Page 54 of The Girls in the Snow

“We will,” Miller said. “Your theory makes sense. But what if this woman has no connection to the girls?”

“Obviously we need to hear what the medical examiner finds during autopsy,” Nikki said. “But at this point, I’m certain this is our killer trying to distract us. And Liam’s right, it stinks of desperation. Someone waited for her to die and then staged her body so she looked like Frost had killed her. That action alone suggests we’re dealing with the same person who killed Madison and Kaylee.”

“I’m on it,” Miller said. “While Liam’s getting her picture to the media, one of my deputies and I are going to show her picture to everyone already interviewed about Madison and Kaylee.”

“Good thinking. Catch them off guard.” Nikki unlocked her jeep and started the engine. “Keep me in the loop. I’m going to get Liam. We’re going to pay a visit to Amy Banks.”

Eighteen

Nikki and Liam stood outside the Banks home, shivering. Liam rang the doorbell a second time, while Nikki stared blankly at the expensive glass panes.

Liam turned around, concern on his face. “Everything okay?”

“We have a third victim on our watch,” Nikki said. “Everything is not okay.”

“That’s not what I meant. You seem distracted.”

Hardin’s insistence that her blood hadn’t been drawn tied Nikki in knots. She kept thinking about Mark Todd’s affair with Hardin’s wife. Would he have gone to such lengths to get revenge? He’d been certain of Mark’s guilt, hadn’t he? The alternative made her tremble with anxiety.

She felt Liam’s eyes on her. He was every bit as perceptive as Nikki. She didn’t want her team to think she wasn’t fully committed to the current case, and she felt terrible that her confusion might have cost a woman her life.

“I’m just trying to work out this guy’s motivation. If we’re right, he’s desperate now. That puts any number of people in danger.”

“As cold as it sounds, I hope it’s someone else,” Liam said. “If it’s some kind of domestic, perhaps this woman didn’t suffer as badly as Madison and Kaylee. The positioning of their bodies felt so much more brutal. But maybe I just don’t want to believe this woman’s dead because we haven’t caught our guy. Why in the hell isn’t she answering?” Liam hit the doorbell a third time.

Seconds later, the door cracked open, and a pair of frightened blue eyes stared up at them. The boy looked to be around Lacey’s age; his tousled blond hair and serious expression made him look like a mini-John.

“Hi there. It’s Bailey, right?” Nikki showed him her badge. “My name is Agent Hunt, and this is Agent Wilson. We know your mom and dad. Are they home?”

The door widened an inch, revealing the Kool-Aid stain around his mouth. “You’re trying to solve my sister’s murder.”

His soft voice made the words sound obscene.

“We are. Are your parents home?”

“My dad’s working. Mommy’s asleep.”

“Could you wake her up? It’s really very important we speak with her.”

“I already tried. She’s sleeping real hard.”

Nikki and Liam glanced at one another.

“Does she usually sleep that hard?” Liam asked.

“No.” Bailey’s voice trembled. “She said she was hurting all over and was going to take some medicine for it and go back to bed.”

Nikki glanced at Liam, and he spun on his heel and headed back to his car. Before he’d joined the team, Liam had worked in narcotics, and overdoses were a common occurrence. He still carried naloxone out of habit. Naloxone was capable of reversing the effects of an opioid if administered in time.

Liam jogged back to the door, the small black kit in his hand. “You know how to do it?”

Nikki nodded. She’d taken a class on the overdose drug a couple of years ago. She smiled down at Bailey, trying to hide her nerves from the little boy. If Amy had overdosed, time was of the essence. The drug only worked if the person’s heart hadn’t completely stopped. “Will you let me come in and check on your mom? Sometimes pain pills make people extra tired.”

Bailey unlocked the storm door and then held it open. He hugged his chest and looked between them. “She’ll be okay, right?”

“Why don’t you stay with Agent Wilson while I check on your mom.” She pointed to his sweatshirt and he looked down at the logo. “Vikings fan, huh? Agent Wilson had tickets on the fifty-yard line last fall.”

Bailey’s eyes widened, and Liam knelt down. “Dude, it was so cool.”

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