In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(26)

“Which direction did she drive?”

“North out of the parking lot.”

“Not south?”

“No.”

“North Park is to the north.”

“I know. I’ve asked Anderson and Cooper to canvass the nearby businesses and streets for any private cameras or traffic cameras that might have caught the street and determine if her car shows up.”

Kins pulled into the lot at Ravenna Park and stopped beside the gray CSI van. Several detectives wearing gloves were going over a blue Prius with a California license plate, as well as the surrounding area. Tracy noted the car was parked in the slip closest to the park’s edge, farthest from the street. She looked about for a running trail, thinking that Cole, a young woman, would park as close to the trail as possible, wouldn’t she?

She and Kins greeted the CSI sergeant in charge, Dale Pinkney. Pinkney advised that a Seattle Parks and Recreation employee called in the car after finding it parked in the same spot for several days. He first recalled seeing the car Thursday and thought someone might be living in it, but he never saw anyone near it, and he finally decided to call it in. He had no knowledge the car had been on the evening news.

The car did not look to have been damaged, and there was nothing to visually indicate it was undrivable. Pinkney planned to go over the car in place, then tow it back to Park 90/5 for DNA and fingerprint testing and other forensic analysis.

“Anything inside the car?” Kins asked.

“A cell phone, a gym bag containing clothes, and a bag from a Bartell’s drugstore.”

“Her cell phone is in the car?” Tracy asked.

Pinkney nodded.

“Can we see it?” Kins asked.

They walked to the car, and Pinkney handed Tracy and Kins blue N-DEX gloves before giving them the plastic bag containing the cell phone. Tracy hit the screen buttons through the plastic, but the screen remained dark. She hit the power button on the side and the phone powered up, but the screen was password protected.

“Plenty of battery,” she said, showing the phone to Kins.

She’d have to get Andrei Vilkotski at the Technical and Electronic Support Unit to do a dump of Cole’s emails, text and phone messages, any numbers called or received. She’d also look through Cole’s photographs for recurring pictures, people they’d want to talk to, possibly a boyfriend or want-to-be boyfriend.

Kins gently lifted articles of women’s clothing from an athletic bag—jeans, a blouse, a sweater. Likely what Cole had worn to work Wednesday before changing into running gear. The clothes didn’t appear to be torn or soiled, and neither he nor Tracy detected blood.

Pinkney handed Kins the Bartell bag. “It was behind the backseat.”

“Pirate accessories,” Kins said to Tracy as he lifted an unopened plastic package with a wide black belt, gray plastic sword, black eye patch, and red bandanna.

“Further indication she intended to go to the party,” Tracy said.

A receipt recorded the Bartell store address and Cole’s time of purchase: 4:18 p.m. Wednesday.

“Where’s Twenty-Fourth Avenue Northwest?” Kins asked.

Tracy plugged in the address on her phone. North Park.

“I guess we now know why she drove to North Park,” Kins said.

Tracy shook her head. “Why wouldn’t she just go to a local drugstore in Green Lake near where she lived, or Fremont? Why drive to North Park?”

“Maybe there isn’t a local store, or the local store didn’t have pirate accessories,” Kins said.

Tracy took out her spiral notepad and pen and made a note to check the phone log after Vilkotski opened it to determine if Cole called the store or did a search before driving there. She doubted Cole would have driven out on a whim that the store stocked pirate accessories, especially if she was trying to run before the party, which looked to be the case. That would also seemingly dictate against her driving all the way back to Ravenna to do so. “Why not just run around Green Lake or Woodland Park? Why come here?”

“She could have been bored with Green Lake or Woodland Park. Barnes said she was looking for different places to run. I’m wondering why she made a point of getting those accessories. Makes me wonder if there was going to be somebody at the party she wanted to impress.”

“Let’s take a drive out to the store and see if anyone remembers her,” Tracy said. “The store might still have video.”

Kins told Pinkney to call if they found anything else. DNA hits and positive hits for latent fingerprints could be days, maybe even weeks, even with a rush.

They didn’t have that kind of time. Not if they hoped to find Cole alive.

Tracy spoke as they got back into their pool car. “I’ll call Oz, tell him time is of the essence, and see about getting any DNA expedited.” She was referring to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab director Michael Melton, whom she called “Oz” from The Wizard of Oz. Others called him “Grizzly Adams,” because Melton’s hair and beard were similar to Dan Haggerty’s, the actor from the television show.

“They’re backed up,” Kins said. “I have another case I’m waiting on. Likely weeks.”

“They’re always backed up. I know Mike’s weakness.”

The first forty-eight hours after an abduction were critical. Statistics showed the chances of locating a missing person alive decreased dramatically after that point.