Page 63 of Dolly

“Detective Pierce is ready to make his statement,” the anchor woman, all dolled up with her plastic smile and aerosol glued hair, says, and the camera cuts to Pierce standing at the podium at the PD, the taskforce spread out behind him. Somber expressions, blank stares, hands folded solemnly before them, they stand in unison behind their leader.

“As reported earlier this week, we have put out an amber alert for this girl.” He picks up an eight by eleven picture of a young girl. It’s her school picture. She can’t be more then thirteen. Her brown hair is pulled up into a ponytail, showing off her high cheekbones and sparkling light brown eyes. This girl has no worries in her life. This girl is innocent.

And she’s missing.

“Unfortunately, her remains were found this evening. While the search for her is over, the hunt for her killer is ongoing. The body was discovered early this afternoon by a jogger running on the Autumnwood’s trail along Klein Creek. We believe Olivia was taken from the park near her home two weeks ago. As we’ve also reported, several homes in Allenview Township have become crime scenes under investigation after several remains were found in the basement of two of the houses in the complex during demolition.”

“There were two houses?” Dolly gasps, covering her mouth.

“The demolition is on hold while our team works with the law enforcement of Allenview. We have reason to suspect Olivia may have been taken by the same individuals who were held up in those houses in Allenview. When we have more information regarding both cases, we will hold a press conference. At this time, we ask that you give the family their privacy as they navigate through this most difficult time. Out of respect, we will not be taking any questions at this time.”

His light eyes rise up to the camera, as though he’s staring directly at me.

“We will find those responsible. And we will bring them to justice,” Pierce says firmly before thanking the press and walking off stage, taking the taskforce with him.

“That girl…she was in the other house?” Dolly points to the screen. I flick the television off.

“We didn’t know there was another house.” I toss the remote to the couch and gather Dolly in my arms.

“We should have checked,” she says with heat, but it’s muffled with her face pressed against my chest. Maybe we could have done a sweep of the other houses, but we had no reason to think we needed to. Every house appeared abandoned. Even the one we were tucked away in.

“They said her body was found along the creek. She didn’t die in the house.” Dolly pushes away from me. “If she didn’t die in the house, does that mean Bossman took her out before we killed him? Or did someone else use the other house?”

All good questions.

“Todd.” I leave her behind and march back into the kitchen. He’s still working between the two computers, but the paper is full of information now. “What’s going on with the houses in Allenview where the airport expansion is supposed to happen?”

In one rush, his face loses all color.

“There’s an investigation. Tell me what you know,” I press.

“They found the basement in the one house—the one you and Abigail…I mean, Dolly, were kept. The investigation was started, but quietly. It didn’t make the news outlets until several bodies were uncovered.”

“Cathy knew the demolition would be starting soon.” I turn to Dolly. “The last night…the special request from her and Romero. They were supposed to come to the house. They were allowed to be in the room, but they bailed at the last minute. Bossman and Beardman—I mean Morty and Jimmy were talking about it.” Strange to say their actual names. It doesn’t shrink the monster inside them. Now, the monster has a name.

“Because they knew they’d be found out if they came? They’d leave behind fingerprints or something?”

“Maybe. Probably. Cathy had already been in the house, though.”

“They couldn’t take the chance on being seen on camera,” Todd explains for us. “They were probably going to go, but at the last minute decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Cathy’s DNA is probably all over that crime scene, but she inserted herself into the investigation. Easy to explain away a cop’s fingerprints at the scene if she’s conducting a search.”

“And what explanation of my disappearance?” I snag a laptop from him and sit down at the table. I can get a lot of information through the news sources I have.

“Romero had you pulled off the case and transferred. As far as Pierce was concerned, you were sent off to third district.”

I snap my head up. “And he didn’t question it? Being pulled off a case last second, in the middle of the fucking night, then thrown all the way across town?”

“Pierce had his hands full with the missing girls, and then Olivia—the girl on the news just now—was reported missing.” Todd presses his lips together. “She was taken from the playground only a few blocks away from the deputy mayor’s residence.”

“He took her?” Dolly demands to know. “He took her to that house, the one next door?”

“I don’t know! I only know it was mentioned how close he lived to the girl. It’s a small community he lives in—less than twenty homes in his subdivision.”

“And they thought he might know something?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I stayed in my lab and worked the websites. I kept them in the dark as best I could without getting Pierce suspicious.”

I tug my gun out of my belt and place it on the table. Todd’s gaze snap to attention, focused on it. With my hand resting over the weapon, I turn in my seat to face him.

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