Page 77 of Unbearable
“Back to the office?” Dex asked.
“Yeah, we’ve got work to do,” Dover agreed.
“So, is it good if I whisk this group a state over?” Knox asked.
“That’s a good idea. They’ll be safe there. The fewer people who know where they are, the safer, I say,” Dex added. With a nod, they parted company. Knox headed back to the hospital room while Dex and Dover entered the elevator. “Don’t worry about them. Knox will make sure they’re safe.”
“I’m just going to have to take your word for that. I don’t have time to second-guess that decision. Fox said it was the son, Edmund Anderson, who abducted him.”
“Do you think that’s also who killed Brooke? I’m thinking it would have to be. There are simply too many coincidences to discount that they’re connected.”
“I agree it has to be. Right now, our priority is finding Anderson. Have you heard from anyone about either scene?”
“I was just hanging up from talking to Danny when I saw Bailey. He was still waiting for the reports to come in—said he’d crack a whip if he had to.”
“He will too. Grab one of these patrol officers to take us back to the office while I start the BOLO for Edmund Anderson.” Dex headed toward a patrol car while she dialed her phone. “Danny, we need warrants for anywhere Edmund Anderson lives, works, or breathes. We also need to put out an all-points for him. I’ll explain when I get back.”
She hung up and walked to where Dex was waving at her. Even her bones felt weary as she slid into the passenger side of the car. It was a struggle to even remember the last time she slept. Now she was gearing up for a manhunt of a serial killer. But only if Fox’s memory could be trusted.
Laying her head back on the headrest, she closed her eyes. She needed to collect her thoughts. Was it possible that the other half of this killer team had been under their noses all this time? Or was Brooke just another fatality of one killer? None of it made any sense. They would need to make a timeline of her movements over the past months.
There was a list of things to do forming in her head. She needed to check with Sean about Brooke’s autopsy. The murder board needed to be updated with Fox’s information. There was a timeline one of the other officers started that would need to be added to. She could rely on Danny harassing forensics, so that was off her plate.
“Detective?” she heard. Opening her eyes, she found herself outside the police department.
“Right. Thank you,” she said as she opened her door. She was heading inside when she remembered Dex was locked in the back of the cruiser. “Sorry,” she said when the officer opened the back door for him.
The incident room was packed and loud when they entered a few minutes later. “Okay, listen up.” She crossed to the front of the room as it drew silent. Picking up a marker, she wrote the name “Edmund Anderson” at the top.
“This is our focus now.” Danny handed her a photo to attach to the board. “We need to find this man as soon as possible. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. I need people tracing his steps over the last couple of days. I also need his friends interviewed. Find his parents. See if they know where he is. He is very well connected and considered a flight risk.”
“The warrants to search his home and any properties he owns have just come in,” Danny broke in. She set the marker down and walked to his laptop. “Special Agent Tanaka will head up the search for Mr. Anderson while I lead the search of his home. Anything comes in, I want to know about it immediately. Let’s go.” Danny stood and followed her out. They picked up the warrants down the hall.
“Hey,” Dex said, catching up. “One of the nurses handed this to me. I thought you might want to see it before I take it to trace.” He held out a plastic bag. Inside was a medallion of a man holding one arm up and a book of script in the other. “St. Vincent Ferrer. Patron saint of carpenters.”
“Does that mean he targeted my brother?” Her thoughts went back to Fox hanging from the strap around his neck. She had been too busy trying to free him to notice something under the strap. What she had noticed, though, was the fear in his eyes as he fought to stand as still as possible. She would never forget how he fell into Knox’s arms in exhaustion.
“I don’t know, but I thought you needed to see it.”
She nodded and continued through the building toward the parking lot with Danny on her heels. If he planned to take her brother instead of it just having been bad happenstance, it was a completely different problem. It meant Fox was still in danger. The killer could still finish the job.
With renewed determination, she pushed through the doors. It was time to hunt down a killer. And if he didn’t make it to the jail cell? Well, that was fine by her. It was time he reaped what he sowed.
CHAPTER 30
Fox satin a hospital chair in a pair of borrowed scrubs watching Ethan play with the dinosaur he had packed in his small backpack. Bailey had only agreed to leave him there because there was a policeman stationed outside the room. There had been a rotation of them for the last two days while he recovered from being strangled.
The doctor assured him that his voice would recover in time, he just needed to rest it for now. Ethan thought it was great fun drawing on the small whiteboard Knox found for him to communicate with.
His brother had hovered around like an old woman the entire time. He had explained that they would be met at a private airport and whisked away the second he was well enough to leave the hospital. No one told him where they were going.
Knox was currently running Bailey to her house to gather them some clothes. He had already packed a bag from Fox’s apartment. He wasn’t too worried about them even though Edmund was still on the loose. Dover had regaled him with the story of Knox burning the warehouse doors down to get inside. If anyone could protect Bailey, it was his overgrown brother.
“I’m hungry,” Ethan complained. Fox rubbed his stomach and nodded. The whiteboard was great with adults, but the four-year-old couldn’t quite read sentences yet.
“What do you want?” Fox croaked out instead.
“Pizza!” His grin was so infectious that Fox grinned back. Then Ethan’s grin turned into a frown. “Aunt Bailey said you’re not supposed to talk.”