Page 7 of Cold Vengeance

Finally, he sighed. “You know, if her father believed she was in trouble, this thing would be a lot easier.”

“Maybe. I keep thinking that April seems to be particularly savvy. I think she could have created another identity if she’d wanted to. I doubt seriously she would keep using her credit cards or her checking account if she was trying to hide.”

Tony grunted. “You’re probably right.” His eyes locked on hers. “You think she’s still alive?”

“I don’t know. Until we know more, I don’t want to speculate.”

“So, what does that note mean? Who could have sent it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m wondering,” River said. “April wouldn’t mail it if she wants to stay concealed. And if someone took her, or worse, they wouldn’t send it. If this was some kind of killer who wanted attention, he wouldn’t wait this long—and he’d be touting his own superiority, not making it sound like she was still alive.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. “Is this case hitting a little too close to home for you? Is that going to be a problem?”

River was still a little unnerved by Nathan’s revelation, although she didn’t want Tony to know it. Even though this situation wasn’t exactly the same as hers, River couldn’t help but feel a deep connection to the missing woman. However, if she ever decided to leave, she wouldn’t do it like this. She would never allow Tony to wonder if she’d been abducted. He would assumethe Strangler’s accomplice had taken her. She couldn’t possibly do that to him.

“We need to keep ourselves out of the equation,” River said, struggling to sound composed. “We really have no idea what’s going on yet.”

Tony gazed at her for several seconds, making River feel a little unsettled. Sometimes she could swear he was able to see right through her. Finally, he got up, retrieved the envelope with the letter, and took it back to his desk.

“Let me see if I can get any fingerprints from this,” he said. “If I can, I’ll send the images to Arnie so he can ask the lab to run them through IAFIS.”

IAFIS maintained tens of millions of fingerprints. It even stored prints from crime scenes that were never matched to an individual in hopes that at some point they could be identified.

“It’s protocol to send the letter to the police,” River said. “Let them look for fingerprints.”

“I realize that, but we’re former FBI. Arnie won’t care if we do it. They’re so backed up, it could take them forever to get to it. After I send them the images, we’ll turn the letter over.”

“I don’t know. What if this turns out to be important evidence?”

Tony shrugged. “The St. Louis PD will run the prints. No one cares who found the images. Arnie will make sure everything turns out okay.”

River didn’t say anything, but if this ended up being a vital clue, it might be inadmissible in a trial. She was also worried about going through April’s things. They didn’t actually belong to her father since April hadn’t yet been declared dead, but at some point, it was possible they would have to be turned over to the police.

Tony put on a new pair of gloves and removed the letter from the evidence bag. Then he retrieved a fingerprint kit from his deskand carefully sprinkled dark powder on the white paper. With a small brush, he whisked away the extra powder.

River realized she was holding her breath and slowly let it out. A moment later, Tony looked up at her.

“I have prints, but they’re probably Nathan’s.” He took out a roll of tape and nodded at River. “Could you get me a piece of printer paper?”

She got up and got another glove. Then she walked over to the printer and picked up a piece of paper using the glove to protect it from her own prints. She carried it back to Tony and laid it on his desk. He carefully placed a piece of tape over each fingerprint and transferred it to the clean paper. When he was done, there were six very clear prints and a couple of smudged ones.

“I’ll call Arnie and let him know this is coming,” Tony said.

River nodded. “I’ll get online. I want to listen to April’s podcasts.”

“Good idea,” Tony said. “Didn’t Nathan say she was working on seven cases at the time she disappeared, including the Castlewood Casanova case?”

“Yeah,” River said. “Just because she mentioned suspicions about that one, it doesn’t mean it’s connected. Or that any of them are.”

“That one is close though,” Tony said. “Ballwin’s a little less than twenty miles from here. The others could be in different states. Less likely anyone connected lives close enough to be stalking her.”

“Not impossible though. If she has listeners in other parts of the country, someone could still be worried if she’s getting too close.” River looked at the clock. “It’s after eleven. Why don’t you get us some lunch before I start researching? Once I get started, I hate to quit.”

“Sounds great,” Tony said, getting to his feet. “What are you in the mood for?”

River smiled. “Gyros?”

Tony laughed. “You’re reading my mind.”

---