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“I never saw it again after we left the exit. But it’s definitely the one I noted earlier.

I was too far away on foot to get a good photo of the plate.

There are security cameras mounted outside the police station, though, so the police can match it with the footage.

Hopefully, one of them also captures activity in the parking lot. ”

His phone dinged then, and he took it out to read the message and texted a response. “It’s Jennings. He’s on his way home but wants to drop by and tell us about the search of the abandoned building McNulty drove you to.”

“That sounds intriguing. He wouldn’t stop by if he had nothing to report.”

“Hopefully.” Hayes took his plate to the kitchen and threw away the wrappings before, placing the dish in the sink. “There’s a small grocery area next to the deli in the motel here. I’m gonna go back and buy some beer.”

“As any good host would. Bring me a bottle of their finest Pinot Grigio.” He’d been wrong about the bottle of white in the refrigerator at home. She’d checked.

He crossed to the door. “I think their wine selection will more likely come in a box, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Hayes had barely gotten back and put away his purchases when Jennings knocked on the door. Ushering him inside, Reese reflected that the man appeared as if he’d aged since he’d come to the hospital yesterday. A sentiment he seemed to share about her after he carefully looked her over.

“You look more roughed up than the last time I saw you. You’re supposed to be healing.”

Without waiting for an invitation, he went to the table and pulled out a chair. Sank into it with a sound somewhere between a sigh and a grunt.

“A car bomb will do that to you.”

His jaw agape, he said, “What? That was you?” His gaze bounced from her to Hayes and back. “I heard about it over the radio.”

Hayes filled him in, and the man digested the news with silent wonderment. “You’ve been a target for bad luck lately. Can’t blame the bomb on McNulty, though. He’s still locked up. Hasn’t made bail. And after what we found today, I’m guessing the judge will rescind the bail option altogether.”

A buzz of adrenaline filled her. “That sounds like the best news we’ve had all day. Before you tell us about it, are you hungry?”

Jennings looked interested. “I could eat. What do you have?”

Hayes went to the refrigerator to snag two beers, and Reese busied herself warming up a couple of the sandwiches.

The detective took a long pull from the bottle before shifting his attention to the plate she set before him.

“Didn’t get lunch today. Appreciate this.

” He wolfed down the first sandwich before starting on the next one.

“Turns out, you have great instincts, Ms. Decody. It’s looking like you called it right with McNulty, straight down the line. ”

She stilled. “That he’s a rapist?”

The detective chewed, swallowed, and then took another pull from the beer.

“We’re not there yet. The building is nearly empty, but had a bunch of crap still stored in boxes.

Nothing worth much. But we found an old backpack hidden behind one of the cartons.

Inside was duct tape, condoms, rope, zip ties, and a knife.

Got McNulty’s prints on the tape and knife. ”

Reese tried to squash her rush of excitement. “A good defense attorney would explain that away by saying he found the bag in there and looked inside it. Touched some things, but never used them.”

“The knife had some dried flecks of blood on it. Not sure yet if it’ll be enough for testing. We also found a deflated air mattress and foot pump in one of the boxes. Guessing the mattress will prove to be a treasure trove of DNA, even if the knife isn’t.”

A tendril of hope unfurled in her. “Maybe from some of the victims, too.”

“Whatever came from your interview with the stepmother?” They waited until the man unwrapped another sandwich before he responded to Hayes’s question.

“She seemed shocked. He’d told us that she’d called to wake him up and get him going on the chores she’d written out for him.

But Eckworth said she’d contacted him to wake him up.

That she does it almost every day, just to make sure he gets out of bed.

” He used a napkin Reese had found in a drawer to wipe his mouth.

“Problem for her is that we did a data dump on his phone. Records don’t support her version.

He’s only had two calls from her this month, and the other one came during the afternoon. ”

A slight smile curved Reese’s lips. It sounded like Eckworth had earned herself another interview with the police.

When she said as much, the detective washed a bite of sandwich down with a drink of beer.

“I took another run at McNulty before I came here. Seems his relationship with his stepmother has always been rocky. She agreed to let him live with her short-term when his father stopped giving him money for rent. According to him, she expected free labor in return. He now says she called yesterday to summon him to the diner. I had an officer retrace the trip at the same time this morning and it took him exactly six minutes to travel from Eckworth’s house to the restaurant. ”

“What was he told to do?” There was a lethal edge to Hayes’s voice that Reese hadn’t heard before.

“He was supposed to ‘scare’ the woman parked in the rear parking lot. Gave him your vehicle description and license plate.”

Reese choked on the bite she’d been swallowing. He’d accomplished that result. But she’d made damn sure he paid for it. “I guess we predicted correctly about her researching me.”

Hayes wore a frown as he loosened the label from the bottle with a thumbnail.

The detective polished off the rest of the food. “Do you know this woman?”

She gave him a brief rundown of their contesting petitions for Ben’s conservatorship.

“The court documents don’t share the names of the other applicants, but my attorney was able to discover hers easily enough. Maybe she found mine, as well.”

He spent a moment digesting that. “Does that sort of thing pay well?”

After getting that question from Officer Hastings, Reese had looked it up. “Depending on the needs of the conservatee. In California, the fees for the conservator can range from forty-five to eighty thousand dollars annually.”

Jennings stared hard at her. “For a part-time job? Yeah, that might be motive. Eckworth says she works for a local church. Can’t imagine that’s making her rich. Take out the other petitioner, shake her up, make her think twice about going through the court process… That would make sense.”

“To a sociopath.”

He nodded at Hayes’s reply. “Goes without saying. I’ll take another go at her tomorrow and see what she has to say about her stepson’s allegations.

Of course, McNulty couldn’t explain what scaring you had to do with driving you to that vacant building.

” His smile was humorless. “Bet he thinks of an excuse by the time I talk to him next, though.”

“I ran a ViCAP search for sexual assaults in the area with similar details to Reese’s experience.

Her idea,” Hayes sent her a quick smile.

“I’ll send you the map it generated of victims who were kidnapped, transported for the assault, then dumped elsewhere.

A pattern exists. It might come in handy if the lab results point to McNulty. ”

“You’re a couple of jumps ahead of me. But hell, yeah, I’m interested. Include all the details about the parameters you used.” When Hayes promised to do so, the detective stood.

“Thank you for all your efforts.”

He nodded at Reese. “I should be thanking you for pointing us to that building. I have a feeling I’m going to have an even bigger investigation after lab results are available from the evidence we collected today.”

And maybe, she thought as the man headed for the door, those results would help some rape victims get a measure of justice.