The Last Victim

Kaminsky nodded. “I’m on it.”

As she turned back to her computer, Tony stood aside for Charlie to precede him out the door. The buzz of activity in Central Command was so loud that she had to wonder if the War Room was soundproofed, because until now she hadn’t been aware of any of it. Phones rang. Volunteers ma

“I hope you’re having better luck than we are,” he said to Tony, who shrugged noncommittally. Charlie could feel Taylor’s eyes following them out the door.

The interviews took place in a plush condominium farther down the beach, where four of the girls had been staying with their mothers on what had been intended to be a two-week-long getaway before school started. The fifth girl, Ha

“I feel so bad,” Ha

“It’s not your fault, Ha

“So besides the two boys whose names you already gave us, did anyone else pay any of you particular attention?” Tony asked. According to what the girls had already told them, the boys he was referring to had met the girls at the Sanderling, danced with them, gotten the phone numbers of Laurie Cole and Grace Rafferty, a doe-eyed, pigtailed brunette who was sitting across the table from Ha

“It was dark and everybody was dancing with everybody,” Monica James said. The only one of the girls with short hair and no tan, she was a redhead with delicate bones. “Guys would just come up to us and start dancing. Bayley”—her voice caught a little on the name—“Bayley was out there in the middle of it just like the rest of us. But I can’t remember anyone she danced with in particular.”

“What about that waiter?” Jen Merrick asked. She was petite, with inky black curls and blue eyes. “Remember, the really cute one? When we were leaving, Bayley forgot her purse. He came ru

All the girls nodded.

“His name was Andrew,” Kristen Henry volunteered. Probably the least attractive of the girls, Kristen was tall, with a sturdy frame, nut-brown hair that hung in a long braid over one shoulder and slightly coarse features. When the other girls looked at her, she shrugged. “Hey, so I remember. Like Jen said, he was really cute.”

Charlie could tell from Tony’s expression that he was making a mental note of the name.

“Has any male you don’t know well attempted to talk to you about Bayley since her disappearance?” Charlie asked. As she had told Tony on the way over, the killer would have tried to insert himself into the investigation in any way he could. Reaching out to Bayley’s friends in an attempt to vicariously experience their grief and horror was absolutely something he would have done.

“We’ve talked to you.” Laurie’s nod indicated Tony. “And the FBI agent who came with you the last time. And the police. And a couple of reporters tried to talk to Kristen and Jen when they went to the grocery store with their moms the other day.”

“Nobody else?” Charlie asked.

They all shook their heads. “Except for Jen and me going to the store that one time, we haven’t been outside,” Kristen said. “You know, because that guy’s still out there.”

Several of the girls visibly shuddered. Charlie knew exactly how they felt.

“Do you think Bayley’s still alive?” Ha

“I think so,” Tony answered, while Charlie felt her heart constrict. If she let herself dwell to any extent on Bayley, she started feeling physically sick.

After a few more questions, Tony ended the interview. He and Charlie then talked to the mothers, who knew no more than their daughters. The mothers took the opportunity to pepper them with questions, which Charlie left Tony to answer. He responded with a patience and empathy she truly admired. At the same time he made it clear that he couldn’t actually discuss an ongoing investigation and subtly steered her toward the door.

The man has tact. Chalk up another plus.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that the perpetrator has tried to make contact with these girls or their families.” Charlie glanced over at Tony as they rode the elevator down toward the lot out front, where the SUV was parked. “If there’s some way to keep tabs on the men they come into contact with …”

Her voice trailed off as Tony shook his head. “Neither us nor the local police force have the manpower to stay with them twenty-four seven.” As the elevator stopped and they emerged into the spacious, tile-floored lobby, he looked up and around, then frowned thoughtfully. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check the security cameras, but I don’t expect to get much out of it. Speaking for myself, if I were him and wanted to make contact with any of those families, I wouldn’t do it in a place where I was so obviously being recorded.”

Following the direction his gaze had taken, Charlie saw the security cameras mounted high in every corner. As their purpose was obviously to deter crime, they were impossible to miss.

“Good point,” she responded.

“It’s suppertime,” he said. “And I’m starving. I’d ask you out to di

Charlie smiled at him. She liked the idea that he wanted to take her to di