Page 12 of Storm Surge

“The Coast Guard has called off the search for a body. He could have drifted out to sea on the current, but I don’t think so.” Not with all he knew about Collins.

“You think he planned the whole thing.” Victor read his thoughts.

“I do. Collins had this planned from the beginning.” He told Victor about what they were doing to locate the missing vehicles. “The only thing I don’t understand is why’d he kill his father.”

Victor blew out a breath. “I have no idea. There’s some dark history between Collins and his father, I’m guessing. And I can’t help but wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with his daughter. I’m sending more of our people your way,” Victor said as if reading Will’s earlier thoughts. “I think you can use the help. Brookes and Abby along with Kevin will be on their way from Canada soon. I have a feeling we are just beginning to peel back the layers of the truth, and I wouldn’t put anything past Collins. I have no doubt he has other people whom he will reach out to for help. So far, there’s been no sighting of Hassanzai. He appears to have disappeared into thin air. Along with Kincaid.”

Will remembered what the crime scene had uncovered about Kincaid. He described what they’d found. “He’s either dead by Collins’s doing—and after what he did to his father, I wouldn’t put anything past him—or he used one of the vehicles that belonged to this property and escaped. That would explain the vehicle we saw leaving the place. We’re trying to tap into the GPS systems of both to see if we can locate the drivers.”

“Good thinking. I’ve a few more things to wrap up here, and then I’ll be heading your way as well.”

“We can use the help,” Will confirmed. “FBI agents are securing the property boundaries. Do we have any idea who Jamie’s mother is yet?” Victor had the team’s computer intelligence lead, James Cooper, digging into Collins’s past in hopes of identifying the woman.

“So far, we have nothing. I’m thinking you may have to go after the sister or the daughter for that answer. They know something more than they’re saying.”

Will thought about the woman who had haunted his every thought since he’d laid eyes on her.

“Will?” Victor asked when he was usually silent.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Here’s the problem. The daughter doesn’t remember anything about her past. She suffered some kind of memory loss from an accident several years back. All she remembers about her past is what she’s been told by Collins and his sister.”

It was a long moment before Victor answered. “What’s going on? Something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice.”

Will stepped outside and closed the door. The breathtaking views that stretched out in front of him weren’t able to quiet his soul.

“Will?”

He blew out a sigh. “It’s the daughter, Jamie.” How did he even begin to explain what he thought? “She looks exactly like Lizzy.”

“Your Lizzy?” Victor’s surprise was easy to hear.

“Yes. I mean she looks exactly like her.”

“But you said Lizzy was a victim of the Van Gogh Killer who was operating around D.C. five years ago.”

“I thought so, but unlike the other victims, Lizzy’s body was never found.”

“You had no idea who Lizzy’s father was?” Victor asked the obvious question.

He and Lizzy hadn’t known each other all that long when they’d married, but he’d known she was the one for him. He figured they’d get to the rest of the stuff some time. “Lizzy and I were married only a short time when she went missing. Same MO as the other victims. The only difference—Lizzy’s body was never discovered.”

“Was there DNA on file from the case? Something that can help us confirm one way or the other if this Jamie Collins is really your wife?”

Will tried to remember that dreadful time. His world had fallen apart. As a former Marine, he couldn’t believe he let the woman he loved fall into the hands of a serial killer. He’d reported her missing. Been faced with dozens of questions about her past that he couldn’t answer. They’d combed through his and Lizzy’s brief life together. “They took some hairs from her hairbrush. I’ve kept in touch with the agents handling the case through the years. I check in with them a couple of times a year. Let me reach out to them.”

Victor was quiet for a moment, but Will believed he knew what was coming next. He respected Victor Douglas so much. He’d organized Strike Force many years earlier when Legion first came onto the radar, and Victor realized there was a need for a group of people to fight the coming war on terror that he believed would be waged on the home front. He’d been right.

After a series of bomb strikes across the world, Legion’s people had taken over control of all major countries forcing Strike Force into hiding. But thanks to one of Legion’s own people turning against them, power in the country and around the world was slowly returning to its proper leadership.

“We’ll need to get a DNA sample from Jamie to see if it matches the one on file at the FBI lab,” Victor said quietly. “Do you want me to get someone else to do it?”

He didn’t. He wanted to see her again. Spend as much time as he could in order to understand her. Her life here. “No, I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure? As far as we know right now, she’s Martin Collins’s daughter, and he is a criminal. Both she and the aunt will be held until we can confirm whether or not they’re involved in Collins’s crimes.”

“That could be a problem,” Will said. “Jamie told me she’s agoraphobic. Has been since her accident.” She couldn’t bring herself to go much beyond the ocean nearby.

“For the time being, she and the aunt can stay on the property, but I want you and Garrett there with them in case Collins tries to come back for them.”

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