Nameless (Sinister Secrets Book 1)

by Candle Sutton

  Even from here, she could see the well organized and meticulously labeled file folders in the lateral file.

  Yeah, if she’d done a profile on him, she would’ve pegged him as a neat freak.

  The big question was how he would do sharing a workspace with her.

  She tried not to cringe.

  Dak was her immediate supervisor and she wanted to make a good impression, but she was who she was. Her filing system consisted of three piles: active and hot, active and smoldering, and active and cold. At least she tossed inactive cases in a drawer.

  He’d probably be asking her to trade desks with one of the other team members – she’d place bets on JD – by week’s end.

  Off to her right, another desk, this one completely empty save a single computer monitor, jutted out from the hallway wall. A single black office chair waited behind it.

  Both desks faced the door.

  Naturally. No member of law enforcement liked to have their backs to a door.

  Even with all the furniture in the office, it didn’t feel cramped. The room was big enough, and the furniture arranged well enough, that it felt comfortable.

  “Well, that’s your desk.” Felicia motioned toward the smaller one with nothing on it. “Obviously.”

  Kevyn nodded, but made no move toward the workspace.

  There’d be time to settle in later. Right now, there was a child counting on them to find her. She’d promised Esterson she’d bring the child home and her chances of keeping that promise diminished with every passing minute.

  “Maybe you can bring me up to speed on the case? I’d like to look over crime scene pictures, review the notes from interviews, that kind of thing.”

  Felicia shook her head. “You should probably get started on your report from this morning. The SAC will want that on his desk by noon. Besides, Dak’s coming back from a two-week family vacation and needs to be briefed, too. I bet he’s already planned a meeting for later this morning.”

  Ugh. She hated waiting. Especially when a child’s life was at stake.

  She hated drafting her reports almost as much.

  But it was part of the job.

  Felicia left her to get situated.

  For several seconds, Kevyn didn’t move. Instead, she surveyed her new workspace.

  The walls contained a few pieces of art. Landscapes of the Northwest, if she guessed correctly.

  A framed photograph sitting on the windowsill caught her attention. She rounded Dak’s desk and picked it up.

  A family. Dak’s family.

  The photograph showed everything she’d ever wanted growing up. A mother and father. Two brothers. Dak stood between his two brothers, a broad grin on his face.

  Did he realize how lucky he was?

  Probably not. Few people did.

  As long as she was snooping, she might as well go all the way.

  She studied the people in the picture, trying to figure out more about the man with whom she’d be sharing this office.

  Caucasian mother and… Native American father? It was hard to say for certain. And she certainly wasn’t going to be so nosy as to ask.

  Dak and his brothers clearly favored their father, with their latte colored complexion, strong cheekbones, and broad nose. While their father’s hair was silver now, she’d bet at one time it was jet black like Dak’s.

  One of Dak’s brothers also had black hair but the other was slightly fairer, both in skin tone and hair color.

  She remembered Dak standing just a little over six feet tall and the photograph evidenced that his brothers were about the same height. In fact, all four men towered over the woman in the photograph, who looked youthful in spite of her white hair.

  Both of Dak’s brothers wore their hair shorter than Dak did. Dak’s hair was probably only about an inch long, still neatly groomed and well within regulations, but both of his brothers sported close-cropped styles.

  She preferred Dak’s hairstyle to his brothers’.

  And honestly, as far as office mates went, she could have a far worse looking one than the tall, solidly-built Dakarai Lakes.

  She sighed and set the picture back down.

  Enough stalling. The sooner she got that report done, the sooner she could move onto something more important.

  She’d get that thing drafted as fast as she could and then search the database for whatever information they had on the case.

  Little Ava Esterson was counting on her.

  ₪ ₪ ₪

  Ava jerked awake.

  A gray concrete wall, the same one she’d stared at for days now, filled her vision.

  Light filtered through the window way above her head, a window that had some kind of white glass that kept her from seeing the sky or sun.

  It was daytime, but she had no idea what time.

  Her empty stomach said it had to be close to time for a meal.

  What had woken her up? She’d heard something, hadn’t she?

  Or had she been dreaming?

  She listened.

  There! Faintly she heard voices. A man and a woman. Yelling.

  She’d never seen anyone here but that man. But there must be someone else here. Was she nice?

  A crash vibrated the thin mattress beneath her.

  Footsteps pounded. Approaching.

  Coming for her?

  A small squeak slipped out and she pushed herself back as far as she could into the corner, hugging her knees to her chest.

  She didn’t want him to come back! The man who’d told her to call him brother, then slapped her when she forgot.

  He pretended to be nice, but she knew better. He was a bad man.

  More footsteps. Running past her door.

  Her heart hammered like it might explode and she couldn’t breathe. Would they be back? For her?

  She wanted to go home! Why wouldn’t he let her go home?

  Nana and Papa must be so worried. And daddy… did he even know she was gone? Or was he working?

  A lady screamed as a loud thud echoed down the wall.

  Tears spilled down Ava’s cheeks.

  It sounded like the lady was hurt. The lady couldn’t help if she was hurt.

  Her whole body shook. She couldn’t stop it any more than she could stop the tears blurring her vision.

  Air hiccupped in her throat.

  What was going on?

  She couldn’t hear anything else. Were they still out there? Was the lady okay?

  No sound drifted through the cracks around the metal door.

  Even though she couldn’t see anything, she knew that the lady was not okay. That man had done something to her.

  And if she wasn’t real careful, she’d be next.

  Three

  Dak checked his watch as the elevator doors slid closed.

  How was it only eleven a.m.? It felt like a whole day had passed already.

  Not exactly how he’d envisioned his first day back from vacation, but at least no one had died.

  Yet. After the morning they’d had, he was placing no bets on the afternoon.

  The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors dinged open.

  He stepped into the familiar hallway and headed straight for SAC Sorenson’s office. As much as he wanted to head for his own desk and familiarize himself with the case – and his new rogue agent – debriefing the SAC was higher priority.

  Sorenson’s secretary, a slightly rounded silver-haired lady with a sharp attention to detail, waved him in. “He’s been expecting you.”

  “Thanks, Mary.” He twisted the knob and pushed the door inward.

  Special Agent in Charge Nolan Sorenson looked up from his computer screen as Dak entered. “Lakes. Quite a welcome back from vacation, wasn’t it?”

  “No kidding.” He settled into the chair opposite Sorenson. “You know I’m not going to let Sid live this one down anytime soon.”

  “Nor should you.” Sorenson chuckled lightly. “I’m glad everyone walked away.”

 
; Maybe now was the time to voice his concerns about Em… Kevyn. Yet the words stuck in his throat.

  “I know you’ll have your report in my inbox soon, but give me the condensed version.”

  Dak recapped what had happened, trying hard to not let his earlier irritation with Kevyn’s lack of protocol come through.

  Sorenson nodded periodically. And didn’t look at all surprised at their new agent’s disregard for procedure.

  Not a good sign.

  Man, he really needed a chance to look at that personnel file.

  “So, I’d hoped to give you a heads-up before you found out in the field…”

  This didn’t bode well. Dak forced his muscles to relax while Sorenson seemed to search for words.

  Nope. Not good at all.

  “Agent Taylor is well known for her, um, unconventional methods.”

  Unconventional? Is that what they were calling ignoring the rules and bucking authority these days?

  “But.” Sorenson held his gaze in a firm stare. “She gets results.”

  “A bounty hunter or PI can get results, too. Doesn’t mean they belong in the Bureau.” Or on his team.

  “No, it doesn’t, but she’s neither of those things.” Sorenson twirled a pen in his fingers but his intense stare never left Dak. “She’s a psychologist. A darn good one. She’s so good at reading people and anticipating actions and reactions that many call her a mind reader. Frankly, we’re lucky to have her.”

  Depended on your perspective. After this morning’s shenanigans, he wasn’t sure he was feeling so lucky.

  “My team plays by the rules.” Dak tried to keep his tone mild. “It keeps us safe. It helps us build airtight cases. I’m a little concerned about how this might negatively impact the team.”

  Little concerned? Huge understatement.

  “I appreciate that about you.” Sorenson leaned his elbows on the table. “And I’m trusting you to show her the value in doing things by the book.”

  Unbelievable. He was expected to be her babysitter? “I can’t change years of bad habits.”

  “Not asking you to.” Sorenson appraised him silently for a second. “You’re a good supervisor. One of my best. And you have a way of inspiring loyalty in your team. I don’t see any reason why Agent Taylor should be any different. Give her a chance, treat her like the rest of the team, hold her accountable, and see what happens. She might surprise you.”

  Somehow he doubted it.

  Rule breakers didn’t flip a switch and become rule followers.

  He just hoped her lackadaisical attitude didn’t get anyone killed.

  ₪ ₪ ₪

  Treat her like everyone else.

  Dak paused outside the partially closed door to his office.

  Agent Taylor was in there. He was certain.

  When the position had been added over a month ago, a desk had been moved into his office in anticipation of whoever would be hired.

  He’d never dreamed it would all come together while he was on vacation and that he’d meet his new agent for the first time during a tense hostage negotiation.

  He needed to give her a solid chance.

  They’d had a rough start, but she’d gotten Sid out of a tight spot earlier. And done it without anyone being hurt. She deserved credit for that, if nothing else.

  Sid had sure raved about her handling of the situation earlier.

  Then again, Sid raved about anything having to do with a pretty woman.

  He pushed open the door and Agent Taylor looked up.

  Yeah, she definitely was attractive. Probably worked in her favor in situations like this morning’s.

  A small smile curled her lips.

  While he wasn’t the mind reader in the room, he knew hesitation when he saw it.

  What must it be like to meet your new team under the circumstances she had?

  The anger from earlier thawed slightly.

  “Agent Lakes.” She pushed up from her chair but made no move to come out from behind the desk. “I’m sorry, again, about–”

  He held up a hand. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come down on you so hard. I’m a straight-shooter and don’t like deception, but I can see why you did it. I don’t agree, but I understand. And it’s Dak. We’re a pretty casual bunch around here.”

  Her smile morphed into one of relief. “Then it’s Kevyn. Or Kev. Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

  Frankly, he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with either. She looked more like the Emily she’d pretended to be earlier. “I’m sure you get asked this all the time, but is there a story behind your name?”

  “You mean, what’s a girl like me doing with a name like this?” She chuckled, shaking her head lightly. “Ultrasounds were inconclusive, so they really thought I was a boy up until I arrived. They’d picked the name Kevin to honor my grandfather, who died a month before I was born. Then when I came along, I guess they decided to keep the name anyway. To be honest, I think my father really wanted a boy.”

  A little odd, but who was he to judge?

  “Your turn.” Kevyn nodded at him. “Your name is very unique.”

  “Mom’s choice.” He’d recounted the story numerous times. “This missionary came to their church around the time they found out mom was pregnant with me. He told them a story about some guy he’d met in Africa, named Dakarai, and I guess mom latched onto the name.”

  The missionary had also given powerful testimony about the work God had been doing in wherever he was serving, but that was more information than she needed to hear.

  Dak glanced at his desk.

  Still clean, praise God. He never knew what to expect when returning from vacation.

  Several files waited in the organizer beside his monitor, all of which were new. He’d cleaned that up before leaving so he’d know what files needed his immediate attention upon return.

  For now though, he was going to forget the files. An in-person briefing with his team would go a lot further than a stack of papers.

  “Did you finish your report from this morning?” Even though his wasn’t done, and wouldn’t be until tonight, he wanted to make sure the team had theirs done while it was still fresh in their minds.

  She nodded. “Finished a few minutes ago. I’d just started looking at the Esterson case.”

  Good. One less thing to worry about. “Let’s gather the team and review our caseload.”

  “Great.” Kevyn punched a few keys on her keyboard, probably locking the screen.

  “We’ll meet in the conference room next door,” he pointed at the room to his left. “I’ll round up the rest of the team so we can get started.”

  Except Sid, of course. Who knew when – or even if – Sid would join them today. EMS had taken him to the hospital, then he’d need to meet with SAC Sorenson to debrief. There’d likely be a mandatory session with a psychologist before he’d be returned to duty.

  The sooner it happened, the better. He needed all hands on deck.

  Innocent lives depended upon it.

  ₪ ₪ ₪

  The conference room was like any number she’d been in, but had clearly already been established as a command post. Kevyn dodged a conference table and chairs to approach the white board on the far side of the room.

  Four photographs stared back at her. Two women, one man, and a little girl.

  Ava Esterson.

  Interesting. Most serial abductors – and killers – had a type, but if there were commonalities among this group, she had yet to see them.

  The only similarity she could see was that all four were white. Aside from that, Ava and one of the women had blonde hair, but the other woman was brunette. The man had a buzz cut.

  She checked the vital statistics scribbled by each picture. The three adults were all in their early twenties, so they had that in common, but Ava was only eight.

  “We haven’t figured out how he chooses them.” JD’s voice sent her heart into her throat.

  Breathe. Th
e command whispered through her brain and Kevyn blanked her features, a trick she’d learned during her residency.

  She turned to face JD. “His victims appear to be all over the board. What connects them?”

  Behind JD, Felicia and Dak entered the room.

  If JD noticed, he didn’t turn. Instead, he retrieved a file from the black plastic bin attached to the wall and dropped into the closest chair. “Near as we can tell, there’s not a darn thing in common.”

  Felicia and Dak both pulled up chairs. With one final glance at the board, Kevyn followed suit.

  “So you know they’re connected because…?”

  JD flipped open the file and slid a small stack of papers across the table to her. “That.”

  A driver’s license, backdropped by black, stared back at her. The image matched the missing blonde woman on the board.

  The picture had been carefully cut out of the license and was precisely six inches away from the rest of the license – evidenced by a ruler placed next to the images in one of the pictures. The woman’s last name and address had a thick red line running through them.

  She flipped to the next photo. Same image, but taken from further away. Parallel white lines indicated that the black background was actually the blacktop in a parking lot.

  “Each of our victims had their ID defaced in the same manner. Driver’s license on two, state issued ID on the third, and a school ID for the Esterson kid.”

  As JD spoke, Dak rose and leaned toward her, his attention focused on the crime scene pictures. “Any other connection between our victims?”

  “A few connections between some of them, but nothing that connects them all.”

  Random abductions were unusual, unless trafficking was involved.

  Kevyn studied the first two pictures one last time before offering them to Dak. “Any suspicion of human trafficking?”

  JD turned serious dark eyes on her. “We haven’t ruled it out, but most traffickers wouldn’t bother with the whole ID thing. My guess is that we’re not looking at trafficking.”

  Her gut tended to agree.