Page 18 of Dark Angel
“Yeah, she is familiar.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his files. “This has to be her.” He held out his phone so she could see the image. “If this is Aisha Santiago, she went missing from Colorado about six months ago.” He handed her a wallet. “The driver had this in his pocket.”
After examining the wallet, Beth pulled out her phone. “I’ll call Wolfe.” She made the call and brought him up to speed. “We just hauled the van out of the creek, the driver was deceased and from his license, he is Ricky Tallis out of Butte. In the back of the van, we found a young girl restrained with zip ties and gagged. We couldn’t resuscitate her. The thing is, we recognized her from our list of missing persons. I’m on scene now but I figure she’s from a recent case where two girls went missing in Colorado some months back. We checked the files and think her name is Aisha Santiago. We might have found the Pied Piper.”
“If it is the Pied Piper and he’s dead, it means we will never find the rest of the girls. His secret will have died with him.”Wolfe cleared his throat.“He could have them holed up anywhere in the forest. Unless they have a way of escaping, they’ll all die of starvation.”
As Beth stared at the lifeless figure lying on the side of the creek, Wolfe’s words hit home. She looked away from Styles as her dark side pushed its way to the surface. The part of her that wanted vengeance wouldn’t be satisfied if the Pied Piper had drowned. The death was too easy for the suffering he’d caused. She lifted her chin and stared at the raging rapids. “What do you want us to do with the bodies? We have an ambulance on standby and Nate has recorded the time of death.”
“Have Nate take them to the hospital. They have a morgue there. Make sure nobody touches them. Leave them in the body bags and get them on ice. I’ll fly out first thing in the morning and collect them.”Wolfe sighed.“Any sign of Skylar Peters?”
Beth shook her head, desperately trying to calm her dark side and dropping her gaze to the sandy soil at her feet. “No, nothing. I don’t figure they’ll find her in Rainbow. This guy has her some other place. How can we possibly find her in this wilderness?”
“There’s always a way. Keep looking. I’ll call you when I’ve completed the autopsies.”Wolfe disconnected.
Beth waited patiently for Nate to finish examining the bodies and make notes, and then went to his side. “Wolfe will be here in the morning. He said to leave the zip ties on the girl and don’t allow anyone to touch them without wearing gloves. He wants them on ice at the hospital morgue. Can you handle that for me?”
“Yeah, not a problem.” Nate glanced at the weary search-and-rescue crew. “I’ll take swabs from the men who touched the bodies, but I doubt there’ll be any trace evidence on the girl. The running water would have destroyed it.”
Beth nodded. “Thanks. I’ll get their prints before they leave as well. I have a scanner with me.”
“Okay, as soon as Styles has finished recording the scene, I’ll get them into the back of Ryder’s pickup.” Nate gave her a slow smile. “He’ll be thrilled.”
“I’ll be thrilled about what?” Ryder walked up from behind them.
Exchanging an amused look with Nate, Beth turned to him. “We can’t leave the bodies here. They’ll be taking the ride to the morgue in your truck.”
“My day just gets better by the second.” Ryder rolled his eyes, turned, and his shoulders slumped as he walked away.
Slightly amused, Beth stared after him. “Is he always so much fun?”
“Yeah.” Nate narrowed his gaze. “He’s a good cop and is well respected in town… well, all over. I just figure he believes his towns have suddenly lost their innocence. It was okay for brawls and roughhousing, the odd bit of cattle rustling, thieving, but murdering kids takes it to a whole new level. I guess it takes some getting used to.” He let out a long sigh. “I’d better get to work.” He walked away, leaving her staring at the damaged van.
The storm had passed and sunshine cast rainbows over the still raging river. If the driver of the van had only waited another hour or so before attempting to drive up the mountain road, he’d have been on his way to his hideout by now. She turned at the sound of footsteps on gravel. Styles was heading her way. “Did you get everything you need?”
“Yeah. I’ve recorded the scene and thanked the search-and-rescue team.” Styles came to her side and stood beside her scanning the area. “Everything we found inside the van is in evidence bags in my truck.” He smiled. “The damage to my truck is cosmetic—scrapes, dents, and a nice coating of mud, but it started okay. The bodies are ready for transport. I figure once Nate has removed them, we’re good to go.”
Beth nodded. “That’s good to know. We’ll write it up and then decide what to do next. Finding a girl from a different crime makes the case complicated. To be honest, I assumed he’d killed them all by now. Six months is a long time to keep a kid hidden. I’m wondering how many more he has holed up somewhere.” She turned to stare at the bodies. “If that’s the Pied Piper, it’s over. I seriously doubt we’ll ever find the missing girls. The idea they’ll be facing starvation, after what he’s already put them through, makes me sick to my stomach.”
“I’m not planning on giving up anytime soon. Now we have a name, we’ll hunt down his friends. Someone might know if he has a cabin somewhere.” Styles shrugged. “We’ll get his name out to the other agencies. We don’t have to shoulder this alone. Someone, somewhere knows this guy. He’d have a job and pay taxes. We’ll dig deep and find out what he eats for breakfast.” He gave her a long look. “I thought you knew your way around computers? Chasing down his ID would be a start. Is he really Ricky Tallis out of Butte?”
After years in cybercrime and her intimate knowledge of the dark web, Styles’ comment amused her. On the web, she could find a particular strand of hay in a haystack. It was a place she moved through like a shadow, without leaving a trace of herself behind and collecting information she could store for later use. So many dark souls roamed the data stream, so many out for personal gain or for pure hatred. It was a minefield and negotiating through it was dangerous. Many people believe knowledge is a good thing, but some knowledge could get a person killed. She met Styles’ grin with a blank stare. He knew he’d rattled her cage and was enjoying the moment. She blew out a sigh. “Yeah, I guess I can manage to run a search when we get back to the office.” She turned away and headed for their truck. “Nate and Ryder are heading out now. Let’s get out of here.”
NINETEEN
Tommy Joe’s Bar and Grill was packed to capacity when they arrived in town, and as they walked to a table in the back, Beth couldn’t help noticing the way people avoided her gaze. Overhearing mumblings from people close by, it was obvious that the accident on the mountain was common knowledge in town. When Josie, one of the servers, came to their table to take their order, Beth smiled at her. “I’ll have a burger with fries and a lemon soda.” She placed the menu in its holder on the table. “It’s very busy in here today and everyone is talking up a storm. Has something happened we should know about?”
“The crowd in here today are all gold miners. The storm washed them out, so they’re waiting for the rain to clear before they get back to work. I doubt they’ll go back today.” Josie glanced over at Styles and flashed him a white grin. “The usual for you, Dax?”
“Yeah, thanks, Josie.” Styles leaned back in his chair and tipped up his Stetson. “They all went kinda quiet when we walked in. What’s happening?”
“Some say you were chasing a van up the mountain and caused it to go over the edge.” Josie cleared her throat and looked around furtively. “They say a man and his daughter died when they hit the river.”
Wondering how anybody could have seen them driving up the side of the mountain, Beth flashed a look at Styles and raised one eyebrow. “Isn’t it strange how rumors start? We had a report of a girl gagged and bound in the back of a van and we pursued them up the mountain. They had at least a fifteen-minute start on us, so we were a long way behind them when they were washed off the mountain by a torrent of water. It’s doubtful that the driver knew we were following him. We didn’t have the lights and sirens on, so whoever is spreading that rumor needs to get their facts straight.” She lifted her chin and allowed her gaze to move purposely around the room. “It’s obviously common knowledge the girl was bound and gagged. Whoever called it in, is spreading gossip. The truth is the driver was transporting somebody he’d kidnapped. The girl in question was a missing person and definitely not his daughter.”
“Oh, I see.” Josie’s cheeks pinked. “I’ll make sure everyone knows the truth.”
“See that you do.” Styles removed his Stetson and placed it on the chair beside him. He looked at Beth as Josie walked away. “You were kinda tough on her. It’s not her fault that people are talking about us.”
Surprised at his reaction, Beth sipped from a glass of water and eyed him over the rim. “I don’t think I was harsh. I was just giving her the facts. Sometimes the truth is the best policy in a small town like this. I figure if we keep too many secrets, the townsfolk will stop trusting us.” She thought for a beat, noticing his discomfort. “Ah, is she someone special to you?”
