Sure. Nothing like sharing her size with a complete stranger.
With her smile firmly frozen, she nodded. “Of course. What were you looking at?”
He led her over to a thin, short nightgown that would barely cover anything.
He really needed help with this? The only options were small, medium, or large! She studied the man’s face, but he seemed sincere. Could he be playing her? Maybe he was a really convincing liar.
“What size would you get?” His question pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Well, if she’s about my size, you should probably get a small. That ought to fit.” As if he didn’t know that.
He pulled out the small and studied it. “I thought so, but it looks so little.”
Maybe because it only contained a small amount of fabric. Kevyn shrugged. “You know her better than I do.”
After studying it for a few long seconds, he slowly nodded. “You’re right. She’s a tiny thing. This is perfect. Thanks.”
“No worries. They can ring you up right over there.” She watched as he sauntered off, his attention fixed on the almost nonexistent nightgown.
Was he totally clueless? Or was there a more sinister purpose brewing?
Well, he seemed to have forgotten she existed, meaning he probably was not planning to abduct and kill her. She’d have expected the unsub to ask her personal questions or talk to her. Plus, it seemed unlikely that their unsub was in a serious relationship.
And with the price of that nightgown, she doubted the man was purchasing it for a casual fling.
Still, it may not be a bad idea to get the credit card information from that transaction and add him to the suspect list.
She positioned herself on the back side of the underwear table so she could keep an eye on the nightgown-purchasing man.
He handed a stack of bills to the cashier.
Cash? Really? Who used cash these days?
She stifled a sigh. So much for getting his name.
The cashier chatted with the man for a minute, since no one was in line behind him, before he finally walked off.
Kevyn folded another pair of underwear and casually walked toward the cashier. “Did that guy give you his name? He seems familiar to me.”
The girl, who was probably ten years younger than her, put her fingers over her lips and giggled. “Nope, but I wish he had. He’s a hottie.”
Hot or not, she hoped he wasn’t also a killer.
₪ ₪ ₪
Turned out it was a lot harder tracking an eight-year-old’s movements than he’d expected.
Dak arched his back and stretched, the movement popping the joints in his shoulders and neck.
The phone on his desk rang. Caller ID showed it was the security checkpoint downstairs.
“Agent Lakes, there’s a Michael and Bernice White here to see you. They said you called them in.”
Good. Ava’s grandparents had arrived. “Yes. I’ll be right down. Thanks.”
Hanging up the phone, he quickly straightened his desk. Not that he planned to bring them in here, but he didn’t like leaving anything out where prying eyes could see.
Five minutes later, he was settling the couple in a conference room.
He placed a few bottles of water on the table and took a seat across from them. “Mr. and Mrs. White. Thank you so much for coming down.”
Bernice White nodded, her limp gray hair barely moving. Dark circles ringed her bloodshot eyes and her gnarled fingers worked a crumbling tissue. Michael White didn’t look much better. Thinning silvery hair curled behind his ears and watery blue eyes anxiously surveyed Dak.
“Do you have news?” Mr. White’s words came out as a hoarse whisper.
“No.” He’d told them as much on the phone, but they were probably hoping things had changed in the last hour. “I’d like to go over the two weeks prior to Ava’s abduction. In detail. I believe something happened during those weeks that will be relevant to our investigation.”
Mrs. White let out a half-moan, half-sob. “Nothing happened! They were normal weeks.”
“I understand, but I’d appreciate it if we could review it together. Can you walk me through everything you did? Any time you left the house, even if it was only for gas or groceries? Anyone who rang your doorbell and saw Ava? Nothing is too insignificant.”
Mr. White nodded slowly. “Where do we start?”
“Let’s start with Sunday. What did that day look like?”
For the next hour, they reviewed the week day-by-day and he learned that Mrs. White hadn’t been kidding. Nothing big happened.
Ava walked to and from school, which was only about six blocks from their house, every day. Homework after school. Dinner around five-thirty. Bedtime at eight-thirty.
Normal stuff.
It was scary how things could be normal one day and life could fall apart the next.
“When was the last time Ava saw her father?”
Mr. White’s eyes narrowed and he slammed his fist down on the table. “How many times I gotta tell you people? He had nothin’ to do with this!”
Whoa. Hit a button there, didn’t he? “I wasn’t implying he did. In fact, if he hadn’t attacked a federal agent, he’d be free right now.”
Mrs. White placed a hand on her husband’s arm before turning to answer Dak. “We took her to see Greg the week before. Friday, toward the end of the work day. We waited for him outside the warehouse, then we all went out for dinner at the wharf.”
“Did anything unusual happen while you were waiting? Anyone stop and talk to Ava, or you? Anyone who seemed to be watching Ava?”
Mr. White shook his head. “Not that I recall. I was watchin’ close, ‘cause that area can be a little rough. But no one seemed to pay any mind.”
“Well, no wait.” Mrs. White leaned forward slightly. “There was that one man.”
Mr. White’s brows scrunched. “Don’t remember no man.”
“Yes. You were speaking with that fancy-pants who runs Greg’s warehouse. Something about the incoming storm system. I turned away from Ava for just a minute to listen to what you were saying and when I looked back, there was that man kneeling beside her, offering her a sucker.” Mrs. White harrumphed. “Well, I put a stop to that right away.”
Dak’s pulse spiked. Could this be an actual lead? “What man? Do you know where he came from?”
“I’d never seen him before. But I think he worked at the fish plant. He sure smelled like fish. I think I saw fish on his boots, too.” Mrs. White worked the tissue, breaking off a small piece. “He said Ava reminded him of his daughter, who lives with her mom in Spokane. He apologized and said he didn’t mean any harm, then walked away. Greg came over about then. I didn’t see where the man went.”
“Would you be able to describe him to a sketch artist?”
“I-I didn’t really get a good look.” Apology laced her words. “I mean, I didn’t think it was important. At the time.”
Ugh. Well, maybe if he asked around at the fish plant, someone would know who had a daughter living in Spokane. If anyone would even talk to him.
Tears flooded her eyes and she shook her head slightly. “Did he take my Ava?”
“It’s too early to say.” He folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Can you tell me anything about him? Approximate age, height, hair color, ethnicity, anything?”
She squinted at him. “Well, he was a young man. White. Probably late twenties, which was why I thought him paying attention to a child was wrong. Oh! He had on a hat. It had one of those busty outlines like you see on trucks sometimes. I remember because I didn’t like Ava looking at things like that.”
Okay, that was something. Surely there couldn’t be that many guys with a hat like that.
“That helps. Thanks.” Turning to Mr. White, Dak shifted gears. “You said that Mr. Trane stopped and was talking to you. Did he usually do that?”
Mr. White shook his head. “That was the first time. Always thought that guy
was a little too full of himself, so I was surprised.”
Frankly, Dak was too. Why would Trane stop to talk to an elderly couple with a young girl? “Did Trane know that you were waiting for Greg?”
“I told him as much.” A sharp intelligence shone from Mr. White’s watery eyes. “You think he’s involved?”
“At this point, I’m trying to get as much information as I can.” No way was he going to tell them that Trane was on his suspect list. “What did Trane say when he first approached you?”
“Asked if we needed help. Again, thought that was weird, ‘cause we both know he ain’t the type to help anyone.”
Dak’s gut agreed, even as his head told him that they might be judging Trane too harshly. After all, his assistant, who seemed to know him quite well, evidently thought highly of him. Plus, he’d seemed to treat her well. Any man who treated his assistant well couldn’t be all bad, right?
With a small nod, he encouraged Mr. White to continue.
“Well, I told him we was waitin’ for Ava’s dad, who worked at his warehouse. He asked who her dad was,” Mr. White snorted and gave his head a derisive shake. “I told him, not like it mattered. He didn’t have a clue who I was talkin’ ‘bout.”
Probably not. But in a company that size, Dak wasn’t too surprised. That’s why men like Trane employed foremen or managers.
“Mr. Trane nodded, then commented on the storm that was blowin’ in. Said he hoped it didn’t hit before Greg got out there. ‘Course, ‘bout that time I saw men start leavin’ the warehouse and Greg was one of them. Trane excused himself and walked off.”
Nothing too substantial. “Did he say anything to Ava? Or talk about her?”
Mr. White rubbed his chin slowly. “Don’t believe so. I mentioned we was waitin’ for her dad, but that’s about it.”
Dak shifted to look at Mrs. White. “And other than the guy with the offensive hat, no one else approached Ava or spoke to you?”
“No. It was only him.”
“Did you see anyone else around? Maybe someone who was watching?” Given that she hadn’t even noticed right away when a stranger approached Ava, he highly doubted it, but he had to ask.
As expected, she shook her head.
After a few more questions, which didn’t elicit any new information, he escorted them back downstairs.
Mr. White kept his hand in a firm handshake. “And you’ll call us soon as you hear somethin’?”
“Yes. Know that we’re doing everything we can to find Ava and bring her home safely.”
The couple nodded before walking away.
He hoped they could actually bring Ava home safely.
They were already well past the critical seventy-two hour mark. Ava’s chances of survival went down with each passing day.
₪ ₪ ₪
Another day wasted.
Kevyn collected her things and left the store, heading for the bus stop as she had the night before.
No sign of anyone behind her.
She got off at the same stop as last night, the one two blocks from the FBI field office.
No one got off with her.
She took the same circuitous route to the field office.
Still no one following her.
With a sigh, she swiped her card and let herself into the building.
Maybe they were on the wrong track. Maybe Nobles wasn’t the hunting ground. Maybe she was doing nothing but wasting her time and the bureau’s resources.
It’d only been two days, but she’d really hoped to have something more solid to go on by now. Instead, she had a handful of creepy customers and a few suspicious employees.
At least her feet felt better today than they had last night.
You’d think by now she’d know better than to wear heels.
The bullpen was mostly empty as she walked down the hallway toward Dak’s office.
No surprise there, given that it was after seven-thirty.
Dak’s office was dark, but light spilled out of the conference room next door.
Poking her head inside, she found Dak sitting at the table, laptop open in front of him. Several boxes of Chinese take-out sat off to the side.
The aroma of sweet and sour chicken and fried rice teased her grumbly stomach and reminded her that lunch had been hours ago.
“Hey.” Dak gestured to the take-out boxes. “I thought you might be hungry so I ordered dinner.”
“And I am forever grateful.” She reached for a plate before even pulling out a chair.
Dak waited to speak until they’d both dished up. “How’d today go?”
Kevyn chewed her chicken slowly, savoring the tangy flavor. After swallowing the bite, she relayed stories about three customers who set her internal alarms off, as well as two more co-workers that seemed worth looking into. “I can’t help feeling that maybe I was wrong. Maybe this is a dead-end.”
“Maybe.” Dak expertly used chopsticks to pick up some rice. “But I think we need to give it more than two days before calling it quits.”
It was the right answer, the one she knew in her gut, but she was so ready to quit now. “I know. I’m just stuffed.”
“You’re what?”
Kevyn laughed. “Tired. Sometimes it’s hard to turn off my Aussie slang.”
He chuckled. “I can imagine. And it’s hard always being on high alert while pretending to be someone you’re not.”
Hard was an understatement. “Please tell me you guys have some new leads.”
“I talked to Ava’s grandparents again today.”
She listened as he relayed the conversation.
Girlie-Hat Man might be a viable suspect. And it was very interesting that Trane, who happened to be Ava’s father’s boss, talked to the grandparents a week before the abduction.
Although none of that tied into Nobles or their other victims.
It seemed unlikely that a fish processing plant worker would spend a lot of time in a high-end department store. Trane maybe, but what motive could he possibly have for abducting the child of a poor worker? A worker he fired only days later?
“Is there any chance that these abductions are unrelated?” Kevyn scooped more rice into her mouth, barely chewing before swallowing it. “I mean, yes, the signature is the same. But Ava doesn’t fit with the rest of our victims. What if her abductor is trying to misdirect us?”
“I thought about that, but we’ve kept the Unsub’s signature locked down. The whole driver’s license thing hasn’t hit the media, been posted online, or gone beyond those directly involved in our investigation. I don’t know how someone would have gotten that information.”
He was right. If they had a leak, it would be in the press.
She finished the chicken on her plate and reached for seconds. “Well, hopefully tomorrow will turn up something. It’s Saturday, so the store should be busier, right? Maybe our unsub will be in.”
“How do you hope to attract his attention?” Dak picked up more rice, pausing with the chopsticks poised in front of his mouth. “I’m sure you’re doing something.”
“I am. I move around a lot, stick to the aisles, and try to talk to anyone who seems like a possibility. You know, not the grannies or people who aren’t physically capable of abducting someone, but most everyone else. I always play up my accent and be sure to mention that I’m new in town and don’t really know anyone yet.” She shook her head slowly. “But all that only matters if I’m talking to the right person.”
“Or the right person overhears.”
“Exactly.”
They cleared their plates in silence.
Dak rose and began picking up the empty containers. “What do you work tomorrow?”
“Only ten to five. The store closes early on Saturdays.” Thank goodness for that. She was beat.
“Don’t come here before work tomorrow. Sleep late and take care of yourself.” Dak dropped the containers in the trash can. “I’ll make sure I’m still here after five tomorrow so we ca
n touch base.”
“Sounds good.” She wasn’t sure how much she’d sleep in, but she’d certainly try.
Ava had been missing for a full week now, the other victims longer. They needed to find those victims soon, or chances were good they’d be recovering more bodies.
₪ ₪ ₪
Ebony loaded the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and turned the machine on.
Finally. A dinner that hadn’t been a disaster.
Ava hadn’t cried. Wendy had tried to make conversation. And Oliver had been, well, not hostile. Not friendly exactly, but it was an improvement.
Maybe no one else would have to die.
Ebony wrapped the leftover chicken breasts in foil and placed them in the fridge. That would be a simple lunch for all of them one of these days.
Footsteps padded across the floor.
She smiled as Jax entered the kitchen.
Rounding the island, he wrapped her in a tight embrace. She breathed in the scent of him. Clean and fresh and musky. Just like a man should be.
And nothing like the men she’d known in the past.
“I found her.” Jax’s words whispered through her hair. “Our last sister.”
Ebony tried not to tense, but couldn’t help it.
Why was he bringing someone else into the house? Now, after all the others were finally beginning to accept the gift they’d been given?
But she knew better than to question him.
“I’m glad.” The words didn’t feel genuine, but they’d make Jax happy.
She’d do anything to make him happy.
With any luck, this new woman would know – and accept – her place in this house. If not, she’d see to it that their new sister didn’t stay long.
Twelve
Too bad the fish packing plant wasn’t open today.
Dak was itching to follow up on the lead from Ava’s grandparents, but the plant was closed on the weekends.
First thing Monday morning, either he or someone from the team would be down there to get answers.
In the meantime, it was time to dig a little deeper into J.J. Trane and Jimmie Mays. See what secrets the men had to hide.
He was especially interested in those financials for Mays and the fish packing plant. A huge jump in cash could indicate illegal activity. With their big warehouse right on the water, human trafficking wasn’t much of a stretch.
Nameless (Sinister Secrets Book 1) Page 14
