Page 189 of State of Alert

“They told me how Zeke is an honor student with a baseball scholarship to Villanova, and there’s no way he’d ever have anything to do with killing someone.”

“Do you believe them?”

“Strangely enough, I do. They said he was under Zoe’s thrall and had changed a lot since she came into his life. He’d stopped caring about school and baseball and the things that’d been important to him. They told me about a summer camp called Herron Creek that he once attended in Colorado Springs that he loved. I want to pass that info on to Jesse. They said they didn’t know of anywhere else out west that he might go.”

“I’ll give Jesse a call,” Freddie said.

“Before you do that,” Sam said, acting on a hunch, “what social media does Zeke have?”

“Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.”

“If I wanted to message him on those platforms, how would I go about that?”

“I can do it on your behalf.” He sat in his cubicle and booted up his computer. “What do you want to say?”

Sam thought about it for a minute. “‘Zeke, this is Lieutenant Holland with the DC police. Your parents just came to see me, and they’re very upset and worried about you. They told me you’re an honor student with a baseball scholarship to Villanova. You must’ve worked very hard for all of that. If you reach out to me, I can bring you home without any publicity. Your parents want you home to finish your senior year and move forward with your life. Running from law enforcement will result in charges. I don’t want that for you. Please give me a call so I can help you.’”

“Got it,” Freddie said. “I’ll message him on all three platforms with your number.”

“Thanks. Let me know what Jesse says.”

“I will.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

While he did that, Sam went to check in with Malone. “Any word on an ETA for Jada?”

“She and one of the marshals are on a flight to DCA that lands in thirty minutes. I have Patrol officers meeting them.”

“Excellent.”

“They said she’s in rough shape and very fragile. We need to proceed carefully.”

“I can do that.”

“I’d like to ask Lucas to be involved, too. She’s good with managing trauma.”

“And I’m not?”

“You’re good at inflicting it.”

“Wow. Ouch.”

Malone laughed. “You know what I mean. Let’s bring Erica in for the conversation with Jada.”

“I’ll see if she’s available.”

“I was joking,” Malone said.

“I know you were. It’s a totally different set of skills, and you’re right that she’s good with the vics.”

“I heard the boyfriend’s parents were here. What did they want?”

“To tell me what a great kid he is and how he’d never be part of murdering anyone. I tend to believe them. It’d be nice to try to salvage his future if he’s a victim in this.”

“How do we stretch to make him a victim?”

“Zoe told him Elaine locked her and Jada in their rooms, for one thing. There was no evidence of that or any mention of it from the family, and I think they would’ve mentioned it if it were true.”

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