“And well he should.”
Not the answer Clay wanted to hear, but it was the right one. “Fine. Tell him. But only after he agrees to provide the list.”
Clay shoved his free hand into his hair. They were being stymied by law enforcement at every turn, and he was getting tired of doing the right thing and sharing his leads with them. Sure, it hadn’t been so long ago when he was on the other side of the fence, and he should want to help Trent, but he wanted to find Hibbard and make him pay more than anything.
Blake let out a long breath. “Trent’s on his way over with your list, and he’ll take over the beach house again.”
“At least convince him to let Sierra continue the forensics. She’s the best. If he doubts it, remind him that she found this lead and his team missed it.”
“Will do.” Blake ended the call.
Clay shoved his phone into his pocket.
“Well?” Toni asked.
“Trent will bring us a list of missing girls for as far back as their computerized records go, but he’s going to take over the house again.”
Toni frowned. “Then we need to get searching fast.”
Clay looked at his brothers. “You heard her. We have about ten minutes to tear this place apart.”
Sitting in the back seat of Clay’s SUV, Toni was itching to get going to Ziegler’s, so she was glad that the moment Blake slid into the passenger seat, Clay drove off. Even if Clay insisted on stopping to check in with Kelsey on the way. Erik had headed back to the family beach house to keep working on the photos and try to match them to the list Trent provided. Aiden and Brendan were staying with Sierra. Trent forbid them from going inside, but Clay insisted she have family members nearby in case she needed support.
Toni loved seeing the strong connections in the Byrd family even as hers had crumbled around her. The only solid family connections she’d had was with her parents, another thing in her life being called into question. So it wasn’t surprising she craved any kind of human connection. Even another hug from Clay.
She had to watch her emotions. She could be confusing her feelings for him for thankfulness. Plus, it wasn’t unusual for law enforcement officers to grow close on an investigation, but once the case was closed, they went their separate ways. More often than not, the bond was short-lived.
If she gave in to her feelings for Clay, would they split up after the investigation ended? She’d had a thing for him for over a year, so that could speak to something more long-term. Or not. She just didn’t know this any more than she knew who she was.
Blake leaned over the seat. “You should know, there wasn’t anyone on the list with the initials RSL.”
Toni nodded, but her heart was heavy. She’d foolishly hoped the last initial could have stood for Long, even if it made no sense. Her sister would be in her early forties, far too old to be trafficked. Assuming she was still alive.
Clay glanced at Blake. “Do you think Ziegler has any info about trafficking in the area?”
“Not likely. He was retired before we had any issues in the county. And even then, it was mostly enforced labor, not sex trafficking.”
“When did that change?”
“Three years or so before I retired. Was one of the reasons I called it quits. When something so ugly makes it to small-town America, you know things have changed. Wasn’t hard to give the job up to be with Emory.” Blake’s dreamy smile spoke to his love for his wife.
A bolt of jealousy stabbed Toni. Surprising? Not really. She didn’t want to go through life alone. She just didn’t know if she was the marrying kind. With her mom dying when she was ten and her grandparents never in her life, she didn’t have a good frame of reference for what made a strong marriage. She remembered her parents arguing frequently. Now she had to wonder if Lisa was the reason.
Toni had seen similar tragedies tear marriages apart. Often one spouse blamed the other. But who do you blame when a child disappears from their grandparents’ house? Clearly her dad believed she’d been taken and had been doing everything he could to find her. But did Toni’s mom think Lisa had drowned? Since Toni’s father killed her granduncle, she had to think he’d believed Andrew was involved. That was the only thing that made sense.
Clay glanced at Blake. “Tell us what you know about Rader’s wife.”
Blake took a long breath. “Her name’s Ursula. She’s a Russian immigrant. Rader once farmed his land for Christmas trees, and Ursula had married a Hispanic guy who traveled as a migrant worker. She traveled with him, and they came to work tree farms in the area in October to harvest trees for shipping out of state.”
Blake shifted in his seat. “The husband was knifed in a bar fight and died. She was terrified of being on her own, and Rader took a liking to her. Asked her to stay on, and he married her within a month. She was a real looker, and there were rumors of her messing around behind Rader’s back. But then they had Jason, and she settled down for a while. When the kid got older, she started up with other men again.”
“You think she ran off with one of these men?” Clay asked.
Blake shrugged. “Since she was never reported missing, an investigation wasn’t opened, but I know Ziegler made casual queries. From what others told him, she liked to go bar hopping in other towns and pick up random men. Many of the men were married, so they didn’t volunteer a lot of information.”
“What about twine?” Toni asked. “Anything unusual around that?”
“You can find twine on most farms, but like I said, they didn’t investigate so I doubt they looked for it. And of course, they had no idea of what Rader was into.”
They fell silent for a moment and Toni looked at Blake. “Any chance we can get ahold of the file for Lisa’s abduction?”
He glanced back at her. “It’s possible Ziegler made copies of his unsolved cases. I thought about doing the same thing. Figured I might have some free time to work them. But then I decided if I had any free time, it would be spent with Emory. No more living for the job only. Leads to a very lonely life.”
At the finality in his tone, she settled back. He was not so subtly telling them both to consider how they were letting work consume their lives. She got that, but she not only had her father’s death to investigate, but her missing sister and a long list of girls counting on her. Now wasn’t the time to back off. It was the time to do more. Much more.
Clay swung the vehicle onto Rader’s gravel drive and killed the engine.
She reached for her handle, but Clay had already gotten out and was opening her door. “You’ve got me, Drake, and Blake here, but keep your head on a swivel, okay?”
“Sure.” She walked beside him toward the backyard.
Blake fell into formation on her other side as if he were part of their team. A law enforcement officer might retire, but the cautious outlook remained. Always vigilant. Always carrying. Always protective.
They stepped through the tall grass and weeds toward Drake, who stood at the corner of the house. He’d already spotted them and nodded an acknowledgment.
“What’s happening?” Clay moved past his brother and cupped a hand over his eyes against the sun to survey the property stretching out ahead of them.
“Looks like Kelsey’s gotten six hits,” Drake said.
Toni stared at him. “Six? You’re kidding, right?”
“No. She’s been flying the drone since we got here and pounded in six markers.”
Toni scanned the area, counting the markers, all but one grouped in a far corner of the property. The sticks made her think of crosses in a cemetery. Was one of these markers resting over Lisa? Her sister? Killed at a young age and buried here like trash. Thrown away with five other girls. Or maybe with Rader’s wife.
“Wonder how it works.” Toni watched Kelsey pilot the drone over a marker-free area, trying to focus on anything but the possibilities of who was buried there.
“I asked Kelsey, and she was more than happy to tell me.” Drake chuckled. “She said the thi
ng uses infrared imaging to detect bodies both above and below ground. She said even if a body has been moved, the technology can find where a corpse was once buried and removed for up to two years afterward.”
Clay spun. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, apparently the drone doubles her chance of finding a body.” Drake changed his focus to Kelsey. “Then she got all technical, and I don’t remember the details, but you can ask her.”
“I will.” Clay frowned and stood waiting.
Kelsey turned and marched toward them, and Toni didn’t like the grim set to her expression.
“Six bodies?” Clay asked when she reached them.
“You know I can’t say.” She set her drone in a container and picked up a metal water bottle to chug the liquid.
“How about telling us exactly how the drone works,” Toni said. “Drake couldn’t remember the details beyond the infrared.”
“His eyes did seem to glaze over while I was talking.” She glanced at him and chuckled.
“Hey, yours would too if I started discussing my favorite subject.”
“Which is?” She set down her water.
“Weapons and ballistics.”
“Ah, yes. You’re right. I would zone out.” She laughed but quickly sobered and faced Clay. “About the drone technology. Decaying bodies release carbon and nitrogen into the soil. The soil then reflects less light. When a person is first buried, they release a flood of chemicals that kill plants around them. As the chemicals disperse into the soil around the body, it changes and becomes a fertilizer that reflects a ton of light. The drone’s near infrared imaging can detect those light reflections.”
“And just like that you know a body’s buried where the light reflects,” Toni stated.
“I suspect there’s a body.” She put her hand on a yellow-and-black machine that looked much like a lawn mower with a video screen mounted on the handle. “But in areas where it’s feasible, I use ground penetrating radar to confirm.”
“Why don’t you start with that?” Clay asked.
“Quicker to use the drone, as it can go places this machine can’t.”
“And after you confirm?” Toni asked.
“I notify law enforcement, and with their permission, begin digging. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” She pushed her machine across the dusty soil to the first flag.
“So without saying anything, she told us she suspects she has six bodies here,” Toni said, her last meal churning in her stomach at the thought.
“Other than Rader’s wife, who do you think it is?” Blake asked.
“Some of the girls he trafficked,” Toni said. “Maybe their johns got too rough. Or they could even have gotten sick. Not like he could have taken them to see a doctor. He’d have to get rid of the bodies. Burying them on private property reduces the odds of them being found.”
Clay worked the muscle in his jaw. “Could also tell us why Rader didn’t move when he had that cash sitting around.”
Drake pointed at the house. “Or even remodel the place. A worker might stumble on the first grave, which is pretty close to the house.”
“If it is a grave,” Blake said. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“And won’t until Kelsey calls Trent,” Toni said.
“If she found bodies and calls Trent,” Drake added.
Clay looked at his brother. “We’re heading out to talk to Sheriff Ziegler. I want you on the horn to me the minute Trent shows up here.”
“Not sure it’ll do you any good,” Drake said.
“Sure it will. If he comes here when he already has so much on his plate, it tells me there’s at least one body.”
“Yeah.” Drake raised his eyebrows. “But it doesn’t tell you who and if there are more.”
15
Clay and Toni followed Blake up the dirt path to a worn red door in a single-story house. The place had once been white but had grayed. Tall pines towered over the house, and shrubs and ferns filled in the space below.
The door was opened by a frail man around five-ten with slicked back silvery-blond hair. He wore ratty jeans and a red flannel shirt and had a gun on his hip.
“Hey, old man.” Blake’s fond tone told of his affection for the retired sheriff. “You doing okay?”
“I’m still above ground.” He looked past Blake at Clay then Toni. “Your wife know you’re keeping company with such a fine looking woman?”
Toni laughed and held out her hand. “I’m Agent Toni Long with the FBI.”
“Good looking and a Fed.” His gaze filled with respect as he shook her hand.
He shifted his focus to Clay. “And you’re a traitor like Blake. Turning your back on law enforcement.”
Clay had no idea what to say, so he offered his hand. “Clay Byrd.”
For a fragile-looking guy, Ziegler had a strong grip. “I was just joking.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure. You still have the caught-you-red-handed sheriff expression down pat.” Clay chuckled.
Ziegler laughed, and it was deep and hearty. He looked at Blake. “Now tell me what you need, boy.”
Blake shook his head, and Clay had to believe it was because Ziegler called him boy. “Like I said on the phone, we want to talk to you about Lisa Long.”
He shot a look at Toni. “Any relation?”
“Apparently, my sister, but I just found out about her yesterday.”
Zeigler’s bushy eyebrows drew together into a large gray caterpillar. “Guess we’re even then. I never heard about you.”
Blake held out a bag. “Your apple fritters.”
Zeigler snatched it up and stepped back. “Coffee’s on. Help yourself on the way past.”
He scurried through a neat but small kitchen, grabbing a plate as he moved, and Blake went straight for the coffee pot. He took down three cups and filled them. “He gets a little cranky when you refuse his coffee. Lorraine taught him how to make it, so it’s usually pretty good, but you can just hold it if you don’t want it.”
Cups filled, Blake led them down a short hall to a small living room with very little furniture.
Ziegler had dropped into a big leather recliner and had already placed the fritters on the plate. “Go ahead. Have a seat on the couch. Paid enough for it, so it should get some use. And help yourself to the fritters, but leave me one.”
Clay waited for Toni to sit and perched on the arm next to her.
Blake leaned against the wall. “Mind telling us about when Lisa went missing?”
“Bad day, that was.” Ziegler frowned then took a long slurp of his coffee. “Just got promoted to detective, and the call comes in right as I hit the office. Little Lisa was gone. Vanished, her—” He looked at Toni. “—your grandparents said they last saw her when she went to bed around nine. She was staying with them for the week, and this was day three. She flew from Virginia to Portland with your granduncle, Andrew Martin, and then your grandparents picked them up at the airport.”
“Did Andrew always live in Virginia?” Clay asked.
“Nope. Lived right here, but when your parents moved to Virginia, he said he needed a fresh start. They let him stay with them while he got his feet under him in a new city. I got the feeling he was running from something, but I have no idea what as it never involved us.”
“So you didn’t know he was arrested in Virginia for having sex with a ten-year-old,” Clay stated bluntly, earning a sharp look from Blake. “Got off on a technicality.”
Ziegler snapped his chair forward and sloshed his coffee. “’Course I didn’t know that, or he woulda been my top suspect for Lisa’s disappearance. This changes everything. Gonna give Trent a call and have him get Martin back here for an interview.”
“He’s deceased,” Blake said. “Killed in 1990 in a shootout with Toni’s dad.”
Ziegler looked at Toni. “Then let’s get your dad on the phone. He can tell us why the heck he killed the guy.”
“My dad died on an op a year ago,” Toni said.
Zeigler rubbed his forehead and blinked a few times. “He woulda been too old to still be an agent, so what was he doing on an op?”
“It was my op, not his. He had no business being there, and I have no idea why he was.” She explained about Hibbard.
He set down his cup. “Your mother, then. We can call her.”
“Died when I was ten.”
Ziegler rested his head back on his chair and closed his eyes as if too tired to go on.
“You okay, old man?” Blake asked.
“Just thinking about everything you sprung on me.” He lifted his head and pinned his gaze to Toni. “You think your dad knew something about Martin? Knew he took Lisa and got his revenge?”
She shrugged. “My parents never told me about Lisa, so if Dad did know anything, he couldn’t very well tell me.”
“So say Martin was into sex with children,” Ziegler said. “Then you’ve got this Hibbard guy who’s trafficking all ages of girls. Maybe he has something to do with Lisa too.”
“It’s a possibility, but he would’ve been pretty young back then,” Clay said. “But let’s go back to Martin when Lisa disappeared. You didn’t consider him a suspect at all?”
Ziegler’s light blue eyes narrowed. “Sure, in the way you always consider male family members when something like this happens. But I didn’t have any evidence pointing to him or a reason to believe it was him. I can tell a faker a mile away. Just ask Blake here.”
“He really can,” Blake said. “I never got away with anything.”
Ziegler gave a gruff snort. “This guy wasn’t faking. He was genuinely upset. Said he never had kids of his own and considered her his granddaughter.”
Blake’s turn to snort. “Doubtful with what we now know about him.”
“If we’d only known it back then. Gotta figure your grandparents knew about Martin’s proclivities. I found him to be sincere, but there seemed to be something off about them. Like they weren’t telling me everything. Still, I could tell they wanted Lisa back, and I didn’t think they were hiding anything that would help find her. But now…” He shook his head. “Now I wonder if I should’ve pressed harder.”
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