My gut twisted. Smith was one of our younger officers, around the same age as Adrienne, both of them having been born and raised here. They’d probably gone to school together, might’ve even been friends.
“Hell. Poor kid.”
Daniels nodded. “Small towns. Everyone has a connection.”
“You’re right there.” I’d have to check on Smith later and make sure he was hanging in there.
Daniels glanced over my shoulder to the street. “You hear anything new?”
He knew I would’ve gotten word to the station if I had, but I didn’t blame him for asking. We were all desperate for news, clues,anything. “Nothing yet.”
Daniels grimaced. “Seems like this guy could be good for it.”
My back teeth ground together. “Let’s hope so. And let’s hope he can lead us to Adrienne.”
I made my way deeper into the station. The last thing I’d wanted to do was leave my house andHallie. But this was where I needed to be. And I had to get my head in the game.
The station was fairly empty, but Nash waved me over to his desk. There was none of his typical humor on his face. “How is she?”
I swallowed hard, an image of Hallie pale and shaking in my arms filling my mind. “She’s better. Shaken, but better. What’s the deal with our guy?”
A muscle in Nash’s jaw ticked. “They transferred him to the psychiatric facility in Brookdale. Lawyer wouldn’t let us talk to him until he was evaluated. Shrink said he needed to be put on a hold.”
I let out a stream of curses.
“It’ll be at least a few days before we get a crack at him,” Nash said.
“I still want charges filed. He’s guilty of assault, at the very least.” I didn’t want to think about what else. If he had been the one to kill Kimber and take Adrienne, he might know where Adrienne was.
Nash leaned back in his chair. “I’ve already got the county prosecutor on it. I knew you’d want to move.”
“And tell that damned public defender that his client may know where an innocent woman is.”
He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I tried to make that point. Lawyer wasn’t all that moved.”
“Of course, he wasn’t,” I muttered.
“I tried talking to Len before the lawyer got here. He wasn’t in his right mind. Just kept mumbling about findingher.”
Rage flared, hot and bright. He wasn’t getting anywhere near Hallie.
Nash was quiet for a moment, watching me. “You think there’s a chance he’s the guy who took her? Took all those women?”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “I don’t have a clue. Seems almost too easy. That unsub hid his kills for a long time. This guy doesn’t seem like he could hide anything.”
“Could be devolving,” Nash suggested. “His mental illness taking its toll.”
“Maybe,” I hedged.
Nash went quiet again but was still watchful.
“What?” I clipped.
“You care about her.”
I stiffened. “Who?”
Nash sat up straight again, his chair letting out a loud squeak in the mostly quiet room. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly who I’m talking about. Hallie. The gorgeous nanny your boys are already half in love with.”
