Chapter Seventeen
QM Operations folded aside a temporary wall and took over the adjoining conference room on the third floor.
Mackey and Ryker stood in front of a map of Southern California and were speaking intensely in a shorthand only both of them understood.
Her crime boards had been shifted from Quaid’s office into the room some time ago.
Her notes were all under scrutiny. She wasn’t close enough to hear their conversations even with perfect hearing, which she didn’t have; frankly, her mind was elsewhere.
Sweet honey. Did Mercer call all his victims that before he killed them? Could they use the endearment to goad him? She mulled the question while twirling her coffee cup on the table.
Kerry Jahle came to the table and sat next to her. “I may have found something.”
“Mercer?”
She shook her head. “No, Esme.” I did a search of the two girls who disappeared around the time Esme did. The ones Sergeant Walker gave you.”
Alanna’s eyes widened, then she took a good look at Kerry. “Did you sleep?”
The woman grinned. “Yes, I did. Turbo charged me.”
“Noted. Tell me.”
“I did a search of the names. Not much in the police files on the two. Whether the lack was minimal effort, there wasn’t much back then, or the coordinated way we search now gave me an advantage, I don’t know.
But I did some searching of the area’s high school year books, news reports, addresses, family, DMV, and what there was of social media in that time frame.
I may have found one of them in our morgue search. ”
Alanna leaned closer. “What?”
“Yeah, already passed it on to Sergeant Walker.”
“Tell me. Which girl? And which high school?”
Kerry slid a piece of paper across the table.
Alanna read the information, pulled a marker from her pocket, and went to the boards. Updating the information with another death agitated the anger she kept pushing aside.
Kerry followed her, eyes scanning the boards, too.
Alanna turned and faced her, taking a minute to settle. Several eyes in the room were on her. “Any other details?”
“Not about this. I may have found a name. Seth Tenney’s wife, Barb? It’s her boyfriend.”
Alanna blew out a breath, exasperation joining the anger. “Why am I not surprised?”
Kerry rolled her eyes. “It’s always family, right?”
Alanna propped a hand on her hip. “Not the perfect couple. Secrets. Dammit. Let’s put a pin in the info until we finish this manhunt, but we’ll need to dig out everything we can find about the boyfriend and begin a series of interviews with the family.
I’ll get a warrant for his phone and his financials, and I’ll have to hear the whole sordid story before I can build justification.
” Alanna sighed. “Sometimes when a case goes cold, you have to come at it sideways. This is good, Kerry. Very FBI of you, honestly.”
She grinned. “Thanks. I try. Also, all the morgue checks were negative. I’ve circled all the way into Northern California, Nevada, and Arizona. Nothing matches. For either girl – Esme or Serena. Lots of unclaimed Jane Does, but none fit. Sorry. We live in a very disturbed society.”
“Keeps us both in jobs.”
Kerry agreed. “Holler if you need me to work on anything else.” She left the room at a fast clip.
Quaid watched her with a question in his eyes, but she shook her head. She couldn’t talk about Esme or the Tenney case. She needed square, targeted focus on Mercer.
The room was full. How they got representatives from the agencies here this fast she’d have to talk with Mackey about. California Highway Patrol was in the room, same with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. Frank arrived with a cup of coffee in hand.
Two other men arrived. One was a U.S. Marshall she knew by sight, but had never met.
The other man she didn’t know. Frank took them to the circle of men at the front of the room.
She watched their body language, but had no interest in joining the conversation.
Preoccupied, strategizing, and planning kept her focus.
Quaid came to her side. His eyes swept over her. He didn’t touch her or in any way show they were involved. “You ready, partner?”
Her lip curled in a slight smile. Exactly the right tone. Alanna studied the room full of men. “I’m ready, but can we pull Bailey Tanner into this?”
Quaid frowned. “Sure. Why?”
“Former FBI. Fugitive task force. Might be helpful.”
“I’ll make it happen.” He kept his eyes on her face, but she kept her features as blank as possible. There was no time for any serious discussions.
“I’m good, Quaid. Let’s do this.”
He took her at her word and left to get Bailey.
When he came back, Hunt was behind him. Civilian clothes made him appear taller, less threatening, which was a lie.
The man was pretty damn intimidating in his Navy uniform, too.
If it was true special operators could identify other special operators anywhere from the vibe, Mercer would sense it.
But the civilian clothes might mask the truth for a minute.
“Bailey’s coming.” Quaid went to Mackey, but Hunt stopped beside her. With feet spread, he crossed his arms and searched from board to board assimilating the information.
Curious, Alanna wondered what he saw. “Any restrictions on your participation, Lieutenant Commander?”
“Technically, I can’t shoot anybody. Leaves the field wide open.” He didn’t shift pose, but his attention changed. Leave it to a SEAL to study the people, too. “Heavy hitters.”
“Yes. He’s not getting away again.” The vow was more for her than him.
“He killed a friend of mine.” His quiet voice was scarier than his military one. His face stayed neutral, eyes blank, but his voice carried the deep mourning and respect for whoever the friend had been.
She choked on tears, all the years of sorrow, frustration, and fear shoving at her control. “He killed a friend of mine, too.”
“He’s not getting away again.” Hunt repeated her words with the same solemn vow she’d given. For Steven.”
“We’re in agreement. For Esme. Let’s get this show started. Do you know everybody?”
“No.”
“Do you want to be introduced or would you rather be the silent warrior in the room?”
He smirked. “Just Hunt. No ranks, no designation, no explanations. Can we manage that?”
“Yes. I’m grateful for your support.”
“I’m stunned by what I see here. We didn’t have a full picture, did we?”
“No, but enough to let me figure the rest out. Whit filled in a couple blanks. He killed at least one soldier during Iraq in 2005. It was the start of his assassinations.”
“Higher command discounted the report because of their history of animosity.”
“Whit has a different story we should take into consideration. I believe we’re going to find civilian victims in Iraq, too.”
“Harrison told me. I dumped that info on a good person to find out.”
“Excellent. We’re not going to need anything in depth. Our search will happen anyway. But a fuller picture will make the after action better.”
“Agreed.”
Mackey signaled to them, and they advanced on the group. It felt right to have Hunt at her back and Quaid and Mackey at her sides. Bailey joined them, shutting the door behind her.
Mackey swept a hand to the front. “We all know why we’re here. Let’s hammer out the details. Williams, the floor is yours.”
She walked to the front, finding her cop posture in the few steps and ignoring the boards she knew by heart. “Let’s get this done.”
She could see the steps clearly, but the trap eluded her. All she knew was her attempt to be sweet honey had to be flawless, and her gun better be loaded. He wouldn’t give second chances.
&&&&&&&&&&
Mackey listened carefully to Alanna’s brief to ensure he hadn’t missed anything. With what he affectionately called his wolf brain, he watched the other people in the room. The only ones he was sure of were Harrison, Quaid, Hunt, and Frank. Bailey and Remy could qualify, too.
The room went quiet. Everyone stared at him.
Mackey let the silence ride a minute. Only one question was left unanswered. “Does he know you’re FBI? Best guess.” He studied Alanna’s face. Sometimes she said more with her expressions than she did with her words.
She didn’t answer right off, which told Mackey several things. She considered her answers carefully. It would be the truth whether she liked it or not. And the personal side – this woman was a fitting match for his friend and business partner.
“Yes, he has to.”
Calm. Decisive. But this was too close to home. A problem for a private moment, not a room full of law enforcement professionals she had to work with.
He stepped forward. He could give Quaid a hard time for volunteering him, but it wasn’t the first time he’d coordinated a mass of people in a search.
Afghanistan came to mind – Marines, Green Beret, Special Operations in a hunt for weapons to support the SEAL mission of finding IQS came to mind.
Hunt’s mission. They’d succeeded on all counts.
They would succeed here, too. “Do not underestimate this man. He uses explosives, knives, and his sniper rifle to adapt to the killing moment. He may have paid assassin work, but he also tracks, rapes, and kills girls and women. His suspected murder list of service members is extensive, too. This isn’t only a San Diego problem.
He’s been all over the world, served in the military as a camouflage for what he was doing.
His list of kills might be called impressive by others, but they are an abomination to those of us who follow rules of engagement and the law.
What Agent Williams sidestepped is that she is a target.
We’ll be actively working to draw him out, but remember this.
He won’t care if its Christmas and doesn’t care about collateral damage.
He doesn’t care what weapon he uses. He thinks he’s smarter than you, that no one can stop him.
If you get in the way, he will kill you no matter what plans you had with your kid after work. ”