Cut and Run(86)

“Let me look into this. I’ll call you back.” She opened the Find My iPhone app and selected the computer she’d given Kat. At a glance she could see that it was online and twenty minutes away. Rising, she grabbed her purse. “Kat, what are you up to?”





I held you in my arms today. You have golden-blond hair and the cutest little frown. You gave me a start when I heard you’d been born early. No one expected you to be this soon. But here you are.





Not a boy, but a perfect little baby girl.





Love, Daddy





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Friday, June 29, 3:15 p.m.

As Faith followed the map on her phone and got closer to the Travis County residential neighborhood, her sense of unease grew. Why would Kat come to an area like this? The girl talked often about how she hated the burbs and that she’d never end up in a one-story ranch. Faith was trying to help the girl make something of her life, but the bones found at the deserted ranch left her with the fear that the girl was going to end up dead if she stayed her course.

As she spotted the entrance to the neighborhood, she dialed Hayden’s number. The call went to voicemail and she almost hung up, believing she was overreacting. But when his recorded voice told the caller to leave a message, she heard herself saying, “Hayden, this is Faith. Kat is missing, and I’ve activated the Find My iPhone app. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but something is not adding up. I’m going to continue to the location, but, like I said, it doesn’t feel right.”



When Hayden saw Faith’s message hit his voicemail, he hit redial, knowing she wasn’t the type to call and chat.

Faith answered with a breathless and agitated, “Hayden. Thank God.”

The agitation in her voice set his nerves on edge. “Explain to me what happened again.”

“I received a call from the shelter. Kat is missing. I’m at the house where her laptop is supposed to be.”

“When was the last time she was seen?”

“Yesterday. I dropped her off at school. I spoke with her at lunch but not since.”

He heard the tension in her voice. “She always has her laptop with her, correct?”

“Yes. That’s why I came here. But none of this looks right. I know Garnet is dead, but after seeing the bones of the three girls, I’m afraid Kat is going to make more bad decisions and end up like them.” The barely whispered words sounded as if she were afraid she’d break down.

“We’ll find her. Text me the location of the laptop, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Hayden, I think Garnet was working with Peter Slater.” Her voice was a raspy whisper filled with dread.

“Why do you say that?”

She was silent for a moment, and he knew she was focusing on fact patterns and logic. “I visited the sister of victim number three, Diane Saunders. She had a picture of Kathy waitressing at Peter’s birthday party at the club.”

It was another link to the girls and the law firm. “We don’t have the results of PJ’s DNA yet. Once it’s cross-checked against yours, we will know for certain.”

She expelled a deep breath, as if she was struggling to deal with an unraveling world. “Peter used to say how much he loved children. He said if he could have he’d have had a house full of them. Did he love children so much he’d have someone like Garnet make them for him?”

“Why would he stop after making three babies? He could have kept on for a long time.”

“You’re right. There could be more. But Margaret said once she was proud she’d given her husband a son. ‘A man needs a son,’ she used to say. Maybe he was waiting for his son, and once he had his boy, he didn’t feel the need to keep going.” Pain and sorrow laced around the words.

“Maybe. Or there are more dead girls and stolen babies to be found.”

God, she prayed that wasn’t true, but she had no guarantees there weren’t more. “Margaret would have done anything for Peter. She loved him so much. If she couldn’t give him a son, she’d have accepted his son from another woman to make him happy. She’d have also been content to let him keep doing whatever he wanted to girls like Josie.” Another sigh leaked over the line. “If the last girl gave Peter his son, then there’d be no more need to keep taking girls. He had PJ.”

“Once I receive your text, you need to stand down. I don’t know who is tied up in this, and until I do, you have to let me handle this. This can go sideways very quickly, Faith. You got it?”

“I’ve known PJ all my life. We practically grew up together. He’s the one who gave me Josie Jones’s name.”

Jesus, she was stubborn. “Faith, stand down. Agreed?”

“Yes.”

“I mean it, Faith.”

“I’m texting the location. Move your ass.”

He hung up and found Brogan jostling a jar of pills in his hands. “There’s another pregnant girl who’s gone missing. It’s Kat, the girl from the youth shelter. She’s been gone since yesterday. Faith thinks she’s found her location.”

“If Kat vanished yesterday afternoon, then Garnet couldn’t have taken her.”

“Kat might have run away. The kid has a history of running. Or the guy who killed Garnet, Sullivan, and Crow might be behind it.”