Page 61 of The Fragile Ones

“Cheers,” she said, laughing.

“Let me see those photos from the road,” he said, with cupcake remnants in his mouth.

She handed him the photos to study. “I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Halverson earlier on—the professor at the university I told you about.”

“And?” He took another bite, waiting to hear.

“She’s heard of people who brand children. It can happen in instances of cults, sex traffickers and extreme religious organizations, but it fits with a certain psychology about ownership and cataloging—either by numbering an individual as an item, or by branding them with something that embodies their beliefs, no matter how twisted.”

“So you think this could be part of something bigger? A serial case?”

“I don’t know. Right now, it looks like a double homicide, and then another murder made to look like a suicide.”

Looking at his laptop he said, “How about I start looking for any other cases with branding involved?”

“You read my mind, Gav.”

McGaven’s cell phone rang. “McGaven,” he said. Turning to Katie he pointed at the phone indicating that it was important. “Yes, Mr. Homestead. We’ll be there.” He paused. “Thank you.”

“What?” said Katie, her interest piqued.

“That was Mr. Brad Homestead, the father of the missing girl we know as Tessa Mayfield. Her name was Brianna Homestead. They are flying in from Austin this afternoon to speak with us immediately.”

“Thank goodness.”

“They will be staying at the Highland Sierra Hotel and want us to meet them there.”

“Excellent. Finally we should get the real story about Tessa.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Friday 1745 hours

Katie and McGaven arrived at the Highland Sierra Hotel in Pine Valley early for their meeting with Mr. Brad Homestead, a real estate broker, and Mrs. Jenni Homestead, a stay-at-home mother. They had had three children since the abduction.

The road leading up to the resort was narrow and with the frequent rain storms they wanted to make sure they had plenty of time to get there. Katie drove in silence as McGaven stayed in his own world as well. She had memorized the abducted child report from Austin, Texas and was quite disappointed that it was more like an overview or a basic outline. The investigating officer at the time had since moved to another state and retired. It was clear that they thought it was going to be an open-and-shut case—and finding the child would be easy. No case was ever easy. The report stated that the child was in a stroller and taken from the park. There were no eye-witnesses that could identify who took the child—except that it was a man between the ages of twenty and fifty-five years old.

Realizing that they had made great time, Katie was relieved that soon they would hear first-hand from the Homesteads what had happened that day. It was going to be a difficult interview for her; she didn’t have anything positive to report to the parents yet, but at least they now knew what had happened to their daughter.

They passed the valet parking, lined by palm trees, where several impeccably dressed employees waited for the next vehicles to drive up. Katie drove on and parked in the visitors’ area.

“Wow, some place,” said McGaven.

“Yeah, out of my pay scale.”

“Ever been here?”

“Once for a friend’s wedding,” she said. “It was nice.”

“Well, now for a second time,” said McGaven, trying to sound upbeat.

Katie suddenly felt conspicuous in this opulent setting, and tugged at her gray suit jacket to smooth the wrinkles from the car ride. She grabbed her notebook and a manila envelope before shutting her door. McGaven was already patiently waiting for her, a big smile on his face.

“What?” she said.

“You are funny, you know that…I can tell that you think you’re not dressed well enough for this hotel.”

“Yes, well…”