The Vanishing Season (The Collector #4)(19)

“Okay?”

“The grandparents wouldn’t even let them through the gate. Told them through the intercom that their lawyers would contact the FBI in time.”

“Are you serious?”

Eddison just shakes his head. “They have to know that brings them under greater suspicion.”

“Brooklyn’s father was able to give Watts the names of his parents’ lawyers,” continues Vic. “She passed them on to the Smiths, who were able to make contact. The lawyers said they’d call on Monday to arrange a suitable time to speak with the senior Mercers.”

“Monday?”

“And when the Smiths pointed out that the case was in Richmond, not Delaware, and that they’d driven up—”

“Let me guess. The lawyers told them they could just drive up again.”

“Are we labeling them a flight risk?” Yvonne asks, one hand floating over her keyboard. Her other holds both her soup-filled spoon and her cell phone. I need to ask her to teach me how to multi-task.

“We can take them in for questioning as material witnesses, but we can’t actually arrest or hold them in custody,” Vic explains. “But we can flag their names with TSA. Watts already called and arranged it.”

“But that just tells us if they buy tickets anywhere,” Yvonne says. “It doesn’t prevent them from leaving.”

“Have they filed any custody paperwork?” I ask.

“None that I could find,” Eddison says. “It could just mean that their lawyers have prepared documents but haven’t filed yet.”

“So if for some reason our legal team says we can’t bring them in as material witnesses, can we threaten them with obstruction of justice? See if that makes them more cooperative?” I ask.

“Bloodthirsty wench,” Eddison says fondly.

Yvonne rolls her eyes. “I love how you find that charming.”

“You don’t?”

“Keep digging into the Mercers, Eddison,” Vic says. “Get as much as you can before needing a warrant. Maybe they took Brooklyn, maybe they didn’t, but their current actions are unconscionable. If they didn’t take Brooklyn, they’re forcing us to waste valuable time, time their granddaughter may not have. Eliza, when you were talking to Rebecca, did you get the impression she was keeping secrets?”

“No. She’s desperate for Brooklyn to be found. If Brooklyn ran away after telling Rebecca she was going to do it, Rebecca would have told her parents as soon as the police showed up. I’d be willing to believe she knows things she doesn’t realize could be significant, but I don’t think she’s actually keeping any secrets.”

“That poor girl,” murmurs Yvonne.

“We need to open the registry search past the Richmond area,” I sigh. “Virginia, at least, preferably Maryland and North Carolina as well. We also need to dig through ViCAP.”

“Abductions with similar victims?”

“And murders.”

Vic and Eddison both turn to me gravely. Yvonne draws a sharp breath.

“Obviously it’s not the outcome we’d want, but just in case this isn’t a one-off, we need to know if there are similar occurrences. We don’t know what kind of victim Brooklyn is.”

“What do you mean?” ask Yvonne. “What kind of victim?”

“Was she taken because she was easy to grab that day? Was she taken because she fit a mold or preference? Was she taken because she was Brooklyn?”

“I hate approaching the forty-eight-hour mark,” mutters Eddison.

It’s by no means a rule, but there is a . . . practice? A rule of thumb, rather than a rule of course, that if you don’t find a missing person in the first forty-eight hours after their disappearance, the manner of investigation shifts. It has to—the first two days are an all-out mad dash. It isn’t sustainable in a longer investigation.

That doesn’t keep it from being depressing as hell.

“That’s a lot of different systems to start searching.” Vic takes a long sip of his sweet tea, a frowning, thoughtful sort of furrow scrunching between his eyes. “Yvonne, who was the analyst you were telling me about last week?”

“I told you about all the new analysts last week, because we were reviewing their transitions.”

“The one you said had promise,” he clarifies. Sort of. “The apple kid.”

About to eat the last of my sandwich, I pause and pull back. “The apple kid?”

“Gala Andries?u,” Yvonne answers. “We took a page out of the CAC survival guide Ramirez wrote for the new agents, started pairing the new CAC analysts with more experienced ones. I’ve only had her around a few weeks, but she’s got a good instinct for the work.”

“Can she come in today?”

“I called and asked before I came in. Her fiancé had minor surgery this morning and someone had to be present. Once she gets him home from recovery, one of his friends can sit with him for a few hours. She said she’ll be in around one-thirty.”

“If Eliza writes up some instructions, do you think she could take over sifting through the expanded registry?”

“Probably. She’ll give us a longer list than Eliza, though. That’s just a function of experience.”