ONCE LOST

by Blake Pierce

  It seemed to be arranged like some kind of compact golf course, except with concrete patches here and there and basket-shaped objects on upright steel pipes.

  “What kind of park is this?” Riley asked as she and Jenn got out of the car.

  “Looks like a disc golf course,” Jenn said.

  “Disc golf?”

  “Yeah. I’ve heard of the game, but I’ve never actually seen a course. Instead of golf balls, you try to throw Frisbee-like discs into those baskets.”

  “And it’s called golf?” Riley asked.

  “You can see that it’s got all the usual golf course stuff—water hazards, roughs, and everything.”

  Riley felt an oddly discombobulated. The very idea of the game sounded silly to her—and silliness was a jarring feature at a homicide scene.

  Jenn said, “There they are.”

  Sinard’s SUV and the medical examiner’s van were both parked on a road next to a stand of trees. Several people were gathered there, including Sinard and Barry Teague, the medical examiner.

  Riley and Jenn broke into a trot and joined them.

  The men were gathered by a drainage ditch next to the trees. The girl’s body had been uncovered. Riley recognized her as Camryn Mays immediately. At a glance, she could also tell that the body hadn’t been here very long—probably a little less time than Katy’s had been buried in George Tully’s field. The stench of decomposition was just starting to set in.

  Riley felt her heart sink as she stared at the body. Three girls had been lost. If she had stayed in Angier, could she have saved this one?

  But she realized that the answer was no. Camryn Mays had been dead by the time they were notified that she was missing. The same was true of the others.

  He had murdered them before anyone had even raised an alarm.

  Jenn asked Sinard, “How was she found?”

  Sinard said, “A guy was out here a little while ago for an early morning jog. He noticed some loose dirt and leaves piled up kind of carelessly down there. I guess he probably wouldn’t have thought anything about it if it weren’t for the other murdered girls. It’s a good thing he got in touch with me. My boys uncovered the body.”

  Riley could see the dirt and leaves that had been pushed aside. Someone had simply dumped the body here and carelessly covered it with debris from among the trees. The killer had barely tried to bury the corpse at all.

  Barry Teague, the obese county ME, was crouched next to the body. Riley crouched down next to him.

  “What have you found so far?” she said.

  Teague pointed to bruises on the young woman’s thighs.

  “She was raped, that’s for sure,” he said. “Same as Katy Philbin. It was harder to tell about Holly Struthers, because her body was more decomposed, but my postmortem showed that she’d been raped as well.”

  Then she said, “I assume you’ve sent semen specimens off to have the DNA analyzed.”

  Teague looked up at her and squinted.

  “We didn’t find any semen in the other girls. Traces like that can get to be hard to find after a corpse has been lying around for a while. Oh, sometimes you can get lucky and find semen days or even months after death. Maybe we’ll do better with this one.”

  Riley got back to her feet.

  Sinard asked her, “What do you think is going on here?”

  Riley didn’t reply. She looked down at the body again. Like the other three corpses, Camryn’s had been carelessly disposed of. In fact, her body was almost certain to be discovered sooner or later.

  Riley found the whole thing puzzling.

  A killer who concealed a body usually did so precisely to keep anybody from finding out that a murder had been committed.

  Was this one conflicted about that? At some subconscious level, did he want to be caught?

  Sinard shook his head sadly.

  “I guess I’d better go notify Camryn’s parents,” he said.

  Riley’s heart went out to him. She briefly wondered whether she and Jenn should go with him.

  But they had to get back to the investigation. They had already interviewed the girl’s parents. They had seen her apartment and Jenn had been to her workplace. Like the others, no cell phone had been found with this body. Sinard’s techs would have to work on pulling any relevant electronic information together.

  Riley fought back a wave of futility. Where could they pick up a new lead?

  The deadly kidnappings were coming closer together now, and they knew that he killed soon after he took them.

  They had to stop this killer before another girl was lost.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  As Teague’s ME team loaded the girl’s body onto a gurney, Riley and Jenn headed back to their car. Riley’s thoughts churned as the reality of this new murder overwhelmed her.

  “What do we do now?” Jenn asked.

  Riley didn’t answer right away. What could they do now? she wondered. Somehow they had to get ahead of this killer.

  She had seldom felt so desperate for leads at this point in an investigation.

  Connections, she thought. We’ve got to find connections.

  They hadn’t yet found any common links among the three dead girls.

  Either they had something in common or the killer was just taking girls randomly. But Riley had tracked random killers before, and she had no sense of that kind of mind at work here. She had a strong feeling that the killer was someone the girls knew and trusted. Someone who had a seemingly legitimate reason to be in contact with them.

  So they had to have something in common.

  And somebody somewhere had to know what that connection might be.

  Thinking out loud, she said, “We know that Katy Philbin went to Wilson High, and we also know that Camryn Mays graduated from there a couple of years ago.”

  Riley looked at her watch.

  “The school day hasn’t started yet,” she said. “Let’s head on over to Wilson High.”

  “We’ve already talked to girls on the soccer team there,” Jenn said.

  Her voice sounded a bit doubtful.

  “Yeah, but we haven’t talked to everybody there,” Riley said.

  The truth was, Riley didn’t feel especially confident either.

  As Jenn drove them to the school, Riley mentally outlined their visit. They hadn’t yet met the principal at Wilson High. First they could talk to him, ask what he might remember about Camryn Mays. Then they could find out what teachers Katy and Camryn had in common. They could talk to them as well.

  Riley could think of plenty of questions to ask them. For example:

  Even though the two girls had been two years apart in school, did they have any friends in common? Did they belong to any of the same clubs? What about sports or other extracurricular activities?

  Riley tried to convince herself that they were about to make some progress.

  Instead, she couldn’t help but feel as though she and Jenn were grasping at straws.

  Holly Struthers had gone to a different high school from Katy and Camry, after all.

  What were the chances of finding a connection among all three girls at Wilson High?

  It didn’t seem likely. But Riley didn’t know where else to start.

  The school grounds were bustling and cheerful as they pulled into the parking lot. Parents were dropping students off at the curb, and kids were everywhere—some heading on inside, others milling around laughing and talking.

  When Riley and Jenn got out of the car and walked toward the school, they heard a voice call out.

  “Agent Paige! Agent Roston!”

  Riley turned and saw a man sitting at an outdoor table waving at them. She recognized his bearlike form right away. It was the school’s soccer coach, Judd Griggs. Sitting across from him was a woman with a wide, welcoming smile. A couple of teenaged girls were hovering around the table talking to them.

  Griggs waved at Riley and Jenn.

  “Come on over! Sit down!”
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br />   Riley and Jenn walked over to the table, and the teenagers went on their own way. As they sat down, Griggs gestured toward the woman sitting across from him.

  “Agent Paige, Agent Roston—I’d like you to meet my wife, Renee. Renee, these are the two FBI agents I told you about.”

  Renee Griggs was serving hot scrambled eggs and sausage out of a warming dish onto paper plates. Renee and her husband were sipping coffee that had been poured out of a steaming thermos.

  “Oh, Judd is so glad you’re here,” she said. “So am I. Would you like a bite to eat?”

  Then with a light chuckle, she added, “I fixed too much, as usual.”

  Riley hesitated. She was anxious to get inside and find the principal. But neither she nor Jenn had had coffee or breakfast. Maybe a little nutrition was exactly what she and Jenn needed before they tended to matters at hand.

  Besides, she could ask the coach some of the same questions she planned to ask others. She glanced at Jenn, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  “Thank you,” Riley said to Renee. “That would be lovely.”

  Renee chattered away as she dished out servings and poured coffee for Riley and Jenn.

  “Breakfast here has gotten to be kind of a ritual for Judd and me. He’s always so eager to get to school and see the kids, I couldn’t get him to sit down and eat breakfast at home.”

  Judd added with a laugh, “So she took to chasing me down with sausage and eggs.”

  Renee waved her finger at him in a mock-scolding manner.

  “Now Judd, that’s not true and you know it.”

  Before she could say more, another couple of girls came up to the table to say good morning and chat for a moment with Judd. Riley recognized them from the soccer team’s locker room. The girls kept glancing at Riley and Jenn a bit uneasily. Obviously they wondered why the agents had come back.

  As the girls kept talking with Judd, Renee leaned across the table toward Riley and Jenn.

  “Do you see what happens?” she said in a playful whisper. “The girls can’t stay away from him, and he spends all his time with them. I have to do whatever I can to squeeze in a minute edgewise with him. Otherwise, they’d get him all to themselves.”

  Riley was enjoying the woman’s cheerfully noisy prattle. Renee spoke in a slightly raspy but chronically happy voice that reminded Riley of other middle-aged Midwestern women she had met over the years. Renee appeared to be about her husband’s age—maybe a few years older than Riley. They both seemed to have put on weight over the years, but they had aged gracefully and were still attractive in their way.

  Renee’s eyes sparkled at Riley and Jenn as she kept right on talking.

  “I’m president of the local PTA, so I’m here at the school a lot, almost as much as Judd is. This is just a lovely way for us to start off our mornings—at least when the weather is nice. We never miss this little ongoing date of ours when we can possibly help it.”

  The girls who had been talking to Judd waved and hurried on their way.

  Now no students were nearby. Riley was trying to think how to tell them that another girl was dead when Judd asked, “So what brings you around here? Good news, I hope.”

  Riley took a long breath and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid not. Another girl has been killed. We found her body just this morning.”

  Judd’s mouth dropped open, and the coffee cup shook in his hand.

  “Oh, dear God. Not another girl on my team, I hope.”

  “No. She’s an older girl who graduated from here a couple of years ago. Her name was Camryn Mays. Did you happen to know her?”

  Judd knitted his brow.

  “The name is familiar. But no, I … I don’t think I knew her personally, at least not very well. But even so … it’s just such a terrible …”

  He choked a little, and his voice faded away with emotion.

  His wife patted his hand comfortingly.

  She said quietly to Riley and Jenn, “I can’t tell you how hard Katy’s death has been on poor Judd. He liked her so much, and she had such promise. And then there was the other girl, the one who went to Lincoln, and now this new one today.”

  She looked down and shook her head sadly.

  “Oh, please, please,” she said to Riley and Jenn. “Make this stop. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t think Judd can take much more of this. I’m not sure I can either.”

  Riley felt a deep pang of sympathy for both of them, especially Judd. She hated to bring anybody such terrible news. It was a part of her job that she could never get used to.

  A silence fell as Renee put her arms around Judd, who seemed to be fighting back his tears.

  So unfair, Riley thought.

  Since she and Jenn had first come to Angier, she’d met very few people whom she’d liked. Too many of them had seemed guilty of something—the piano teacher, the principal at Lincoln High, the predatory drug dealer, even the mayor.

  Of all the people she’d met here, Judd and Renee Griggs seemed the most decent, the most caring and compassionate.

  Which of course made them all the more vulnerable to grief and pain—which was what struck Riley as unfair.

  At the same time, Riley felt a pang of envy for them.

  They’d obviously had such a beautiful relationship for many years, and everything about them seemed to be so …

  It took a moment for Riley think of the right word.

  Perfect.

  The thought of that word hit her in a strange, discordant way.

  She wasn’t sure at first just why.

  Then she remembered what Bill had told her over the phone.

  “Just remember—whatever seems too perfect usually is.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  Riley sat there staring at Judd and Renee Griggs in a state of silent shock.

  So perfect, she kept thinking.

  Renee kept her arms around her husband’s shoulders, whispering comforting words in his ear while he struggled to keep his composure.

  It just didn’t seem possible that Judd’s grief and horror weren’t perfectly sincere.

  It also didn’t seem possible that as good a woman as Renee could possibly devote her life to anyone other than a fine and decent man.

  And yet …

  Too perfect, she thought to herself.

  Riley heard Jenn say, “We’re sorry to trouble you, but we’d like to ask you some questions …”

  Yes, questions, Riley thought.

  Riley’s head was exploding with questions, but surely not the ones Jenn intended to ask. For example—where was Judd Griggs last Wednesday night, when Katy Philbin had been raped and killed?

  But she kept her mouth shut as Jenn kept talking, gently trying to coax Judd into remembering whatever he could about Camry Mays.

  It was a struggle to keep her alarm from showing. She noticed that she was trembling a little. Had her face grown pale? What would happen if Judd noticed her inner turmoil?

  She felt she had to get away from here—right now.

  She pretended that she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, then took it out and looked at it.

  “Oh, my,” she said. “Something has come up. Agent Roston, we’ve got to go right now.”

  Jenn sat staring at Riley in disbelief as she got up from the table.

  Riley said to Judd and Renee, “I’m so sorry to rush off after you offered us such a lovely breakfast. But this is terribly important. And urgent. Believe me, my partner and I are sorry that we had to bring you such terrible news.”

  Judd looked up at her and nodded.

  “I understand,” he said. “Go, do what you have to do.”

  His wife nodded as well.

  “God bless you for trying to make things right,” she said. “We’ll pray that you succeed.”

  Riley strode away from the table toward the car, and Jenn trotted along beside her.

  “Riley—what the hell is going on?” Jenn whispered.

  Riley
shushed her.

  They got into the car, and Riley started to drive.

  Jenn seemed quite agitated now.

  “I’m not stupid, Riley. I know you didn’t get any kind of a message. You just made that up. You just wanted to get away. Why?”

  Riley didn’t reply.

  Jenn gasped.

  “Oh, my God,” she said. “Surely you don’t think …”

  Again, Riley said nothing.

  Jenn said, “Riley, do you have a single rational reason for suspecting …?”

  “No,” Riley admitted. “I don’t.”

  “Then what are you thinking? Have you lost your mind?”

  Riley shuddered a little.

  She half-wondered whether she had lost her mind.

  “Where are we going now?” Jenn asked.

  It was a good question, and Riley didn’t know the answer.

  She knew that she couldn’t pursue her awful hunch without finding some kind of evidence. Should they head over to the police station, make use of the considerable high-tech equipment that was available there?

  She’d have to explain her reasons to Chief Sinard.

  So what would she tell him?

  That she suspected a beloved girls’ soccer coach of rape and murder, for no rational reason at all?

  That would surely be a disaster.

  Riley said to Jenn, “Let’s stop someplace for coffee.”

  They drove downtown and found a corner café. Riley parked the car by the curb, and the two of them went inside and sat down in a booth together.

  While Jenn ordered coffee for both of them, Riley set her laptop on the table. She ran a search for the coach’s name …

  “Judd Griggs.”

  She got a list of results, and quickly discovered that his full name was Judd Colton Griggs. Many of the listings were news articles, all of them full of glowing praise for the coach. He’d led his team to plenty of championships, but those seemed to be the least of his accomplishments as far as the town of Angier was concerned. He’d received honors and awards for all kinds of services to the community, especially young people.

  He’d been more than a teacher or a coach.

  He’d been a mentor and a guide.

  Just last year, a banquet had been held in his honor. Former students had come to personally thank Judd Griggs for how he had inspired and motivated them to achieve remarkable success in life.