Kyra said a silent prayer for Fiona’s safety as she half listened to Jake’s phone calls. He was calling out all the stops for his daughter.
By the time they reached the Becker residence in Westwood, Jake had spoken to Tess, too, trying to calm and reassure her. Kyra hadn’t been listening, but she couldn’t block out the frantic voice of Fiona’s mother blasting Jake’s ear. Parents blamed each other.
Kyra parked on the street in front of a lush green lawn that must’ve used a lot of water to reach that shade of emerald green in the dry weather they’d been having. A Lexus occupied one side of the driveway, right next to the Tesla.
Jake had the passenger door open before she stopped the car. He strode up to the front door, which swung wide when he hit the first step.
A woman in capris and flip-flops stepped out, her arm extended as if to drag Jake inside. “I’m Ellie Becker. We’re having an interesting conversation with Lyric right now.”
Kyra joined Jake and stuck out her hand. “I’m Kyra Chase, Jake’s friend.”
“Come in, both of you. My husband had to leave.”
She gestured toward a girl seated cross-legged on a white damask couch that wouldn’t survive two minutes under an onslaught from Spot.
The girl sniffled and looked up through a thick fringe of curly hair, her eye makeup creating black rivulets down her face. “I—I’m sorry, but she’s okay. She’s with Nico.”
Jake’s body tensed beside hers, and Kyra touched his fingers to ground him. He had a frightened teenager in front of him, not a suspect.
He worked his jaw for a few seconds and managed to form some words in a reasonable tone. “Who’s Nico, Lyric?”
“He’s Fiona’s boyfriend.”
Jake twitched, and Kyra tugged at his hand. “Let’s sit down and figure this out.”
When he sat down stiffly, his shoulder bumping Kyra’s, Jake asked, “How does Fiona have a boyfriend down here when she lives in Monterey?”
“She met him online.” Lyric’s dark brown eyes popped open, as if everyone had online boyfriends. “He’s super cute. He’s a surfer and lives in Malibu and he’s a junior at Crossroads in Santa Monica.”
Sounded too good to be true. Jake must’ve thought so, too, as the news hadn’t relaxed him one bit. His body was so tightly strung it was vibrating.
He barely moved his lips as he asked the next question. “Did you happen to meet this paragon of surfing when he picked up Fiona at The Grove? Were you even at The Grove?”
Nodding vigorously, Lyric said, “Yes, we were at The Grove, but I never got to meet Nico. Ocean, my brother, picked me up before Nico got Fiona.”
“You’ve seen pictures of Nico?” Kyra placed a hand on Jake’s forearm, which seemed made of marble...or granite.
“Yes, of course. Fiona wouldn’t just meet any random guy that she hadn’t seen before.” Lyric pushed her curls out of her face and squared her shoulders, as if talking to a couple of fools.
Jake took a deep breath, his chest expanding, giving him a bigger presence that dwarfed the dainty love seat.
Lyric flinched.
“Do you know where Fiona and Nico went after The Grove? Do you know what kind of car he drives? Do you know when and where he was going to drop her off? Where online did they meet? Dating site? Gaming? Social media? Message boards?”
That last suggestion gave Kyra a chill, and the rapid-fire questions only confused Lyric. She cast puppy-dog eyes at her mother, but Ellie crossed her arms.
“Answer him, Lyric. How was Fiona communicating with this boy? How many times have I told you not to chat with anyone online that you don’t know in person?”
Lyric’s mouth dropped open, her ruby-red lipstick smeared across her cheek. “How are you supposed to meet anyone?”
“Answer his questions.” Ellie aimed a finger at her daughter that promised hell on earth.
“I don’t know any of that other stuff. Wait, he said he had a VW van.”
Jake murmured, “Of course, he did. What else do you know?”
“He was supposed to drop her back off at The Grove, but I don’t know where they were going. And she met him through Instagram, where else?” She shrugged.
Ellie groaned from across the room.
Kyra asked, “Private messages?”
“Uh-huh.” Lyric’s pretty face was set in mulish lines. “Direct messaging. Everyone does it.”
“Everyone but you, as of now.” Ellie retreated to the vast kitchen where she banged around some pots and pans.
Jake’s phone buzzed and he answered right away. He paused for a few seconds and then said, “Got it. Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks, we’ll start there, pulling footage.” He listened. “I’ll let you know.”
He reported to the rest of them. “Fiona’s phone last pinged at The Grove, so no surprise there. It’s been off ever since. We can start looking at video as soon as Lyric tells us where Fiona was meeting this guy.”
“Oh... Oh, I know that.” Lyric wriggled in her seat. “He was supposed to pick her up in front of the movie theaters there, where Ocean got me, but when Ocean and I were driving away I saw her walking on Fairfax and I yelled out the window at her. She said Nico was picking her up at Uncommon Grounds, the coffee place around the corner from The Grove.”
Ellie slammed something down in the kitchen. “Are you telling me your brother knew about this scheme?”
“No, I told him it was Fiona’s dad picking her up.” Lyric started gnawing on a fingernail. “Sorry.”
“One more thing, Lyric.” Jake managed a smile. “What was Fiona wearing when you last saw her?”
“Oh, I know that, too.” Lyric sat up straight and flicked back her hair. “She was wearing a denim skirt with a frayed hem, distressed on one side, a gray T-shirt with red sleeves and the word honey on it and white Vans. So cute.”
“You were a big help, Lyric.” Jake stood up and towered over the girl on the couch. “But you should know that anybody you talk to online can be anyone, tell lies. I hope you’re right about Nico being a cute surfer boy, but he could just as well be a thirty-five-year-old predator and Fiona walked right into his trap.”
* * *
JAKE SLUMPED IN the passenger seat of Kyra’s car and dug his thumbs into his temples. “How’d I do in there? I didn’t want to scare Lyric or blame her or Ellie.”
“You did amazing under the circumstances.” Kyra brushed the back of her hand along his cheek, her touch cool and soothing against his flaming skin. He’d been alternating between ice-cold fear and hot rage during that entire interview. How could Fiona be so naive? She should’ve spent more time in his nitty-gritty world and less in the bubble of Monterey.
“I’m going to have Billy request the footage from Uncommon Grounds. Damn, is that place a magnet for weirdos or what? The first copycat worked and found his victims there, and now some scammer has snatched my daughter from the same place.”
“Don’t think that way. It’s not the same place, anyway. Jordy Cannon’s Uncommon Grounds was in West Hollywood. This is a new one at The Grove.”
“That makes me feel not one bit better, but thanks for trying. Do you think the Instagram account where she met this guy is the secret one?”
“The Finsta.”
“The what?”
“That’s what the kids call the second, secret Instagram account. It’s a combination of fake and insta. I did a little research the night Fiona showed up on your doorstep.”
“I feel so...old.” He pulled out his work phone and put in another call to Billy, who was almost as upset about Fiona’s disappearance as he was. He instructed him to request the footage for around two o’clock from Uncommon Grounds.
Then he called Tess, who answered on the first ring. She seemed encouraged by the news that Fiona was meeting a boy, and Jake didn’t have the heart to set her strai
ght. He wished he could believe Fiona was giggling and stealing kisses with a slightly older high school boy, but his gut and experience had him on a precipice of a black hole of terror.
Kyra tapped the steering wheel to get his attention. “I’m driving straight to Uncommon Grounds at The Grove, right?”
“Yeah, we should get there before Billy, but he’ll call ahead so they can be ready for us.” He smacked his fist into his other palm. “I should’ve called her on that secret account. I should’ve made her show me her private messages.”
“Before you go blaming yourself, I’m the one who told you to play dumb on that account. Who knows if you would’ve discovered anything that way? Seems as if she’s been keeping this secret for a while.” Kyra sucked in her bottom lip. “You know, it’s probably why she came down here, don’t you?”
“You mean to meet Nico instead of see me?” Jake clenched his jaw. “Yeah, I know.”
When Kyra drove up to the coffeehouse, Jake directed her to park in the small lot next to the building even though cars already filled every slot. “Go ahead and squeeze into that space on the end. I guarantee you will not have to pay any ticket.”
She parked and they strode into the coffeehouse, Jake two paces ahead of Kyra. He took a deep breath and slowed his gait. She’d put her life on hold to support him...and he needed her.
Getting his badge ready, Jake approached the counter. “I’m here to see the manager, Melissa Cho.”
“One second, please.” The young woman at the counter spun around and disappeared into a room off the kitchen. She returned with a woman only slightly older than herself, sporting purple streaks through her straight, black hair.
“I’m Mel Cho. You must be the detective from the LAPD. Can I see some ID?”
Jake flipped his wallet open to expose his badge, and Mel studied it through a pair of chunky-rimmed glasses. “Come around the side. I’ll let you into the office. Since your partner called, I’ve been queuing up the security cam footage from about one forty-five. Do you want me to run it for you?”
“That would be great, thanks.” He tipped his head toward Kyra. “My associate will be joining us.”
“It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we should all fit.” She swung open the bottom half of a Dutch door, and Jake waved Kyra through first.
She hadn’t been kidding about the size of the office, which boasted one built-in desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet. Jake pulled out the chairs in front of the computer, which had a picture of the front of the shop frozen on the screen. “You two sit down. Mel, you can drive, and I’ll hang over your shoulder, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine by me. I have two camera views up—one for the front of the store and one facing the counter.”
Jake said, “Let’s go with the one out front first. I doubt they were here for a coffee.”
Mel clicked the mouse on the frame, and the figures started moving across the screen. Several minutes had passed by when a girl’s bare legs came into view. She had white Vans on her feet.
Jake pointed to the image. “That’s her. Can you capture that frame?”
“Just let me know which ones you want, and I’ll save them and print them out for you.”
“Thanks, Mel. Keep going.”
Fiona walked a few more feet, and Jake got a look at the skirt and the red sleeves of her T-shirt from behind. “Save it. Just save every frame with her in it. It looks like she’s waiting. She’s not going inside.”
Kyra tapped her fingers on her knee. “I hope he doesn’t just pick her up at the curb. We might see the car, but unless it takes off at just the right angle, we won’t get a license plate.”
“I don’t think anyone can stop on Fairfax on a Sunday afternoon.” Mel flicked her fingers at the monitor. “She might walk around back to meet a ride.”
Fiona tripped to a stop and turned. Her arms came up and she crossed them over her chest. Her eyes widened and Jake’s heart lurched. Even from the grainy footage, he could see fear there, or at least uncertainty.
Kyra must’ve sensed the same thing, as she shifted in her seat and drew in a breath. “What does she see?”
Jake said grimly, “She probably sees a guy who looks nothing like the cute surfer, Nico.”
A larger figure came into the frame, a man with dark hair and a jacket. The hat pulled low on his forehead hid his face. He moved close to Fiona, and Jake clenched his fists.
“Is he touching her? Grabbing her?”
Kyra hunched forward. “I can’t see, but he’s very close to her.”
Mel whistled. “Is he forcing her to go with him? That’s what it looks like to me.”
“She’s going with him.” Jake’s jaw ached from clenching as he watched this strange man—too big and bulky to be a teen—lead his daughter away.
Mel froze the tape and captured the frame as the couple began to move out of the frame. “We’ll get this, and one more as they walk away.”
When they turned and Mel stopped the video, a roaring sound rushed through Jake’s head and he gripped the back of Mel’s chair so he wouldn’t fall over. “Zoom in. Zoom in on the back of the guy’s jacket.”
He didn’t need Kyra’s cry to confirm the horror before his eyes. The man escorting his daughter away from Uncommon Grounds had a motorcycle on the back of his jacket—just like Copycat Three.
Chapter Fourteen
Kyra covered her mouth with both hands. It couldn’t be. Why? How? What did Copycat Three want with Jake’s daughter?
Mel twisted her head around to look at Jake. “What’s wrong?”
Jake cleared his throat. “That jacket belongs to a very dangerous man. That girl is in big trouble.”
The steadiness of his voice amazed Kyra...and worried her a little. “Mel, print all those out. Are there any other cameras that point to your parking lot? Bank nearby? Convenience store?”
“Th-there are a few.” Mel clicked the keys on the keyboard, and the printer on the corner of the desk woke up and started spitting out pages.
Jake gathered the printouts and thanked Mel. He walked out of the shop without saying a word to Kyra, who was trying to keep up with him. When he hit the sidewalk, he staggered and placed a hand on the corner of the building. “He has her. Copycat Three has Fiona.”
She put her hand over his. “We’ll find her. We’ll get her back. You’re onto him, and he doesn’t even know it. He’s gone too far, Jake.”
“What does he want with her? Is he using her to get back at me? Does he want ransom or clear sailing out of here?” He pulled Kyra next to him and buried his face in her hair. “I’ll give him anything, Kyra. Then I’ll kill him.”
“Let’s get back to the station. Call Billy and tell him. Get the task force on it. You can’t do this alone, Jake. Maybe Copycat Three knows you have him in your sights, and this is his way to negotiate an escape plan.” She cupped his chin in her palm. “Fiona is not his type. We know that. She’s not going to satisfy his urge.”
A tremble rolled through Jake’s large frame. “It’ll satisfy his urge to gut me. He’s been planning this for a while. That’s what he meant in his note.”
When they got back to her car, Jake resumed his phone calls—the first to his partner, Billy.
One thought swam in her head. The Player, the person directing Mike—Copycat Three—wouldn’t like this latest development. Mike had gone rogue. The other two serial killers taking orders from The Player had ended their own lives rather than give up their mentor and his secrets. Mike would have to be reminded that The Player would never condone engaging with the police like this—it put him at risk.
When Jake ended one call and before he punched in the next, Kyra touched his arm. “How far did Brandon get with the IP addresses of The Player’s aliases on Websleuths?”
He blinked at her for a few seconds. “I’m sorry, Kyra. I never h
ad the chance to tell you that The Player has been using masked IP addresses located all over the world. There’s no tracing those back to someone’s computer sitting on a desk somewhere.”
The news socked her in the gut, but Jake had his own problems right now. “That’s bad news, but you’ll get him too now that Mike has outed himself in a spectacular way.”
“We’ll deal with The Player later. If I have an opportunity, and I’m hoping for one, I’ll kill Mike without a second thought to nabbing The Player. He just needs to give me one excuse.”
“I understand that. Do you think we can communicate with Mike through Fiona’s Instagram account? Brandon can probably get us in. It might give Mike pause when he realizes we know about that account.”
“That’s a good idea. In the meantime, Billy has officers talking to every employee at Candy Girls about Mike—what he drinks, how he pays, who he talks to, what he drives, if they’ve seen it. I just know it’s not a VW van.” He slammed his fists against her dashboard. “I can’t get over Fiona’s face when she saw Mike instead of her teenage dreamboat. She must’ve been scared. She must’ve realized she’d made a mistake.”
“Fiona is a resourceful girl. Although she showed incredibly poor judgment, she’s no dummy. She’s going to be fine.” Kyra gripped the steering wheel so Jake couldn’t see her trembling hands.
When they walked into the station, the task force war room was buzzing with activity. Billy had called in the troops, and they were here on a Sunday night to support their leader.
She touched Jake on the shoulder before letting him get sucked into the waiting masses. “I’m going to find Brandon.”
Jake held up his phone. “Don’t bother. I’ve got a call from an unknown number coming in now.”
He put the phone on speaker for the entire room to hear, and the voice proved Jake correct.
“Hey, J-Mac, it’s the Hollywood Strangler because that’s the name I prefer, and I’m calling the shots now. I have something you want.”
“Where’s my daughter and what do you want?”
The Bait Page 17