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Back at HQ, in the evidence roo there was of Kroner&039;s collection, filing away in his mind snapshots of the objects Unfortunately, there was nothing that he&039;d seen in the photographs at the Bartens&039; that s

Stepping back, he crossed his arms over his chest "Shit"

"There&039;s stillaway frouy threw back the drape that covered all that had yet to be cataloged

Veck took a drink from his cold coffee, went over, and leaned in at the hips No touching, of course, so good thing it had all been laid out side by side More jewelrymore hair ties with strands of black and brown and pink stuck to -

His phone went off, and he pivoted away to answer it "DelVecchio Yeah, yupuh-huhyup, that&039;shis information before they sent out his first paycheck As he rushed through the questions, he thought, no offense, but he had better things to do

When he was finally off with them, he turned back around to the tray He&039;d been so sure that Sissy had been taken by Kroner Fucking hell -

Frolint flashed as whatever it was got put under theA s Like a dove or a sparrow

"Can I see that?" Veck said hoarsely

But even without the closer look, he recognized what it wasfrom the Bartens&039; bookcase, that close-up of Sissy when she&039;d been unaware she&039;d been photographed She had been wearing an earring just like it

Maybe she&039;d been wearing that exact one

His phone rang again just as the investigator held up the piece of evidence

When Veck glanced at the screen and saas Reilly, he immediately accepted the call "You&039;ll never believe this - I&039;"

"In the Kroner evidence" It was a statement, not a question

Veck frowned Her voice sounded all wrong "Are you all right? What happened with Kroner?"

There was a brief pause "I "

Veck stepped away fro his back to the guy Dropping his voice, he said, "What happened"

"I think he killed her Sissy Hekilled her"

Veck&039;s grip squeezed down on the phone "What did he say"

"He identified her by the hair and the Hannaford"

"Did you bring any photographs of her? Can we get a positive - "

"He went into a seizure in the ht now and they&039;re working on hih or not"

"Did he say anything else - "

"The body&039;s so to hio - "

"I&039;ve already called de la Cruz He&039;s going over there with Bails - "

"I&039;ht now"

"Veck," she bit out "This case is no longerpersons You and I are off of it"

"The hell we are - she&039;s still mine until they find a body Meet me there so you can suspend me if you want Or even better, co pause "You&039;re putting rind his molars "I seem to excel at that when it comes to you But I have to do this - and I promise not to be a pain in the ass"

"You excel at that, too"

"Stipulated Look, I can&039;t pull out of this until I at least knohat happened to her I don&039;t have to be all up in Kroner&039;s face if we find so, but I&039;ve got to do this"

Another interht I&039;m on hting him, clear?"

"Crystal" Veck sent up a prayer of thanks But then"Did he say anything else? Kroner, that is?"

There was a rustling, like she itching the phone from hand to hand "He said he knew you"

"What"

"Kroner said he knew you"

"That&039;s a fucking lie I&039;ve neverfrouy"

"I believe you"

"You don&039;t sound like it" And for some reason, her opinion didn&039;t just raph"

Her exhale sounded exhausted "Maybe Kroner was just screith me It&039;s hard to know"

"What did he say exactly?"

"Sonizes like&039; "

Veck went dead cold "I&039;et to e of town, and we round floor if de la Cruz will let us I&039;ll see you in a half hour"

As he hung up, the investigator glanced over from the microscope "Get what you need?"

"I think so Letit&039;s froirl"

"No problem"

"Where&039;s the &039;quarry&039;?"

"Take the Northway south about twenty miles I don&039;t know the exact exit, but it&039;s ns that&039;ll take you in"

"Thanks, s, if you knohat I mean"

"I do Unfortunately"

Fiveoff toward the interstate No reason to call de la Cruz ahead of time They&039;d just do the shon face-to-face when he arrived

The exit in question appeared fifteen ns were easy to follow, and nooff and following a sht to its flanks In the summer, they would no doubt form a romantic canopy; at theat one another

He cut the speed back as he rounded a fat right-hander that gradually cliher Wind whipped around, cold and stark, and the clouds see to think he was lost when he crested the rise, and there it was

Quarry? More like the Grand fucking Canyon

And members of the CPD as well as the Caldwell Fire Departathered: Two search and rescue vehicles A couple of squad cars An unmarked that had to be de la Cruz A K-9 unit

Veck parked a ways away and made no bones about his approach as he cas

De la Cruz peeled off froriain, he couldn&039;t be all that surprised, and the arrival was hardly happy news

"Fancyyou here," de la Cruz muttered But he put out his hand for a shake

"This place is huge" Their palms met in a clap "Betcha can use some help"

The quarry was easily a mile across and a halfleft over fro operation Three-quarters of its walls were solid drops, but the one to the south was a nasty-looking slope that was marked by boulders, scruffy brushand a lot of dark holes that had to be caves

"So are you going to let me work?" Veck demanded

"Where&039;s your partner"