Page 121 of Everything She Feared

“Thanks, Wendy,” Ryan says.

“We have an interesting text message from Michelle, in New York. She writes, ‘Ryan, a relative of mine, who was knowledgeable about Montana Women’s Prison, passed away a few years ago. Among their belongings I found some records related to Magda Vryker that were never made public that you may find helpful. How do I get in touch?’”

“Wow. Thanks, Michelle,” Ryan says. “You can reach me through Sonya and Shane. I’d like to see those records, thank you.”

“Very interesting,” Sonya says. “We’ll reach out to Michelle as well.”

“Last caller before we wrap up,” Shane says.

“Ian from Christchurch, New Zealand. God bless you, Ryan, we must never forget the victims.”

“Thank you, Ian,” Ryan says.

“Any parting words before we sign off, Ryan?” Sonya asks.

“Only to reiterate that I believe Magda knows where the bodies are. I think she’ll reoffend because she feeds on the power. And to your audience, I say, she could be living next door to you, which is something to consider. And thank you for having me on, guys.”

“A huge thanks to Ryan Gardner and to you, our audience,” Shane says.

The show’s opening music plays again against images of deserted gritty city streets at night before the screen fades to black.

54

Seattle, Washington

Before returning totheir office, Pierce and Benton stopped at forensics to see Kelly Jensen, a senior analyst.

Jensen looked at the laptop and tablet Pierce had set on her worktable beside her and said, “Just these two?”

“Yes,” Pierce said. “We completed the request, and the chain forms.”

“We wiped the surfaces clean before going out,” Benton said. “And we tagged Pierce’s laptop for Gilbert Croft and my tablet for Marilyn Hamilton. Anything you get beyond our prints for them would be helpful.”

“I’ll see what I can lift, but it’s going to take time. We’re preparing court cases, and we’re short-staffed and backlogged.”

“Isn’t that always the way?” Benton said. “Any luck recovering prints from the rock?”

“That’s going to take time, too. It’s next to impossible to get prints from a stone,” Jensen said. “But we’re consulting with the FBI, police in Israel and a university in Scotland on new techniques. You never know.”

“Thank you, Kelly,” Pierce said. “Keep us posted.”

“Wait,” Jensen said. “Do you have everything you need from these devices? Because I may have to keep them for a bit.”

“Everything’s backed up on our desktops and phones,” Pierce said.

Two hours later, Pierce and Benton were at the table in the conference room, ready for the next case-status meeting.

Acker, Grotowski and Tilden were there, too, studying their phones and checking notes in advance of others joining.

While waiting and reviewing her notes, Pierce thought back to what Gilbert Croft had said while they were looking at photos of his family—how teenage girls wereboy crazy, could be rebellious, and a handful. You have to be stern with teens.

Anna Shaw was seventeen and had just broken up with her boyfriend. But Croft wouldn’t have known that before the tragedy. His comment couldn’t be related. Or could it?

Dismissing it, Pierce’s thoughts shifted to Marilyn Hamilton. Something about her, and her apartment, niggled at Pierce.

Something felt off, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Notifications chimed and Oscar Neale, a commander from the North Precinct, then Heidi Wong from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, logged into the conference. Their faces appeared on the large screen at one end of the room.

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