Page 32 of The Graveyard Girls

She folded her arms. “What are you doing in Crooked Creek? I thought you were out of commission for a while.”

He shrugged. “Not a desk guy.”

She laughed. “I get that. Missing the action?”

“More than you know.”

The timbre of his voice almost held an innuendo. But she let the moment pass. “Are you working a case?”

He nodded. “Actually, I came to discussyourinvestigation.”

Ellie gestured for him to come in and he claimed the chair facing her desk. “You saw the news?”

“I did.”

Ellie frowned. “One dead girl from Cleveland, Georgia, doesn’t constitute a federal case.”

“I’m aware of that. But hear me out,” he said.

Ellie raised a brow. Now he had her attention. “Go on.”

“While I was recuperating, I started looking into some cold cases and found several female teens missing across the states.”

“That’s not unusual,” Ellie said.

“No, but there was a common element among them. Tell me, was Bonnie Sylvester wearing shoes?”

Ellie narrowed her eyes. “As a matter of fact, she wasn’t. But we found a red sandal in the grave where she was buried.”

Derrick ran his fingers through his thick dark brown hair. “Just one?”

“Yes. Cord is with a team now searching the area for the other one and for evidence. We went to question her foster family but they’re gone and we’re looking for them.” She leaned back in her chair. “Why did you ask about her shoes?”

“Three of the missing girls I noted were found dead. All three were barefoot but one shoe was found and not the other.”

“Are you suggesting the killer kept one of the victim’s shoes?”

Derrick made a noncommittal sound in his throat. “Wouldn’t be far-fetched. Often killers keep souvenirs to remember their kills. This guy might have a thing about girl’s shoes.”

Ellie considered his comment. “Shoe fetishes are common as feet and shoes signify sexual interest. But Bonnie wasn’t sexually assaulted. Were the three others?”

“No. Perhaps he has sexual interest but doesn’t rape the girls either because he’s impotent or he was sexually abused himself. Sex doesn’t actually get him off; it’s the violence and satisfactionof the act of killing that does. Collecting the shoes allows him to relive the crime in his mind.”

Ellie’s phone buzzed so she checked the number. “It’s Cord.” She answered the call. “Hey.”

“El, they finished dragging the pond. They didn’t find any other bodies.”

Ellie sighed in relief. “That’s good news. Derrick is in town, Cord. He suspects our case is related to others he’s investigating.”

Cord cursed. “What do you think?”

“It’s too early to tell. Let’s meet at the station in the morning and take a look at everything he has.”

A tense silence stretched over the line.

Finally Ellie broke it. “Cord?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” His breathing rattled out. “I’m beat. Heading to my cabin to clean up. I’ll see you in the morning.”