Page 11 of A Dark Place

Ron nodded. “I will get you that information, but right now I need to attend to my wife.”

“Of course, I understand.” Asher placed his card on the coffee table. “I’ll leave my card here. You can send the information to my cell phone. If you think of anything or if you have questions, call me at any time.” Asher and Olivia showed themselves out.

“Here, give me the keys. I’ll drive.” Asher smiled and shook his head before tossing her the keys. Olivia ended up driving ninety percent of the time, not because she didn’t trust Asher’s skills, but because she needed something to do with her pent-up energy.

As they started back toward D.C., snow continued to fall from the dark skies. The headlights picked up the swirling flakes.

Asher’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. “It’s Luke.” He answered the call and placed it on speaker.

“We may have caught a break. I was doing a search of crimes that involved a stun gun, and I found a report from Arlington where a woman said someone tried to kidnap her from outside her home.”

“You’re kidding?” Asher said in amazement. “What’s her name and address? Olivia and I will head over and speak to her.”

“Tracy Donofrio. I’ll text you the address and Tracy’s phone number.”

“Thanks, Luke.” Asher ended the call and shifted toward Olivia. “If this woman was a victim of the new Van Gogh and survived, it could be a major break.” The phone in his hand buzzed the address. Asher gave it to Olivia.

She made the necessary changes to head them in the right direction. “We need to find out if this woman knows Lizzy.”

“Exactly, but we can’t speak to Lizzy.” Asher stated the obvious problem aloud. “The less contact we have with her and Will the better for everyone. As soon as we know something, let’s reach out to the sheriff, and let him pass the news on.”

Olivia nodded and focused on the road ahead as she maneuvered through the light traffic.

“I’ll call ahead and let Tracy know we’re coming.” He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must be. Asher typed in the number and put it on speaker once more.

“Hello?” The woman’s voice sounded anything but steady.

“Tracy Donofrio?”

“Yes, this is Tracy?” The uneasiness in her tone was obvious.

“My name is Agent Lackland. I’m with the FBI. My partner and I would like to speak with you about your recent attack.”

A long silence followed. “I only caught a glimpse of his face,” she admitted.

Asher sat up straighter. “So, youdidsee the man who attacked you?”

An unsteady breath came through the phone. “I did. I’ll never forget him.”

Asher whipped toward Olivia. This was big. “I can’t imagine how frightening that must have been. If it’s okay with you, we can come over now. We’re half an hour out.”

“Sure. I haven’t been able to sleep since it happened, and I could use the company. Do you have my address?”

“We do. I’ll call you when we’re close.” Asher ended the call with a weighty sigh.

If they could connect the dots to the man who attacked Lizzy, they’d have the Van Gogh Killer. Olivia was sure of it. Hopefully before he went after another innocent woman.

Chapter Four

“We’re close,” Asher said and stared out the windshield. So far, all they knew about Tracy Donofrio was that she worked from home as a writer and she lived by herself.

“I’ll call her and let her know we’re close.” Asher dialed the number.

“Hello?” The woman’s tone came out loud and sharp. She was probably terrified the man could return at any time to finish the job.

“Tracy? It’s Agent Lackland. We spoke earlier.”

“Oh, Yes, Agent Lackland.” Her tone cleared with relief.

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