Karen Rose - Have You Seen Her?

The football team was among the first questioned, but none of the boys would admit to knowing anything. They did have the pleasure of watching Rudy's friends squirm, if for no other reason than the fact the boys knew they were still under suspicion for Jenna's attack even though Rudy himself had been cleared by way of alibi.

Late morning, Steven had left Sandra in charge and taken a break, first going up to Jenna's classroom where she'd walked silently into his arms, oblivious to the goggle-eyed stares of her third period class. She'd been through hell but she was holding up just as he'd known she would. He satisfied himself with a brief embrace and a whispered "I love you." It seemed like a year since he'd said it, although it had been only a few hours before when he'd woken her up before dawn to make love. Just once more, he'd thought in the darkness, before returning to the horror he knew would be waiting at work. And she'd silently obliged, offering her body, holding him until he finally forced himself out of her arms. Out of her bed. Into the office where the hell had begun all over again.

Then he'd visited the Templeton house where Harry and Kent and Davies were literally combing every fiber and every floorboard. They'd found a handful of hair, yanked out by the root, but Kent was now too overwhelmed by the reality of their killer to be as excited as he'd been at the discovery of the partial hair at the Clary clearing twelve days before. They'd found white powder scattered on Kelly's pillow and on the carpet next to her bed. Grimly they'd bagged it. If it was ket-amine in powder form, Kent told him, it meant the killer was not only injecting it intravenously, but forcing his victims to inhale it, rendering them completely helpless in under ten seconds.

They'd found a clump of sawdust in the carpet. That had excited Kent. He'd carefully tagged and bagged it. It was their first clue as to where Rudy was taking the girls.

They had Kelly's cell phone. She'd received a five-minute call just before midnight, no caller ID available. Like Steven expected there'd be one. For a boy who couldn't pass chemistry, Rudy Lutz seemed pretty damn smart.

They'd found a footprint in the soft dirt outside her window and Steven was grateful that Mrs. Templeton took such pride in her lawn and flowers. And that she was a conscientious water conserver. Her sprinklers were set to go off at eleven p.m. when water absorption into the soil was most efficient, meaning the ground would stay moist enough for a shoe print until about three a.m.

So they had a three-hour window when the kidnapping had taken place.

And they had a pair of wildly terrified parents, stunned by grief, unable to give Steven any more information than he already knew.

Beyond that, he thought, refocusing on the last group of teens just now filing out of the room, they had nothing. He rose and stretched. "That was fun."

Sandra glared at him balefully. "I want double overtime."

Steven's lips curved. "You're salaried. You don't get overtime. Besides, you have teenagers. You should be used to this by now."

Liz rubbed her forehead. "I'm so out of the loop. How can mothers let their daughters leave the house dressed that way? I haven't seen so many midriffs since the last time I tuned into MTV by accident. It's like a billboard for sex offenders."

Sandra shook her head, digging into the garbage for the cups the teens had thrown away. The school had set out a cup of each color before each group and she noted who'd picked up which color while the group was ongoing. "Sex offenders don't need billboards or midriffs, Liz. You know that."

Liz handed her labeled baggies one at a time. They'd developed a rhythm over the course of the day. "I know. I just hate to see these young girls displaying themselves so…"

"Sluttily?" Nancy supplied, then grimaced. "God, that isn't even a word. One day with these kids and I'm making up words."

"And we get to come back tomorrow," Steven declared with false cheer, then pretended to flinch when all three women turned on him menacingly. "Hey, at least we got the football team and soccer team and the basketball team today."

"You got part of them," Bondioli corrected, coming into the room, a marked-up roster in his hands. "You've still got about twenty athletes and another hundred kids in the junior class alone."

Sandra groaned. "We'll be at this all week."

"But we have to talk to all of them," Liz reminded her. "No favorites." Then closed her mouth abruptly when Bondioli's dark brows shot up like a rocket.

"You do have a suspect," he said. Then sat down in a chair, a stunned look on his face. "And it's one of our students. Dear God."

Steven sighed. "We never said that, Lucas."

Bondioli narrowed his eyes. "You didn't have to. Just tell me who."

Steven wondered if the man even knew he clenched his fists. "You know we couldn't do that even if we did have a suspect." He sat down next to Bondioli. "You want us to catch him, right?"

Bondioli nodded, looking completely miserable. "He's killed three girls. And now he has Kelly. I have a daughter her age. I just can't even imagine…"

"Nobody can," Steven told him, reaching for the roster in Bondioli's trembling hand. He ran down the list for the names they'd interviewed and the ones they had not. Then frowned.

"What?" Liz asked, dropping in the chair next to him.

Steven shook his head. "I just noticed that our resident flunkee Rudy has a brother. He never showed up on any of the lists of suspects for the vandalism in Jenna's classroom."

Bondioli leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, weariness etched into his face. "He doesn't run with his brother's friends," he said. "Josh is a special needs student."

Steven stared at the name, wondering why Davies had never mentioned a brother. "What's his special need?"

"Josh is cognitively challenged. His IQ tests at about eighty-five. He's able to compete with the other kids on a remedial academic level with special help."

"Then what's he doing in Jenna's beginning chemistry class?" Steven asked. "That is what she teaches first period, isn't it?"

Bondioli nodded. "Josh came to me early this year and begged to be put into 'normal' classes." He punctuated the air with his fingers. "Said he wanted to at least try. I think he wanted to show his father he could be as good at something as Rudy was. And given Rudy's propensity to fail classes for complete lack of effort, I think Josh has a pretty good chance of doing so. His grades are all in except for English and Chemistry. He's got mostly Cs. A D in math." He opened his eyes and looked over at Steven. "He's in Casey's English class and of course Jenna's Chemistry class. Neither of them have been able to turn in their grades for the quarter.'"

"I suppose they've been otherwise occupied," Steven murmured, his mind racing, wondering if trying to trick information out of a cognitively challenged teen was as reprehensible as it felt and not caring one single iota. He'd interview Josh Lutz and he'd use every skill in his repertoire to get anything out of the boy he could. For now, though, he kept his voice even. "I'll be anxious to talk to him tomorrow. He knew Kelly, right?"

Bondioli's dark eyes flashed. "He knows her, yes. Have you already decided she's dead?"

Steven sighed. "I'm sorry, Lucas. That was an insensitive slip. I'm tired, I suppose."

"I guess I understand." Bondioli stood up. "You'll be seeing Jenna out tonight?"

"I will." And every night until she's safe , Steven thought.

Bondioli's eyes softened. "Good. She needs somebody to take care of her."

"I plan to," Steven answered, completely aware of the stares of his three female coworkers.

Bondioli's face lit in a slow grin. "Well now, that's good to hear. I can only hope she lets you."