“If you’re finished, I have to get ready for work now,” Elise told them.

“We’re done, thanks. We appreciate your cooperation.” Beck started out of the room, then paused. “You mind if we take the newspaper?”

Elise shrugged. “Go ahead. It’s probably a couple of weeks old by now anyway.”

“Thanks, Elise.” Mia walked toward the door.

“Okay.” Elise nodded as Beck and Mia left the small sitting room and stepped outside. “I hope you find Holly.”

Mia nodded solemnly. She didn’t think the time was right to tell Elise that Holly might already have been found.

9

Beck was dialing his phone even before Mia turned the key in the ignition.

“Lisa. Beck.” He rested the phone on his shoulder while he strapped into the seat belt. “We have a lead on the vic that was found in my car. We think she’s Holly Sheridan, age twenty-five, summer employee out at Sinclair’s Cove. I want to give everyone the rundown at the same time, so get Duncan, Hal, and Sue in the conference room now. I should be back in about five minutes and I want to get this investigation moving as quickly as possible…”

Mia followed the lane to the main road, then turned left to drive back into St. Dennis.

“We’ll have two meetings when we get back,” Beck told her after he hung up from his call. “We’ll meet with my staff, as you just heard, then with the mayor.”

He waved to a woman passing by on a bicycle.

“I guess it’ll be three meetings,” he said as almost an afterthought.

“Who’s the third?” Mia slowed to make the turn onto Kelly’s Point Road.

“The ME.”

“Great. I want to get that tape sent out to our lab as quickly as possible. We have a tech, Jojo Kessler, who is just a genius. If anyone can make sense of the garble, she can. And I can get her to move quickly on it, too.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Jojo has a huge crush on my brother.” She smiled.

“Your brother’s in the FBI, too?”

“Actually, they all are.”

“How many are there?”

“Three.” She made a face. “Actually, two now.”

“What happened to the other one?”

“He died.”

“I’m sorry,” Beck told her.

“Don’t be.” She turned off the engine and opened the door. “No one else is.”

She got out of the car, leaving Beck seated in the front seat, momentarily stunned. By the time he followed her from the car, she’d already gone through the front door and into the building.

Beck ignored the three news vans and the reporters gathered at the door.

“No questions at this time.” He held up a hand as he passed.

“Then when?” someone asked.

“Has the body that was left in your car been identified? Is it Mindy Kenneher?”

“The only thing I can tell you right now is that it is not Mindy Kenneher.”

The reporters began to swarm.

“That’s all for now. I have a meeting and I’m already late. But as soon as I know something definite, I’ll let you all know.”

“You do know something definite, Chief,” Jenna Smith said. “You definitely know the woman that you found in the back of your car is dead, and you know she definitely was killed by the same person who killed Colleen Preston.”

Beck paused, the door partially open. “You’re right, Jenna. I do know those two things. But nothing else has been confirmed.” He walked through the door and let it close behind him.

“The phone’s been ringing off the hook,” Garland told Beck as he approached the desk. “It seems everyone in town has a friend on the EMT squad.”

“What are you telling people?” Beck stopped for a moment.

“I’m telling them you’ve been out of the office all morning and that you’ll have a statement later.”

“Good. And now that I’m back?”

“You’re in a meeting and can’t be disturbed.”

Beck slapped Garland on the back then walked away. “Those people up in Boston sure did teach you right.”

Mia was waiting inside his office when he came in. Amazing how fast she could move in those shoes…

“I’m going to grab something from the kitchen to drink. Can I get you something?” he asked.

“Anything cold would be fine, thanks,” she told him.

“Then we’ll head on in to the conference room and I’ll introduce you to my officers.” His voice trailed behind him. In a moment he was back, a can of Diet Pepsi in each hand. “This okay?” he held one up.

“It’s fine. Thank you.” Mia took the can he offered her.

“You want a glass?”

“No, this is fine.”

“Let’s get on with it then.” He gestured toward the conference room.

She followed him in and stood while he made introductions all around. She stole a glance at the fax machine that stood on a table near the back of the room, and was disappointed to find the tray empty. She’d have to put in another call for that NCIC report she’d requested.

“FBI Special Agent Mia Shields, meet Sergeant Lisa Singer. Officers Susan Martin and Duncan Alcott.” Beck started on the left side of the table. “Hal Garrity, former chief here in St. Dennis, back on the force to help out in the summer. His brother, Phil, works part-time when we need him but he left for Canada on Sunday for a bird-watching trip.”

Mia walked from one to the next, shaking their hands and making eye contact, then took a seat near Hal, who leaned over to pull the chair out for her. She smiled her thanks and started to say something, but the door opened and a trim woman in her mid-fifties blew in.

“Beck, what the hell is going on?”

“Mayor Christina Pratt, this is Special Agent Shields,” Beck said calmly. “Agent Shields, this is Mayor Pratt.”

“Don’t get up,” the mayor told Mia. “Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Beck. “I’d like to know what’s going on. What’s this about a missing woman-”

“Please, take a seat. I was just about to fill everyone in.” Beck closed the conference room door, then leaned on the back of the chair nearest him. “You all know about the body we found in the backseat of my Jeep yesterday. We assumed that the body was that of Mindy Kenneher, the woman who’s been missing from Cameron for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it is not Mindy.”

“Do we know who it is?” Mayor Pratt asked.

“We have a damned good idea.” Beck took the photograph he’d brought back from Sinclair’s Cove from his pocket and held it up. “Holly Sheridan. Age twenty-five, summer employee at Sinclair’s Cove.”

Beck shared what he’d learned about Holly with the group.

“ Duncan, I’m going to assign you to figure out her itinerary between Colorado and Maryland, what route she would have taken, find out what credit cards she had and see if you can trace them. Contact every state between here and there and see if her car’s turned up anywhere. I have her family’s contact information and I can give you that to get you started.”

“When you were in her room, did you find anything that might give you a lead?” Hal asked.

“Nothing.”

“Except we do know that she went into town several times each week,” Mia interjected. “Her roommate mentioned that. And we found a pile of magazines, a local newspaper, and a paperback book on the floor next to her bed. She could have purchased them locally.”

“Did you notice which paper?” Hal asked.

“It was the Chesapeake Weekly,” Beck answered. “Which could have been picked up anywhere. Neither the magazines nor the book had any stickers that might tell us where she bought them. Now, there are several places in town where they sell magazines, but only two or three where you can buy paperbacks.”

“I’ll make a copy of that photo and show it around town,” Hal told him. “I’ll start with Bookends, maybe Barbie will recognize the girl. Only other place I know of in St. Dennis proper that sells books is the Food Mart. I’ll see if Bruce or one of the boys remembers seeing her around.”

“Make it a clean sweep of all the shops, Hal,” Beck said. “We don’t know what other interests this woman had, so let’s cover the bases right the first time.”