His Garden of Bones (Skye Cree Book 4) (17 page)

“Now there’s the smartass girl I love. I’d like your word that you’ll try harder to get along with her. That’s why I’m here.”

She lifted a shoulder. “What do I care? Your type of woman is obviously a snotty female who looks down her nose at the rest of us. If she’s the kind of person you want as your significant other, who am I to stand in your way to happiness? Be sure to let me know when you decide on the big day. I’ll make sure I’ve gone shopping and picked out a suitable outfit for the occasion.”

With that, Skye stalked off into the chilly December wind leading Atka to do her business somewhere else.

Eight hours into
the kidnapping, Skye and Josh were still oblivious to the crime. It hadn’t made the news yet and since no one had contacted them through the foundation, the two went about their business as usual looking for any homicides Leo might’ve overlooked that fit their serial killer’s method.

They sat huddled together in a small conference room at the Seattle PD going through boxes of cold case files looking for any other victims who’d suffered mutilation before death.

While Atka napped under the table at their feet, Josh grumbled, “Our tax dollars need to be better spent on keeping these kinds of details current. Imagine being able to log on to a software program and pull this kind of information about decades-old cases and be able to use the details for comparison. I mean, I’m aware there’s Encase
®
Forensics, a database that allows sharing of evidence. But our tax dollars need to be better spent computerizing the city’s cold case files.”

“Maybe you should get Leo, Reggie or Winston to expand what they do for us. You guys could sell the application to Seattle PD and make a fortune. Speaking of Winston, does he seem distracted to you lately?”

“I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, other than, I’m pretty sure he has a major crush on one of the testers.”

“Which one?”

“Rhonda Braddock.”

“The little blonde? Aww, that’s sweet.”

“It would be if she returned the interest. I don’t think she does.”

“Why do you say that? Is Rhonda with someone?”

“I have no idea. I do my best to stay out of the personal lives of my employees.” He cut her a hard glance. “You’d be wise to follow suit.”

“But since Winston is so sweet and also a volunteer at the foundation…”

“Skye, let it go. I know you’d just love to play matchmaker. Pairing him up with Rhonda is a mistake,” Josh concluded. “Start interfering in the personal lives of people and you…”

“Suffer the consequences when it doesn’t work out? Yeah, I get that. Okay, so maybe I’ll let Winston get his own women.” Suddenly she snatched a file off the top of the stack and thumbed through it, scanning the police report. “So back to the reason we’re here. What does your gut tell you about whether this unsub will go dormant anytime soon?”

Josh shook his head. “That’s just it. My gut says no. I don’t think he will. The three found dead, I’m betting they weren’t his only victims. Correction. I’m sure of it. In fact, I think he’s settling in for the long haul and heading for spring if we don’t catch him.”

“What makes you say that?” Before he could answer, Skye waved the folder in the air. “I knew it. Found one. Remember that girl left near the dumpster behind Pine two years ago? Apparently she was never ID’d. They buried her as a Jane Doe in a potter’s field with a number on her grave marker instead of a name.”

“And?”

“The Jane Doe had breast implants. They were cut out.”

Josh gritted his teeth. “Helluva painful way to go. How old was she? Does she fit the pattern? Do you think she might be on Leo’s list and we haven’t connected the dots yet?”

“Approximate age nineteen, five-foot-two, a little bitty thing with breast implants that were most likely size D cup.”

Josh raised a brow. “That’s insane.”

“I’d hate to carry that excess top-heavy weight around, especially when I seriously doubt it was her idea to begin with.”

“Why weren’t they able to ID her by the implants?”

“That’s the major question. I think you should be the one who contacts Bayliss and bug him about Jane Doe to jog his memory since you have such a good relationship with him. He doesn’t like me.”

“Bayliss doesn’t like anyone.”

She chewed at her bottom lip before getting up to look out the window. Staring at the view across the bay, she wondered aloud, “Something tells me this Jane Doe fell through the cracks somewhere, which means there’s a flaw in Leo’s list. We have to consider the fact that it only covers the
victims
who were reported missing by their families. What if this particular victim’s name doesn’t appear in the system anywhere? It does happen.”

Josh skimmed the details of the autopsy report. “Did you read this? Bayliss noted her overall physical condition appeared as though she’d been indigent for some period of time. This Jane Doe was basically butchered. Poor kid, poor luck, a runaway who happened to get kidnapped and then reappeared after a period of time, dumped like trash, just like Carrie, Taylor, and Lisa. I think you’ve found one we add to the list. We just need to find out who she was, then backtrack to learn when she went missing.”

“A runaway who simply had no family to speak of, or she dropped out of the system, went off the radar for some reason, and when she disappeared, no one noticed she was gone. None of that explains how an impoverished kid ends up with breast implants.”

“Then we’ll find the answers.”

Inspired now with success, they were elbow deep in paper and files when Harry walked into the conference room.

“I have bad news and worse news. We have another missing woman. A nineteen-year-old single mother by the name of Ashley Kendrow didn’t show up to work this morning at her job at a fast food restaurant. Her family got worried when they didn’t hear from her and couldn’t reach her and called the police. That’s the bad.”

“Do I even want to know the worse part?” Skye asked with dismay.

“Probably not. Ashley’s gone missing and so has her eighteen-month-old daughter, Kiki. Approximately thirteen hours ago, the teen picked her baby up on schedule from her mother’s house. The mother babysits Kiki while Ashley works the late shift.”

“What makes you think this case belongs to our unsub? Maybe it’s just a custody dispute. Maybe the father persuaded them to run off with him or he kidnapped the kid and did something to the mother.”

Harry sent Josh a look that spoke volumes. “That’s the first thing we checked. We tracked down the baby’s father, another nineteen-year-old, and found out he’s never been a part of the kid’s life, doesn’t even visit, and doesn’t pay a significant amount in child support.”

“Okay, maybe the single mom left on her own,” Josh started.

“Not without taking her purse or the baby’s diaper bag or taking her clothes with her,” Harry insisted. “We found Ashley’s personal items, all those things I mentioned, right there in the living room. It looks like she made it home, put the baby to sleep in the crib and then she and the baby just vanished.”

“So he’s morphed into new lows, new dynamics, by targeting a mother with a baby?” Josh pointed out. “Didn’t Emmett predict he’d try a new angle?”

“What did we expect from this lowlife? You said it yourself. Bundy did whatever it took to obtain his goal. Got a pic of the teen?” Skye asked Harry.

The detective slid a copy of Ashley’s driver’s license photo from the folder and handed it off.

After studying the woman’s features—pretty auburn hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a milky complexion—Skye shoved it toward Josh.

“So we’ll hit the streets if you want like I did with Gwen. See what we can find,” Skye offered, spearing looks at her partner for affirmation. Instead of that, she saw confusion in Josh’s gray eyes.

Josh expected to pick up on something from the picture but was disappointed when it didn’t happen. “What about the baby?”

Harry pulled out another snapshot of a toddler with an adorable face much like that of her mother’s. “The family calls her Kiki. But her real name is Kiyanna Diana Kendrow.”

There was a vibe in the compact room that spoke volumes. Harry noticed it right away and scratched his head. “What gives? You two have never needed my permission before to wander around Seattle at night. What’s up?”

“Not a thing.”

Harry shrugged. “Okay by me. I get it. You guys keep your secrets. Continue with whatever means you need to locate these offenders, I don’t care. Get me results and leave me out of the how.”

Skye smiled at her longtime friend. It wasn’t the first time Harry had made that kind of declaration. She reached over and tugged at his arm. “We’ll get the word out, ready the volunteers to distribute flyers, the usual drill. In the meantime, do you mind if Josh and I talk to Ashley’s family?”

At the frown he saw form on Harry’s face, Josh held up a hand. “Before you jump to conclusions, don’t take the question as an insult to your investigative skills. Know that talking to the girl’s family is our best shot at taking this case from the ground up and getting somewhere with it.”

“I’m sure it is. But it doesn’t make me feel any better about you two going over there. Makes me think I’m getting too old for this job. Couldn’t you just read my notes?”

“Yes, but Josh is right,” Skye reiterated. “We need face to face contact. Maybe they saw or heard something they forgot to mention. It doesn’t hurt to get a new pair of eyes to look at the situation from another angle. What about Ashley’s vehicle?”

“Already towed to where the lab’s processing the interior,” Harry grumbled, pushing his notebook toward Skye to read. “I’m not happy about this, though. You’ll find the mother’s address in Capitol Hill while the actual abduction took place at Ashley’s third-floor walkup less than five minutes from where she picked up the baby.”

Skye quickly perused Harry’s scrawled handwritten notes before taking out her cell phone. Using her camera phone, she snapped a series of photos so she could have them with her for referral.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked.

“I’m saving them for posterity’s sake. If the kidnapping occurred at Ashley’s apartment building then we’ll need access, the sooner the better. If that’s where she and the baby were snatched, we need to get a quick lay of the land.”

O
nce outside the police station, Josh and Skye stood on the sidewalk in a slice of late afternoon sun that streamed down on them from a break in the clouds.

She glanced over at a troubled Josh while doing her best to rein in Atka, tugging at the leash, anxious to get going. Skye took the time to breathe in the fresh air and said, “It’ll be Christmas soon and I haven’t even finished my shopping.”

When Josh said nothing in return, she studied his face. Over the last few minutes she’d tried to make sense of his behavior. She decided on the direct approach. “What was that back there? You looked positively blank.”

“That’s because the images aren’t coming clearly to me like they were before. We know this guy’s highly organized so it stands to reason he plans his abductions down to the letter except for maybe the victim he targets, but not this one. I don’t think he planned on the baby.”

“So you think Kiki was a surprise? He spots Ashley somewhere along her route headed home, follows her to her parents’ house instead, and that’s when he learns there’s a baby.”

“Things have changed inside him. When he spots Kiki, he realizes the baby’s the bonus. He uses some kind of ruse to get close to them, but I have no idea what it is,” Josh muttered, his tone mixed with irritation.

“Why do you think the images aren’t coming? You just told us more than we knew before. Granted, it isn’t much but every tidbit helps. You know that.”

“You don’t get it. That info is about as vanilla as it comes, a non-picture. We’re dealing with a violent sadist. I should be getting more. Instead, I’m getting nothing of real value.” He tapped the side of his head. “Up here.”

“So it comes and goes. That’s no reason to panic.”

“Look, since mixing blood with Kiya, I take this gift seriously. The blankness started when I woke up with a headache this morning. It’s as though something’s blocking me.”

“Aw, come on. The old Superman-doesn’t-see-through-lead principle?”

“Hey, for the first time in two years my senses aren’t sharp. Everything seems fuzzy, out of focus. I can’t bring anything into a clear picture. I think that’s why I lost the guy the other night at the house. Not only that, but the smells around me, are blending together. Usually I’m able to differentiate one from the other. There’s something off. I always dream about the hunt. The last couple nights my dreams are unclear, more like smoke and mirrors. I’m just not able to tell what’s real. Maybe I’m losing the power I had. Maybe I’m losing my connection to Kiya.”

“Let’s hope not. The timing would suck. Besides, why would it happen now, during this particular case?” She grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute. Emmett mentioned that maybe our unsub blocked Kiya that day at the house when he delivered the flowers.”

Understanding spread across Josh’s face. “The son of a bitch is blocking me in some way. He’s using some Native remedy to weaken my ability to keep us from catching him.”

Skye’s face hid her uncertainty. “Whoa, I’d rather not think like that. I prefer to consider he’s some type of warlock rather than having Native blood running through his veins.”

Should she admit the whole idea sounded far-fetched? “Look, maybe you’re having an off day or something. The condition could be temporary or stress-related due to the headache. Maybe you’re still jet-lagged from the trip. You haven’t been sleeping very well. You admit the last two nights you’ve gone
Sleepless in Seattle
. It doesn’t take much for sleep deprivation to kick in. You know that. There are any number of reasons you could be experiencing these lapses.”

Before she could go on, Josh cut her off. “There’s a hot dog vendor right over there at the corner not twenty feet from us and I’m not able to smell the onions from here. Get it now?” 

Skye flashed a grin and cracked, “Not even the chili? This
is
serious.”

But Josh didn’t find it funny.

That’s when acceptance began to sink in, slow and steady. She paced a few steps away before coming round again. “So when you were going through those boxes in there, you couldn’t pick up on anything from any of the cases we found?”

“For the most part all I got was a blue-grayish screen in my head and a lot of frustration.”

“But that wasn’t the way it was at first. Just a couple days ago you picked up on several key factors early on. Okay, okay, I’m beginning to understand. Then we’ll have to go back to the way things were before and rely on Kiya and Atka to hunt this guy down. We’ll revert back to my old-fashioned method and put our faith on Kiya’s nose and your muscle. You do still have the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, right?”

He finally returned her grin. “My muscle is just fine. And there’s nothing wrong with my legs. But there’s one more thing you should know. I feel that something’s off, wrong, like Kiya’s trying to warn me about a dangerous situation but I’m having difficulty tuning it in.”

“Hmm, isn’t that the same thing you said to me several days back? Listen to Kiya. I suggest you do the same and sit this one out. Let me go visit the Kendrows solo.”

“Not a chance.”

She shrugged. “Then I guess we swing by Ashley’s apartment afterward. Maybe we’ll get lucky and you’ll pick up on some vibe from the place where it happened.”

Inside the colonial
brick belonging to George and Marion Kendrow, they sat in a tidy kitchen doing their best to console Ashley’s worried parents.

Wringing her hands, Marion, a youthful-looking redhead in her mid-forties, couldn’t stop gushing about her daughter. “We tried to get her and Kiki to stay here. But Ashley’s always been extremely independent. That’s one reason when she found out she was pregnant, just before turning eighteen, she decided to raise the baby by herself. After Kiki was born there were times Ashley held down two jobs. I didn’t take money to babysit and with the hundred or so we were able to pitch in each month for groceries and gas, she was able to get her own place and pay her bills. She’d recently been accepted to Cornish College for summer classes. She loved to create her own designs. She was so creative.”

“Your daughter sounds like an amazing, determined woman despite her young age.”

“Oh, she is.”

George, a plumber by trade with graying hair thought so, too. He sat with his head in his hands, cringing each time the phone rang in the background. “We’ve had to rely on my sister to field all the calls from reporters, crackpots, and the curious who won’t stop calling. Don’t they understand we need the lines to remain free so that if Ashley needs to reach us she’ll be able to? They don’t seem to understand how special Ashley and Kiki are. Why do these people come out of the woodwork at a time like this when all they do is throw stupid questions our way, and then disappear? Instead of asking ridiculous questions they should be doing more to find them. You wouldn’t believe how rude they are.”

Skye gripped George’s hand. “I know. But right now the media plays a major role in getting the word out.”

“We didn’t come here to add to your burden, Mr. Kendrow,” Josh assured him. “What we need is for both you and Mrs. Kendrow to think back to that night. When Ashley came into the house did she act particularly nervous or scared, like someone had bothered her before she reached your house? Did she act as though someone was waiting for her in the car?”

George finally raised his head to bob at his wife. “Marion is the one who saw her that night. I had an early job to get to the next morning so I went to bed around ten o’clock.” His voice broke. “The last time I saw Ashley was when she dropped off Kiki to go to work that afternoon.”

“Did she say anything lately had been out of the ordinary then?”

“Nothing,” Marion said, dabbing at a tear. “And when she picked up Kiki she was in a hurry to get home, get the baby tucked into bed. That was her mindset. Because she had to get up and go to work the next day, she was in and out of here within a few minutes. There was nothing to indicate she was in trouble at all.”

“Did you see anything, hear anything at all outside?”

Marion started to shake her head but then thought of something. “She left her Ford running in the driveway. She mentioned that it hadn’t wanted to start up when she stopped at the grocery store for diapers and baby wipes. Do you think the man could’ve been waiting in the backseat for her when she got into the car with her hands full of the baby?”

Skye squeezed Marion’s trembling fingers in reassurance. “I don’t think so. The detective on the case knows what he’s doing. Harry Drummond’s convinced there’s every indication Ashley and Kiki made it back to her apartment. You said that she went shopping before coming here to pick up Kiki?”

“Yes, for diapers.”

“Is that important?” George asked. “Did someone follow her from the store?”

“Honestly, we don’t know yet,” Josh said. “But it’s a possibility.”

Marion twisted the Kleenex she’d taken from the box, blew her nose. “Ashley’s our youngest. She’s extremely bright and maybe at times she’s been a little reckless. But she’s a mother now, a very good one. And little Kiki, Kiki’s our adorable bundle of joy. Please, please, do whatever it takes to help us find them.”

Skye and Josh traded hopeful looks. It was Skye who told them, “We’ll do everything possible.”

Because of that
dubious promise, they were determined to get a resolution no matter what they had to do to get it.

Twenty minutes later, they left Atka in the car while they met one of Seattle’s finest who let them into Ashley’s little one-bedroom apartment on the third floor. The uniform cop handed them each a pair of latex gloves and paper footies to go over their shoes.

Once they got inside, it seemed evident that despite the busy mom’s schedule the teen somehow managed to keep the place tidy and orderly.

Looking around though, it was clear that a child lived here. A stroller sat empty in the entryway. A tot-sized table and chairs were set up next to the kitchen. “I guess when you have a curious toddler, self-preservation means keeping a clean house,” Skye reasoned, doing her best to look for anything out of place.

Josh took in the cramped quarters, especially the bedroom. Wall-to-wall furniture included a full-sized bed for Ashley, Kiki’s crib, a dresser stuffed to the gills, and the assortment of baby paraphernalia it took to raise a child. Baby books lined the shelf next to family photos. There was a crate that acted as Kiki’s toy box. A slew of bright hair ribbons hung from the mirror. An assortment of stuffed animals—a rabbit, a bear, a Washington husky—were piled up in one corner of the room.

Josh gritted his teeth and turned back toward the living room and entryway. “There’s no sign of a struggle here.”

Skye scanned the apartment, doing another recon of the premises. “Are teenagers normally this much of a neat freak? This place is almost spotless.”

“Not the ones I’ve known. I sure wasn’t.”

“Could he have cleaned up while he was here?”

“Why would he?” Josh asked.

“I don’t know unless he drew blood.” For confirmation, Skye took out her cell phone, swiped her way through to the photos she’d taken of Harry’s notes. She began to skim his words, his first impression of what he’d considered a crime scene.

Skye ran a gloved finger across the counter. “This kitchen is cleaner than ours. If Ashley made it back to the house, where’s the paper sack with the diapers and wipes Ashley’s mother said she stopped to buy? Harry’s notes confirm she was at the market. Surveillance cameras at the all-night grocery store verify Ashley was at the checkout paying for her items at 12:20 a.m. and walked out to her car—alone.”