Page 14 of Lost Lake
El nodded.
Reece took a seat at the table. “Could indicate she was removed from her car seat and led away before the violence escalated.”
“And she was alive and calm,” Abby said. “Alive at the dock.”
“Which could also mean Kenna was complying,” Reece said. “Possibly with someone she recognized. Maybe Lucy recognized them, too.”
“A boyfriend?” Jude asked.
Gabe shook his head. “If there was one, she didn’t tell me about him. We need to search her house and talk to her neighbors.”
El nodded. “I’m headed to the office from here, and I’ll apply for a search warrant.”
Gabe gave her a pointed look.
“You don’t have to say it. I get it. You want to come with me for the search. That might be possible. I’ll let you know.”
He gritted his teeth. “When will divers get there?”
“They promised to arrive as close to sunrise as possible. K-9s are on their way and the ground search will resume then, too.”
“We’ll be there,” Gabe stated, his tone nonnegotiable. “We’ll revisit our search area in daylight.”
Finally, something she could say yes to. He could do that, but there was actually nothing else she could let him do.
Jude cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention. “One thing I haven’t heard anybody say is that abducting Lucy is our most probable scenario, but wasn’t likely the goal. She wasn’t a target, but a complication.”
“How could you know that?” El asked.
“This murder was planned. Controlled. A person who thinks ahead, not someone who snapped.”
“Controlled!” Gabe looked at him as if doubting the former FBI agent’s take on events. “How can you say that? He strangled her. That feels more like he lost it.”
“I can see where you’re coming from, but look at the scene. Remote, but not random. No signs of prolonged struggle. He got close. Close enough to strangle her. That takes time. Control. Commitment.”
“Or rage,” El said, though she knew full well that strangulation was often motivated by control too.
Jude shook his head. “Rage is most often messy. This isn’t. He chooses a quiet method. No weapon to trace. Then hedisposes of her in water knowing no one comes out here this time of year, and she’d eventually sink to the bottom. Degrade. Delay your timeline.”
No one spoke, as if they didn’t buy his theory. El didn’t blame them, but they should trust Jude’s profiling experience not to lead them wrong.
Jude rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. “The guy I described isn’t someone who snapped. That’s a man solving a problem, to which he thought Lucy was a witness he didn’t count on. He couldn’t panic and kill her, nor could he leave her behind. So he abducted her, and he’s holding her somewhere while he decides what to do with her.”
“If you’re right,” El said, “then the smarter he is and more capable, the quicker he’ll figure it out, and our clock is ticking even faster.”
Gabe sucked in a sharp breath. “Let’s hope Jude is wrong and the endgame isn’t to kill Lucy too.”
Jude challenged Gabe with a sharp look. “What other explanation can you come up with besides she wandered off or drowned with her mother, neither of which we have evidence to back up at this point?”
“None,” Gabe said, the word barely escaping his lips.
“You’ll also be looking for someone who’s fit,” Jude continued. “Someone who had the strength to move Kenna’s body from the ravine to the lake.”
“Could suggest a boyfriend,” Nolan said.
“I don’t think so,” Jude replied. “This really isn’t how the average boyfriend would behave. If they were upset with their girlfriend, the strangulation might occur after an argument. In the heat of the moment, but not planned. I’m not saying don’t look for boyfriends, because you could always find one who fits this profile. I’m just saying it’s not as likely as someone else.”
“What motive would someone else have?” Gabe asked.
