 16 West Seventeenth.”

“A half block from her apartment building.”

“Yes, sir. It went dead, just dead, so they concluded her abductor disabled it. But he didn’t discard it, or if he did, someone picked it up before we caught the case. No, sorry, before Mardsten walked the route, which he did the next morning when he woke to discover she hadn’t come home, when she didn’t answer his tags, and he was unable to connect.”

“Smart. Close to home. She was less likely to be on any sort of alert that close to home.”

“That’s what Marlboro said. She was young and pretty, so we pushed at the idea of snatching her for the sex trade. We pursued that, and, honestly, sir, every line we could think of. Marlboro figured she was a little over the edge age-wise for the sex trade—they tend to like them younger—but we pushed. Marlboro told me, before she left, we’d probably never find the body.”

Now he stared down at his hands. “But you did. Sorry, it’s my first homicide. I kept hoping—even though you know the odds—she’d just turn up. I keep thinking there had to be more we could’ve done.”

“It’s not my first homicide, Detective. I’m going to tell you that you did everything you could.”

He looked up, big, expressive eyes in a thin face. “Do you know why? Why her especially?”

“The why is most likely her general physical appearance and age range, and that routine. The killer didn’t luck upon her. He stalked her.”

“We looked into that. Nobody we interviewed saw any strange vehicles in the area. No one stated she’d complained about being followed or harassed.”

“He’s probably been in the bar a time or two. Not enough to be a regular, not enough to be noticed. His vehicle’s likely nondescript but higher end. It blended with the neighborhood. He was ready for her, and knows enough to have disabled her ’link rather than just tossing it.”

Planning, Eve thought again. Control and planning.

“He took it,” she continued. “Leave no trace. It’s possible she knew him, but with what we’ve learned, the possibility of that’s low. He drugged her. Even on the night he killed her he mixed a tranq—basically a soother—in her tea. He kept her restrained and submissive.

“You did your job, Detective.”

“Is there anything I can do? I know I don’t work murders—or not yet—but if there’s legwork or drone work, I can do it on my own time.”

He should let it go, Eve thought. But it was damn hard to let go of your first. “I’m going to copy you on our file. We’re looking into other missing persons, looking at women who have a similar appearance and age range. If your lieutenant signs off, you could help with that.”

“I’ll have him contact you, and I appreciate it.” He passed her a disc, sealed. “That’s everything. I haven’t contacted Marlboro. It’s her first real break, with her family, in almost a year. But if you think—”

“If we need her input, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay. Thanks. I’d better get back.”

Eve sat where she was as he walked out.

“He’ll be a good cop if he sticks,” she said to Peabody. “Anyway, we know the abduction spot, and that’s new. We’ll take another look at it, but I’ve got Yancy coming in.”

“Yancy?”

“Yeah. Walk and talk,” Eve said as she rose. “Keep pushing the missing persons, for now, but I’m going to clear it with Norman’s LT and let him hit that area. But tag McNab and ask him if disabling a ’link is enough to kill any chance of tracing it. And how that works.”

“Sure.”

“Because here’s the thing. There are recyclers along that route. Why not park near one, disable the vic, then toss the ’link into a recycler? I’m betting the ’link would’ve been crushed before morning. And even if it wasn’t, it would be by the time the cops started looking.”

“Maybe he did know her, and contacted her on it.”

“And we won’t dismiss that. But what are the odds he knew her, knew how to contact her, and she fit all his requirements? I don’t buy anyone being that lucky. We’ll see when the recyclers along her route run and when the contents are picked up.”

She saw Yancy get off the elevator across from Homicide. With his dark curls and vid-star face he looked more like an artist than a cop. Eve knew he hit both on the mark.

“Good timing.”

“Soonest I could break loose,” he told her.