Page 15 of Little Child Gone

A smile played at the corner of his mouth. “She said yes, and so did he.”

“Congratulations,” Nikki said.

Courtney punched his arm. “You’re a lucky guy. I can’t believe I’m saying that about Caitlin.”

Nikki snickered. Caitlin had been her mortal enemy when she’d returned to Stillwater five years ago. Now she called her a friend, which still sounded odd.

Garcia finally arrived, coffee in hand. “I’m sorry.” He dropped into the chair behind his desk. “Gil was supposed to take the dog to the groomer’s, but he felt lousy this morning, so I did it.”

Nikki tried to hide her smile. Garcia and his partner had a Scottish terrier named Daisy that ruled the house. “How did that go?”

“She hates it,” Garcia said. “Complained all the way there. Then she walks into the groomer’s like a queen. They all love her, and she never gets grumpy. She saves that for home.”

“Sounds like a little kid.” Lacey wanted a dog, but their schedules were too hectic. It wouldn’t be fair to the dog, no matter the breed. Courtney had suggested Rory’s parents get one and keep at their house since Lacey spent so much time there, but Nikki didn’t want to ask her in-laws. They adored Lacey and made Nikki’s life easier, and she couldn’t ask them to do any more.

“She is,” Garcia assured her. “And Gil babies her so much, she knows she can get away with stuff when I’m not around.” Garcia’s partner had a regular nine to five job, so the dog had bonded to him. “Wilson, you awake?”

Liam jerked. “Sorry, boss. Flight was delayed and we didn’t get home until after midnight.”

“I understand,” Garcia said. “I know you’ve got paperwork to catch up on, so I won’t assign you any new cases until you’re at least partially caught up.” He opened the battered-leather portfolio he carried everywhere. “Nikki, were you able to get the trucker profile to the agents in Ohio?”

Nikki no longer worked at the BAU, the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, but law enforcement often called her for help because of her success rate. She attributed that to stubbornness and using the profile as a guide and nothing more. A profiler had to be willing to pivot whenever new information came in, and not all of them did. The Cleveland office had asked for a profile on a long-haul trucker, whom they suspected was responsible for at least four killings along Interstate 80. “I sent it a few days ago. I haven’t heard anything more from the agents.”

“Great. Has anyone from Stillwater PD asked for help with Eli Robertson yet?” Garcia asked.

“Nope,” Nikki replied. “Chief Ryan is on family leave. Her mother is ill. Assistant Chief Palmer told me he’d work with the sheriff before dealing with the ‘feds.’ Apparently, he’s had a couple of bad experiences with the FBI, so he is cutting us out.”

“I don’t care about his experience,” Garcia fumed. “This is about a missing child, and you’d think Stillwater PD would welcome all the help they could get. What does Miller think?”

The sheriff had been on leave to support his wife after her hysterectomy when Eli disappeared and had only been back at work for a couple of weeks. “Despite saying they’d be happy to speak to Sheriff Miller, they haven’t actually called him.” Garcia shook his head. “But Lieutenant Chen is under Assistant Chief Palmer. I’m going to call him and see what I can find out.” Nikki had worked with Chen on previous cases and knew him to be a good cop with an open mind. “Which brings me to what Courtney and I found yesterday.”

“Wake up and listen.” Courtney nudged Liam’s arm.

“We were called to the old Hendrickson property yesterday by its new owner, Matt Kline. He discovered two bodies in an apartment connected to the main house. One body in a closet, another stuffed into a trunk.” The two men sat in silence while Nikki continued. “We already called Blanchard to the scene. She’s worked the site and has the remains.”

Liam sat up straighter, finally awake. “Caitlin knows that place. Matt talked to her about buying it before he did it. Matt called you personally?”

Nikki glanced at her boss. He hadn’t said anything, but the vein in his forehead that always signaled irritation had begun to pulse. “Sir, I intended to call you, but Courtney, Blanchard and I agreed these had to be old remains. I called Miller and we came up with a plan for today. By the time that was done, I just decided to tell you everything in person since these are cold cases.”

Garcia’s shoulders inched down from his chin. “Fine. Blanchard called the forensic anthropologist? How long before she has time to look?”

Nikki nodded. “She’s actually coming in today, but it’s going to take a day or two for the autopsies, and unless there’s something obvious in the skulls or other bones, we aren’t going to know cause of death. I’m hoping to establish the time frame. It seems like this shouldn’t be related to Eli or Scott’s cases, but I can’t rule it out yet. I’ve got contact information for Matt’s attorney as well as both Hendrickson siblings, Patrick and Stephanie, and Stephanie’s son Spencer.”

Liam looked at her. “Stephanie? What’s her last name?”

“Bancroft.” Nikki’s stomach dropped as soon as she said the name out loud. “Oh my God. I didn’t even put it together until now, but Stephanie is a defense attorney. It has to be the same person.”

Stephanie Bancroft was one of the most ruthless defense attorneys Nikki had ever encountered. She’d represented the man who’d murdered her parents when he’d finally been brought to justice a few years ago and done everything she could to make Nikki and her family sound like liars and all-around bad people. Her tactics had failed, thank God, but Nikki knew that had been luck. Stephanie’s record spoke for itself.

“I can talk to her, if you’d like.” Garcia knew the history, as did Liam and Courtney.

“No, I can handle it.” Nikki appreciated the offer, but she wasn’t the same raw live wire of emotions she’d been during that trial several years ago. Nikki definitely wanted to talk to Patrick and Spencer before dealing with Stephanie, or she’d be a step ahead of her the entire conversation.

“You said that you and Miller have a plan for today?” Garcia asked.

“I’m meeting him and a K9 deputy at ten a.m. at Matt’s place. I know Matt had a shift at the fire station last night, so I left him a message. He’s supposed to bring Spencer with him. We’re going to search the entire property, and I hope to interview Spencer. I’m stopping by the neighbors’ as well, assuming this is all fine with you.”

“As long as you don’t prioritize this over urgent cases,” Garcia said. Nikki could tell he was still frustrated that they weren’t working on Eli’s case. “I know you’ve got some breathing room right now.” He looked at Courtney. “What about the forensic evidence?”

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