Page 21 of Alex Cross Must Die

Poe knew that in an abduction, minutes were precious. In most cases, kidnappings were solved quickly or not at all. But he could seethat Marple was trying to give Addilyn a little time. Time to think. Time to remember. Details were everything, and Marple was a master at fishing them out.

“It’s just you and me now, Addilyn,” Poe heard her saying. “Tell me everything.”

CHAPTER 21

POE LED THEway down the hallway toward the bedrooms. The girl’s room was first on the right. The clean lines contrasted with typical teen-girl clutter—clothes, cosmetics, schoolbooks.

Poe reached into his pocket and pulled out two pairs of latex gloves. He tossed one pair to Holmes. Holmes stepped into the crowded closet and began riffling through pockets and purses while Poe opened dresser drawers, feeling around carefully beneath the pricey tops and underthings for drugs, weapons, hidden flash drives. But there was nothing.

He fished deftly through a teak box on the dresser top. It was filled with rings and beaded bracelets. Poe lifted the felt liner at the bottom and pulled out a set of ID cards with Zozi’s photo. He studied the craftsmanship—the thickness of the laminate, the quality of the holographic seals. The cards were expertly faked. He couldn’t have done better himself.

“Find any electronics?” he called out to Holmes.

“Not so far.”

A teenager’s room without a laptop or a phone?Impossible,thought Poe. “Whoever took her, took her stuff too,” he said.

Above a small makeup table, the wall was covered with photo printouts. Poe leaned in close for a look. Zozi Turner was petite and pretty, with shoulder-length blond hair. The pictures showed her with an assortment of attractive friends, especially good-looking boys—preppy, athletic types with perfect smiles.

In one photo, a heavily muscled boy dangled his arm over Zozi’s shoulder, his fingers almost touching her right breast. A hint of menace, Poe wondered, or just casual adolescent horniness? From the photo backgrounds, Poe could pick out Mexico, Spain, and the Caribbean.What a life this girl leads,thought Poe. Orled. He had a tendency to think the worst, then work his way back.

The dog was in a lot of the pictures too, usually with Zozi’s arms around him.

Addilyn was right—the mastiff was huge, with thick neck folds and a forbidding face. Not the kind of dog to give up without a fight. Compared to the massive black hound, the girl looked almost like a child.

Holmes emerged from Zozi’s bathroom with a little plastic loop dangling from his index finger. It was the size of a small bracelet. “Found this in the wastebasket,” he said. “Some kind of friendship trinket?” He slid the loop onto Poe’s gloved palm.

Poe was rarely stumped on a search, but this object had him mystified. “Possible,” he said. He slid the loop into a small plastic bag and put it into his pocket.

Together, Poe and Holmes walked down the hall to the master bedroom. It was spacious and elegant, with wraparound windows. The massive bed was covered in a plush comforter. Off to each side, matching dressing rooms led to matching bathrooms. A floating shelf along one wall held elegant bric-a-brac and a grouping of framed family photos.

While Holmes prowled the closets, Poe pulled open the drawer tothe night table nearest the door. Inside, he found a man’s manicure kit and a pair of reading glasses.

He walked to the other side of the bed and pulled open the wife’s drawer. His eyes widened. Inside was a cornucopia of sex toys. Clearly, cosmetic surgery was not the only area in which Addilyn was putting in extra effort.

Poe and Holmes walked back into the living room, just as Marple stood up from the sofa. “All set?” she asked. From her tone, Poe could tell that she’d gotten all she could from Addilyn.

“We have everything we need for now,” said Poe. He walked up to Addilyn, who was still perched on the edge of the sofa cushion. “Try to stay calm,” he said. “If it’s really a kidnapping, you’ll get a call or a text with a ransom demand or instructions. But I think it’s likely that your family will be back soon under their own power. There’s probably a perfectly innocent explanation. Either way, call us.”

Addilyn nodded absently. “There’s nothing else you can do?”

“We’ll start digging,” said Poe. “But the most important thing you can do is be patient and wait. Call us the minute you hear anything.”

Poe handed her a business card as the elevator arrived. The investigators stepped on. The last thing Poe registered as the door closed was the look on Addilyn’s face: pained, lonely, scared.

The trio maintained strict silence until they were out on the street. Poe turned to his partners. “What do you think?”

“They weren’t taken from home,” said Holmes. “No sign of a struggle. And even if the kidnappers bypassed the alarm, the dog would have put up a fuss.”

“I’d hate to run into that hound on a dark night,” said Poe.

“There’s something else going on,” said Marple. “Something beyond the kidnapping. Something she’s holding back. I haven’t put my finger on it yet.”

Holmes nudged Poe in the shoulder. “Show Margaret the thing.”

“The what?”

“That thing we found.”

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