All the Pretty Girls - J. T. Ellison [113]
The first thing Baldwin had done was simply match his schedule to the timeline of deaths and kidnappings. Jake Buckley had been in every one of the cities that the girls were missing from as they went missing, and was at each town where the bodies had been dumped on the day they’d been found. The timeline matched. He’d driven his own vehicle to many of the meetings, but in some cases he’d flown. That’s why Baldwin had put in the call about the rental cars. It was a long shot, but everything needed to be checked out.
He had started to pull the files together when the phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Taylor. He answered the phone with a smile in his tired voice.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hey there. You making any progress?”
“Not really. I was just finishing the timeline to see if Buckley’s actual travel matched with the kidnappings and murders. They do, to a tee. Everything okay with you?”
“We’ve finally had a break in the Rainman case. The call I got last night? He broke into a woman’s house and raped her. But we caught him.” He heard the pride in her voice.
“What happened with that victim you were interviewing?”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot to tell you about that last night. I can safely say she was just a woman scorned. She’d basically made the entire story up to get back at a former boyfriend. There was enough information in the paper for her to make some pretty educated guesses as to how to make herself look like a victim of the Rainman, but the DNA came back and didn’t match the other cases. We arrested her for making a false report. In the meantime, this asshole went off for another night of jollies. We took him down leaving the scene. It was great.”
“Tough girl. Only you would describe a takedown as great,” he teased.
“Anyway, that’s not why I called. Fox News is getting ready to do a one-on-one interview with Tanner Clark and one of Ivy’s friends. I thought you might want to see it.”
“I do.” Baldwin got up and started rummaging for the television remote. “Where did you hide the remote for the TV in the office?”
Taylor laughed. “Yeah, I hid the remote. I never watch TV in the office. Sorry about that.”
“Okay, okay. Had to ask. When will you be home?”
“Hopefully soon, barring any bizarre happenings. Brian Post has the rapist and is questioning him now. You’ll be there?”
“I’m planning on it unless something breaks. I’ll make you something nice to eat.”
“That’s so sweet of you. Here you are, in the middle of this big bad ugly case, offering to make little ole me dinner. Whatever happened to that big tough cop I fell in love with?”
“Hush up. We’ll talk when you get home.”
“Yes, sir. By the way, you might want to put an ice pack in the freezer for me. The son of a bitch tagged me when we were chasing him, I look like half a raccoon.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetie. I haven’t felt this good in weeks.”
“All right then. I love you.” Baldwin waited for the love-you-bye response that Taylor always gave then hung up the phone. He’d have to scramble to come up with something great to make for her. The woman loved food, though her metabolism was filled with jet fuel. She could eat anything and never gain a pound.
Baldwin found the remote hidden behind a fern on the bookcase and laughed. He swore Taylor moved it around and hid it just to make him crazy. He pushed the power button, and when the picture came up put in the satellite number for Fox News.
He was just in time. The pre-interview information was being given and the anchor, a sandy-haired man with round glasses, was giving some last-minute details.
“It’s believed that Ivy Tanner Clark