“A few years ago. She was an administrative secretary and she volunteered as a victim’s advocate in her spare time, hand-holding clients who had to deal with the court system. She still does—did—that from time to time.”

“Any cases lately?”

“A few months ago. A client with a drug history was trying to get visitation rights to her children.”

“Was there an angry father involved?”

“No. Actually, in the end the father was so impressed with the progress his ex-wife had made, he withdrew his objection.”

“Why did Ms. Warwick leave the center?” Mendez asked.

“She went back to college to finish her degree in nursing.”

“She left on good terms with everyone?”

“Yes. Absolutely. You can’t think someone at the center could have done this.”

“We have to explore all possibilities,” Mendez said.

“It’s standard investigative procedure, Jane,” Dixon said. “We never know where leads might come from.”

“We’ll need to interview the staff,” Mendez said. “And the women—your clients.”

He could see that was the last thing Jane Thomas wanted.

“These women are fragile,” she said. “They’ll be scared to death.”

“They may have a right to be,” Mendez said bluntly.

“That’s a little premature, Detective,” Dixon said, giving him a steely look. “But we have to err on the side of caution.

“What do you know about Lisa Warwick’s background?”

“She’s from Kansas originally. I probably have a contact number for her in the old personnel files.”

“Ex-husbands? Bad boyfriends?” Mendez asked.

“None that I remember. Lisa was a very private person.”

“Did she engage in any risky behavior? Frequent bars? Drinking? Drugs?”

“I can’t imagine that she did. She liked to knit.”

“When was the last time you had any contact with her?”

“We spoke on the phone from time to time. She dropped in at the center a few weeks ago to say hi.”

“Do you know where she was working?”

“The ER at Mercy General, here in town.”

She put a hand over her eyes as she started to cry. Dixon got up from the couch and tipped his head toward the door. Mendez followed him out into the hall.

“I’ll go to the hospital and see what I can find out about Warwick,” Mendez said, still scribbling in his notebook. “I figure I’ll send Hamilton and Hicks to the Thomas Center.”

“What did your connection at Quantico say?”

“He’s coming out.”

“He’s coming here?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s not the usual protocol.”

Mendez shrugged.

Dixon didn’t look happy. “I don’t want a circus here, Tony. I don’t want this guy talking to the media. I don’t want anybody talking to the media.”

“That doesn’t need to be an issue.”