Page 23 of See How They Hide

“Can you both talk?”

“One sec.” Kara wiped her hands and motioned for Michael to follow her down the hall. She used her room card key to open the door of the currently unoccupied business center. She closed the door behind them and put Matt on speaker. “Okay, go.”

“Check your email. Jim and Sloane found some strange items at Crossman’s house in Santa Fe. New clothing and shoes, both male and female, in multiple sizes. Nine identical suitcases. Thirty-six thousand in cash, but more interesting, Crossman had a stack of laminated red poppies that look exactly like the poppy you found in Merrifield’s apartment.”

“Theories?” Kara asked.

“I’m on my way to meet with Catherine to discuss this new information. I’m at a loss. Crossman and Merrifield must have known each other at one time, or they have a common acquaintance. Crossman was also born in Denver.”

“Related?”

“Unlikely, not impossible,” Matt said. “I’ve asked Quantico to run DNA. We’re still waiting on the paternity test for Benson and Merrifield, should have it today. Prepare to head to Denver when you wrap up things in Ashland. Ryder will set up a conference call this afternoon, sometime between three and six eastern time. If you get something hot let Ryder know and he’ll juggle.”

“You know I live for meetings, especially over Zoom,” Kara said, rolling her eyes at Michael. He playfully hit her.

“Be careful, both of you. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but Crossman had secrets. Sloane thinks someone may have been in the house since his murder, so we’re sending over our Albuquerque Evidence Response Team to do a deep forensic dive. Prints, hairs, fibers, the works. Read the email, look at the pictures. If you have anything to add, contact me.”

Matt ended the call. Kara immediately pulled up her email and Michael did the same. Kara scrolled through the photos. The laminated poppies looked exactly like the one she’d found at Jane’s. But there was something else familiar in the closet, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “I need to go back to Jane’s,” she told Michael.

“After the bakery?”

“Sure.”

“What are you thinking?” he asked as they walked to their car.

“They know each other, but I can’t figure out the how. They’re all from Denver, but they’re not the same age. They all have very small footprints, no social media, living not so much off-the-grid as very private. Maybe they witnessed the same crime...or they’re related some way and their family is bad news?” She shrugged. “Benson has been in Weems for nearly eleven years. Crossman in New Mexico for ten. Jane in Ashland for three and a half years. But so far, we don’t know where any of them came from, and none of them have family that anyone knows about. They were all killed by the same group of people working together the same weekend.” Kara paused, then said, “Riley Pierce knows what’s going on. She knows what connects these people. She might even know what the poppies mean. We find her, we’ll have some answers, if not all the answers.”

Michael didn’t argue with her.

They didn’t learn anything new about Jane at the bakery, only confirmed the information Ashland PD had. However, while Michael looked through Jane’s employment records, Kara talked to the owner about Riley Pierce. Lani, a middle-aged grandmotherly type, definitely had a lot to say.

“You want to know about Riley? She moved to France.Internship.” Lani pursed her lips.

What did the tone mean? Kara wondered. “You’ve met her?”

“Yes. Jane has worked for me for—well, over three years. I hired her temporarily during the holiday crunch when she was a freshman. She knew baking, clearly she’d learned in the home. She was intuitive about it—I had to teach her to follow my recipes, but let her experiment sometimes. Anyway, she was a joy to work with, and she’s one of the few I trusted in the kitchen without me supervising.”

“So you knew Jane well.”

“I thought I did, but the police asked a lot of questions I couldn’t answer. I know she wasn’t close to her family and didn’t talk about them at all, not even to say negative things. I tried to get her to open up, but she would just smile and shake her head, say she didn’t think about the past. She very much looked forward. Serene. That’s a good word for her.”

“And Riley?”

“The opposite of serene,” Lani said with a scowl. “I didn’t know her well, but where Jane always had a smile and kind word, I don’t think I saw Riley smile once. I know they were best friends—once, Jane said they grew up together and Riley was like a sister. Maybe there’s more to the girl, but I never saw it.”

“You didn’t like her.”

“I didn’t know her,” she said.

“But you knew her enough to recognize she and Jane were opposites.”

Lani nodded. “Riley was moody. Not even moody, because that would imply she was happy at times, and she wasn’t. She had this dark aura about her, always seemed a bit on the agitated side. For example, we have a Christmas party every year for staff and family. I had to talk Jane into coming. I knew she didn’t like crowds, but I said it would be fun and casual. I insisted she bring Riley, since they were roommates. The entire time, Riley stood by the door, watching everyone like a hawk. Completely unapproachable. Jane came the next year without her.”

“Has Riley been back since moving to France?”

“No, and I’m sure Jane would have said something if she had. And Ashley? She’s a sweetheart. Comes in every once in a while, friendly, sociable. She was good for Jane.”

And Riley wasn’t sociable, Kara thought but didn’t say. Kara didn’t hold it against Riley, it wasn’t a crime to be grumpy. Good thing, otherwise Kara would be guilty. But the impression helped.

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