She nodded, unsure. "Are they important? Like, can't see without--"

"They're important," he said, irritated. "They're really important."

He got frustrated waiting for her to come to the car. He sighed, looking at the window. She was still hesitating. Why would she hesitate on their love? Come here, my sweet, come here…

He was really hoping she'd be nice enough to help.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She started to walk away.

"Come on! I can't see! I need to get to the eye doctor after work to get my prescription changed and I can't see without them."

He looked at her, desperate.

"Well, alright," she sighed.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Great!" He got back into the car and pulled his seat forward so she could climb in. He pretended to look for his glasses, even though he knew they were in the glove compartment.

He smiled.

Now was his time to strike. Now, she'd be his true love forever

Out with the old, in with the new.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Back at the motel room, Nicky typed diligently on her laptop--there had to be someone out there who had access to or knew about the warehouse, with a criminal history. Somewhere to at least start pointing the finger at whoever could've done this.

Ken was across from her, reviewing files for something, anything.

But they'd both been quiet for a while. After the discovery they'd made in the warehouse, the chances of Meghan Salinger being found alive were slim.

And they were both thinking it.

The FBI had swept onto the scene upon Nicky and Ken's call--some agents even came in on helicopters to get an eye on what they'd found. It was far from pretty. Now, they were working to clean the mess up, and had already identified a handful of the victims. Each time a victim was identified, Nicky got an alert on her phone. All of them had been girls who'd gone missing in surrounding areas in the past seven or so months. Just like Meghan.

Nicky was thankful that she and Ken had been able to take off to keep chasing leads, because the smell of that factory was burned into Nicky's brain. She'd never forget the stench. And she'd never forget the dead faces of those women.

She had to find who did this and make them pay.

The room was quiet, save the sound of typing. She was trying to get to the bottom of this. She was trying to get Meghan back.

She was trying to stay sane.

At least they had something to do.

Then, suddenly, a phone call. Nicky picked it up.

Frankstown police station. What the…?

"This is Agent Lyons," she said, exchanging a look with Ken.

"Agent Lyons, hello. This is Sheriff Corbin."

"Sheriff..." Nicky trailed off, surprised he was calling her. "I'm sure you've heard what we found. The case is officially being handled by the FBI."