Gone (Deadly Secrets #2)(87)

“It’s cow blood.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s not your daughter’s blood.”

Hope wiggled between Alec’s ribs like arcing bolts of lightning electrifying his heart. “The bones in the mountains. Have you—”

“We don’t have any answers for you there. We still can’t say if they’re male or female. Boys and girls that young are structurally the same.”

Alec knew that. Bickam had told him the same last night. But then Alec had been so sure those remains belonged to Emma, he’d barely listened. Now . . .

Now knowing that the blood hadn’t been hers, he realized it was highly likely Gilbert had been fucking with him the same way Gilbert had always fucked with him. The bastard had wanted a reaction to the bloody fabric, and when he hadn’t gotten it from Alec, it was only then that he’d given up the location of those remains.

Alec’s heart beat even harder when he thought about how many kids wore Converse shoes. They were wildly popular, and they were unisex. He also realized if Gilbert was involved in some kind of child-abduction ring as Charlene had claimed, those remains could belong to any child.

He didn’t want to think of another child suffering, but he couldn’t stop that hope inside from twining around his heart to give him strength. “When will you know . . . if it’s Emma?”

“A week. Maybe two. I’ve put a rush on the DNA tests, but it will depend on how backed up the lab is. Is Raegan with you or should I call her to give her this info—”

Alec didn’t hear the rest of what Bickam had to say. He hit “End” and dialed Raegan’s number. He needed to talk to her. Needed to tell her the news himself. Needed to tell her he was a fool and beg her not to give up on him.

Her phone rang over and over, then finally clicked over to voice mail.

“Son of a bitch.” Why wasn’t she answering?

“Raegan, it’s Alec again. It’s important. I need you to call me right away.” Frustrated, he hit “End.” Looked around the apartment. Tried to figure out where she could have gone. She’d quit her job at the station. She clearly wasn’t with Bickam. She didn’t have any family in the area. Since he hadn’t spent more than a week with her recently, he didn’t even know who her friends were now.

His gut told him someone at KTVP might know who she socialized with. She’d mentioned a girl bringing her home the other night after she’d been attacked in that alley. Ashley, Amy . . . no, Anna.

He moved for the front door. The phone in the kitchen rang, stopping his feet. Hope burst inside Alec as he shoved his cell into his pocket and jogged across the room.

“Raegan?”

“No, it’s Hunt. That you, Alec?”

Shit. “Yeah.” Alec glanced toward the front door, fighting the urge to hang up on his friend so he could search for Raegan. “It’s me.”

“Okay, then.” Surprise rippled through Hunt’s voice. “Can I talk to Raegan?”

Confusion pulled Alec’s brows together because there was no reason for Hunt to call Raegan. The two had never been what anyone would consider friends, mostly because Hunt thought Raegan was the reason his addiction had gotten the best of him. “What’s going on? Why are you calling her?”

“Because I’m not a dick like you.”

Alec winced. He deserved that. Raegan had definitely talked to Hunt this morning. “Point taken. Thanks for checking on her.”

“I tried to call you several times earlier, dumbass, but you didn’t answer. Are you drunk?”

“No.” Alec raked a hand through his hair, irritated they were having this conversation when all he wanted to do was find Raegan. “I haven’t been drinking.”

“Are you lying to me? I’ll find out if you are. You’re a shitty liar, you know.”

“I’m not lying.” Alec braced his hand on the granite counter. “Look, I went to a bar. I ordered a drink. I didn’t drink it.”

“Not at all?”

“Not even a drop. I’m not going back there. What did Raegan say to you this morning?”

“She said you were a dick. A little tiny one, just like the one in your pants.”

Alec frowned. “I get it. Move on already.”

“Gladly. Since you finally pulled your head out of your ass, I’ll tell you what I called to tell her. I have some financial info on Gilbert. She and I discussed checking into it this morning and seeing if we could trace who Gilbert was working for before you got sent to juvie.”

Alec’s pulse sped up. While he’d been wallowing in his pain, Raegan had been strategizing and fighting and never once giving up on their daughter, just like always. Awe rippled through him. Awe and love. “What did you find?”

“Some interesting shit. Before Gilbert was sent to prison eighteen years ago, he was receiving payments from Rightways Trucking.”

“I’m not following you. He drove a truck. We know that.”

“Yeah, but Rightways Trucking is a subsidiary of BLK Conglomerates, the same company that manages the Children Are Our Future charity. The same charity Conner Murray was connected to.”

“How?”

“Not totally sure yet. Arnold Kasdan is the CEO of BLK. I told Raegan about a picture I found of Kasdan with Murray in front of the children’s museum here in Portland. I can’t find any payments to Murray via BLK, but the secretary I talked to at the CAOF charity office remembers seeing Murray in their building at least once a month. She said she thought he was a volunteer, but there are too many coincidences here for that. I’d bet you money Kasdan was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Murray was probably his contact with the families. A social worker like Murray would know where those kids would be at what times. Gilbert, I’m guessing, was the one who handled the pickups and drop-offs.”