Her assailant checked left and right, then pocketed the Taser before walking over to Elizabeth and offering two swift kicks to the head that, to Alyssa’s eyes, seemed forceful enough to be lethal. Elizabeth’s assailant knelt down, grabbed her chin and yanked her head back and forth, presumably making sure she was out before reaching beneath her arms and dragging her to the passenger side of the truck where she was promptly dropped back to the ground until the assailant could open the door. After several failed attempts, the person finally managed to wrestle and heave Elizabeth into the cab.

Alyssa swore. ‘Well, damn it, there goes any hope of technicians finding any fingerprints on Elizabeth’s vehicle.’ She tapped the screen where the footage clearly showed Elizabeth’s attacker wearing a pair of gloves.

Cord shrugged. ‘Doesn’t look like the assailant ever touched the car anyway, so it probably wouldn’t have mattered.’

Even though her partner was correct, frustration still bubbled in Alyssa as they watched the individual scour the ground around both vehicles before climbing in the truck, leaving a cloud of dust from the exhaust and a thicker cloud of black as the driver burned rubber peeling out of the parking lot.

‘Dr. Sharp mentioned that whoever murdered Gabriel Kensington was possibly female or even a short male. How tall would you say that person is?’

Cord swept his gaze over Alyssa’s form then focused back on the screen, hitting rewind until the truck pulled into the lot and Elizabeth’s attacker climbed out. ‘From this angle, I’m going to guess between five-five and five-seven, maybe?’

Alyssa shook her head. ‘Take it from someone who’s height-challenged. That person isn’t five-seven. I’ll agree with five-five, maybe even go five-four.’

‘So, what do you think? Could we be looking at Gabriel and Lydia’s killer?’ Cord asked.

‘Possibly, but more importantly, does this person know where Addis and Emerson are?’ As soon as she said it, she thought of Brandon. ‘Alert the team that we need to add Elizabeth Monroe to our list of missing persons. And while we’re at it, we need to find out where her son is.’

Cord rubbed two fingers along his temples. ‘I really hope we’re not looking for a corpse.’

‘We can’t think that way,’ Alyssa said, even though she’d thought the same thing.

The two of them pushed back from the desk, and as Alyssa scooted in front of Cord out the door, she heard him say, ‘Is it just me, or do we need to be actively searching for a common thread that ties the Kensington case to Elizabeth Monroe’s apparent kidnapping and Hayden Benson’s mysterious disappearance?’

‘It’s not just you.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Saturday, October 5