A clear presentation of facts calmed Macy. Faith understood that Macy had comprehended every bit of what she had just explained to her. She would want her case solved.

“She’s going to fatigue very quickly,” Dr. Bramley warned. “It won’t take much to tire her out.”

Macy shot an annoyed glance at the doctor.

Faith couldn’t help but smile. “Can I talk to her? If she knows what’s going on, she’ll be more likely to rest.”

“Keep your visit short,” he said.

“I understand. Thank you.”

When the doctor left them alone, Macy looked closely at Faith. She moved her lips and then drawing in a breath said in a hoarse voice, “P-P-Paige.”

“We haven’t found her yet. But the Rangers are digging through all of Garnet’s records hoping to. We think she was at the country ranch house you found, but Garnet moved her.”

Macy closed her eyes, and Faith thought for a moment it was all too much.

“It’s a lot to take in.”

Macy opened her eyes and shook her head.

“Do you remember who hit you?” Faith asked.

“Yes. I don’t know him.”

“Garnet was murdered,” Faith said. “He was tortured like Jack. Someone was looking for something.”

Macy shook her head. “Jack. A package.”

“Where did he send it?” she asked.

“Arlington.” Her voice was barely a whisper now, and no doubt force of will had enabled her to speak this much. “Mailbox.”

“Do you know what was in it?”

“Guessing evidence against Garnet.”

Satisfaction mingled with excitement. “We’ll send someone from the FBI to open it,” Faith said.

Macy nodded.

“Whoever killed Garnet knew what he did thirty years ago. Do you have any idea who it could be?”

“No.” Her voice was barely audible now, and as Dr. Bramley had stated, she had fatigued quickly.

Faith patted her on the hand. “It’s okay. You’ve told us how to find this package, and from there we can figure out the rest.”

Macy eyes closed.

“Just rest. I’ll be back very soon, okay?”

Macy nodded.

Faith sat for a moment, grateful that all the pieces of this nightmare were finally falling into place.

As she was leaving the hospital and crossing the parking lot, her phone rang. It was Tina, the shelter director.

“Dr. McIntyre, is Kat with you?”

“No, she’s not. I haven’t seen her since I dropped her off at school yesterday.”

“I know you’re generous with that kid, and I also know she has a tendency to press boundaries. I’ve talked to all her friends at the shelter, and none of them have seen or spoken to her since last night. Please tell me she’s with you.”

Faith glanced at her cell phone and quickly scrolled through the messages. None were from Kat. “Is her computer at the shelter?”

“No. But she’s never more than a foot away from it.”

“If I don’t locate her in the next few minutes, I’ll call the police.”

“I know she’s been stressed about her baby. But you’re the one person she’s really gravitated to in the last month.”

“Let me look into this. I’ll call you back.” She opened the Find My iPhone app and selected the computer she’d given Kat. At a glance she could see that it was online and twenty minutes away. Rising, she grabbed her purse. “Kat, what are you up to?”

I held you in my arms today. You have golden-blond hair and the cutest little frown. You gave me a start when I heard you’d been born early. No one expected you to be this soon. But here you are.

Not a boy, but a perfect little baby girl.

Love, Daddy

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Friday, June 29, 3:15 p.m.

As Faith followed the map on her phone and got closer to the Travis County residential neighborhood, her sense of unease grew. Why would Kat come to an area like this? The girl talked often about how she hated the burbs and that she’d never end up in a one-story ranch. Faith was trying to help the girl make something of her life, but the bones found at the deserted ranch left her with the fear that the girl was going to end up dead if she stayed her course.

As she spotted the entrance to the neighborhood, she dialed Hayden’s number. The call went to voicemail and she almost hung up, believing she was overreacting. But when his recorded voice told the caller to leave a message, she heard herself saying, “Hayden, this is Faith. Kat is missing, and I’ve activated the Find My iPhone app. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but something is not adding up. I’m going to continue to the location, but, like I said, it doesn’t feel right.”

When Hayden saw Faith’s message hit his voicemail, he hit redial, knowing she wasn’t the type to call and chat.

Faith answered with a breathless and agitated, “Hayden. Thank God.”

The agitation in her voice set his nerves on edge. “Explain to me what happened again.”

“I received a call from the shelter. Kat is missing. I’m at the house where her laptop is supposed to be.”

“When was the last time she was seen?”

“Yesterday. I dropped her off at school. I spoke with her at lunch but not since.”

He heard the tension in her voice. “She always has her laptop with her, correct?”

“Yes. That’s why I came here. But none of this looks right. I know Garnet is dead, but after seeing the bones of the three girls, I’m afraid Kat is going to make more bad decisions and end up like them.” The barely whispered words sounded as if she were afraid she’d break down.

“We’ll find her. Text me the location of the laptop, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Hayden, I think Garnet was working with Peter Slater.” Her voice was a raspy whisper filled with dread.

“Why do you say that?”

She was silent for a moment, and he knew she was focusing on fact patterns and logic. “I visited the sister of victim number three, Diane Saunders. She had a picture of Kathy waitressing at Peter’s birthday party at the club.”

It was another link to the girls and the law firm. “We don’t have the results of PJ’s DNA yet. Once it’s cross-checked against yours, we will know for certain.”

She expelled a deep breath, as if she was struggling to deal with an unraveling world. “Peter used to say how much he loved children. He said if he could have he’d have had a house full of them. Did he love children so much he’d have someone like Garnet make them for him?”

“Why would he stop after making three babies? He could have kept on for a long time.”

“You’re right. There could be more. But Margaret said once she was proud she’d given her husband a son. ‘A man needs a son,’ she used to say. Maybe he was waiting for his son, and once he had his boy, he didn’t feel the need to keep going.” Pain and sorrow laced around the words.

“Maybe. Or there are more dead girls and stolen babies to be found.”

God, she prayed that wasn’t true, but she had no guarantees there weren’t more. “Margaret would have done anything for Peter. She loved him so much. If she couldn’t give him a son, she’d have accepted his son from another woman to make him happy. She’d have also been content to let him keep doing whatever he wanted to girls like Josie.” Another sigh leaked over the line. “If the last girl gave Peter his son, then there’d be no more need to keep taking girls. He had PJ.”

“Once I receive your text, you need to stand down. I don’t know who is tied up in this, and until I do, you have to let me handle this. This can go sideways very quickly, Faith. You got it?”

“I’ve known PJ all my life. We practically grew up together. He’s the one who gave me Josie Jones’s name.”

Jesus, she was stubborn. “Faith, stand down. Agreed?”

“Yes.”

“I mean it, Faith.”

“I’m texting the location. Move your ass.”

He hung up and found Brogan jostling a jar of pills in his hands. “There’s another pregnant girl who’s gone missing. It’s Kat, the girl from the youth shelter. She’s been gone since yesterday. Faith thinks she’s found her location.”

“If Kat vanished yesterday afternoon, then Garnet couldn’t have taken her.”

“Kat might have run away. The kid has a history of running. Or the guy who killed Garnet, Sullivan, and Crow might be behind it.”

“It’s been thirty years since those women on the ranch died. Assuming Garnet doesn’t have another burial ground, he sat dormant for thirty years. Why pick this up again?”

“Peter Slater died three months ago. Maybe whatever deal he had ended, and he didn’t like it.”

“So he decides to kill the players in the original crimes?”

“Possible. Or maybe he saw it as a chance to blackmail money out of the firm or family. What I do know is that we’ve got a clock on us, Brogan. Paige doesn’t have a lot of time, and Faith is not going to wait long for us.”

Paige rocked back and forth, wrapping her hands around her belly as it cramped and twisted. The pains were getting closer together, and she was finding it hard not to panic. When this latest round finally released its grip on her, she crawled over and looked at the girl.

Kat’s body was so still that for a moment she thought she was dead. She poked Kat in the arm, but she didn’t move. A hard pinch to the back of her hand brought a slight moan.

She wasn’t dead. Which Paige supposed was good in the short term, but when she woke up and realized where she was now being held, she just might wish she were dead.

Another contraction grabbed Paige, stealing her breath. She was forced to retreat to her fetal position as she waited out this latest wave. When it passed, she kicked the girl in frustration. “You’ve got to wake up! He’s going to kill us if we don’t figure this out!”