Touch of Red (Tracers #12)(79)
Sean took a deep breath. “So, he dropped you off in the park . . . and then what did you do?”
“You’re asking if I went to the police?” She sneered. “Who would believe me?”
“That’s not what I’m asking. But where did you go?”
She brushed a tear from her cheek and looked down. “I wanted to go to my boyfriend’s but . . . I couldn’t. I didn’t want to tell him, so I went home. My mom was passed out. She never even knew I was gone.”
? ? ?
Brooke knelt beside the ditch and collected a shard of glass with a pair of tweezers. At the sound of footsteps, she turned to see Roland standing behind her finishing off a sandwich.
“Hey, thanks for joining us.”
“I was at lunch.” He dusted off his hands and crouched beside her. “What’s the scoop?”
“SUV versus pedestrian. Hit and run.”
Roland grimaced. “Damn.”
“The paramedics just left with the victim. She was in bad shape.” Brooke nodded at the pool of blood on the asphalt a few feet from where Maddie was setting up her tripod. A uniform had put down cones to reroute traffic.
“This the headlamp?” Roland asked.
“That’s right. I’ve got this area covered, but you could go help Maddie. We haven’t had time to measure the tire marks yet.”
Roland stood and walked off as Brooke’s phone chimed in her pocket. She sealed her evidence envelope and dropped it into her kit, then pulled out her phone.
“Porter.”
“Brooke, it’s Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn Spence.”
The distress in her voice made Brooke stand up. “What’s wrong, Kaitlyn?”
“Has Cameron called you? Have you seen him?”
“No, why?”
“Oh, God.”
“Isn’t he in school?”
“No. I just came from there. I was supposed to pick him up after lunch for his interview with the police artist and I went by to get him and he wasn’t in the office and his science teacher says he never showed up for fourth period—”
“Kaitlyn, where are you right now? Have you called the police?”
“I’m almost there. Maybe he went over there without me. But why would he do that? The police station is, like, two miles from the middle school!”
Brooke’s heart was racing now. “Yes, but . . . maybe he’s there. Cameron walks everywhere, right? Two miles isn’t a long distance for him.”
“But he’s not answering his phone.”
Brooke looked at the congested road where a uniformed officer directed traffic around the accident scene. “Kaitlyn, listen to me. When you get to the police station, if Cameron’s not there, ask for Sean Byrne or Ric Santos right away. Tell them what happened.”
“I don’t know what happened! He’s just gone! Why isn’t he at school? Are you sure you haven’t missed a call from him?”
“I’m sure, but why would he call me?”
“He’s been begging me to call you to see if you could bring Fenway to the shelter to visit us.”
Brooke felt a swell of hope. “Maybe he went to see Fenway. Did you call your neighbor who’s taking care of him?”
“She was my first call. I thought maybe Cam cut class to go visit the dog, but Mrs. Nance hasn’t seen Cam since we were there together on Monday. Where could he have gone?”
“I don’t know.” Brooke packed her evidence kit and clicked the lid shut. Roland was going to have to take over with this crime scene so she could follow up on this.
“I have to go now, Brooke. I just pulled into the police station.”
“Maybe Cam will be there,” Brooke said, trying to project a calm she didn’t feel.
“Brooke, he wouldn’t just disappear like this! There’s something wrong.”
CHAPTER 24
Ric called as Sean and Jasper were rolling up to the courthouse.
“The warrant came through. Where are you guys?”
“We just pulled up,” Sean told Ric. “Anyone heard from Callie?”
“No, but we’re ready to move.”
“Okay, we’ll meet you in the lobby.”
Sean got out of the car as a call from Callie came in. Last time he’d talked to her, she’d been headed to the Delphi Center.
“Hey, Callie, what’s the word?”
“I talked to Mia’s assistant in the DNA lab. The profile from the drinking glass matches the profile from the victim’s fingernails.”
Sean stopped on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. The Honorable Eric J. Mahoney had killed Samantha Bonner. And they had proof because Brooke had tailed the man yesterday and collected his DNA.
All of Sean’s suspicions were confirmed, but the relief he’d expected didn’t come. Instead he felt a heavy ball of dread in the pit of his stomach.
“Sean?”
“I’m here.”
“We’ve got the son of a bitch! Why aren’t you excited?”
“I’ll be excited when he’s in custody.” Sean nodded at Jasper and they crossed the street. “We’re at the courthouse now with the warrant. We’ve got another team at his house, waiting for the green light. Why don’t you head over there and help with the search of the residence?”