‘Can’t we escape?’

This made Faye snort in a way that Rachel’s mother would describe as ‘unladylike.’ ‘How could we escape? We’re kept in this God-forsaken cage like wild animals. What are we going to do? Gnaw through the bars?’ The next words out of her mouth were a splash of cold reality that Rachel could’ve gone on denying for a while longer. ‘You know, we wouldn’t really be doing you any favors by sheltering you from the hard facts. Instead of trying to give you false hope, it would be better if we taught you how to survive.’

Chapter Five

Monday, May 20

Before leaving Angela’s neighborhood, Cord had called to ask Hal to run a search on Mr. and Mrs. Otis, and within minutes, he had an entire history in front of him, including an address and cell phone numbers. Sometimes it was easier to find facts on people who had money.

Since Rachel’s parents weren’t answering their phones, Alyssa and Cord decided to take their chances at catching them at their residence in the hope that Angela was wrong, and Rachel had indeed decided to return home early without telling her friend. They’d been driving in silence for a few minutes as Alyssa processed the million thoughts vying for first place in her head, not the least of which was Rachel. That another girl could be missing so soon after closing the serial killer case ratcheted up the tension for her, especially as Bishop had targeted young women for nearly two decades. She couldn’t help but fear a copycat killer.

‘It’s not going to be easy getting a bunch of underage-drinking college kids to admit to being at a frat party, much less give up helpful information,’ she told Cord.

He nodded his agreement. ‘Yeah, but if we can get some of them to come into the precinct, I’ll bet Hal can make them talk.’

It was true. Alyssa had never seen a man so capable of getting suspects, victims, or anyone else to relax and spill everything, whether it was relevant to a case or not. He always joked that it was because everyone trusts a man in a wheelchair, but Alyssa knew it was more than that… there was just something in his demeanor and personality that relaxed people, that told them he was safe. And she’d seen it long before his life had taken the turn that landed him in the chair.

Traffic was lighter than usual, so it wasn’t long before Alyssa flipped on her blinker and slowed for the turn onto Rio Grande, arguably one of the most scenic drives in the city. And the twenty-five mile per hour speed limit allowed travelers to admire the combination of old farm homes interspersed with ultramodern ones, different in their architectural style but all enjoying huge, spacious plots.

Six minutes later and after passing the house twice, they finally located the address and pulled up to a huge black wrought-iron gate. Alyssa and Cord both let out a low whistle. ‘Angela wasn’t kidding, was she?’ The house behind the gate looked like it could house a family of fifteen without the inhabitants ever running into each other.