Page 43 of Once Hidden
Peckham rubbed his jaw.“So, your theory is that Tony Bartlett is killing delivery drivers and burying them in places that were meaningful to him and his brother?But why?What’s the connection to delivery services?”
“That’s what we need to find out,” Riley said.“But first, we need to find Tony Bartlett.”
“If he’s even alive,” Ann Marie added, still scrolling through records on her tablet.“There’s no death certificate, but there’s also no trace of him anywhere in the system for the past five years.No tax returns, no vehicle registrations, nothing.”
“That’s our biggest obstacle,” Riley admitted.
Before they could continue, Hodge’s phone rang.He glanced at the screen, then answered with a hint of surprise.“Bruce?Hold on, let me put you on speaker.”He said to Riley and the others, “It’s Chief Bruce Autrey in Westminster.It sounds like he’s got something related to our case.”
He placed his phone next to Riley’s on the table.“Bruce I’m here with Special Agents Paige and Esmer from the FBI, and Captain Hodge from State Police.What’s going on?”
The voice that came through was deep and concerned.“Travis, we’ve got a situation here in Westminster that sounds like it might be connected to those missing delivery drivers you mentioned in the regional alert.A driver for TransGlobe Courier, Corey McLaughlin, was attacked on a rural delivery route near here about two hours ago.”
Riley felt herself lean forward.“Was he abducted?”
“No,” Chief Autrey replied.“His assailant tried to suffocate him with a plastic bag, but fought back and got away.He didn’t get a good look at the attacker.”
“Is he injured?”Hodge asked.
“Scraped up, but nothing serious.He had a gun, but didn’t get to use it.We recovered it from the weeds near where he was attacked.But here’s where this gets interesting.The attacker left something behind—an envelope in the cab labeled ‘UNDELIVERABLE.’Inside was a piece of paper with some kind of code: CG, LB-BG-ND-KA, HG, TA-ZF-YE-KG.”
Riley and Ann Marie exchanged a glance of recognition.
“We know what that is,” Riley said to Autrey.“It’s a coordinate cipher.It would have told us where to find McLaughlin’s body if he’d actually been killed.”
“Good God,” Autrey murmured.
“Bruce, we’ll come to Westminster ASAP,” Peckham said.“Meanwhile, make sure McLaughlin is under protection.This suspect is dangerous.”
“Will do.”
After ending the call, the four of them sat in silence for a moment, processing the new information.
“So, he’s escalating,” Hodge said finally.“Two successful abductions and burials, and now an attempt that failed.”
“Which means he’ll be angry,” Riley added.“Desperate to complete whatever ritual he’s created for himself.He won’t stop.”
Her mind was already turning to what she needed to do next.“Before we head to Westminster, I need to make one more call.”
“Lancaster?”Hodge guessed, his eyebrows raised.
“Yes.”Riley didn’t elaborate.Timothy Lancaster’s mathematical mind had already helped them decode two sets of coordinates.She needed him for this third set—and perhaps more importantly, she needed his insight into the mind of someone who had created such an elaborate system of puzzles.
As the others began to gather their materials, Riley stepped away from the table, feeling the weight of the investigation pressing down on her.Tony Bartlett was out there, his grief and rage propelling him to create these macabre puzzles, these deadly games.She could sense his desperation, his need to complete whatever pattern he had started.
And she knew, with the certainty that had guided her through countless cases before, that they were running out of time.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Riley stared at the blank screen of her tablet, waiting for everyone else to leave the conference room.She’d told Ann Marie to go on out with the others.Riley knew that she needed to be alone when she made this singular connection with someone who understood the twisted patterns of a killer’s mind.The irony wasn’t lost on her: consulting one murderer to catch another.
When the door clicked shut behind the last to exit, she sat quietly for a long moment.Then she initiated the call.The tablet came to life with notification of a secure connection, then Timothy Lancaster’s face appeared.The prison’s harsh lighting cast unflattering shadows across his features but his eyes remained calculating and intense—the eyes of a mathematician who saw the world as a series of problems to be solved.
“Agent Paige,” he said, his voice carrying that familiar academic tone.“I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“No such luck,” Riley replied, adjusting her position in the uncomfortable chair.“We’ve had a development.The killer made another move, but this time his target got away.”
Timothy’s eyebrows lifted slightly—the barest hint of surprise from a man who typically maintained rigid control over his expressions.“Interesting.That wasn’t part of his pattern before.”
