Page 24 of All He Takes
"Good," he said, turning away. "Let's start again, from the top." He turned his camera on her. "This time, there will be no mistakes." A smile curled at his lips. "Or else this will be the last photoshoot you ever do."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nicky crossed her arms as she leaned back in the chair in the briefing room at the Stoneycreek police station, footage open on her laptop in front of her. Ken sat beside her, also sinking in his chair, because what they were looking at was definitive proof that Jimmy Drake did not leave those photos at the antique store.
It was grainy security footage of the auto body shop where he worked, and sure enough, it captured Jimmy at the exact time the other man had been seen dropping the photos. To be absolutely sure, Nicky skimmed through the footage again--but she knew that this was more than enough to clear him.
"Well, we have him on drug charges, anyway," Ken said, sighing.
Nicky clenched her teeth and closed her laptop. "Damn it."
All that time wasted and for nothing. It was getting late now, descending into evening, and the two FBI agents still had no leads. Nicky rubbed her eyes with her palms, taking comfort in the momentary darkness.
The pictures of those girls' slaughtered bodies in the photographs flashed in front of her eyes. The sheer violence of it all... it made Nicky sick. She could only imagine the type of deranged maniac who would do such a thing. Murder women, take pictures of them, and leave them somewhere public for any innocent person to find.
It was... it was heinous.
Ken cleared his throat, standing up. "I'm gonna grab some coffee. You want anything?"
Nicky shook her head, still staring at the table. "I'm good, thanks."
She heard her partner walk away. As soon as Ken was gone, she stood up and began to pace the room. Her mind was racing, trying to think of something, anything, they could do to catch this guy.
The fact that they couldn't find any connection between any of the victims was troubling. It made predicting who he might take next even more difficult. They were all pretty, brown-haired girls, but there had to be something more than that. Another issue was, they had no idea where he would even strike next. If Paris was taken from Miami, and Francine from here, in Northern Florida, then this guy clearly had a huge reach. He wasn't afraid to travel.
And he did have the car. It had no license plate, but it was a somewhat unique make. Maybe Nicky's only hope now was to try to track that car--or a car like it. But it discouraged her, because they'd already tried that route with the car, and it had led them to a dead end.
But she had to try. Pacing across the room, Nicky called Grace. As usual, the tech picked up within a ring.
"Hey, Nicky, how's it going?"
"Not so good, Grace," Nicky said. "Jimmy Drake's not our guy."
"Ah, shit! Sorry to hear that--he seemed like the right one for sure."
"It's a different car. But we know for sure that the person who dropped off the photos did drive a Hana Kuma. We also know he's potentially driven all across Florida. I was hoping you could help me track this car down."
"Without a license plate?"
Nicky swallowed. "That's right. We're looking for a Hana Kuma with no license plate."
"That might not be easy to get on security footage," Grace said. It was the first time Nicky had heard her hesitate. Normally, Grace was right on top of things, but Nicky knew this could be a wild goose chase.
"I know it's a lot to ask, Grace," Nicky said. "If you can, recover traffic footage from across the state and see what you can find. Try Miami, around the time Paris went missing."
"Nicky, this is a really big request."
"I know," Nicky said, running her fingers up and down her hair. "But if we get this guy, this will all be worth it."
Grace was silent for a moment. "Okay, Nicky," she said. "I'll do what I can. Just give me some time.”
"Thanks, Grace."
Nicky hung up, feeling a weight lifted off of her shoulders. If there was even a chance that Grace could find this car, then she was going to take it. And she would find this guy, whoever he was.
Nicky just needed something to go her way.
But she knew firsthand how impossible it could be to track a vehicle with no identification. She knew because when she and her sister had been kidnapped all those years ago, all Nicky had for the officers was a description of the van they'd been in. No license plate number.
