Find Her (Detective D.D. Warren #8)(84)

*

“PRETTY IN PINK,” Phil reported fifteen minutes later. “Kristy’s go-to nail polish. Wore it all the time. Was also partial to a pair of gold hoops, which were a sixteenth birthday present from her mom.”

“Kristy Kilker,” D.D. said.

“Not enough for an official ID.”

“No. We’ll have to wait for Ben to work his full magic at the lab. But chances are . . .”

“Kristy Kilker,” Phil agreed.

“So where is Natalie Draga? A second dump site? Are there other frequent destinations recorded in Goulding’s GPS?”

“Not that would work for stashing bodies. This is it.”

“And the dogs have covered the entire park?”

“Yep.”

“So where is Natalie Draga?” D.D. asked again.

Phil had no answer.

D.D. looked around, at the trees, the gawkers, the milling crew of blue-clad crime scene technicians. “Phil, what are we missing?”


*

SHE CALLED SAMUEL KEYNES. She didn’t know why. He wasn’t an investigating officer but a professional headshrink. He didn’t catch bad guys; he assisted with victims. And yet . . .

Everything about this case came back to Flora Dane. And given her disappearance, the closest link they had to her was Dr. Keynes. Which was interesting in its own right because most of the time, D.D. would peg the mother in a situation like this. But for all of Rosa’s fierce protection of her daughter, their relationship was strained. Flora herself hadn’t called her mother after Friday night’s incident. She’d called her former victim specialist instead.

Keynes picked up after one ring. Almost as if he was expecting her call.

“Do you know someone named Natalie Draga?” she asked him.

“No.”

“What about Kristy Kilker?”

“No.”

“Flora never mentioned these names? Never talked about trying to locate either woman?”

“No. Sergeant Detective—”

“But she did talk to you about Stacey Summers? Come on. Now is the time to be open and honest, Doctor. Because I have one dead body and I’m pretty sure there’s about to be more. Flora talks to you. Flora tells you things she doesn’t tell anyone else. Not even her mother. So what did she tell you about Stacey Summers?”

“Saturday morning’s phone call was the first contact I’d had with Flora in months. At least six months. We are not that close, Sergeant Detective. Not nearly as close as you think.”

“But she tells you things. Things she tells no one else. This morning, I spoke to the FBI agent who rescued Flora. According to her, she has lots of questions about what Flora did during her time with Jacob Ness. But Flora won’t answer those questions. She’ll only talk to you.”

“I provided a full report of Flora’s statement. Contrary to what you’re implying, everything I heard has been made available to investigators. That Flora didn’t want to share her experience again and again . . . that’s hardly unusual for someone who’s been through her level of trauma.”

“Did she do it? Help kidnap other victims?”

“Not that she ever revealed.”

“Is that what this is? All this vigilante business? Survivor’s guilt to cleanse her conscience of what she did during her captivity?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“No. Not true. One, you’re the expert. Two, she trusts you. And she keeps calling you. When she’s in trouble, when she needs help, your number is the one she dials. Five years later, Doc. How many families are still calling you five years later?”

Keynes didn’t say anything.

“Then there’s the mom,” D.D. continued, thinking out loud. “Rosa Dane. She seems pretty comfortable with you as well. Does she also keep you on speed dial, or do you call her? Because Flora doesn’t and you know that bothers her.”

Then, it came to D.D. The way Keynes had touched Rosa’s shoulder yesterday in her office. The way he’d stood so solidly beside her when, frankly, there was no reason for him to be there at all. But he’d come. At Rosa’s request. And he’d stayed. The good doctor and Rosa.

“Does Flora know?” D.D. blurted out. “About you and her mom. Have you ever told her?”

“Sergeant Detective, do you have any new leads on Flora’s disappearance?”

“Answer my question first.”

“I will not.”

“It’s relevant—”

“It is not. Now, do you have any new information—”

“Rosa’s standing there,” D.D. filled in abruptly. “She’s standing right beside you, and she’s asking about her daughter.”

Keynes didn’t answer, which D.D. took to be a yes.

“Rosa doesn’t know, does she?” D.D. said more softly. “Your feelings for her, you’ve never said.”

“I assure you—”

“I am mistaken. Got it. Your relationship with the family is purely professional. Proper feebie like you—”

“Sergeant Detective—”

“I have a body. One of the women we believe Devon Goulding abducted, we’ve found her remains based on evidence we recovered from his house.”