Page 24 of Once Hidden
Ann Marie commented, “This explains why he was so nervous about us searching the garage.”
“And maybe why he was following Amanda’s delivery route,” Riley agreed, picking up a tablet still in its factory-sealed box.“Could be he wasn’t stalking Amanda specifically—he was tracking any deliveries in the area, waiting for opportunities to steal packages after they’d been dropped off.”
She noted the organized chaos of Marcus’s operation.One corner held what appeared to be tools for breaking into vehicles—slim jims, lock picks, electronic devices she suspected were used to clone key fobs.Another section contained neatly labeled bins: “Electronics,” “Tools,” “Clothing,” “Jewelry.”Marcus might have been living in squalor, but his criminal enterprise showed signs of methodical organization.
“He’s been busy,” Ann Marie observed, opening a drawer filled with watches and rings—likely packages stolen from front porches before their intended recipients returned home.
Riley agreed, but something still didn’t sit right.“This is a different kind of criminal behavior than what we’re investigating.Package thieves and burglars rarely escalate to anything like a carefully-planned kidnapping.The psychological profiles are completely different.”
“So, you don’t think he’s our unsub?”
“Marcus doesn’t fit the profile.He’s impulsive, reactive—he lashed out when cornered.Our kidnapper is methodical, patient.Leaves coded messages.Plans extensively.”She shook her head.“Marcus can’t even plan his own alibi.And look at his living conditions.”
They made their way back outside and to their vehicle.Marcus was already gone, transported to the local police station in the back of Rawley’s SUV.The neighborhood had returned to its afternoon quiet, as if nothing had happened—no neighbors had even come out to investigate the commotion.In small towns like this, Riley knew, people often practiced selective blindness about their neighbors’ troubles.
“He’s not completely off our list, though,” she said, unlocking the car.“No one is, until we find Amanda and Cable.”
Riley opened her door but paused as her phone buzzed in her pocket.She checked the screen—Brent Meredith’s name flashed up at her.“It’s Meredith,” she told Ann Marie, answering the call and putting it on speakerphone.“Paige here.”
“Agent Paige,” Meredith’s deep voice came through the line, tense with urgency.“Where are you?”
“We’ve apprehended a potential suspect in Talomaska Crossing.But I’ve got my doubts about him.He’s being arrested for theft, not kidnapping.”
“Well, I’ve got news on those codes left with the victims,” Meredith said.“Our cryptology team is still stumped.”
Riley leaned against her car, the metal warm against her back.“So, we’ve got nothing?”
“Not exactly.We reached out to Timothy Lancaster.”
“Did he say whether he recognizes the code structure?”Riley asked.
“He wouldn’t say anything specific about that,” Meredith replied.“Just that he ‘finds the problem intriguing.’But he refused to discuss it with our tech guy.His exact words were, ‘Tell Agent Paige that if she wants my help, she’ll need to speak to me directly—one-on-one.’”
Riley fell silent as Meredith’s words settled in her mind.Timothy Lancaster—the man who had murdered her former math teacher, the killer she had hunted and caught a year ago—wanted to speak with her.Even separated by prison walls and communicating through technology, the thought of facing him again made her stomach twist.
CHAPTER TEN
Riley glanced around at the neighborhood where she and Ann Marie were standing.It was still quiet but there were a few people in sight and a couple of vehicles on the street.
“Hold on a second,” she told Meredith.“This needs to be more private.”She and Ann Marie both got into their car.Once inside with doors sealed shut, Riley fired up the engine.Cool air soon whispered from the vents as she picked up her phone again.
“Chief, I can’t just drop what I’m doing and drive to Red Onion State Prison,” she told Meredith, “That’s at least a four-hour drive, maybe more with traffic.”
“I understand that,” he replied, his voice carrying that familiar sound of authority.“Lancaster seems to understand that too.He’s willing to talk via video conference—but only with you, Riley.And alone.”
Riley glanced over at Ann Marie, who sat in the passenger seat watching her with undisguised concern.The younger agent’s expression held a question Riley wasn’t ready to answer.
“I don’t know what to say,” Riley admitted after a moment.“Just this morning you warned me about going down this particular rabbit hole.Now you’re suggesting I dive in headfirst?”
A sigh traveled through the phone.“The situation has changed.The cryptology team is taking longer than expected with these codes.Every minute counts, and Lancaster claims he can help.Sometimes we have to adapt our approach when circumstances shift.”
The memory of Lancaster and the calculated notes he’d left, flashed through her mind.His mathematical genius had been both his signature and his downfall.If anyone could crack these codes quickly, it might be him.On the other hand, he may have created the codes himself for all she knew.
“Do you think he’s sincere?”she asked.
“Hard to say,” Meredith answered.“But the prison psychologist reports significant changes in his behavior over the past year.And right now, we need all the help we can get.”
Riley weighed her options, though in truth, she knew there was only one real choice.Two women had been abducted, and every passing hour decreased their chances of survival.
