Page 45 of Flashback

“You’re not out of the woods yet. Show me.”

“Sure.” His fingers flew across his phone screen. “It’s just a matter of pulling up a street map of the San Diego area, rendering a translucent copy, and superimposing it over the geographic map that Perry so cruelly dangled in front of you. It’s easy to line up the Coronado Bridge and the coastlines on each map…” Lynch used his thumb and forefinger to size and rotate the image until the two maps matched perfectly. He pointed to a cluster of red dots. “This is where they went. You were right when you said that it was across the bay in Coronado.”

Kendra looked at the superimposed maps. “It looks like all their visits were on or near Flora Avenue.”

Lynch nodded. “That’s where the officers must be doing their canvas today. We could either join them, or hang back someplace and wait for Perry to call with their results.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Of course I am. I know we’re going there right this instant.”

She grinned. “Damn straight.”

CHAPTER

9

There’s nothing here!”

Kendra stood in the middle of a residential street, surrounded by charming little houses that were probably valued at four to six million dollars apiece. Star Park, a postage-stamp-size park made up of a few sidewalks, green space, and benches, was the area’s only point of interest.

“Maybe they know someone here,” Lynch said.

“Could be. But it’s funny that they started coming here around the time they got so hot on a new lead in their investigation.”

Lynch pointed to a few of the front doors. “It looks like the police have already been here with their flyers. Maybe Perry will have something to tell us after all. Might be worth a call.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Why not?”

Kendra was looking up the street. “Perry’s here.”

Lynch turned just as Perry finished parking his SUV and climbed out. He smiled politely as he walked toward them. “Guess we should’ve carpooled.”

Kendra shrugged. “Guess you should have been more generous with your information.”

“I had a feeling you two would find your way here.”

“That’s what made you jump in the car after us?” Kendra asked.

He nodded. “You gave up far too easily when I wouldn’t give this location to you. I figured one or both of you had a line on it. Mr. Lynch’s government connections are legendary, and you’ve racked up quite a list of law-enforcement officers who feel they owe you one for the help you’ve provided over the years.”

“Your instincts serve you well,” Kendra said.

“A detective’s hunch. Just curious, how did you two zero in on this place so quickly? It was someone in the forensics lab, wasn’t it?”

“There are some secrets and methods we’d rather keep for ourselves,” Lynch said.

Perry nodded. “I guess I deserve that. Anyway, I talked to one of my officers on the way over. Only about half of the residents were home. The ones that were here didn’t identify Chloe and Sloane as anyone they’d ever seen.”

Kendra walked down the street, and Lynch and Perry kept pace with her. She looked at the well-tended lawns and gardens. “I can’t figure out what brought Chloe and Sloane here. It’s nothing that appeared in any of their files.”

“Remember, it could be nothing,” Perry said. “An old mutual friend, a distant relative…”

Kendra stopped. She was staring at a pleasant two-story house across the street from the park.

“What do you see?” Lynch asked.

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