Page 12 of Once Hidden
“I wish I could talk to Timothy Lancaster,” she replied instead, changing the subject.“He had a similar methodology.The math problems he left, the coordinates...there might be parallels.”
She felt Ann Marie's eyes on her.Just last summer, the young agent had also worked on that case of Timothy Lancaster and his mother's mathematical revenge killings.And Ann Marie knew as well as anyone how personal the case had been for Riley, since one of the victims had been Riley’s high school math teacher.
“But Meredith doesn't want you to meet with him, right?”Ann Marie said quietly.
Riley glanced over, surprised.She hadn't mentioned her private conversation with Meredith.After the briefing, he'd asked Ann Marie to step out, then firmly instructed Riley to stay away from Lancaster.
“How did you know that?”Riley asked.
Ann Marie shrugged.“It's what I would do if I were him.You have history with Lancaster.He might try to manipulate you, turn this into a game.Plus, you tend to get...invested.”
Riley raised an eyebrow.“Invested?”
“Intensely focused,” Ann Marie clarified.“Like you are now, with these codes.It's what makes you good at what you do, but I'm guessing Chief Meredith worries about you going down—”
“Rabbit holes,” Riley finished for her.“His exact words.”
She slowed the car as they approached a traffic light, the first they'd encountered in miles.The small downtown area of Talomaska Crossing spread before them—a hardware store, a diner, a post office, all wearing that slightly faded look of small-town America holding on against the tide of time and economic pressures.
“He's right, I suppose,” Riley admitted.“Lancaster would probably love nothing more than to have me chasing his breadcrumbs again.And I don’t guess it’s likely that he has anything to do with this case.But something about these codes...”She shook her head.“They’re deliberate.Like they're not just meant to taunt us—they're meant to tell us something specific.”
“Maybe,” Ann Marie said, “but let's see what we find at the crime scene first.No sense jumping to conclusions before we have all the facts.”
Riley agreed, but frustration still gnawed at her.Every minute mattered in abduction cases.Every passing hour decreased the likelihood of finding victims alive.And somewhere in those meaningless strings of letters and numbers might be the key to saving them—if they weren't already beyond saving.
As they turned onto Main Street, Riley pushed the thought away.Focus on what you can control,she reminded herself.One step at a time.
The Talomaska Crossing police station was a squat, red-brick building that looked more like an old schoolhouse than a law enforcement headquarters.Riley parked in a spot marked for visitors, her eyes automatically scanning the small lot for details—the cruisers with their layer of dust suggesting recent rural patrols, the bulletin board by the entrance, the security camera angled just so above the main doors.
“Small town, small department,” Ann Marie observed as they stepped out into the humid afternoon air.“Four patrol cars, looks like.”
“Which means they'll be stretched thin with a case like this.”
Inside, the station's front desk was manned by a middle-aged officer whose nameplate read “Phillips.”He directed them down a short hallway to where Virginia State Police Captain Travis Hodge and Talomaska Crossing’s Police Chief Linda Rawley were waiting.The corridor walls were lined with faded photos of past police chiefs and community events—the visual history of law enforcement in Talomaska Crossing.
Captain Hodge rose to greet them when they entered the conference room.He was tall and solidly built, with the look of someone who spent considerable time outdoors.His handshake was firm but not overbearing, and Riley instantly registered the calm competence in his eyes.
“Agent Paige, Agent Esmer,” he said.“Thanks for making the drive out.This is Chief Rawley.”
Linda Rawley was smaller than Riley had expected, with short gray hair and sharp eyes that missed nothing.She wore her uniform with the ease of someone who'd spent decades in it.
“Appreciate the FBI's interest,” Rawley said, gesturing for them to take seats at a table that was spread with maps and photos.“We don't get many abductions out this way.Thefts, domestics, occasional drug issues, sure.But nothing like this.”
“And now you have two apparent abductions with strong similarities,” Riley observed as the two agents settled into standard-issue metal chairs.
“That's right,” Hodge replied as he and the police chief also took seats at the table.“Two delivery drivers, two abandoned vehicles.First victim went missing the night before last, name of Cable Morris.Worked for FleetRush Logistics out of Bundydale.I got involved when the State Police got word of the second abduction right here in Talomaska Crossing.”
Rawley picked up the narrative.“That’s Amanda Lindeen, National Parcel Express.She vanished yesterday evening.”
“In both cases, the vans were found empty,” Hodge added.“Both times, the only thing left behind was that letter code inside an envelope.”
“Any witnesses to Amanda’s abduction?”Riley asked.
Rawley shook her head.“Nobody's come forward.Last confirmed sighting was a customer who received delivery of a package from Amanda around 6:30 yesterday evening.It was her last scheduled stop.I’ve interviewed that customer and nothing seemed odd to her.”
“Exactly where was that van found?”Ann Marie asked.
Rawley pointed to a topographical map.“Amanda Lindeen's delivery van was found here, about six miles outside town on Creekside Road.It's a rural delivery route—houses spaced quarter to half-mile apart, lots of tree cover.”She traced a winding road.“The vehicle was spotted at approximately 2:15 this morning by a local heading home from a late shift at the hospital in Ashford.”
