Maybe the blood given to the dead woman in the backyard, Ellie thought as she hooked a finger in the neck of the tank top and gently pulled it aside.

There it was: the nickel-sized tattoo of a blue heart with a crown of thorns.

Then, as an afterthought and mostly to herself, she said, “They took good care of you.”

Kelly moved closer. “What did you say?”

Ellie straightened. “Whoever kept Simone and Hernandez took very good care of them.”

“Explain that.”

“They’re both lean and muscular. Well-fed and well-groomed. Simone painted her nails recently. Whoever had them, wherever they were being kept—they were well treated. Physically, at least.”

All the eyes in the room were pinned on her. They didn’t look friendly, either.

“Sir,” Alves said. “What Officer Batista told us about Jolie Simone’s tattoo? She’s right. It’s listed right here in her file.” He tapped the phone’s screen. “And the pictures we have bear a strong resemblance to our Jane Doe here.”

“How long has she been missing?” Kelly asked.

“Just under five years,” Alves replied. “Hernandez for about four.”

“Officer Batista,” Kelly said, sounding a bit hostile. “A word?”

Ellie followed the commissioner into the hallway. Kelly stopped just outside the bedroom and placed his hands on his hips. Ellie knew what was coming and recalled words Danny had shared with her during her first few months on the job.

Don’t ever try to be helpful, Danny had told her. And never, under any circumstances, offer advice to anyone who has a higher pay grade than you. The higher-ups don’t care about you, what you bring to the table. Your job is always CYA—Cover Your Ass.

“What’s the connection between you and those two victims in there?” Kelly asked.

“There isn’t one.”

Kelly’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. “You’re telling me you just happened to recall all of the salient points from not one but two missing-persons cases out of thousands?”

His words put some starch into her posture, some heat into her voice. “I’m not lying to you, sir, and I resent the implication.”

“Then how do you know them?”

“I don’t.” Ellie felt beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, the small of her back. This was her big chance to get on BCU and she couldn’t blow it. “The reason I know about Simone and Hernandez is because I read about them. Studied them and others. Finding out as much as I can about the blood world—it’s become sort of a . . . passion of mine.” She paused and took a deep breath. This was her chance, her opportunity. Go for it.

“Sir, I can be an asset to you not only on this case but other cases. Give me a spot on the Blood Unit. You won’t regret it, sir—I promise you.”

Kelly stared at her, deciding her fate.

Either he’s going to offer me a spot on the Blood Unit or he’s going to tear me a new ass for overstepping.