Page 15 of The Devoted Game
“Wait.” She leaned closer, nudged one corner of the tag with a gloved finger. “There’s something written on the back.”
No more rats.
A muscle flexed in McBride’s jaw. He carefully placed the tagged rat back in the bag. “We’ve got a whole tribe of rats in here, but nothing human as far as I can tell.” His eyes locked with hers. “He’s playing with us, Grace. He knew we’d use the K-9s. He must have had the bag in contact with the girl at some point to lock in her scent.”
Vivian couldn’t see a connection. And if there was no connection, why the hell was this bastard wasting the time he had given them? The theory that this was some kind of revenge McBride had plotted for being terminated by the Bureau kept rearing its ugly head.
“What would any of this have to do with Alyssa Byrne?” she asked, trying not to sound openly suspicious. She was determined to give him the benefit of the doubt until he no longer deserved it ... or until they found the child.
“Nothing,” McBride admitted. “This is aboutme.” He studied the way the bag sat against the wall. Picked up the twine and considered how it had been tied. “Whatever his game, this whack job wants to draw out the anticipation. He probably gets off on the risk of playing in the shadow of authority.” He turned his face to hers. “And you know what? He’s not afraid of us or of getting caught. Not the least bit.”
She hoped he wasn’t right about that last part. Fear was what kept most people in line—and what made most criminals screw up. They needed for this nutcase to screw up—fast.
“What now?” Vivian wanted to scream in frustration. If the child wasn’t at this cemetery ... where did that leave them? Time was running out and they had nothing. Her stomach roiled. The putrid smell was getting to her. She kept seeing flashes of the old movieKiller Rats,the images twisting with the pictures she had seen of Alyssa Byrne ... and with mental snapshots from the past she had thought was behind her once and for all.
McBride tossed the twine aside and stood. She rose, her legs liquid. This wasn’t the time to allow the past to catch up with her and throw her off balance. She’d completely overreacted to this scene. That kind of behavior did nothing but work against her determination to be the best agent possible.
With one last look around the mausoleum, McBride said, “We’ll need to find out if those rats came from the research center listed on the toe tag.” He considered the bag a moment longer. “Were they stolen before or after being euthanized? Maybe we’ll get lucky and our guy got in a hurry and left some DNA behind.”
Vivian nodded. Wished she hadn’t. The movement had her gag reflex kicking in. “I need some air.” She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Outside she gasped for a breath that didn’t reek of rotting rodents.
McBride came out behind her, peeled off the gloves. “If you need to puke, don’t hold back on my account,” he encouraged. “Just find a spot away from the crime scene.”
And here she’d begun to think the man had feelings. “I’m good,” she snapped.
McBride quickly surveyed the cemetery before turning his next question on Pratt. “Where’s our caretaker?”
Pratt pointed to the memorial building. “He’s waiting inside with Schaffer.”
“I want to know why the lock was missing and no one had noticed.” McBride shifted his attention back to the mausoleum and then to her. “How long will it take forensics to get here?”
“Aldridge made the call en route.” Vivian took another deep cleansing breath, wiped a loose strand of hair from her face. “They should be here soon.”
“I don’t want anyone going back in there until the techs have gone over it from top to bottom.”
“That’s the way we do things, McBride.” She shot him an irritated look. “Believe it or not, we’ve done this before.” Technically, she hadn’t, but Aldridge and Davis and the others had—plenty of times.
“I’ll be waiting here for the techs,” Pratt assured him.
McBride didn’t bother with a comeback to her impertinent remark, which was just as well. She wasn’t in the mood. She led the way to the memorial building. The search of the grounds continued, but nightfall would significantly hinder their efforts. If Alyssa wasn’t at this cemetery, what were the chances they would narrow down her location before time ran out?
Not good. And that just wasn’t acceptable.
Her gaze landed on McBride. He had to figure this out. He was all they had. She was counting on him.
Inside the memorial building, Schaffer immediately brought them up to speed. “Holcomb double-checked the records. All tombs have been resealed except for the two in one mausoleum.”
Anticipation nudged Vivian’s faltering hope. “Which one?”
“The Wellborne mausoleum.” Holcomb indicated a place on the cemetery map that hung on the wall. “It’s the largest one. Sits next to Potter’s Field.”
McBride restrained Vivian with a hand on her arm when she would have headed for the door. “Why hasn’t that one been resealed yet?”
“The family put up a fuss. There was a big write-up in the newspaper about three weeks back. They finally reached an agreement just last week. The final two are scheduled to be resealed tomorrow.”
Another adrenaline surge blasted Vivian. The impression of a smile claimed McBride’s mouth.