Page 38 of The Sleeping Girls

“If they can enhance the photo enough to see a landmark or location from where the message was sent, I might be able to identify the area,” Cord said.

“Will keep you posted on what the cyber team turns up,” Derrick said matter-of-factly.

“Why send a picture instead of just letting us find the body?” Shondra asked.

Ellie wondered the same thing. “Good question. Perhaps he wants the Tillers to suffer for some reason. Or he could be planning to dispose of her in a way we could never find her.”

“Or he’s sadistic and playing a game with us. He wants us to know she’s dead and that he’s smart enough not to leave any clues, even her body behind,” Derrick suggested.

“The way she was posed is significant,” Ellie said. “Why white sheets? Why the white teddy bear?”

“Did the bear belong to her?” Shondra asked.

Ellie shook her head. “No. Which means the perp must have bought it.”

“That means it’s part of his MO and that the murder was premediated,” Derrick pointed out. “A profiler might suggest that posing her as if she’s sleeping means he wants her to rest in peace. Or that he cares about her.”

Ellie followed his train of thought. “And the white sheets and white bear could represent innocence or purity.”

“That would fit with the virgin pact,” Derrick agreed.

Ellie nodded. “Which means that if our killer saw it, it may have had something to do with the reason he chose Kelsey.”

“I traced the posts back to Bianca Copenhagen,” Derrick said.

“You want me to call them and tell them to come back in?” Deputy Landrum asked.

Ellie quirked her head in thought. “No. There’s no way Bianca could have kidnapped Kelsey, moved her body and orchestrated this. But Landrum, analyze the photo the Tillers received.”

“Copy that,” he murmured.

“How did it go with the counselor and teachers?” Ellie asked Shondra.

“Counselor said Kelsey had not requested a meeting or confided that she was upset about anything. Her teachers gave glowing reports about her, both academically and personally. Her computer science and technology teacher, Mr. Jones, confirmed that he saw Bianca Copenhagen bullying her. And that Bianca was a whizz with technology.”

“Sheriff, anything on the search for abandoned properties?”

“Nothing yet,” Bryce said. “But we’re back at it this morning.”

Cord stood. “I’ll organize search parties for the more remote areas.”

Ellie rapped her knuckles on the table. “Let’s get to it.”

Captain Hale stepped into the doorway. “Detective Reeves, Angelica Gomez is here.”

“Tell her I’ll be right there.” Time to face the music. Unfortunately, she had nothing good to tell the public.

FORTY

Heath Landrum couldn’t erase the image of the girl in the sleeping pose from his mind as he returned to his desk. Ellie was right about one thing—this murder was not carried out by a teenage girl.

It had taken planning and muscle.

The way Kelsey had been posed taunted him.

Digger was out of prison at the moment. Could he be demented or brazen enough to commit a similar crime so soon after his release?

Antsy, he phoned Caitlin O’Connor with the Innocence Project. His pulse hammered while he waited for her to answer.

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