In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(57)

“What can I do for you?” Cerrabone had removed his tie and had rolled the sleeves of his white shirt halfway up his forearms.

Kins gave Cerrabone the rundown on Stephanie Cole. The prosecutor had heard about the case, but not the details of their investigation.

“You think one of these three brothers had something to do with this girl going missing?” he said, cutting to the chase.

“We know the older brother lied to us about Carrol working, and lied to us about Evan, the youngest, being sick.”

“What evidence do you have that he lied?”

“We confirmed Carrol called in sick yesterday and today to his employer, and when asked, he didn’t know Evan had been sick.”

“And you think Carrol had something to do with getting rid of this girl because he didn’t go to work?” Cerrabone sounded skeptical.

“We think that’s a distinct possibility,” Tracy said.

“But he worked Wednesday and Thursday?”

“Yes,” Tracy said.

“And Evan smokes because he patted the pocket of his jacket?”

“Yes,” Tracy said.

“How many cigarette butts did CSI find in the creek bed of that park?”

“Three or four.” Tracy quickly added, “But only one behind the tree stump where Kaylee believes the person was lying in wait for Cole, and the Sprague backyard backs up to a trail leading down to the stump. If we can get a search warrant to find the cigarette brand that Evan . . .”

“You’re not going to get a search warrant based on what you’ve told me,” Cerrabone said matter-of-factly. “You confirmed Evan went to the emergency room—”

“He went after the fact—”

Cerrabone shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. And as for Franklin and Carrol lying about work, it could have been for any number of reasons. The key is they both worked Wednesday when this girl disappeared.”

“The person behind the stump carried her up the hill, Rick. He didn’t leave her in the ravine. Someone also moved her car. Probably the same person—or someone with an interest in this, like a brother. Both are indicative of a person or persons who didn’t want us searching in that area. And that points to someone who lives there.”

“Or someone who was in the ravine, saw her coming, hid, assaulted her, then used her car to transport her body someplace else so CSI wouldn’t find any evidence.” He held out his hands, palms up. “Or that person used her car to dump her body because it was convenient and meant not contaminating his own car, if he had one. Then he dumped the car.”

“How many perpetrators do we come across who are that smart?” Tracy asked.

“Few,” Cerrabone said. “Usually only the psychopaths.”

“Which is around four percent of the population.”

“And yet we’ve managed to have our fair share. You said there were also two prostitutes who went missing not far from North Park, didn’t you?”

Tracy regretted mentioning the other two cases. “This was a crime of opportunity, Rick. The person who did this was waiting for Cole at the end of the trail.”

“You’re speculating. You don’t know that.”

“Kaylee says that’s what happened,” Tracy said.

“You don’t have any evidence it was . . .” Cerrabone looked at notes he’d scribbled. “Evan, or one of his brothers, which is what you’ll need to get a search warrant for their house.”

“We know Evan walked past the park that day.”

“It’s not enough.”

“This woman may still be alive, Rick,” Tracy said.

He shook his head and pointed to the picture of his daughter in her cap and gown. “You don’t think I know what’s at stake? Don’t do that to me. You asked me for my opinion on what a judge was likely to do. I’m giving you an honest answer.”

“No. Just—”

“You came to me for advice. I’m telling you it’s unlikely a judge is going to issue a search warrant based on what you’ve told me. If you disagree, give it a shot.”



Tracy and Kins left the courthouse and walked back to Police Headquarters in blustery and cold weather. They knew their chance of obtaining a search warrant without Cerrabone advocating for them was greatly reduced. In the A Team’s bull pen they found Faz and Del seated at their desks. Maria Fernandez’s desk remained unoccupied.

“If it isn’t Starsky and Hutch, back from the dead,” Faz said, rotating to face them.

“Let’s hope not,” Tracy said. “But it looks likely.”

“I thought you were working cold cases,” Del said.

“You and Nolasco,” Tracy said.

“Somebody’s cranky,” Del said.

Kins said, “Go easy. We can’t get Cerrabone to help us with a search warrant.”

“Do it yourself,” Del said, as if it were no big deal. “Save the time and the aggravation. Most of those guys over there don’t got the balls, although Cerrabone usually does. Is this the missing girl up north?”

“We have witnesses lying,” Kins said. “Three brothers who live together in a house close to where the girl went missing. Tracy thinks maybe they’re protecting each other.”