Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [496]
He stayed back from the commotion and watched Bonzado with his students unloading equipment from the shell of his El Camino. The three students—one woman and two men—looked like typical nerds with none of the flamboyance of their professor, who today wore a pink-and-blue Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and brown hiking boots. Henry managed a smile. He actually liked Bonzado. He trusted the kid, which was more than he could say about some of his own men. Most of these guys hadn’t seen a bloodied body outside of a car accident. He knew he could depend on the police lab techs, but his own deputies were another story. As if on cue he saw Truman screaming at a reporter. Shit! Henry recognized the guy from NBC News. Wonderful! That would look great tonight on the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
This really was a fucking mess. Even Rosie couldn’t put a positive spin on this one. What he needed was someone he could blame if things went south. Some expert that no one would second-guess. That certainly wouldn’t be Dr. Stolz. He watched the medical examiner making his way through the reporters. He was dressed as if for court again in his suit and tie and expensive leather shoes. Shoes that would send him—yup, sure enough, Stolz slipped on the wet grass, almost losing his balance and ending up on his skinny little ass. Henry wiped at his smile, almost breaking out into a laugh when he noticed Bonzado doing the same.
His cell phone vibrated in his shirt pocket, and he grabbed it. Beverly had instructions to forward only the important calls. He hoped this wasn’t Graham again. He should have put him on the nonimportant list.
“Watermeier,” he barked into the phone.
“Sheriff Watermeier, this is Special Agent Maggie O’Dell with the FBI.”
“I don’t remember calling the FBI for help, Agent O’Dell.”
“Actually, I think we might be able to help each other, Sheriff Watermeier.”
“How do you figure?”
“I’m a criminal profiler and it sounds like you might have a serial killer on your hands.”
Henry stopped himself from automatically shrugging off this unexpected offer, another in a long list of know-it-alls wanting a piece of the action. Maybe this was exactly what he needed. The local yokels would have a tough time arguing with him about bringing in federal assistance, no matter how uptight they were about outsiders. He did need some help. And this Agent O’Dell might come in handy if he needed a scapegoat.
“You said we could help each other. What is it you want from me, Agent O’Dell?”
“I’m looking for a missing person.”
“I don’t have a whole lot of time for wild-goose chases right now. I’ve got my plate full, if you know what I mean.”
“No, you don’t understand, Sheriff Watermeier. I’m hoping I’m wrong, but I think you may have already found her.”
CHAPTER 18
Maggie slowed the rental car, wishing she had noticed the squeaky brakes before she left Bradley International Airport. She should have insisted on something other than the freshly washed white Ford Escort. She hated rental cars. They always looked good from the outside, but the insides couldn’t conceal the last occupants. The Escort’s last driver was a smoker with sweaty hands. Easy enough to fix by rolling the windows down, swiping a couple of wet napkins around and introducing some aromatic McDonald’s French fries. But squeaky brakes were a whole other matter, especially since it looked like she would need them.
The winding roads that took her up made her as nervous as on the plunges down. And there seemed to be an abundance of them. A small detail both