Page 85 of Tough as Steele

“That question I can’t answer for you.” Sierra paused. “I’ve also sent off Gaskin’s letter to Jessica for comparison to the letter written to his mother, and the experts say the handwriting isn’t a match.”

“Could’ve fooled us.” Nate shared a confused look with Londyn. “Someone did a great forgery.”

“But why?” Londyn asked again.

“Another question I can’t answer.” Sierra sighed. “They also didn’t match the ransom note on Mimi’s pillow. I processed them for prints but came up empty. I can try a few more techniques, though. If I lift any prints, I’ll run them in AFIS and get back to you.”

“Let us know if you get any matches,” Nate said, though he knew it would take time.

The fed’s system might have the wordautomatedin the title, but it didn’t work the way it was portrayed on television and in the movies. No quick search and the match popped up on the screen. The process required examiners to evaluate the findings and narrow them down to probable matches.

“Thanks.” Londyn ended the call.

“Okay, this is getting weirder and weirder.” Peyton stood and ran her forceful gaze over the group. “I remember an odd incident a year or so ago. An extremist group that believes in white supremacy and practicing Odinism was sacrificing animals. They used calves that they’d poached from a nearby farmer, but maybe our kidnapper is sacrificing animals too.”

“Odinism.” Gene looked at Peyton. “Never heard of it.”

“It’s an ancient heathen religion that the Odinists say is the only pure religion for white people. They think because Jesus was a Jew that Christianity has been mongrelized. Their goal is to reclaim America for the white race and fight against the Jews’ extermination of the whites.”

“Why the name though?” Nate asked.

“They worship ancient Norse gods such as Thor and Odin. Weird, I know.” She took a deep breath. “They wear pendants of Thor’s hammer and perform rituals where they gather in the woods. There, they use a communal horn to drink mead. Instead of a Bible, they read ancient poetry. Sometimes they sacrifice animals to the gods.”

“If we’re dealing with a guy who does that”—Nate’s stomach turned at the thought—“then we’re dealing with a very sick individual.”

“It’s just a theory,” Londyn said, looking a little pale. “For all we know he killed the deer because he likes venison.”

“Could be,” Gene said. “But it’s not deer hunting season right now, so in either scenario, it was an illegal hunt.”

Londyn frowned. “Guess if you’re willing to kidnap an elderly woman, you’d be willing to hunt out of season.”

“I know it’s a long shot, but let me look into it for you,” Peyton offered. “Maybe I can find a nearby group and get a list of people we can talk to. Maybe scrounge up a suspect or two.”

“You’re the perfect person to do it.” Londyn grabbed a marker and wrote Odinism on the whiteboard, then faced the group.

“Perfect person?” Nate asked.

“Peyton’s the family crusader.” Londyn smiled at her sister. “Give her a cause, and she’ll fight to the death for it.”

Peyton smiled, her face lighting up, reminding Nate of her grandmother. “That I am and proud of it. Short of going militant, of course, but these extremist groups fascinate me, so I’m glad to do the research.”

Londyn tapped Clarice’s and Charles’s names on the board, the marker clicking in a rapid rhythm. “Peyton and I interviewed Charles about his gambling problem. I suspect he’s embezzling from the company, but I’m not liking him for the kidnapping.”

“I agree.” Peyton took a seat again, her expression turning serious. “And when we find Mimi and she’s recovered from her ordeal, I’ll suggest that she hire a forensic accountant to review her books.”

Londyn looked at Ryleigh. “Are there any other red flags in either of their backgrounds that we should be concerned about?”

“Clarice is clean, but Charles continues to rack up gambling debts, so if he told you he quit gambling, he lied.”

Londyn noted that on the board, the marker squeaking. “He and Wigg seem like our prime suspects. I would add Jessica, but we don’t know if she’s even alive at this point.”

Nate frowned. “I wish I could say that I don’t think Charles could be behind the kidnapping, but I’ve never found him to care about anyone much but himself. So we should dig deeper and try to connect him to Gaskin, Wigg, and Jessica.”

“I can do that,” Ryleigh said.

“Thanks.” Londyn wrote a note in crisp red letters on the board to that effect.

“I’ve finished with the catering and wait staff,” Teagan said. “Nothing of interest and no connection to the family, Mimi’s permanent staff, or your suspects.”

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