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“That’s if you call handing everything over to him a subtle dismissal and not a neon sign.”
“Whatever works. That’s what matters.”
Whatmatteredwas getting to Olivia before it was too late. She took a deep breath, coaching herself to approach this from a detached viewpoint. If only she could convince herself the missing girl wasn’t her beautiful Olivia but someone else’s daughter. Just like Elwood had said.The daughter of a federal agent…After all, that was a situation she was trained to manage and navigate. She just had to approach this as she would any manhunt or crisis negotiation.
“What do you know so far, Sandra?” Eric’s question cut through her thoughts.
“Avery was with her at DiversaBlend, about five minutes from home. That was about four thirty or so. Olivia left at four forty-five, but apparently there was this man who was watching her. He gave the girls the creeps. Avery said she thought he left not long after Olivia. It just seems too coincidental to me. My gut tells me he took her or…” She couldn’t finish the rest of it. While there was hope of finding Olivia alive, she could hold herself together. For now, she couldn’t even entertain an alternative. Her energy would be better spent focusing on what could help.She could even apply the basic principles she used for hostage negotiation and manhunts. “We need to figure out what this man wants.” The base starting point. “And don’t say he’s just some sick pervert taking advantage of an opportunity. I can’t even think that way.”
Eric was silent for a few beats, then, “Well, it might have appeared random, but Olivia could have been targeted. This could be a ransom thing. You do have money.”
“It could be, I suppose. Elwood raised another point. I’m FBI. This could be some act against the Bureau.” Not that she had a clue how that progressed things.
Eric smiled tightly.
“What?” she asked him.
“Don’t take offense at this but the FBI, as a whole, tends to overreact.”
“For good reason. We make a lot of enemies.” Now the subject was raised, the sheer volume of people who could harbor ill will toward her was nauseating.
“Okay, now that right there might be helpful. Has anyone threatenedyourecently?”
“I piss people off on a daily basis with my job.”
“Well, so much is online these days if people know where to look. This person could have found out your personal information and how to get to you.”
That thought was terrifying. She did what she could to stay offline, even warned Olivia to watch what she did. After this, she was going to pay someone to make all digital traces of them disappear, though she wasn’t sure that would go over with Olivia.
“They’d go for your most vulnerable point. Olivia,” he added when she didn’t respond. “The only good news is if this man’s beef is with you, you’ll likely be hearing from him.”
“If that’s the case,” she reiterated in a mumble. “It’s just hard to wrap my head around who this guy could be. I’ve put my fair share of bad guys away in my twenty-five-year career as an agent.”
“Making revenge a possible motive. You said he was at DiversaBlend. Well, they’d have security cameras. Let’s go down there and take a look. You can see if you recognize this guy.”
“If we’re going down this road, I should get someone looking into who was recently released that I had a hand in putting away.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.”
“It’s just sickening to think whoever took Olivia planned this. They likely know where we live, her schedule…” She shivered at the thought of strangers paying such close attention to her precious girl. It also made her angry. “I’m just going to make a call.” She picked Elwood from her contacts, and he answered right away. “It’s Vos. I need your help.”
“Just name it.”
“I need someone to look at my past cases, and see if anyone I had a part in putting away may have recently gotten out.”
“Good thinking. How far back do you think I should go?”
She was going to suggest her entire career but reconsidered. “Just during my time with the WFO.”
“That narrows it down some, but not a lot. I’ll get some agents on this right away.”
“Thanks.” With that, Sandra hung up and turned to Eric. “It’s time to piece together Olivia’s last movements and follow them through. Obviously, we’ll start with DiversaBlend and go from there.”
“Let’s do it. I’ll drive.”
Eric’s voice was drowned out by a lumbering transport truck rumbling overhead. The sound was almost deafening. But it drew her gaze upward and filled her with a new fear. Key Bridgecarried US Route 29 out of the city and the state. Olivia’s phone was found at the side of the bridge. Had it been tossed from a moving vehicle? If so, Olivia could be long gone.
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