It was Joe who answered. ‘Owner was closed down for the past couple weeks. Said business was too slow with all the construction and decided to take some time to go fishing up at Navajo Lake. He just got back, saw the news reports, checked his footage, and called right away.’

A minute later, a fancy sports car swerved around the corner, speeding into sight on the camera. Five seconds after that, the driver jerked to a halt, as if he’d only decided at the last minute to stop in that spot. Then the driver popped his trunk and climbed out, a dark hooded sweatshirt covering his face – not a rumpled business suit like Naomi had claimed.

Tony pointed. ‘She’s still standing there behind that dumpster, out of sight of the man in the vehicle, but not out of sight of the camera. I think she knew by the way the guy pulled up, he was up to no good, and her instincts made her hide.’

‘What kind of car is that?’ Alyssa asked. ‘It looks fancy.’

‘Dodge Viper,’ Hal, Cord, and Tony all answered at once, their voices varying in degrees of lust and envy. Alyssa shook her head.

At the back of the Viper, the man swiveled his head back and forth before hefting something out of the trunk and heaving it over his shoulder. Clearly, the something was a body bound up in a sheet. With one hand wrapped securely around the legs Alyssa believed belonged to Meghan Jessup, the man stepped onto the sidewalk and into the area where the young girl had been discovered.

Four minutes, fifty-two seconds after entering the building, the man returned, sheet wadded up under his arm. At the car, his eyes darted all around him as he spun around in one quick circle, slammed his trunk closed, and hurried over to the driver’s side, climbing in. Though there was no sound, it was obvious the man had squealed away because there was a wisp of tire smoke as he peeled away from the curb.

In the video, Naomi Kenney stepped out of her hiding spot, head moving first in the direction the car had taken off, then back towards the building. According to the timer running in the corner of the screen, the woman debated for a full six minutes before she hurriedly crossed the road and moved out of sight of the camera.

‘Too bad there was a license plate cover,’ Alyssa said, speaking more to herself than to her team. And then to Hal, she said, ‘Can you run a DMV search of individuals in the area who own a Dodge Viper?’

‘Already started, but I have to say a quicker, more efficient method would be releasing this footage to the media and sending out a plea for anyone knowing someone who owns a car like this to contact the police.’

‘Good idea.’ And then she filled everyone in on Lorna Price. ‘I’m going to talk to Hammond about getting surveillance set up at Hotel Camino. If what Price said is right, our girls aren’t the only ones who’ve been run through there. I think we need to consider that we’re looking at a sex trafficking ring. Hal, I need you to run a search of the missing person’s database. Start with central and northern New Mexico, and then expand outward to include the entire state. We’re searching for girls aged thirteen to twenty-one, just to be safe.