Mark could hear the tension in Jackson’s voice. No matter how long any of them had been at this, they’d always be concerned for the outcome of a chase like this one.

“Yes. We were lucky. Sally was smart, I think. We haven’t been able to talk to her yet; she was frantic, and the ERs suggested I talk to the doctors later, noting she’d probably make sense by morning. But I believe she hid her cell phone at first. Carver eventually found it and ditched it. But the trace led us to the right area, and Angela got the address and the pseudonym info. Red took it from there,” Mark told their field director. “Lieutenant Kenworth has taken Carver into custody. We’ll head back here in the morning, hitting the hospital first to talk to Sally, and we’ll visit Carver before the state arraignment. We also told Kenworth about our ‘anonymous’ tip about Carver, but didn’t get into details.”

It was true they’d received a tip. He just hadn’t told Kenworth it had come from a dead man.

“Ragnar needs to see Carver tonight,” Jackson said.

Mark was surprised. “Jackson, you’re the one who usually wants us to let them stew a bit—”

“Not this time. And Ragnar needs to hit Carver on his own. I’m going to need you—and Red—now.”

“Jackson,” Mark said, frowning, “I know we don’t know if Carver is The Embracer, but I’m not sure that—”

“We don’t know enough at this moment, and we need everything and anything we can get. We don’t know if Carver is clever, has other names, or if he has another stash house,” Jackson said. “Regardless of whether he’s been working on his own, I need you and Red now, before another young woman dies. Carver may be the one and only Embracer. Or he’s a copycat. Or there is a copycat still out there.”

“What makes you say that?” Ragnar asked, frowning quickly at Mark as he drove.

“There’s been another kidnapping,” Jackson told them. “Dierdre Ayers. She didn’t come home last night, and we can’t waste any time. Now that Carver has been taken in, we need to find Dierdre Ayers fast. If we don’t, she could starve or dehydrate or worse. Or, more than one person has been carrying out these kidnappings and murders. An accomplice or a copycat might get spooked; Carver’s arrest could speed up their timeline.”

“Do we have anything to go on at this point? A phone trace? Anything?” Mark asked.

“We have Red,” Jackson said. “And we have a new agent. Ragnar will start on Carver right away. Meanwhile, I’m going to be pairing Mark up with one of our newest Krewe members.”

“Jackson—” Mark began.

But Jackson was gone.