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Chapter Twenty
“Kevin Delacorte.”Ethan’s jaw was clenched. “The Tailor’s first victim.” He handed his cell to Ian. The man gave a slow nod of recognition. He’d been one of the original officers on the first task force formed to hunt for theUNSUB.
After Logan’s bombshell about the DVD he’d found, Ethan had contacted the forensic ident team he’d dispatched to Tillman’s and spoken to the lead investigator. She’d found the DVD exactly where the boy described, played it and took a few videos to send toEthan.
After the first minute, Alexa turned away. “So much for his claim of a mission sanctioned by God,” she muttered. Not all serial killers took souvenirs, but that’s what the videos were. A way for Tillman to reenact the moments when he exercised the ultimate control over hisvictims.
“There’ll be a stash of these somewhere in the house.” Jonah crowded Ian’s shoulder as he strained to look at thevideo.
“The forensic ident unit will find them.” The lead on the team had been texting Ethan every few minutes to update him about what they were uncovering in Tillman’s house. “They’ve gone through the cabinets in the garage. Looks like a lot of the things he needed for his kill supplies. A pile of folded clear plastic bags. Several rolls of duct tape. Syringes. Needles. Thread. Handcuffs. Several small saps.” At Alexa’s frown, he explained, “Short clubs.” He used his hands to indicate the length. “Easy to conceal up a sleeve or in a deeppocket.”
“Likely his weapon of choice for incapacitating his victims when he came up behind them,” she saidgrimly.
“Is the Scopolamine supply inthere?”
“Not there.” Ethan took a moment to watch the next video. “Investigators found several high dosage vials in the bathroom inside the house,though.”
Nyle came in, waving a sheet of paper. “Production order in hand, boys and girl. I faxed a copy to the provider as soon as I got this signed. They’ll call Ethan with aresponse.”
“Exigent circumstances should speed things up,” Jonahnoted.
“That and the fact that Captain Campbell at federal RCMP headquarters called the provider as soon as I alerted him that we had the number.” Ethan’s cell rang, interruptinghim.
Ian handed it to him, and he stepped away to answer it. A minute later, his gaze met Alexa’s. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to get back toyou.”
The expression on his face had Alexa’s stomach plummeting. “What’swrong?”
“That was the Truro RCMP detachment. Patrick Udall’s parents just reported him missing. Police want to know if we think it could have anything to do with theUNSUB.”
There was a twist of nausea in her stomach. “Did anyone witness an abduction?” When Ethan shook his head, she said, “The boy seems to run the town pretty freely. It’s possible he’s off on some adventure. But…we know now that Tillman isn’t above using children for his own objectives, don’t we? I think we have to face the fact that the boy could be in realdanger.”
“I think it’s too soon to make assumptions,” Ian said. Jonah nodded inagreement.
Nyle looked thoughtful. “Is there any way Tillman could have learned about the raid on hishouse?”
“The forensic ident unit hasn’t found any recording or security devices in his home that may have alerted him,” Ethan responded. But he seemed to give the suggestion consideration. “ERT described the property as secluded. Local police said Tillman was a loner, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that someone saw the ERT command vehicle parked nearby and concluded it was there for Tillman’s property.Alexa?”
“That would mean Tillman trusted someone in Brandon with his phone number.” It just didn’t ring true for this offender. “I think we have to consider all feasibilities, but it’sdoubtful.”
Nyle hitched a hip on the corner of a table and folded his arms across his chest. “Just mentioned it because it seems like if he knew we were closing in on him, he might snatch the kid to have someleverage.”
“IfTillman is behind Patrick’s disappearance,” Alexa said slowly, “Leverage would describe his motivation perfectly.” But she wasn’t so sure the man would be seeking a way out of the province. He’d spent a lot of energy researching her past and letting her know what he’dlearned.
Alexa knew better than to mention it in front of Ethan. But she was unable to shake the certainty that Amos Tillman wasn’t done with heryet.
Forty minutes later Ethan lowered his phone and lurched from his chair. “We’ve got a cell phonelocation.”
His words immediately activated everyone in theroom.
“Where?” Jonah grabbed the suit coat he’d abandoned and shrugged into as he moved toward thedoor.
“Between Bedford Street and Saxony Boulevard. Just outside the city limits of Dartmouth.” Ethan waited for Alexa to gather her things and join him before leaving the room. “I’ve been having the provider ping the offender’s phone every ten minutes. First three times there was no response, which means the phone was dead or turned off. But a few moments ago, we got a hit.” They walked down the hallway toward the entrance. “Probably using a fairly new phone because we’re able to zero in on hislocation.”
“Is this really it?” Alexa murmured at hisside.
He looked down at her, a hard smile on his face. He knew what she was asking. After all this time of getting close, this time they had Tillman dead to rights. He tried to temper his optimism as he pushed out of the door of the building. Things had a way of going south just when he thought he had the UNSUB in hissights.
“Let’s hopeso.”