Page 158 of Dead Man's List

“Counseling to begin with,” Kit said, giving Kennedy’s handanother squeeze. “Do you still have the name of the therapist I gave you, sir? She can help, both with the grief and the abuse. And…let Kennedy heal. She’s already taken an enormous first step. Reporting your abuser is terrifying, sir. That’s why it’s so crucial that you believe her.”

“I do. My wife does, too. She’s just…this has been an awful day.”

“I know,” Kit said. “We’re going to leave you now. Kennedy, why don’t you say hi to your sisters. I think it’ll make you feel better.”

She went upstairs, giving Kit a grateful smile.

Kit turned to Duncan. “Who sleeps in that room where the rope is hanging from the window?”

“That was Aylene’s room,” he whispered, and his tears began to fall again. “He can’t scale the side of the house if we remove the rope, right? Can he get back in?”

“We don’t know,” Connor said. “Call your security company. And change your alarm codes.” Connor stood and Kit joined him. “We’re sorry for your loss,” Connor said quietly. “I know it’s not much, but it’s all we can say.”

“I don’t care what you have tosay,” Duncan said angrily. “Find Pete. That’s all you have todo.”

Kit followed Connor to the department car. They’d gotten Kennedy to her grandparents safely. Now they had to find her sonofabitch father.

“I wonder if he groomed kids who came to him as the assistant principal,” Connor murmured as he started the engine.

“I thought of that,” Kit said. Her cell buzzed and she checked the caller ID. “Navarro again.”

“Maybe they found Shoemaker,” Connor said hopefully.

“Your mouth, God’s ears.” Kit accepted the call and putNavarro on speaker. “Here with Connor, sir. Did you find Shoemaker?”

“No,” Navarro said with disgust. “But I do have some good news. The team tracking the Suburban and the trailer has tracked them as far as the Descanso exit off the 8. They’ve checked extensively and the Suburban and trailer have not been seen east of Descanso. That’s exit 40 off I-8, heading toward Julian. I want you to go to Descanso and start knocking on doors. Ask to see security footage taken by local businesses.”

“On our way,” Connor said. “We’ll keep in contact.”

Kit ended the call and mapped the route. “Let’s do this.”

San Diego PD, San Diego, California

Thursday, January 12, 7:45 p.m.

“It might not be the same guy,” Navarro cautioned as he sat in Connor’s desk chair and rolled himself over to where Sam sat at Kit’s desk, staring at her monitor.

“I know, but I need to check.” Sam signed into the department’s server, careful not to touch any of the files stored on Kit’s computer. He’d asked to use his own laptop—he’d even stopped by his apartment to get it after walking Siggy—but Navarro told him that he’d need special software to access the department server, and to use Kit’s computer.

Navarro pointed at one of the files. “That’s the recording that came from Ace Diamond’s camera that he put at Jennifer’s Body Shop. Thank the good Lord for jealous boyfriends.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Haven’t you seen this?”

“Not yet. Kit was going to show it to me and we kept getting pulled in other directions.” Sam clicked on the video, wincingwhen Neckbeard tossed Shelley in the back of the Ford truck without a care. “Have you found the Ford yet?”

“Possibly. We found one yesterday that had been reported stolen. It’s the same make, model, and color, so maybe it’s the same truck.”

“No fingerprints, I assume?”

“None that don’t belong to the woman who reported it stolen. Who is seventy-five years old and about five feet five.”

“The girls tonight said the guy they saw drove a big tan SUV.”

“Promising,” Navarro murmured.

Sam rewound the Ace Diamond video and watched it again. Then he saw it. “There.” He froze the frame. “See how he tugs at his sleeves? The girls said he did that, too.” He rewound and rewatched. “And there. He’s scratching the inside of his wrist.” It was a tiny movement, easily ignored if one wasn’t looking for it. “It’s the same guy.”

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