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“ I know we’ve gone over the files for the first victims countless times before, but we need to take another look.” Jack brought up the details for their first known victim, Aurora Foster. “I think we’re missing something.”

At the front of the conference room, the woman’s smiling face appeared on the drop-down screen.

“Aurora was thirty when she went missing. She was an only child from Lincoln, Nebraska.” Megan scanned the information on the screen. “All the women were different in appearance. From different parts of the country. Different ages.” She looked to her husband. “Sorry, I think their only connection is that they were climbers and they happened to be at the wrong place when the killer . . . I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be referring to them as deceased, but I think the likelihood of them still being alive after so long is slim.” She glanced Zeke’s way. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean Sierra might be . . . I’m speaking only of the women who disappeared before.”

Zeke nodded. Everyone on the team loved Sierra. They’d been tiptoeing around Zeke since they’d arrived. As an experienced BAU team, they knew the possibility of what might happen. No one wanted to say it aloud.

Zeke studied the photo of Aurora. “Wait, can we blow that photo up?”

Jack enlarged it. “You notice something?”

“I do. That necklace. This photo was taken by someone during one of her final climbs, correct?”

“That’s right.”

Cooper leaned forward. “There was never any mention of it in the report. It wasn’t found in her room. I’m assuming she had it on her when she went missing.” He turned to Zeke. “Why is that so special?”

“I’m not sure.” Zeke brought out the necklace Inez had found outside the cabins and told them about it. “We’ve been assuming our victims went missing on their way back from the climb, but what if they were taken from the cabins?”

“Then where are their vehicles? All are missing with the exception of Lindsey’s,” Hannah asked.

“Maybe he incapacitated them, and then drove them away without being spotted.”

“That wouldn’t be easy with Inez around.” Patrick expressed his doubts.

“Unless he did it when Inez wasn’t around.” Zeke tried to come up with a scenario. “What if he posed as a handyman and claimed there was a gas leak or something along those lines?”

“Wait a second,” Patrick sat up straighter. “Derek Thoreau has worked as the handyman at the cabins for as long as I can remember.”

Finally, a hint of a lead. “Has he been in trouble with the law?”

Patrick shook his head. “He’s strange. Keeps to himself. Derek’s mute, so speaking with him will be difficult. He stays in a cabin near the woods. He’s not married. No family as far as I know.”

Zeke rose. “We need to find him right away.”

Jack checked the time on his watch. “It’s after midnight.”

“That doesn’t matter. Every second those women are missing we run the risk of them never returning to their families.” Those words were choked out. He couldn’t lose Sierra. Not like this.

“Alright. You and Cooper go with Patrick,” Jack said.

“I’d like to speak with Inez first if we can. She can give us some insight into Thoreau.”

“You should be safe to call her,” Patrick told him and yawned. “Inez is a night owl. She told me once that she rarely gets more than a few hours of sleep. I’m glad I was able to catch a few hours myself. I’ve got a feeling this isn’t close to being over.”

As they headed out to Patrick’s patrol, Zeke called the number Inez had given him. It rang once before Inez picked up. She sounded out of breath.

“It’s Zeke London. Did I wake you?”

“Oh, bless your heart for asking, honey, but no. I was in the other room away from my phone. Let me catch my breath.” A second later she asked if something was wrong.

“We’re on our way to the cabins now. Can we speak to you for a minute? It’s about Derek Thoreau, your handyman.”

“Derek? Well, whatever for?”

“We’ll be there soon.” He didn’t want to have the conversation over the phone.

“I’ll put on some coffee.”

Zeke smiled as he ended the call. Inez was a sweet lady. Her answer to being interviewed about her handyman was to offer them coffee.

It wasn’t long before Patrick slid into the parking space out front. Inez had the lights on and was waiting for them.

“Come in, come in.” She held the door open for them. “I’m sorry I haven’t heard from Terrance yet. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when he does call.”

Zeke, Cooper, and Patrick piled into the cramped office space.

“Oh, my. With so many men in here there’s barely room to move around. Come back through to my sitting room.”

Zeke followed Inez, who had cups ready. While all Zeke wanted to do was dive into conversation, he respected that Inez had gone to the trouble of preparing coffee for them and thanked her for the cup she handed him.

“There are cookies. I’m afraid I don’t have much else to offer you in the way of refreshments.”

“This is fine, Inez.”

“Well, sit. All of you.” She took her favorite position on the sofa. Zeke claimed the spot next to her while Cooper and Patrick slipped into the two overstuffed chairs.

“So, tell me why you need to speak to my Derek?” She eyed the group before sipping her coffee.

Patrick ran their theory by Inez. “How well do you know Derek?”

She clicked her tongue. “As well as anyone can know Derek. He’s not exactly open to giving out information about himself, as you know, Patrick.”

The sheriff nodded. “We figured if anyone could tell us about him it would be you.”

She smiled. “That’s awfully kind of you. Well, he’s worked for me ever since I bought the place. Actually, Derek worked for the previous owner before me. I asked him once how long he’d been at the cabins. He said since he was fifteen. Can you believe that? He’s fifty-five now.”

“That’s a long time. He probably knows everything about this place.” Zeke wondered if Thoreau might have created a hiding place for himself to keep the women he took.

“It took years before Derek finally felt comfortable enough with me to share a meal. I figured he could use something warm and home-cooked. All he has in his cabin is a hotplate. I never see him go to the diner. In fact, I rarely see him go anywhere unless he’s fixing something.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, I can’t see him being involved in these disappearances, Zeke.” She addressed him.

“He would know how to get the women away from the cabins without you seeing him.”

“I guess, but he’s such a gentle soul.”

Patrick asked if she knew about his family. “You said he was fifteen when he started working for the cabins. That’s awfully young to be out on his own.”

She hesitated. “Well, I don’t know much. But the previous owner told me his family abandoned him when he was twelve.”

“You’re kidding?” Zeke couldn’t imagine someone doing that to their child.

“You know that he doesn’t speak, right?”

Patrick had said as much.

“Well, there’s something else you should know. I think his father abused him.”

Zeke tensed. He had a feeling he didn’t want to hear what was coming next. He waited for Inez to continue.

“He never told me as much but the couple I bought the place from said he was like a wounded animal when he first started working for them.” She leaned forward. “I saw his tongue once. I think his father may have cut it off.”

Revulsion rose inside Zeke. It didn’t matter how much evil he and the team witnessed, it never ceased to amaze him the depth of darkness in the human heart.

“That’s awful.” Zeke wondered how Inez communicated with him and asked.

“Through writing. When I first met him, he had a little dry erase board with him. I got him a phone and showed him how to text messages. It’s much easier for him to communicate, and I think he enjoys reading books on his phone too. He’s a good man and my friend. I’ve been reading Henry David Thoreau’s works to him. Derek thought it was funny that there was such an important person with his last name.”

Zeke really hoped Derek wasn’t their man. He’d been through enough. But, unfortunately, Zeke had seen the effects that childhood violence had on people. Many of the worst killers he’d witnessed in his time with the BAU were victims of violence at a young age.

“I just can’t see him as being involved in such a horrible thing,” Inez continued.

Zeke told her they’d need to speak with him. “Do you think he’s sleeping?”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Maybe. He loves reading and watching movies.” She retrieved her phone from the nearby table. “I can text him.”

“Please do.”

Zeke waited while Inez typed a message. “Would anyone like more coffee?” she asked after she’d finished.

Most of the team refused. They’d all consumed way too much coffee recently.

“I’ll take a refill, but I’ll get it.” Zeke rose and refilled his cup and Inez’s.

“Oh, there he is.” She read the message. “He asked if I needed anything done.”

“Tell him to come here.”

She held the phone without typing. “I won’t lead him on. I’m going to tell him you would like to speak to him.”

Zeke worried if Derek were involved, he’d flee.

“He won’t run. I know my Derek.”

Zeke tried to relax as she notified Derek they were waiting for him.

“He’ll be here,” she told him when she picked up on his unease.

He sure hoped she was right.

Second’s ticked by, and then the door to the office opened.

“No, you don’t. You’ll scare him.” Inez marched past Patrick and Cooper when they started to go through to intercept Derek.

“It’s okay, Derek,” Inez greeted her friend. “They just want to ask you a few questions. I’ll be right there with you.”

Inez came back through with a man who looked far older than his years. He was short, maybe five-four, with a receding hairline and a ruddy complexion. His dark eyes darted around the room.

“Come sit with me.” Inez led him over to the sofa.

Once she and Derek were situated, Zeke did his best to make the older man feel at ease. “Derek, we’d like to ask you a few questions, okay?”

Derek glanced at Inez who gave him a reassuring nod. “It’s okay. You can trust Zeke.” Inez leveled him a look as if to say, “Don’t you dare make me out to be a liar.”

Zeke pulled up a photo of Lindsey first. “Do you know this woman?” He felt like a heel questioning this man, but it was necessary to rule him out if he weren’t involved.

Derek stared at the phone before slowly nodding.

“How do you recognize her?”

Derek took out his phone and typed a message before turning it to Inez, a clear sign he didn’t trust Zeke.

“He says she’s staying here. He saw her a couple of times around the place.”

Zeke showed him Dawn’s and Sierra’s photos. “What about these two women?”

Derek typed quickly.

“He saw Dawn the same way he did Lindsey. But Sierra actually talked to him. He said she was nice.”

Zeke smiled. That was just like Sierra. Always there for the downtrodden. Sierra went out of her way to show people she cared. And Sierra was a good judge of character. Clearly, nothing about Derek put her on edge. Was it because of his handicap? Or was Derek Thoreau as innocent as he appeared to Zeke?

If that were the case, then they were back to square one and they had no idea who they were hunting.