Desperation in Death (In Death #55)(64)

“We’ve hit a little wall. We’ll push over it.”

Thinking of that, Eve mentally shifted back to locations. “I’m going to have Uniform Carmichael put together a team. They can start paying the properties a visit. Just need a bullshit excuse. Community outreach should work. Just get in and sniff around. Going in knowing the possibility it’s a front, you might just smell something off.”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Peabody sat, took a slice.

Giving up, Eve did the same.

“I’m wondering if some of the abductions come from scouts that root in a certain area. Service people, repair people, delivery people. Fucking cops—and I hate that one, but we have to let it in. People get used to seeing them, don’t look twice.”

“Plumbers,” Peabody speculated, “IT people, handymen who cover an area, or even if they don’t, people don’t usually look twice at a work truck or van driving through the neighborhood.”

The pizza hit the empty places in exactly the right way.

“Maybe you live in a neighborhood and take a kid from it,” Eve considered. “Get the kid, drive off, travel to a pickup location, or all the way to the target area.”

“The business there would have to be a front, too,” Peabody pointed out, “or most likely, for that to work.”

“Yeah, but if it’s connected with the front here, say the outlet where they make the underwear, the uniforms. It feels smart, and this is a smart operation. You wouldn’t pick up a kid every day, or even every week. You go about your business, pick the kid, and have all the time you need to watch until you hit at the right time. Street kids—the Dorian type—that’s a different system.”

Pizza, Eve thought as she ate, answered almost all needs.

“Let’s try this. Plumbers, like you said—so we look for a big operation here with our probabilities. Plumbing supplies, commercial plumbing operation. Same with IT. General repairs, I’m not sure what you attach that to, but we’ll find it. The sewing, tailoring operation. Delivery services—plenty of big operations for that. Utility shit. You know, solar installation and repair. It’s an angle.”

“I’ll tell McNab to plug it in, too. The more, the better. I’ve got more kids, Dallas. I started on open cases where the girl didn’t hit that physical beauty level. I found seventeen more, so far, from six to sixteen, that fit the abduction pattern. I’m going to put them in the categories—ages, good neighborhoods, runaways—but I needed the break.”

“Seventeen. I’m going to get Carmichael started, and hell, maybe I’ll tug on Teasdale today. We’ve got the cracks, but we’re not widening them.”

She took a second slice. “We should’ve had a solid sighting of Dorian Gregg by now if she stayed in the city, if she went back to her former territory. She’s either gone, they grabbed her back, or she’s dead somewhere.”

“Gone’s most likely,” Peabody commented. “She had a window before we ID’d her blood. She climbed out and booked. We could get lucky, and she’ll get picked up somewhere.”

“No relying on luck there.”

She thought of herself at eight, and how terrified she’d have been if she’d ended up with federal agents surrounding her. But it was coming down to the wire on no choice there.

She pulled out her communicator, contacted Officer Carmichael, gave him the assignment, sent him the necessary data.

That, at least, felt like action, however weak.

She looked over as Willowby came in.

“Hey, thought I’d bop down from EDD and fill you in.”

She’d dressed for EDD, Eve thought, in a rainbow shirt and neon-green bibbed baggies. And bopped over on pink low-top air kicks.

“That pizza is not Vending crap.”

Eve waved a hand at it. “Go ahead.”

“Either one,” Peabody told her. “Or both.”

“Veggie pizza’s the only way veggies go down easy. I’ll take a slice of both.” She sat on the table, laid one slice over the other, and bit in. “So, your man’s up there now,” she told Eve. “Sizzle.” She gave a little shiver. “If you don’t mind me saying.”

“You already did.”

“I got a weakness for the sizzle, and the smarts. I don’t care what chromosomes somebody’s got, I just go for sizzle or smarts. Somebody’s got both? I’m a goner. He sure has both. Anyway.”

She paused to take another bite.

“He’s working with the e-geeks on this op, and I’m going to say, it could work. It’ll take some doing, and some damn good cover. It’s pretty late in the game for this auction, but you do get some buyers who don’t move in until late in the game.”

She looked at the board, at the faces as she ate. “If we do it right, pull it off, it could work for some of them.”

“Did you get any sleep, Willowby?”

“Zonked a few z’s. Pizza’s better than the z’s. We’re down to two days and change. I’ll sleep after.” Then she gestured to the board. “Some of the girls you’ve got up there are starting to pop up in more previews. If it goes the way I think, full sales kits go online by this time tomorrow. You’ve added some of the Kiddies.”