curiosity, her sympathy, and something ⦠deeper. âIâve lost her, Joe.â She nestled her head in his chest. âItâs all crazy. Why would anyone be so paranoid that heâd kill someone just to get his hands on that reconstruction? She was only a nine-year-old little girl.â She had a sudden aching memory of Jenny in that white eyelet long dress smiling at her across the room. âI hate this. I canât stand feeling this helpless.â She stepped away from him. âThat call I got had to be from him to lure me away from the cottage. Heâd gotten his hands on the reconstruction, but he had to have the complete package.â
âThatâs my take on it.â
âWhy? Why does Jenny have to remain lost?â
âYouâll have to ask him.â
âHim? I donât even know if itâs a male or female. I just instinctively call him he.â
âThe biggest percentage of little girls are killed by males. Sexual predators go afterââ
âI know that. I donât want to hear it again. I donât want percentages. I want Jennyâs killer to be tied up and sent to the electric chair.â She whirled away and headed for the porch. She felt stifled in this room. âCan you get forensics out here right away to test for trace and prints?â
He nodded. âNo problem.â He started down the steps. âAnd Iâll take another look around the cottage grounds just to make sure that he didnât leave any evidence. Stay here where I can see you.â
âIâm not going anywhere.â She pulled out her phone. âBut I have to call Nalchek to tell him he wonât be getting that reconstruction ⦠and why.â
He nodded and disappeared around the side of the cottage.
She could hear him moving through the brush, and she knew that he was doing that so that sheâd feel safer. Joe was usually panther-silent courtesy of his SEAL training. He neednât have bothered. She wasnât frightened, she was only angry.
She punched in Nalchekâs number. âYou wonât be getting the reconstruction,â she said jerkily when he picked up. âYou canât be sorrier than I am.â She briefly went over the events of the afternoon. âYou were right, the killer came looking for that skull.â
âAre you all right? Youâre not hurt?â
âIâm not hurt. But as I told you, that FedEx driver is dead.â She was looking out at the lake. âAnd I have no idea where that computer and reconstruction are going to end up. They may be at the bottom of the lake right now.â
Nalchek was cursing beneath his breath. âThereâs nothing that you can do?â
âNot unless you can find that skull. I can go back and re-create the reconstruction, but I canât do it out of air. No one in the media will touch it without proof that I used that skull to do it. And what are the chances of that killerâs not destroying it now that he has it?â
âZero. Unless heâs a trophy collector.â
âThen he wouldnât have buried the skull in the beginning. No, he wanted her lost forever.â Another wave of anger poured through her. âAnd I wonât let it happen. Heâs not going to win, Nalchek.â
âYou just told me you couldnât do anything.â
âI told you I couldnât do the reconstruction again. But Iâm not going to let him get away with this. Iâll make sure he wonât stay free and gloating over killing that little girl.â Her voice was shaking. âThere has to be a way, but Iâm not thinking straight right now. Iâll call you after I go over everything and see what my options are.â
âVery sparse, Iâd say.â He paused, then said harshly, âI canât deny Iâm disappointed as hell. But whether you can do anything more or not, thank you for what
Christina Leigh Pritchard