Once Gone

The first thing that caught Riley’s eye was the doll – the same naked doll she had found earlier that day in that tree near Daggett, in exactly the same pose. For a moment, she was startled to see it sitting there in the FBI forensics lab surrounded by an array of high-tech equipment. It looked weirdly out of place to Riley – like some kind of sick little shrine to a bygone non-digital age.

Now the doll was just another item of evidence, protected by a plastic bag. She knew that a team had been sent to retrieve it as soon as she’d called it in from the scene. Even so, it was a jarring sight.

Special Agent Meredith stepped forward to greet her.

“It’s been a long time, Agent Paige,” he said warmly. “Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back, sir,” Riley said.

She walked over to the table to sit with Bill and the lab tech Flores. Whatever qualms and uncertainties she might be feeling, it really did feel good to see Meredith again. She liked his gruff, no-nonsense style, and he’d always treated her with respect and consideration.

“How did things go with the Senator?” Meredith asked.

“Not good, sir,” she replied.

Riley noticed a twitch of annoyance in her boss’s face.

“Do you think he’s going to give us any trouble?”

“I’m almost sure of it. I’m sorry, sir.”

Meredith nodded sympathetically.

“I’m sure it’s not your fault,” he said.

Riley guessed that he had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Senator Newbrough’s behavior was undoubtedly typical of narcissistic politicians. Meredith was probably all too used to it.

Flores typed rapidly, and as he did, images of grisly photographs, official reports, and news stories came up on large monitors around the room.

“We did some digging, and it turns out you were right, Agent Paige,” Flores said. “The same killer did strike earlier, way before the Daggett murder.”

Riley heard Bill’s grunt of satisfaction, and for a second, Riley felt vindicated, felt her belief in herself returning.

But then her spirits sank. Another woman had died a terrible death. That was no cause for celebration. She had wished, actually, that she had not been right.

Why can’t I enjoy being right once in a while? she wondered.

A gigantic map of Virginia spread out over the main flat-screen monitor, then narrowed to the northern half of the state. Flores tagged a spot high up on the map, near the Maryland border.

“The first victim was Margaret Geraty, thirty-six years old,” Flores said. “Her body was found dumped in farmland, about thirteen miles outside of Belding. She was killed on June twenty-fifth, nearly two years ago. The FBI wasn’t called in for that one. The locals let the case go cold.”

Riley peered at the crime scene photos Flores brought up on another monitor. The killer obviously hadn’t tried to pose the body. He’d just dumped her in a hurry and left.

“Two years ago,” she said, thinking, taking it all in. A part of her was surprised he had been at this for so long. Yet another part of her knew that these sick killers could operate for years. They could have an uncanny patience.

She examined the photos.

“I see that he hadn’t developed his style,” she observed.

“Right,” Flores said. “There’s a wig there, and the hair was cropped short, but he didn’t leave a rose. However, she was choked to death with a pink ribbon.”

“He rushed through the set-up,” Riley said. “His nerves got the best of him. It was his first time, and he lacked self-confidence. He did a little better with Eileen Rogers, but it wasn’t until the Reba Frye killing that he really hit his stride.”

She remembered something that she’d wanted to ask.

“Did you find any connections between the victims? Or between the kids of the two mothers?”

“Not a thing,” Flores said. “The check of parenting groups came up empty. None of them seemed to know each other.”

That discouraged Riley, but didn’t altogether surprise her.

“What about the first woman?” Riley asked. “She was a mother, I take it.”

“Nope,” Flores said quickly, as though he’d been waiting for that question. “She was married, but childless.”

Riley was startled. She was sure that the killer was singling out mothers. How could she have gotten that wrong?

She could feel her rising self-confidence suddenly deflate.

As Riley hesitated, Bill asked, “Then how close are we to identifying a suspect? Were you able to get anything off of those burrs from Mosby Park?”

“No such luck,” Flores said. “We found traces of leather instead of blood. The killer wore gloves. He seems to be fastidious. Even at the first scene, he didn’t leave any prints or DNA.”

Riley sighed. She had been so hopeful that she’d found something that others had overlooked. But now she felt she was striking out. They were back to the drawing board.

“Obsessive about details,” she commented.

“Even so, I think we’re closing in on him,” Flores added.

He used an electronic pointer to indicate locations, drawing lines between them.

“Now that we know about this earlier killing, we’ve got the order and a better idea of his territory,” Flores said. “We’ve got number one, Margaret Geraty, at Belding to the north here, number two, Eileen Rogers, over to the west at Mosby Park, and number three, Reba Frye, near Daggett, farther south.”

As Riley looked, she saw that the three locations formed a triangle on the map.

“We’re looking at an area of about a thousand square miles,” Flores said. “But that’s not as bad as it sounds. We’re talking mostly rural areas with a few small towns. In the north you get into some big estates like the Senator’s. Lots of open country.”

Riley saw a look of professional satisfaction on Flores’s face. He obviously loved his work.

“What I’m going to do is bring up all the registered sex offenders who live in this area,” Flores said. He typed in a command, and the triangle was dotted with about two dozen little red tags.

“Now let’s eliminate the pederasts,” he said. “We can be sure that our killer’s not one of them.”

Flores typed another command, and about half of the dots disappeared.

“Now let’s narrow it down to just the hardcore cases – guys who’ve been in prison for rape or murder or both.”

“No,” Riley said abruptly. “That’s wrong.”