Page 37 of Forged in Steele

Mr. Pratt took his wife’s hand. “But you don’t know if it’s Luna’s blood, right?”

“We’ve had the blood typed. It’s O positive.”

Mrs. Pratt shuddered. “Luna’s blood type.”

“We can’t say it’s hers,” Bristol said. “O positive is a common blood type so it could belong to her abductor.”

“It’s my blood type,” Mr. Pratt added. “But I assume you know that since they took our blood an hour or so ago.” He released his wife’s hand and held out his arms. “Go ahead and search me. You won’t find any fresh cuts.”

“We’ll have a nurse do that once we finish talking,” Jared said.

Mr. Pratt shook his head. “You’re wasting time again. As you said, O positive is common. Could be from any number of people. Do you have anything at all that will help find her?”

Bristol hated to do this but… “You didn’t mention that you were scheduled to testify in a gang trial.”

“What’s that…” Mr. Pratt shoved his hand in his hair. “For the love of God! You don’t think they have something to do with this? I mean, if they do. No…she’s…they’d.” He swallowed and gripped his wife’s hand. “They’re brutal.”

Mrs. Pratt looked up at her husband. “I told you not to testify. Now they have Luna. Those monsters have her.”

“Hold on, Mrs. Pratt,” Bristol said, making sure to keep her cool when her insides were churning with anguish for this family. “A special gang task force is looking into the connection, but we have no evidence that the gang is involved.”

“And you don’t have any evidence that they’re not, right?” Mrs. Pratt panted for air.

“Right, but jumping to conclusions won’t help find Luna.” Bristol kept her tone firm to try to help the parents calm down. “We have to work every lead, one at a time. Right now, we need you, Mr. Pratt, to tell us about your upcoming testimony.”

He rested on the side of the bed. “There’s nothing much to it, really. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Getting off MAX in Chinatown for an appointment. I’m an electrician, and I work for a developer who’s restoring a building there.” He released his wife’s hand and shoved both hands into his pockets. “I saw this Hoovers gang member try to mug an older woman. She fought back. The guy pops off a gun and takes her down. For some reason I can’t understand, I took a picture instead of running. The shooter made eye contact with me, and I thought he’d take me out, but sirens sounded down the street, and he bolted. Cops weren’t on their way to the shooting but another crime in the area. Saved my life.”

“And you shared the picture with the police?” Bristol asked.

“First I called 911 and checked on the lady. She was still alive. Died with me holding her hand. She was something special. Not upset or bitter. Just glad to be going to heaven and thankful that I was holding her hand so she didn’t have to be alone. She died before the ambulance or cops got there. I wanted justice for her so I never questioned if I would testify. But if they…” His voice broke, and he covered his face with his hands.

Bristol had considered him a potential suspect until this moment. Here was a man who cared about people and loved his daughter. She couldn’t imagine him hurting his baby. Still, Bristol had to keep an open mind and consider any evidence they might locate.

“Have you received any threats?” Jared asked.

Mr. Pratt shook his head. “Which honestly surprised me. I thought they might try to retaliate. I read online that they always use force in the form of retaliation. They go by the gang acronym EBK.”

“Every Body Killer,” Bristol said. “No one’s safe with them. They’re more than willing to kill anyone.”

Mr. Pratt grimaced. “We’ve been keeping our eyes open at home and work, but I didn’t expect they would come here.”

“I don’t know why you didn’t,” Jared said. “They engage in violence for the sake of violence. So why not here?”

Mr. Pratt’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m going to call the DA right now and tell him I won’t testify. Then if the Hoovers have Luna, they’ll give her back.”

“But if they don’t have her, you’ll be letting a terrible man get away with murder and walk the streets to kill others,” Bristol said.

“I don’t care,” he said. “I want my baby back safe and alive, and that’s all I can think about right now.”

Bristol understood his decision, but the blood-soaked blanket said he could already be too late.

The day moved on far too quickly, each moment without a lead weighing heavy on Bristol. Teagan had provided Osborne’s address, but the guy hadn’t been located yet, and they had a team watching his apartment. She’d interviewed nurses while Jared questioned guards, and the others on the team called women who’d recently lost their babies. They also interviewed the Pratts’ parents, not learning anything to help.

The distress of the situation and failure to locate Osborne ate at Bristol, and she needed a break. She was jonesing for some caffeine to help her stay awake, but the team had decimated the coffee pod supply. Maybe she could find a coffee shop open.

She headed toward the door and hoped she wouldn’t find any rogue reporters. Thankfully, Coglin had banished the press to the outside of the building so the task force wasn’t bombarded with questions every time they left the room, which for Piper was often as she needed frequent bathroom breaks.

Jared came up beside Bristol. “You look fried.”

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