Chapter 17 MERCY

Chapter 17

MERCY

Mercy closed her motel room door and pulled out her cell phone. She flung her bag onto a chair as she scanned her texts, impatient to inform Detective Bolton about the video from the tattoo shop. But Kaylie had sent six pictures of her foster kittens, and Mercy couldn't resist rapidly scrolling through them all first.

It helps to look at kittens after seeing Jimmie's motel room.

Truman had texted a heart, and she sent one back.

Evan's message asked her to call. She tapped his photo, hit the CALL button, and checked her email as she waited for him to answer. Her gaze locked on an email from the NW RCFL, the FBI computer lab that had Paige's laptop and phone.

"Mercy?" Evan answered.

"Yes. I was about to open the computer lab's email," she said. "Is this why you called?"

"It is."

"Evan, I've got some rough video from here that might be Paige."

"That's great!"

"It's ten days old and it's grainy and the face is hard to see. But I'd like her parents to look at it. See if they can identify her."

"I'm at their home right now. I was about to discuss the computer lab's findings with them when you called. Can you send me the video?"

"Yes." She quickly opened her laptop and uploaded the video. "There's something else."

"What?" Evan asked.

"The video is from a tattoo parlor. If this is her, then the tattoo she got was also on the two murdered women. A heart made of chains and in the same location over the heart. And the artist said he'd done four of them. So there's another woman out there somewhere."

Evan was silent a long moment. "Paige might be one in a line of missing women? And two are known to be dead?"

"Yes."

"Will the FBI send more agents out there?"

"I need to call my boss, but I don't think so. Several agents are following leads in different states—these are possible Paige sightings too. I'll continue to be the only agent in town unless I can confirm that Paige is here."

"I can hear it in your voice ... you think she is," Evan said.

"I'm considering all options."

Damn, I hope I'm close.

He exhaled. "With your tattoo news, the results from the laptop make more sense."

"Explain."

"You might as well hear about it as I update the Holcrofts. But let's give them your news first."

"OK. Switching to video." Mercy tapped her phone screen, and Evan's face appeared. She recognized the senator's yard in the background.

"They're in the house. I stepped out to take your call." He opened a door and moved into the home. "Senator, I've got Agent Kilpatrick on video from New York. She has an update, which I'm going to show you on my laptop."

The senator and Denise came into view. They were seated side by side on a sofa in the huge living room. They looked exhausted, their faces strained. It'd been more than two weeks without news of their daughter. Evan propped his phone against something so they could see Mercy.

"What have you found?" asked the senator, his tone cautious. Hitting dead end after dead end had trained him not to get his hopes up.

"Ten days ago, a girl that could be Paige got a tattoo in Albany, New York," said Mercy. "I just sent Detective Bolton a video from the tattoo parlor. It's very grainy," she warned. "And the woman is wearing a hat. I can't be sure it's her, but maybe you can tell."

Denise reached over and clenched her husband's hand. "Ten days ago," she repeated in a flat tone. "That's so long."

"Here it is," Evan said.

The parents turned their attention away from Mercy, both of them leaning forward as they focused on Evan's laptop. Mercy watched, slightly pained by their faces full of hope.

Please say it's Paige.

"Back it up," Denise told Evan. "Stop it right there." She squinted and then turned to her husband. "I can't tell." She looked about to cry.

Adam continued to stare at the video. "Do you recognize the shoes?"

"No," whispered Denise. "I don't recognize any of the clothes or the hat. And those heels make her walk awkwardly, so if it is Paige, she doesn't move how I'd expect." She covered her face with her hands.

"Are there more videos or photos?" asked the senator.

"That's it," said Mercy. "I'm sorry I don't have anything else for you." Her heart dropped.

Is this another dead end?

Adam dragged his gaze to Evan. "What were you going to tell us about her computer?"

Denise grabbed a tissue, blotting her eyes and then her nose.

"This is the first Agent Kilpatrick is hearing of the results too," said Evan. "The FBI lab discovered that Paige spent a lot of time on a site called CuffMe.com."

Mercy caught her breath, remembering the ball gags and bound hands of the two dead women.

Paige appeared to be into BDSM.

That would explain the tattoo.

There's a good chance that is her on the video.

The senator froze but his wife frowned. "What is that?" she asked.

"It's a site about BDSM," Evan said carefully. "Which is bondage, domination, sadism—"

The senator cut him off. "I know what it is! What the hell are you trying to say?"

"And masochism," Evan finished. "There were extensive Google searches on her computer about all aspects of BDSM, but she spent hours on this site for several weeks."

"She's a teenager!" Denise's voice was shrill. "She's curious about things. I wouldn't be surprised if Finn's Google history is full of sex things too."

"Mrs. Holcroft," Mercy began delicately. "The reason we went to the tattoo parlor in the first place was to track down a tattoo found on two murdered women here in New York. These women were found with ... elements of bondage on their bodies. And the tattoo could be interpreted as representing that too. The girl in the video received the same tattoo."

Denise stared, her mouth slightly open.

"You think Paige is in New York doing that?" The senator's face was stony.

"I'm not positive," said Mercy. "But I think we're getting closer."

Evan cleared his throat. "The CuffMe site has a place for users to make personal connections and have conversations," he said. "It's well known for bringing people together who are interested in the same things."

Maybe that's where he found the women. And Paige.

"She met someone on there. That's who she was in the car with," stated the senator in a flat tone. "And then he took her to New York." Beside him, Denise sat very still, shock on her features.

"It's a possibility," said Evan. "The FBI computer lab believes she has an account, but they aren't able to access it to see who she talked with. We're putting together a subpoena for CuffMe's parent company to let us into Paige's account."

"How long will that take?" asked Denise. "Once you get that you'll know who the man is, right? You'll find an address for him from that site?" Her hopeful gaze went from her husband to Evan and back.

"I don't know how long," said Evan. "And we need to be prepared that whoever she spoke with didn't use any traceable information. Often people who use these sites use fake information."

"Except Paige," Denise said bitterly.

"Which was good for us," Mercy added. "It's led us to this point." Her brain was rapidly processing the information Evan had shared. "I think we can say this information has greatly reduced the possibility that her disappearance is politically related to the senator."

"Because Paige got herself into this," said the senator slowly. "No one sought her out to get at me."

Denise pulled her hand out of his and started to cry.

His words made Mercy see red. "She's a child, sir. This is not her fault," she snapped. "The man involved is a predator and most likely an adult. This is squarely on him, not Paige. She made some bad decisions, but I suspect she did not leave your house on her own. She was manipulated."

Shame flickered across his face. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just that for two weeks my brain has been working overtime, blaming my job, blaming my voting record, analyzing every little word I've ever said, looking for the why of Paige's disappearance. Now I just learned I've been obsessed with the wrong angle."

"Your position hasn't been ruled out as a factor," said Mercy, cooling a bit after his explanation. "It's still on the table. But it's looking unlikely that this was about politics." She paused. "I think this is about power. A man hunting for power and control. A need to dominate."

By holding and abusing these women.