Page 338 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

She should be satisfied he was in custody. Instead, Addie blew on her coffee and studied the other suspects. Benning could have a co-collaborator. A protégé, or mentor. She dismissed several possibilities as she’d done throughout this case. Each one still went on a list because occasionally, her assumptions were proven wrong.

“I need to show you something, Addie.”

She spun around, careful not to spill her drink. Special Agent Mills, the newest member of the task force, had paled. “Everything okay?”

“Come on. I’ll show you.” Mills headed back to her desk and sat.

Addie looked over her shoulder.

“Carova Beach Fire and Rescue in North Carolina pulled a body out of the surf this morning. A young woman washed up just after five.” Mills pulled up a photo.

The woman had been a blonde, but the body was marred and bloated. Given the markings, Addie motioned to it. “Same M.O?”

“Preliminary indications are that this is one of Benning’s victims.”

Addie wasn’t sure that connection could be made at this juncture. She drew the line at giving killers fun nicknames that sold more newspapers or got more hits on social media. Publicity killed their ability to investigate when everyone had a bias over what they’d seen or heard or what a friend heard from another friend.

They’d succeeded in keeping this case out of the media. For the most part.

She struggled to formulate a question but managed it. “Has an ID been made?” Addie studied the photo.

Mills flicked the window to the police report. “The ME has the body, and I requested the DNA be run to see if it’s a match to any of our missing women. But this one has been dead only hours.”

“So it could be someone we didn’t yet know is missing. Someone Benning took in the last few days.”

“Before we started to follow him.”

Addie nodded. Had it been days?

Mills worked her mouth back and forth. She glanced up and frowned. “You okay?”

“Just tired,” Addie said. “But no more than anyone else here.”

“We’ve all been working pretty well around the clock the last few weeks.”

Addie nodded. “He’s in custody now. We can get this case sewn up, we’re all good to take that long weekend.”

Zimmerman wanted everyone to have a few days off instead of ordering Addie to take a couple of weeks.

Like that would solve her problem.

“I’m looking forward to a break.”

Addie didn’t even know what that might feel like. Who cared about rest? “Send me what you have. I’d like to look at it.”

Mills nodded. “Will do. You wanna drive down if it’s one of his?”

She shrugged off the question—or tried to. Mills wanted to be, what? Friends? “I’ll be here until Benning isn’t, at least. I want to finish up with him.” If Zimmerman let her.

Someone else could do the leg work if there was another victim. Tonight was the first time she’d gone out with the team on an operation in a couple of months. They compiled the evidence, and she formulated a picture of their UNSUB—an unknown subject, the label for an offender they hadn’t identified yet.

If she needed to speak personally with a witness to get a better picture, she’d do it. But it wasn’t often necessary when the people doing the interviews were highly trained FBI agents. They produced quality work. This team was the best.

She headed back to her desk, rolling her shoulders as she walked, shrugging off the idea that she wasn’t the kind of FBI agent she wanted to be when she’d joined the FBI. The coffee hadn’t done anything to perk her up, which was her fault since it would never be coffee’s fault.

Zimmerman strode out the mouth of the hallway and spotted her. “You didn’t go home yet?” He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Addie glanced around. “No one else did either.”

---