Peg nodded, pursing her lips. “Agreed.”
“I understand the motivation for her to kidnap Felicity Akerman,” Sergeant Bennett interceded. “But where does Krissy Willis come in? It’s over thirty years later. Where’s the connection—besides the obvious blood ties between Felicity and Krissy?”
“It could still be someone’s vendetta,” Lynch answered. “If DeMassi and his son, or another mob soldier is pulling the strings, the choice of victims could be theirs.”
“On the other hand,” Hutch interceded, “if the psychological implications Casey is suggesting are true, then Linda Turner would have filled Anna’s void with Felicity. And when Felicity grew up, the void would reappear. So she wouldn’t need much convincing to do a repeat performance, this time with Krissy.”
“Krissy would take Felicity’s place,” Casey agreed aloud. “That makes sense. And Patrick, I know Sidney was our ace in the hole. But I’m no longer convinced there’s a mob tie-in here. I think we might be barking up the wrong tree. Linda’s motivation is emotional and psychological. She wants—needs—to replace her dead daughter. She could be acting on her own.”
“Meaning Sidney was just a wrong-place, wrong-time scenario.”
“Exactly.” A hard swallow as Casey turned to Hutch and steeled herself for the inevitable answer to what she was about to ask. “At what age would a child like Felicity become dispensable?”
“Based on your theory—which I think holds water—when Felicity reached an age where she no longer needed a ‘mommy’ and/or no longer reminded Linda of Anna. Before puberty, would be my guess.”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Casey persisted. “Vera Akerman has been in touch with Linda over the years. And, at no point, did she go to pieces. How do you explain that?”
Hutch’s jaw tightened. “There could be several reasons. Either the void in her life was filled by someone else, like a man.”
“Or?”
“Or there could have been other children in between Felicity and Krissy. Children that Linda abducted on her own.”
“Oh, God.” Casey felt ill.
“What about the quarter of a million dollars that Hope Willis paid?” Bennett asked. “Where does the ransom money come in?”
“It was either a hoax generated by some arbitrary bastard cashing in on the Willises’ panic, or a way to throw us off track,” Hutch deduced. “I doubt that Linda required a payoff. Not with motives that, as Casey said, are clearly emotional and psychological.” A pause. “There is one other possibility. Linda could need money to raise her ‘child.’ Ransom would be a way of getting it.”
“Yes, it would,” Casey murmured. “Especially if Linda plans on keeping Krissy for years.”
A heavy silence hung in the room.
“So we’re all in agreement,” Peg concluded at last. “We’ve got to find Linda Turner.” She glanced over at Ryan. “Since you’ve already jumped the gun, do you have anything for us on her whereabouts?”
Ryan frowned. “She’s fallen off the map. When the local cops checked out her house, they found it deserted, the phone line disconnected. But there’s no indication that she moved—no forwarding address, nothing on the internet, zilch. I’m not giving up. I’m going back to the office to start digging again. I’ll find her.” He looked at Casey. “Does Vera Akerman have a picture of Linda Turner?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll find out. I have to talk to her, Hope and Edward anyway, and fill them in on where things stand.”
“Tell them only what you have to,” Peg cautioned.
“I will.”
“If you can get me a photo, I’ll use my age-enhancing software to create an image of Linda as she would look today,” Ryan said. “I’ll email what I come up with to your BlackBerry so Hope’s mother can see it and suggest whatever modifications are necessary. Once that’s done, we’ll have something to distribute.”
“Good. Because Marc and I are heading up to Linda’s house right after this meeting.” Casey was frank. Even if Peg gave her a hard time, she wasn’t going to lie.
“A handful of us will be up there, too,” Peg replied. “We need to determine how long Linda’s been gone. Logically, she’s with Krissy.” Peg shot Casey a warning look. “Don’t impede our investigation, Casey. You’ve already stepped way over the line.”
“We won’t. When it comes to this, we know you’re the experts.” Casey glanced respectfully at Sergeant Bennett. “With your permission, I’d like to bring Claire with us. She might pick up on some energy that will help us. An
d we’re bringing Hero, too. He’s out in Marc’s car. I want him there when ERT is collecting Linda Turner’s scent—to sniff after they’ve completed their official search,” she hastily added, referring to the FBI’s Evidence Response Team.
“I have no problem with that,” Bennett replied.
“Nor do I.” Peg turned to Hutch. “You and Grace work up a new profile. Highlight the following. Female in her mid-sixties. A loner. Photo to follow. Seen with the five-year-old kidnapping victim whose picture we distributed. I want you to call a meeting of the remaining members of the task force. I want every pair of eyes on the lookout for Linda Turner, or someone or something that can lead us to her. Don, pick a few of your people. Same with the North Castle P.D. Patrick, you’re welcome to join us. We’re taking off now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX