28. Erik #3
I raise the sealed envelope. "What is this?"
"Cell-free DNA screening. With triplets, it can identify whether Y-chromosome material was detected, but it can't identify which fetus contributed it. It won't give you a complete sex breakdown of all three."
I look at the seal again.
Serena follows my attention. "Rowan wanted to open it with you."
"Then we will." The words come out before I have time to examine them, and I leave them alone. Not I will. We will.
I put the envelope beside the ultrasound in my hand. "What does tonight mean for the pregnancy?"
Serena answers without trying to make it easier.
"It depends on what happened after she was taken.
We already know she ran, fell, and was involved in a physical fight.
Any abdominal impact, bleeding, dehydration, prolonged restraint, or other injury matters.
Triplet pregnancies carry increased risks before any of those factors are added. "
"When we find her, what do you need?"
"A full medical assessment even if she insists she feels fine. I want her checked for bleeding, contractions, abdominal pain, dizziness, injuries from the fall, and anything that happened during transport or restraint."
I hold Serena's gaze. "When."
She understands what I am correcting and gives me a firm nod. "When."
Makari appears in the office doorway before either of us says anything else. His phone is in one hand, and his expression makes me move toward him immediately.
"We found the bracelet. It's on a county service road five miles north of the conference center, crushed under a tire."
I follow him into the office while he puts the route on the main screen. The last transmission came before the bracelet reached that location, leaving us with the conference center and the first section of service road before the signal disappears.
Peter has Jeremy's decrypted property file open on the second monitor.
He enlarges the surrounding parcels when I come closer.
"The conference center connects to three other properties without requiring a return to the main road.
Whoever took Rowan could move between them without using the highway. "
Makari marks each site on the map. "One appears vacant. One has current utility activity. The third transferred ownership nine days ago."
"Who owns it?"
"Shell company." Peter opens another search window. "I'm working backward through the filings."
I slide the sealed laboratory envelope into the inside pocket of my coat and put the ultrasound with it. I'm not opening the envelope without Rowan, and I'm not leaving either item behind.
A notification appears on Makari's screen while he is enlarging the service road. He opens it and brings up a traffic-camera image from outside the memorial venue.
"I have more on Evelyn." He places the timestamp beside the image. "Her car leaves the venue seven minutes before Laura's vehicle reaches the valet stand."
Another camera catches Evelyn's sedan at the next major intersection. Her car is traveling west.
The conference center is east.
Harper moves closer to the monitor but doesn't say anything.
Makari opens a second record. "Her phone disconnects from the network fourteen minutes before Callie's phone sends the message to Rowan. It stays offline through the period when Evelyn claims she followed Laura."
Peter sits back in his chair. "That looks intentional."
"It may be." I study both images before looking at Makari. "Do we have Evelyn at the conference center?"
"No."
"Do we have her with Rahil or any of the vehicles involved in the ambush?"
"Not yet."
"Then we don't invent the missing part." The lies are enough to put Evelyn inside the investigation, but they don't tell us what role she played or whether she was working directly with Rahil.
Harper watches me for a few seconds. "You're being careful with her."
"I should have been this careful with you yesterday." I meet her gaze long enough to make clear that I remember exactly what Rowan accused me of doing, then return to the property map. "We follow what we can prove."
Harper nods once and comes around to the other side of the desk.
Evelyn can wait. Rowan can't.
Makari enlarges the three connected properties again. "The vacant site has no current utilities. The second has power use consistent with storage and security equipment. The third has a loading structure large enough to move a vehicle inside without anyone seeing it from the road."
I point to the bracelet location. "Which property is closest?"
"The third."
Peter is already reaching for his coat while Makari begins assigning teams. We have three possible sites and no reason to gamble Rowan's life on choosing only one.
"We take all three at the same time." I touch the inside of my coat once, enough to feel the edges of the ultrasound and sealed envelope through the fabric. Three babies are waiting for a father who only learned they exist because their mother disappeared before she could tell him.
I want the chance to hear Rowan say it herself.
"Move."