“What do you mean, I’m not going?”

Alexa’s words were delivered in a decidedly dangerous tone, one Ethan had never heard from her. He decided the best way to meet her temper—which, admittedly, he’d expected—was with logic. “We have a stand-in for you. Dara Lavoie, an officer from the Halifax PD vice unit. It’s one of the steps I’ve taken to mitigate the risk.”

“Oh, they didn’t have an officer to stand in for you?” Alexa looked around the table in the conference room. “Or Nyle?” A few of the other RCMP officers in the room shuffled their feet. A couple looked amused. “I didn’t realize I’d been removed from the task force.”

“I’m going with police presence only,” he said evenly. “We know if the UNSUB does show up, it will be because of you. He’s never shown interest in these types of events before. Our efforts have to be focused on sighting him, and then chasing him down if he is spotted. We’re better equipped to do that if we don’t have to worry about guarding you, as well.”

She gave a nod as if in agreement. Ethan knew better than to buy it. “And you think this offender, who is showing signs of obsession, who even visited my childhood home to get information about me, will be fooled by your stand-in and hang around long enough for you to swoop him up.”

This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be having in public. His tone clipped, Ethan replied, “All he has to do is appear. I’ve worked with the city to employ barricades and parking areas in such a way as to cut him off as much as possible from his vehicle. The officers will be equipped with body cameras. As soon as he gets close enough to realize Lavoie isn’t you, hopefully, one of us will have spotted him.”

She subsided, but he didn’t fool himself into believing that she was in agreement. The temper was all but radiating off her. Ethan couldn’t allow himself to be moved by it. His decision was a no-brainer. Lavoie bore a passing resemblance to Alexa, more in coloring and height than appearance. But he’d have officers crowding her, as if in protection, so her face would be difficult to see. The offender would have to draw close to realize it wasn’t Alexa.

“There will be uniforms there whose only duties are crowd control for the event. They have been advised of our presence and purpose. I’ll also have officers armed with sketches assigned to the Park Lane parking garage.” He turned to a whiteboard mounted on the wall to which he’d affixed a map of Victoria Park, where the vigil would take place. It was a long and narrow area directly across the street from the Public Gardens. A red marker had been used to mark the memorial fountain at the south end. Blue indicated where he’d have officers stationed. “Officer Lavoie and two uniforms will be stationed here.” He pointed to an X he’d made to the side of the fountain. “The park is bordered on all four sides by public streets, which works to our advantage. The UNSUB will have to be somewhere in this arc—” he pointed to yet another line he’d drawn, “—to see Alexa’s stand-in. Questions?”

He answered the few raised by the RCMP officers in the room. Was well aware that Alexa remained silent. “Now for the equipment. We’ve set up a bridge call number which all officers can dial into from their phones. The number is on the bottom of the whiteboard.” The advantage would be the discretion it offered. No one would think twice of seeing someone with a cell to his ear. The downside was often the amount of background noise that resulted. “Everyone will use a body camera. I want images of anyone that looks suspicious.” He gave each of the assembled officers their positions. “Equipment is on the table by the door. Sign it out and bring it back in the same condition. The brass knows where you live.”

There were a few chuckles. The red tape necessary to request equipment was a well-known nightmare. The ramifications for bringing it back in less-than-pristine working order was even more so.

“We’ll meet near the fountain and take up our positions. I’ll see you there.” It took another few minutes for the RCMP officers to clear the room. It didn’t escape Ethan that Nyle hurried to join them, leaving Ethan and Alexa alone. Coward.

“I had food brought in before you and Nyle returned.” His words were met with a frosty stare. “I ordered you a salad. It’s in the refrigerator in the staff room.”

“What,” she enunciated perfectly, “do you think the offender’s reaction is going to be when he realizes he was duped? How is that going to impact the relationship I’ve tried to forge with him?”

He folded his arms across his chest. It’d been a long day. He had hours left ahead of him. Engaging in a battle of wills with Alexa was not going to be part of it. “I thought of that. Weighed it against the possibility of catching him tonight and decided to take the chance.”

She shook her head. “Catching him could occur with or without me there. You’re allowing personal feelings to get in the way of your decision-making.”

She’d finally goaded him into a response. “You know what?” He took two quick steps toward the table and slapped his palms on it, leaning over them toward her. “I don’t give a damn. This guy is unpredictable. He’s obsessed with you, and there’s no history of him engaging in this type of behavior. Who knows what the hell he’s capable of? He could stage a distraction in the park, something to panic the crowd then use the resulting chaos to make a move on you. So, sue me, I don’t want to put you at risk. And, fortunately for my personal feelings, this is a situation where I don’t have to.”

He immediately regretted his outburst, even before he noticed the flare of reaction in her eyes. Having Alexa join the task force had been like taking a fastball to the gut. But he was dealing with it. If she only knew just how damn much energy he put into trying not to allow personal feelings to override professional ones, maybe she’d be a bit more cooperative. He’d be concerned about the safety of any civilian consultant on his team, but the fact that it was Alexa in the crosshairs was a major factor in his decision to use a stand-in.

But he wasn’t anywhere close to admitting that out loud.

“What am I supposed to be doing in the meantime?” The ire in her words was an improvement over her earlier show of temper. Whatever other changes Alexa had undergone in the last twenty years, she still couldn’t hang on to a mad, which was a trait he’d always appreciated.

“I’ll leave my computer booted up so you can check the hourly updates I’m getting on the tip line.” He straightened and fetched the laptop, turning it on and opening his email for her. “You can follow up with phone calls to the callers you prioritize. Tomorrow we can interview any you think have usable information.”

Alexa didn’t look excited about the task, but at least she was no longer arguing.

“If you hear from the offender again, I want to know immediately.” When she nodded, he glanced at the clock. “I have to go.” He grabbed up the equipment he’d set aside for himself and headed for the door, restraining an urge to look back at her. Knowing she was safe at RCMP headquarters was going to make it a whole lot easier to concentrate on the job ahead. And he wasn’t going to apologize for that.

* * *

If the salad was meant as a peace offering, it was a miserable failure. Alexa finally gave up after a few bites and went to Ethan’s computer, scrolling through the most promising leads that had come in since Lawler’s picture had been released that morning. The chore was preferable to watching the clock, trying to figure out what was happening downtown while she was stuck here.

Dutifully, she returned several phone calls from the tip line and took notes of the conversations. None resulted in any new details. Feeling like she was spinning her wheels, Alexa glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even eight-thirty yet. She set her pen down in disgust. The solitary task gave her too much time to think. About the UNSUB. The vigil.

About Ethan.

She tried to push thoughts of him away, but they returned despite her efforts, drawn like metal filings to a magnet. Alexa wished she could summon a fraction of her earlier irritation with him. Annoyance was far easier to deal with than the welter of feeling she experienced every time she recalled their kiss.

It’d been an aberration on both their parts. A mistake not to be repeated. But knowing that didn’t calm the jitter in her pulse every time she recalled the instant heat that had sparked to life. The inexplicable chemistry between them was still there. Immediate. Combustible. And it would have been far safer for her equilibrium if she’d never learned that.

Her cell pinged. She looked at it and saw a forwarded text message from Nyle. Zaila had contacted him with the name of one of the Zoomey’s customers seen with Lawler last night. The one who’d been banned from the premises for a while. Bobby Kantor.

Immediately deciding Kantor was more interesting than the task she’d been engaged in, she looked him up on social media sites. There were three people with that name, only one in this province. Although his posts weren’t publicly available on Facebook, his friends list and his city of residence were. He lived in Dartmouth, across the harbor from Halifax.

Another idea occurred. Alexa closed out of that search window and looked Kantor up on the four-one-one site. Not only did it list his name and address, it also published his cell-phone number. It was a little appalling, she thought, just how little privacy people had these days. But in this case, it might be useful.

Alexa tapped his number into her cell. No answer. Realizing that people often didn’t pick up when they didn’t recognize the incoming caller, she hesitated, running through options. Grimaced when she realized which would likely have the quickest results.

Swiftly, she undid her hair and arranged it around her shoulders. Pursed her lips and took a selfie, which she texted to Kantor with the message: Were you in Zoomey’s last night? So was I! Call me. She added her number and prepared to wait. If this had no result, she’d be forced to leave a message and leave it until tomorrow to follow up.

She returned to the list on Ethan’s computer. Responded to a couple of people who’d left messages there before she had an alert for an incoming text. Elation filled her when she realized it was from Kantor.

Did we talk? I was pretty wasted. Had to be or I’d remember you!

I’m Alexa. Call me, she responded. Moments later, the cell rang in her hand. She answered it immediately.

“Alexa. A pretty name for a pretty lady.”

“Bobby Kantor. My name is Dr. Alexa Hayden, and I’m working with the RCMP.” There was an audible gulp on the other end. “By now you’ve heard about The Tailor’s most recent homicide victim found in Truro yesterday. We know she was at Zoomey’s before her death, and so were you. We’d like to have a conversation about what you may have seen.”

“Man, I don’t know anything about that. I mean, yeah, I was there last night.” It was easy to figure out the young man was dissembling. “I don’t remember much…like I said. I don’t think I could be any help.”

“We’ve spoken to wait staff at the club who identified you as someone in a booth with the victim,” Alexa said crisply. “You’re not in any trouble here, Bobby. But we do need to speak to you to establish a timeline of the victim’s last hours.”

“Ah…I just don’t know when I could manage that. I’m leaving tomorrow for a week’s vacation.”

Her stomach plummeted. “Then how about right now? I’m sure you can understand that this is a matter of urgency.”

“I guess.”

“I’ll come to you,” she promised rashly. If the offender showed up this evening, it would be at Victoria Park, not in Dartmouth. Ethan could hardly complain about the risk. Although she had no doubt he’d have plenty to say about it.

“I’m packing, so I can’t spare much time.”

“Just name a public place close to you.”

“Um…there’s a Timmie’s on the corner across from my apartment.”

Of course there was. Alexa smiled. “Give me the address and thirty minutes. I have to get an Uber.”

* * *

Ethan scanned the park again. Full, and getting more so. Although they’d gotten there at seven-thirty, there’d already been people congregating. The uniformed officers had arrived first. The event was supposed to begin in fifteen more minutes.

He continued moving about the perimeter, careful not to make eye contact with the plainclothes officers. He held his cell to his ear. “Number six, man at your three o’clock. Jeans, cap, gray T-shirt, dark backpack.” He continued walking, watching from the corner of his eye as his officer moved in the direction he’d indicated. Ethan walked by the female officer acting as a decoy for Alexa. The two uniforms beside her were doing a good job angling their bodies in such a way that her face was mostly hidden.

“Number six clear.” The officer’s voice sounded in his ear. Ethan continued, rounding the fountain and looking toward the street. A few people were entering the park from this end, as well. He was grateful the park was small. It would have been impossible to monitor otherwise.

An older man was tottering toward the fountain with the help of a cane. Ethan veered closer to him to get a better look. Even bent over the way the man was, the height would be about right for the offender.

But once Ethan got nearer, he mentally dismissed the man. The UNSUB might have a penchant for disguises, but he couldn’t replicate the age stamped on the elderly man’s face.

“Position one.” A voice sounded in Ethan’s ear. “Red shirt, black pants, sunglasses. Heading in your direction.”

Sunglasses? At this time of night? Ethan quickened his step, searching the crowd until he spied the person in question and made his way toward him. And it was a male, he ascertained as he drew closer. The height was right. The figure was wider than the description they had of the UNSUB, but it would be simple enough to make that change to an appearance. Ethan just needed to jockey around enough so he could see the face.

Once he had, however, he could see the man was much younger than he’d expected. “Number One clear.”

The organizers of the event were behind him now, standing directly in front of the fountain. One of the women wielded a microphone, which let out an ear-splitting shriek when she attempted to speak into it.

Ethan winced. Kept walking. It occurred to him that if the UNSUB was as cautious as normal, he’d wait until full dark to join the vigil. Making it that much more challenging to pick him out of a crowd.

* * *

“Yeah, that’s her.” Kantor studied the photo of Lawler that Alexa set in front of him. “She looked even hotter last night. Wow, is she really dead? Me and my friends were all hitting on her, buying her drinks and stuff. I’d have bet money she was going home with one of us.”

“What happened?”

He shrugged. “I don’t remember. We were all getting wasted. She went to the bathroom, I think. We’d just bought drinks.” He stopped. Frowned. “Maybe she took hers with her. Anyway, she never came back to the table. Hunter went looking for her after a while, but that place was packed.”

“What time was this?”

“Twelve-thirty or so? I’m not really sure.”

She took copies of the sketches of the offender from her computer bag and laid them out in front of him. “Did you see this man there last night?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Wouldn’t have noticed him if I had. I go there for the women.”

Alexa gave a mental sigh and put the drawings away. “Who else was with you?” When he gave her four other names, she asked, “Do you have their phone numbers?”

“Oh, man, they’re going to hate me for this.”

Alexa narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I can see what an imposition this is. How terribly inconvenient for you that the woman you were hoping to sleep with last night died. Horribly inconsiderate of her.”

“Oh, hey, I didn’t mean that.” Dejectedly, Kantor began scrolling through his contacts. “You got a pen or something?”

She reached into the computer bag she’d brought with her and drew out a pen. Snagged a napkin from the dispenser in the middle of the table and slid both toward him. “Add their first and last names too.” Laboriously, he copied the numbers onto the napkin. “How long after she went to the bathroom did Hunter go looking for her?”

“I don’t know.” He shoved the napkin across the table to her. “Half an hour or so? I think he had to pi—take a leak, too, because he was gone for a while. When he got back the rest of us had decided to leave. We went to another club a few blocks away. The Sphere.”

She glanced at the phone numbers. Froze when she noticed the third one.

The first eight numbers on it matched the ones on Jeanette Lawler’s shoulder. Alexa read the name next to it. Hunter Owens.

“Where were you all sitting in the booth in relation to Jeanette Lawler?”

Bobby shoved his hand through his hair as he thought. “She was on the outside. Then Hunter. He was getting a little handsy with her. Spilled a drink in her lap and pissed her off when he tried to wipe it up. But that’s Hunter. Then me. Sam. Ben. Parker.”

“Did anyone else go to find Lawler when she left the booth?”

He swung his head back and forth. “It was louder than hell in there. Hunter was the one who was plastered up against her. Thought he had the best chance with her because of it, but then he spilled that drink, she went to the restroom, and the rest of us started talking about getting out of there.” He craned his head so he could see the clock on the wall. “Can I go now?”

“Not yet. I need you to call this number. Hunter Owens.” She tapped his name on the list. “He’ll pick up for you.”

Resignedly, he looked at the name she was indicating. “He was heading downtown tonight. Called me earlier and wanted me to come. I’ll text him.” Alexa watched him type a message in all caps. URGENT. CALL ME. Alexa appreciated the sentiment.

According to Kantor, Lawler had left the booth around twelve-thirty. She and Ethan had been to that club shortly after one. With the time of death pegged between two and three a.m., it was looking more and more like Zoomey’s was the place Lawler had met up with the offender.

* * *

“We could go inside. I’d buy you a drink.”

Alexa surveyed Hunter Owens impassively. It was rare for her to take an immediate dislike to someone, but she’d learned to rely on her first impressions. And Owens struck her as a too-too type. Too handsome, too smooth and much too sure of himself. The sort of entitled jerk she’d met on more occasions than she could count. It didn’t surprise her in the least that Kantor had mentioned Owens thought he’d had the best shot with Lawler. His sort never lacked confidence.

“Did Bobby Kantor tell you about what happened to the woman sitting with you guys last night?” They were on the sidewalk in front of yet another club. Owens had agreed to meet her outside it.

“Yeah. That blew my mind.” As he bent his head to talk to her, he subtly angled his body closer. “Someone we just spoke to yesterday…dead.” He shook his head sorrowfully. Alexa wished she didn’t believe it was feigned.

“Just to be clear…” She bent down and brought out the woman’s photo. “This is the woman you spoke to?” She used the opportunity to shift a few inches away. The guy had a smarmy vibe.

Owens nodded solemnly. “That’s her. She seemed really sweet. Friendly. All of us hit it off.”

“Is that why you wrote your name on her shoulder? Because you were ‘hitting it off?’” It was a bluff. All Alexa knew was that his number was one of a hundred possible phone numbers. But she saw by his expression that she’d been correct.

He shrugged, laughed a little. “Yeah. It was a joke. See, I wanted to give Jeanette my number, but her phone was dead. So…” He shrugged. “She was sitting right next to me. I wrote her on her back instead. She didn’t mind,” he hastened to add. “She was laughing, too.”

“So the two of you were getting along.” Alexa was in no mood to prolong this conversation. “You must have been surprised when she didn’t come back to the table.”

Something shifted slightly in his expression before he blanked it. Alexa had the feeling that surprise hadn’t been the emotion he’d experienced.

“I was worried about her when she didn’t return,” he said piously, reaching out a

hand to lean against the red-brick front. “It was pretty crazy in there. The lines to the restrooms were ridiculous, and I didn’t see her in them when I checked. But then I ducked out the back—”

“You went out the back door?”

“Yeah. It says it’s alarmed, but it isn’t.” He gave her a smile that was meant to be charming. “Most of them aren’t. Guys sometimes skip the queues and use the alley around back to ah…relieve themselves.”

“So that’s what you did when you didn’t see Lawler.”

“I said I didn’t see her in line,” he corrected her, reaching up with his free hand to smooth his gelled hair. “I was in a sort of in a doorway, behind the Dumpster, taking leak. And when I looked up, I saw her in the alley, hanging all over some other guy.”

Everything inside Alexa stilled. “Another man?”

“Yeah.” And this time, he didn’t attempt to keep the disgust from his expression. “I mean, I’m not saying she owed me anything just because I bought her a few drinks, but it was still pretty shitty for her to leave with someone else and not even tell me.”

“Did they see you?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t seem to.”

“Did you tell your friends about what you’d seen?”

“I don’t remember. When I got back, they were ready to leave, so I went with them.”

Alexa bent and got the sketches of the UNSUB from her bag and showed them to Owens. “Is this the man she was with?”

“I didn’t see him from the front. And hey, this guy is old.” He shook one of the sketches.

“We think he was wearing a wig in that one. What did you mean when you said Jeanette was hanging on him?”

It was the wrong question to ask. Owens took the opportunity to demonstrate, leaning heavily on her, one arm thrown around her shoulders. “Sort of like this.” Alexa gave him an elbow jab that had him dropping his arm and stepping away, but not without a self-satisfied grin on his face. “She was pretty drunk. I suppose he could have been helping her to the car.”

The blood began to pound in her veins. “A car. Not a van?”

“What? No, it was a car. Toyota Camry, I think. Black or navy…hard to tell in the dark.”

“But you could see well enough to know the make?”

“I drive a red Camry so I recognized it. I can tell you it had a light interior, though. Saw it when the dome light went on.”

“Which door did he open?”

Owens thought a moment. “Back driver side. Which is weird now that I think about it. Unless she was so drunk, he was just going to have her lay…” His eyes widened. “Hey, you don’t think…that couldn’t have been the killer, could it?”

Handsome, Alexa thought again. But maybe not too bright. “Yes. I think that’s likely.”

* * *

The last pastor had spoken. The people in the park were holding candles high, singing a hymn and swaying to the music. Ethan supposed it would be a moving sight, had he not been on the watch for a killer.

A fruitless effort so far.

The candles that had been given out by the sponsors of the event did provide one service: they lit up the face of the person holding them. Ethan and his men were crisscrossing through the crowd in a grid pattern now. Looking at faces. Watching those who held no candles at all.

He thought again about the odds of the UNSUB coming. Although it was out of character, an obsession could compel a person to take risks they ordinarily wouldn’t. Risks that just might get the man nearer to Alexa.

He looked in the direction of her stand-in. The offender would have to get fairly close to Dara now to identify her. Maybe he’d never shown up. Perhaps he’d wait to make his move when she was leaving. Frustration mounted. And maybe this whole thing had been a complete waste of time.

Moments after he had the thought, three loud reports sounded behind him. “Gun!” a male voice shouted. He whirled, pulling his weapon in one smooth move. People began screaming, pushing at each other in their rush to get away. Candles were dropped in the frenzy. A few sparked and flamed in the grass. He ran toward the fountain where he’d last seen Dara and the uniforms. They were spreading out in an arc across the southeast corner, weapons drawn.

Ethan mentally cursed. “Position two,” he said into the phone, “reassume your original stance.” Without waiting for them to do so, he continued, “It’s a distraction. Look for someone approaching Lavoie.” Pandemonium reigned for a few minutes. One uniformed officer was shouting into a megaphone, trying to bring order to the exodus. Others were rushing to put out the small fires that had sprung up where the candles had been abandoned or aiding people who had fallen.

There were no wounded as far as he could tell. Because there hadn’t been a gun at all. To Ethan’s trained ear, the noise had likely been firecrackers. A planned distraction.

Because, Ethan thought as he ran through the jostling crowd, this was the effect the offender had wanted. Exactly this.

There. The uniforms had resumed position around Lavoie, probably too late. A figure was peeling sharply away from the trio and heading diagonally for the nearby street. “Positions eight and nine. Southeast corner behind the fountain. Dark pants and cap. Oversized gray shirt.” He holstered his weapon, running now, but he was slowed by people fleeing the area. With relief, he saw two of officers racing in his direction. “Spread out. Cut him off.”

But once out of the park the figure sprinted across traffic, dodging cars. Tires shrieked as the vehicles jerked to a stop. Horns blared. Ethan and his men followed suit. The stranger ran down a block and then veered into an alley.

“Position eight take the street on the south side of the buildings. Nine opposite.” Ethan’s cell was still at his ear. He winced as he banged his hip against the car that had barely avoided mowing him down, and headed down the shadowy passageway in search of the stranger.

He pulled his weapon again. He had no way to be certain the man he was chasing was the UNSUB. But the stranger had run, and that was suspicious in and of itself. He flattened himself against the wall of a building and moved swiftly down the alley, swinging around at every doorway, weapon ready.

He kicked through piles of rubbish piled high enough to conceal someone. The Dumpster was pressed up against the wall of a building. He moved around the three free sides before flipping open the lid. Checked inside. A foul odor emanated. Ethan pulled out his cell and turned on the flashlight app. The receptacle was full. He watched for several moments. Was there the barest movement inside? Could be a rat.

Or it could be a two-legged rodent. Ethan lowered the lid, keeping an eye on the Dumpster as he quickly finished searching the rest of the alley, before backtracking, checking the entrances into the buildings that lined it. The doors were all locked.

Meechum and Kelly were waiting at the end of the alley. Ethan tucked his phone in his pocket and silently waved them toward the Dumpster. It was large, made of hard plastic instead of steel, with a split top. He positioned himself at the back end, while the other two men took the front

Ethan held up fingers for a silent countdown. Three. Two. One. In unison, the three of them heaved and pulled at the container, finally managing to tip it forward, its contents spilling onto the ground.

Ethan pulled his weapon and crouched down in front of it, while the other two officer flipped the lids up. “You’ll need to crawl out. Slowly,” he said conversationally to the figure cowering inside. “Because I’m sure as hell not coming inside to get you.”

* * *

The stench emanating from the man on the other side of the table in the Halifax PD room was enough to turn Ethan’s stomach. He had a feeling that just his brush with the Dumpster had left a similar smell clinging to his clothes. The glamour of the job, he thought sourly, just never quit. Not to mention the frustration. Because whoever it was that they’d hauled back to the police headquarters, it was easy enough to see that it wasn’t the UNSUB they sought.

“I didn’t do nothing wrong,” the man insisted stubbornly. He had a few days’ growth of beard on his jaw and was missing his front teeth. He’d refused to give a name and carried no ID. He did, however, eagerly drink the can of Pepsi Meechum had fetched for him, objecting angrily when the officer took it away before he finished it. The officer would lift a print. If the stranger were in the system, they’d find out soon enough.

“Then why did you run?” asked Ethan logically.

“’Cuz you was chasing me!”

“You had firecrackers in your pocket when we searched you. You deliberately caused a commotion that could have caused serious injury to a panicked crowd. There is any number of charges we could bring.” He paused, letting that sink in for a moment before continuing. “Maybe it wasn’t your idea, though. If that’s the case, you need to let us know.”

“She said it was just a prank. No one would get hurt.”

Ethan stilled. “She?”

“The old lady who stopped me on her way to the park. She said there was a service going on over there. Gave me ten bucks to light the firecrackers when it got dark.”

“An old lady did that.”

Stubbornly, the man nodded. He looked like he was in his mid-sixties, Ethan figured, although a hard life had a way of carving years onto a face prematurely. “She had long brown curly hair and a big hat on. One of those long flowered dresses with a sweater over it.” He lowered his voice. “She wasn’t much to look at. A woman her age shouldn’t wear her hair that long, you ask me.”

Son of a bitch. It didn’t take much imagination to know the man had talked to the UNSUB. Ethan thought quickly. If they were lucky, maybe one of the video cameras around the park had picked up the offender. But he needed more.

He took copies of the two sketches out of his pocket and showed them to the man, who studied each intently before slowly shaking his head. “These are men. I talked to a lady.”

“Look at the faces,” Ethan instructed slowly. “Are any of them the same shape as the woman you saw? Are the noses or mouths similar?”

The man’s jaw dropped. He stabbed a finger at the sketch Patrick, the boy in Truro, had helped develop. “You know what? If this didn’t have a mustache, and maybe longer hair, it could almost look like the lady’s brother!”

* * *

“There. That’s her. Him.” Ethan, Nyle and the officers who’d manned the video cameras were in a conference room at the police department. A TV and video equipment had been carried in and hooked up so they could watch the feed from each of the cameras. They were fast-forwarding through most of it, slowing it only when something of interest came up.

Like a woman in a flowered dress and large hat.

“Matches the description Rogers gave us.” Joe Rogers, the man they’d flushed out of the Dumpster. Meechum had gotten a hit on his prints. A vagrant, with a few bumps for public intox. Exactly the type of person who would jump at the chance to make a few bucks with no questions asked.

“She didn’t come to the park alone,” pointed out the officer who’d operated that camera. “She was with another couple, which is why I didn’t think anything of it. They walked in together, and she stuck with them, at least in this frame.”

Ethan stole a look at the clock on the wall. He was glad he’d had Nyle run the debriefing after the vigil before joining them. They were going to be here half the night as it was. The last time Ethan had checked his phone, he’d found a text from Alexa. She’d headed back to the hotel hours ago. Had been gone when Nyle had checked in the equipment back at the RCMP headquarters. It was just as well. Maybe one of them would get a few hours’ sleep tonight.

“Okay, let’s look at the next one.” It was a laborious process. They were going through all the films, watching enough on each to piece together the UNSUB’s progress from the moment he entered the park. Ethan noted how he inched closer and closer to the front, as if in search of a better view. Each time he changed position he was careful to attach himself to someone nearby. He’d known that a single attendee would draw more attention than one in a group, although once the park had gotten congested, it was hard to tell the difference.

An hour later, Ethan jabbed a finger at the screen. “And there he is after the firecrackers went off.” The crowd was scattering, but the UNSUB was moving with a single-minded focus toward Alexa’s stand-in.

“You can see the limp now,” Nyle murmured.

“Not enough to slow him down much, but it’s there,” Ethan agreed. Patrick had proven to be their most observant witness so far. “What’s that? In his hand?” Without breaking stride, the UNSUB had reached into the purse he carried and taken something out.

“Let me see if I can enlarge it.” The officer running the film paused it, backed up to the spot Ethan had indicated and zoomed in. The larger image was fuzzy. But there was no mistaking something long and narrow extending from the offender’s closed hand.

“A needle.” Ethan sat back in his chair, half-stunned. Had the UNSUB thought he’d have a chance at Alexa in a park full of cops? “Resume the film.” He watched the offender approach Lavoie and the uniforms. Saw the trio break apart, drawing their weapons and facing the crowd. Ethan bit back a curse when the figure in the long flowered dress stopped. The UNSUB abruptly changed course and attached himself to a passel of vigil-goers and was lost in the mob.

He scrubbed both hands over his face. The offender had gotten close enough to see that they’d used a female decoy. It was all too easy to imagine a far different scene if Alexa had been at the park. If the two uniforms on either side of her had broken rank, as they had in the film. Leaving her exposed for a few instants. He still didn’t understand, even in that scenario, how the UNSUB had hoped to get her away from the area without being observed. But it hammered home to him just how far adrift the man was from his usual behavior.

And his unpredictability just heightened the danger.

“Let’s pick him up from his exit.” The videos were changed and they tracked the man being jostled in the throng as he made his way back toward the other end of the park. They weren’t able to get a full-figure shot until he veered toward the opposite end, head tipped down as if in a purposeful effort to avoid the camera the nearby plainclothes officer held. He reached into his purse with a now-empty hand. Withdrew… Ethan squinted. Car keys? He watched until the offender cut away from the park and walked quickly down the street.

“Back up to where we saw him take the keys out of the purse,” Ethan ordered. Once the officer had obeyed, he said, “Zoom in there.”

A key was held pointed outward. Ready for use. Had the man been parked nearby? That was the area where Rogers had said he’d been approached.

“Looks like an insignia on the keychain,” Nyle observed. He was closer to the screen than Ethan was. “Can you enhance just that area?”

“Getting beyond my technical skills,” the officer replied, but he attempted to do so. He got down and pressed his face almost against the screen to peer at it. “Can’t quite make it out, but the shape of it…does it remind anyone else of the CarsNow rental logo?”