I See You (Criminal Profiler, #2)(77)

Lights flashing from the marked cars now bounced off the motel room walls. “You remember me, Skylar? I’m Detective Vaughan. Alexandria Homicide.”

Whatever annoyance he thought he saw vanished, and she said quickly, “I remember you. How’s my mom?”

Spencer stepped forward and moved past the girl to check the bathroom. When she indicated it was clear, he said, “Do you have clothes you can put on, Skylar?”

“Yeah, Neil brought me some from Jessica.”

Spencer holstered her weapon and then picked up the small red duffel, opened it, and then handed it to the girl. “Go change.”

Skylar’s gaze shifted to Neil, who scrambled toward the end of the bed. “Neil?”

“Go on, Sky,” the boy said. “We knew we’d have to talk to the police sooner or later.”

The girl clutched the bag close to her chest and vanished into the bathroom.

Vaughan holstered his weapon. “Neil, you were supposed to call me if you had any leads.”

“We planned to call you, but she was so upset. I just wanted to give her a little time.”

“We’ve had all the surrounding police forces looking for her,” Spencer said. “Withholding information is a crime.”

“She only called me about two hours ago,” he said quickly. “We were going to call any minute. I swear.”

“After the pizza? After her shower? When exactly?” Vaughan asked.

“Soon.” The boy’s voice raised an octave as his fear took root.

“How long have you been here?” Vaughan asked.

“I just arrived twenty minutes ago.”

“And she’s only just getting in the shower?” Spencer asked.

“She said she’s been sleeping since she checked in.”

“When was that?”

“I don’t know.”

“How did she get here?” Vaughan asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You weren’t curious?” he pressed.

“Well, yeah, but I thought she would want to shower and eat first before we talked.”

“What did she look like when you arrived?” Vaughan asked.

“Exhausted. I had to pound on the door to wake her up. She could barely keep her eyes open.”

“Where are the clothes she was wearing?” Spencer asked.

“In the dumpster behind the motel. She wanted me to get rid of them right away,” Neil said.

Vaughan radioed to a uniform and asked him to check the dumpster. “Did they have blood on them?”

“Yes. But it’s not like I was hiding anything. I put them in a plastic bag, so they’ll be easy to find. She just wanted them out of the room.”

He picked up a cell phone from the nightstand. It was password protected. “Did you bring her this phone?”

“No. She had it already.”

“Where did she get it?” Vaughan asked.

“I don’t know.”

Of course he didn’t. “Open it.”

“No.” Neil puffed out his chest in a show of defiance, and Vaughan could not decide if the kid was a patsy or a master manipulator. So far, none of this case made sense.

An old air-conditioning unit hummed as Vaughan let his size crowd the boy. “I don’t want to toss you in a jail cell, but I will.”

The boy blinked and shifted his stance. “You can’t just arrest me.”

Vaughan reached for his cuffs. “You are a material witness, and I can hold you in the city jail for up to twenty-four hours.” He leaned forward. “Do you have any idea of what kind of guys comes through that jail on any given night?” He grinned as the boy’s eyes widened with worry. His comment had intended to summon frightening images, and it had.

“I’m coming right out!” Sky shouted. “Just wait!”

That last comment told him she did not want the boyfriend alone with the cops too long.

“Agent Spencer, why don’t you talk to Sky when she gets out of the room? Neil and I are going to the dumpster to catch up and get that bag of clothes.” He clamped his hand on the boy’s shoulder, feeling the kid’s muscles flinch.

“I want to stay with Sky,” Neil said in a show of fresh bravado.

“How old are you, son?” Vaughan asked.

“Eighteen.”

“And Sky is seventeen.” Vaughan shook his head.

“She’s only six months younger than me,” the boy protested.

“But in the eyes of the law, you’re an adult and she’s a minor. Right now, those six months mean you would be tried as an adult in court.”

“For what?”

“Hiding a material witness, for starters. Aiding and abetting. Perhaps statutory rape. Give me a little time, and I’ll come up with other charges.”

“I want to call my mom,” Neil said.

“Once we find that bag, I’ll let you call your mother. For now, it’s just you and me, chatting as we walk to the dumpster.”

The bathroom door opened, and Sky appeared. She’d dressed in faded jeans and a high school sweatshirt, and she’d attempted to run a comb through her hair but appeared too rushed to have finished the job.

As Sky moved toward Neil, Agent Spencer blocked her path. “I need a word with you.”