Detective Iberville motioned to a uniform. “Take Ms. Nicollo’s statement and drop her off at home. Move Mr. Donovan to the violent offenders holding pen.” The uniformed officer shifted behind the desk and pulled up a program on the computer. The detective motioned at them to follow her. Erin fell in step behind her, and Gabriel stooped and pressed a kiss to Lindy’s cheek.

He followed behind Erin, perplexed. Who was this woman who had collided into his life? The lady kneeling beside the prostitute, sharing a pain he could never comprehend. The contrasts intrigued him. The vulnerability frightened him.

Gabriel breathed deeply and tried to quiet the fury seething in his belly. Like his next breath, he wanted to find the man who’d put such terrible knowledge in Erin’s voice and beat penance from him. But it was too soon to demand answers, though the need snarled inside him. He wasn’t sure it wouldn’t spill out and maim them both.

Sylvie led them past her office and down a flight of stairs. In the basement of the building, rows of locked doors waited with alarm panels. She keyed in a code at the second door, marked CENTRAL FILES, and ushered them inside. Overhead, the naked bulb of the file room cast gloomy shadows, an atmosphere not at all lightened by the nature of the room’s contents. Organized by date, open homicides stood sentinel in silent rows.

“You’ve got two hours, Gabe. I’m off at eleven thirty.”

“Gotcha.”

“And everything stays down here. Take notes but nothing else,” she warned.

“It was one time, Sylvie,” protested Gabriel. “And I brought it back.”

“Nothing leaves here, Gabe.” With that warning, she exited the room, locking them in alone.

Chapter 15

Gabriel set his bag on the single table in the room and surveyed the space. Years of hunting through these files made delegation easy. “I’ll pull the files on the murders we have. Take March,” he instructed, pointing at a wide horizontal cabinet four stacks deep. “Look for the missing murder victims. The files contain police reports, photos of evidence, and miscellaneous information. Because most of it is on computer now, they use these files as backup only.” He met her eyes for the first time. “You did good with Lindy. Thank you.” Then he walked over to his cabinet and began to read.

Erin exhaled, not ready to answer questions about what she’d revealed in the bullpen. Instead, she pulled her assigned drawer open and began thumbing through the maroon folders. Thirty minutes later, she was no closer to finding their answers. Frustrated, she asked, “Can’t we get access to their computer system? This is archaic.”

“This is as good as it gets. Sylvie’s taking a huge risk letting us come down here.”

“Why? She doesn’t believe me.”