Page 6 of Closer Than You Know
She shivered at the memory ... or maybe because it was so damned cold in here.
When Bent moved to open the stairwell door, curiosity got the better of her, and Vera braced a hand against it to stop him. “Do you believe the rumors—about the little girl, I mean?”
Bent studied her for a moment. She clenched her jaw and refused to blink—not an easy task. Of all the men she had met in her life, Bent was the only one who could look so deep inside her. Back in the day, he’d been what folks around here referred to as a “lady’s man.” The women adored him and gladly forgot all about their boyfriends and husbands for a moment of no-holds-barred pleasure with Bent. At seventeen, Vera had thought he was the most amazing man on the planet. At least until he disappeared, leaving her heartbroken.
He gave her a vague shrug. “I believe there are people who believe they’ve seen her.”
Exactly the answer she’d expected. Vera dropped her hand. Bent was a good man and a good sheriff. Maybe one of the best cops with whom she’d worked.
They stepped into the center corridor on the top floor. The gathering at the other end told her the two forensic cops in the department were on site already. The forensic duo was relatively new for the county. Bent had been working on building a team since becoming sheriff.Finally, early last year he’d brought two new deputies, both educated and trained in forensic science, on board. Another deputy appeared to be standing guard. No TBI agents so far.
And she didn’t see Nolan Baker’s mama. That was the real surprise.
“I imagine Elizabeth has attempted to visit the scene already,” she said as they neared the ongoing activity. A face-to-face with her was not something Vera looked forward to, even if the woman had asked for her.
“Chief Teller talked to the family personally. He assured both the mother and father that he’d give them a walk-through when the forensic work was done.”
Of course he would. No one ever said no to Elizabeth. Vera wasn’t surprised it was the chief who’d done the talking. The incident occurred inside the city limits, making it Police Chief Ray Teller’s jurisdiction. But the ongoing investigation was the county’s, and that made it Bent’s problem. Teller likely had no issue with leaving the bizarre case with the sheriff’s department. If Vera recalled correctly, Teller had a daughter who had been friends with Elizabeth back in high school. He would no doubt have taken the initiative of informing the parents either way.
“Teller passed along Elizabeth’s request about me?”
“He did.” Bent turned to meet her gaze. “You still don’t like her?”
Vera almost laughed. “Ah, unless you can tell me she’s not the snobbish bully she was in high school, yeah, I suppose I don’t.”
A smile played with one corner of his mouth. “You’re right. You don’t.”
Vera shook her head. Some things never changed.
Before entering the room, they donned gloves and shoe covers. Vera was fairly confident Bent kept a special size on hand for his boots. The boots and the hat were details that made the ladies like him more. The tight-fitting tee he wore under that sheriff’s department shirt only added to his appeal.
Don’t be an idiot, Vee. Focus on why you’re here.
As with the rest of the former hospital, the room they entered had been vandalized. Blinds were open. Graffiti and those other unpleasantdiscolorations marred the once-white walls. The commercial-grade vinyl tile covering the floor was dirty with random debris lying around. Beer bottles, some broken, along with beer cans and miscellaneous trash. No small number of cigarette butts.
Deputy Will Conover, the lead forensic investigator, nodded to Bent. “We’re just finishing up. Be out of your way in about fifteen seconds.”
“Take your time.” Bent scanned the floor. “Did you find any fresher cigarette butts?”
It went without saying that he hoped for genetic evidence.
“I did,” Conover said. “But none smelled very recent, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. We dusted for prints in the most obvious places, but”—he surveyed the room—“it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. There’s been a lot of people through here.”
In Vera’s opinion, there was little in the space that would provide anything in the way of usable evidence—unless they got really, really lucky. The sheer notoriety of the place ensured far too many visitors.
Considering no evidence had been found at any of the places where the previous victims were taken or left suggested this perp planned carefully. He was organized and smart. Too smart to leave something as elementary as a fingerprint. Either that or he’d been damned lucky so far.
The other deputy—Vera didn’t recall her name—grabbed the last of their gear and headed out.
“If you find anything,” Bent said to Conover, “call me.”
“Will do.”
With that, the two deputies were gone, leaving only the one assigned to guard duty in the corridor.
“Keeton said it was dark when they entered the room. The blinds were closed. Perp probably closed them for that reason. Keeton hit the floor here,” Bent said as he moved toward the right and closer to the window. “When he regained consciousness, Baker and the perp were gone. Keeton was tied up with nylon rope. It took him a while to free himself. His cell was taken, along with the fob to Baker’s car—whichwas likely in his pocket. Once Keeton was outside, he banged on doors in the neighborhood until someone answered and let him use a phone.”
Vera moved toward the spot where Keeton had fallen, then turned all the way around. “So the perp was waiting in the room for them. He must have known Nolan wasn’t coming alone.”
