Chapter 21

Saturday. Where Friday went Nate had no idea. What he did know is that he had two suspects in the kidnapping of five girls and the murder of two. One suspect was dead, his body being autopsied today. The other suspect was at large but at least he had a name. Todd Purcell. Kyle had positively identified the man. The man’s rap sheet was a mile long. Okay, not literally a mile but at least half. He had done time for armed robbery and attempted murder. He had gotten out on good behavior which basically meant the prisons were overcrowded and he hadn’t killed anybody in a while.
Nate flipped over the files in front of him. Five missing girls. Five dead mothers. The girls ranged in age from nine to thirteen. They were all young, Caucasian girls but nothing about them was similar. Different hair color, different heights, varying weights though not greatly but some of the girls were more mature and entering puberty, the others weren’t. Sexual predators usually had a preference especially about puberty. Some liked it, some didn’t.
And sexual predators were more cunning then this. They didn’t kill people and steal girls. This was unlike anything Nate had come across before. This was too professional. More then two men had to be involved. But who? Who would be willing to kill women in broad daylight and steal their daughters?
Only someone who knew he could get away with it.
The thought hit Nate like a ton of bricks. Who could get away with this? Organized crime came to mind. Professional drug runners. Hit men. Human traffickers. The girls could be used as drug mules. Or they could be used for their bodies. Selling their bodies would be more profitable but the publicity seemed so risky. What would be the payoff? What would be the reason?
Nothing was making any sense. Nate was more frustrated now then ever. So many lives were at stake. Any of the three missing girls still presumed alive could turn up dead at any moment. They could also take another girl. Who was to say they were done?
Nate looked at the list of people interviewed and noticed that Julia Lambert’s father hadn’t been interviewed. They had talked with all the families to see if there could be any connection. So far they had come up with nothing. The girls went to different schools. Lived in different cities. Their lives didn’t connect in any tangible ways. Forensic specialist had even dug into their accounting, their vacations, their pasts, their presents. No connections. But still, the interviews needed to be done. Maybe the fathers had noticed someone hanging around. Strange phone calls, strange e-mails, strange mail. Nothing was insignificant.
After printing out directions, Nate grabbed his jacket and headed to Clearwater to interview Collin Lambert, Julia’s father.
The drive was peaceful. There wasn’t a lot of traffic on 75 and Nate cruised north to the beach. The directions led him across the Tampa Bay Bridge and into Clearwater. While he didn’t care for the heat he loved the water and the beaches and Clearwater was one place where the sun hit the water just right and it looked like diamonds sparkling in the distance.
It brought back memories of times he had spent on the beach with Ashley in college. She was even more beautiful back then. Her hair was longer and blonder but just as straight. Nate wasn’t exactly sure what women did to get their hair that straight but he liked it. Now her hair was a bit more auburn and shoulder length but still straight and silky.
Ashley had retained her stick-thin figure despite her pregnancy. Not that Nate minded a woman’s curves. A woman looking like a woman was nice but Ashley had more of a model figure. Nate wasn’t sure if she ate. Except maybe salad and water. That was about all he could recall her eating.
Her eyes were large and round, unusually so or maybe it was that her nose and mouth were small. Her skin was porcelain. Almost perfect.
Nate smiled. Probably not. Nate just liked to think of her that way. The way she was before the frown. Before the wrinkled brown and down cast eyes. He liked the large smile. She had seen that smile when Ashley was with Michael. Was Nate in danger of losing her again?
Pulling off the highway Nate wound his way to a new home community and eventually to the Lambert’s home. A minivan sat in the driveway and children’s toys scattered the lawn. It was a larger two-story home and Nate could see a pool cage in the backyard. The Lambert’s appeared to have it all until some madman took it away.
Nate rang the doorbell, rocked on his heels and waited. He hadn’t called ahead so he had no idea if Collin would actually be home. When he heard the door unlatch he was grateful he hadn’t made a wrong choice.
A man with red eyes and disheveled brown hair answered the door. Nate could hear small children playing in the background. “Be quiet!” The man yelled and the noise ceased. Footsteps scrambled across the floor and up to the next one.
“Mr. Lambert?” Nate asked.
“Yea, what do you want?”
Nate withdrew his badge from his pocket and flipped open his credentials.
“I’ve already talked to the cops,” Collin said with a slight slur.
“Mr. Lambert, my name is Special Agent Nate Zimmerman. I’m with the FBI and I’d like to ask you a few questions about your wife. This is standard procedure; I just haven’t had a chance to get around to interviewing you because of some things that have happened this week. I apologize for the delay. Do you have a moment?”
“Yea, I guess, come on in.” Collin pulled back the door and allowed Nate to step inside. The smell hit him first. Like someone hadn’t taken out the trash in a while. It seemed odd since Julia had only been missing three days. Could a man have gone down hill so quickly? Newspapers and papers cluttered the floor and the floral print couch into the living room on Nate’s left. A small hallway led back to a breakfast table and beyond that Nate assumed was the kitchen. To his right should have been a dining room table but instead was a room full of baby toys. Nate didn’t remember that they had a small child.
“Thank you. It won’t take long.”
Collin nodded and pointed to the sofa. Nate moved the papers off the couch and on to the floor since there was no coffee table in sight. Collin didn’t sit, instead he began pacing the room.
“Mr. Lambert, was there anything unusual about your wife’s behavior in the last few weeks?”
“No, we were getting back together. We had been fighting and we were separated but we were getting back together. I still can’t believe this has happened…” Collin stopped and leaned his head against a wall. Nate waited as his shoulders shook with grief.
“Can I ask what you separated over?” Nate asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Julia. Julia’s our youngest. We have one other child together but Marie had two children from a previous marriage. One of them is twenty-four and she’s had two children. Both with different boyfriends. She left them with us all the time. I was tired of playing babysitter but Marie, Marie wouldn’t tell her no.”
This is what people separated over these days? Nate thought then said, “Mr. Lambert, do you know anyone who would want to hurt your wife?”
“No, I don’t. I told the other officers already. Marie worked for me as my secretary. I own my own cement company. Marie worked with our clients but these aren’t individuals, we do work for corporations. New office buildings, some new homes, things like that. Nothing criminal, nothing dangerous. No one hates us.”
“But you were working on getting back together?” Nate asked.
“That’s right.”
“When did this happen?”
“Only about a week ago. I loved her too much. I couldn’t let her go. I called her and told her I didn’t care about Nora’s kids. They could stay here if she wanted if Marie would come home. Marie said she’d talk to Nora and not keep the kids as much. It was working until well, you know, I got a call saying that Marie was dead and Julia was missing.”
“Mr. Lambert, does Julia know Daisy Brandt?”
“No.”
Nate listed the other missing girls and Collin confirmed that Julia didn’t know any of the other girls that were missing or their mothers.
“You have to find my baby. You have to find her alive, Agent Zimmerman. She can’t end up like those other girls. She just can’t.”
“I will do my best, Mr. Lambert. I am determined to find whoever did this and bring him in.” And Nate meant it too.
“Grandpa!” Little voices beckoned from up the stairs. “Can we come down now?”
“Yes, baby, you can come play here.” The control Collin displayed was surprising. Gone were the tears. Instead Collin scooped up the two little girls that were now in front of them and kissed their hair. Apparently Collin wasn’t lying about accepting Marie’s grandchildren.
Collin turned towards Nate, “Is that all? I have to take care of Marie’s grandkids on my own now.” He shook his head, the tears threatening to return, “At one time this was a hardship, now it’s all I have left of her.”
“I understand. If I need anything else I’ll let you know. Thank you for your time.” Nate left the way he had come and returned to his vehicle. He was getting nowhere. There was no way these victims were chosen at random. There was too much detail. Whoever kidnapped these girls had to know where they were. With the exception of Kyle, all of the victims were alone with their mothers. The murders took place on side streets when no one was around but yet they occurred during the day. This took planning. Given Todd Purcell’s rap sheet he didn’t strike Nate as the kind of guy who could pull something like this off.
The return drive was just as beautiful as the trip to the Lambert’s house except now the sun was a little higher in the sky and the air just that much more humid. Nate didn’t mind, he could open his window and let the breeze blow him in the face but he didn’t. Instead he flipped open his cell phone and dialed Michael’s home number.
Nate cringed when Michael answered the phone. Fortunately, Michael was quick to turn the phone over to Ashley.
“How are you doing?” Nate asked.
“I’m okay. I slept in the guest bedroom. It was better then the hotel.” Ashley seemed like she was searching for words. Like Nate had caught her in the middle of something. Nate only hoped he hadn’t.
“Anything new? Any threats?”
“No, I’m fine. It does look like Kyle will be able to come home early next week. I’m more worried about him then me.”
“Seems like if someone wanted to kill him he’d already be dead,” Nate didn’t want to sound harsh but it was true. When the man, probably Todd Purcell, entered Kyle’s room yesterday he had every opportunity to kill him and he didn’t.
“I understand that Nate but now he did tell you what he’d been threatened not to. I’m afraid he’s not safe here. I’m afraid none of us are.”