Jake wiped his eyes.

Ava spotted Special Agent Sanford in a conversation with two other agents at a computer screen and raised a hand at him. He held up one finger. She and Jake stayed put. The boards on the walls were filling up with notes and photos. She spotted a board with about ten large photos of homes, recognizing them instantly. All the homes Henley would have walked past on her way to the bus. Ava had stared at the homes in person, wondering about the people who lived inside.

Was their kidnapper a passerby? Was it intentional or spur-of-the-moment?

At nearly eight in the morning?

Her experience told her it was intentional. Premeditated. A complex plan.

How else did a child vanish from between her house and the bus stop?

Sanford hurried over. “Morning. Ready to talk for a bit?” He directed the question at Jake, who silently nodded. Sanford forced a tired smile. He looked like shit, and Ava wondered when he’d slept last.

“You bring a guardian?” Sanford looked from Jake to Ava with a frown. Even though Jake was eighteen, it would make everyone feel better to know he had an adult with him for an interview. The look on Sanford’s face plainly said he didn’t consider Ava to be that person.

“His dad is outside on a phone call. He’ll be a minute.”

The three stood silently for a moment, eyeing each other.

“Do you have any leads?” Jake asked, and Ava’s heart broke at the teen’s whisper. She’d told him all she knew on the drive over. Her gaze pleaded with Sanford to be gentle with Jake.

“Ah . . . we have a lot we’re following up on. Tips are coming in from the public. We’re looking into each one.”

Jake shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hope on his face.

“And all the specialists made it in last night. We pulled them from a half-dozen states. We’ve got senior special agents in evidence recovery, hostage negotiation, computer forensics, and even some guys from BAU working with us.”

“BAU?” Jake asked. “Like from Silence of the Lambs?”

Annoyance flickered for the fleetest second on Sanford’s face. Ava had no issue with the public’s view of the movie. So what if an agent-in-training was pulled in on a huge serial-killer case? The movie still showed the talent of that department. But other agents didn’t feel the way she did.

“Yes, but without the Hollywood gloss,” Ava answered. “We met one of them yesterday. He was very helpful with some of his insights.”

“How long will all these people be here?” Jake asked.

“As long as we need them,” replied Sanford.

Callahan joined them, nodding at Sanford. “Sorry I’m late.” He rubbed Jake’s shoulder.

Ava picked up a highly annoyed vibe coming off the detective. He seemed distracted. What had happened on his phone call? It couldn’t have to do with the case. He would have immediately brought up anything they needed to know. She had a hunch it was about his time off from his department. Perhaps they were struggling with his abrupt departure.

“Where are we doing this?” Callahan asked.

Sanford pointed at a door leading back to the hallway. “Wells is waiting two doors down on your left.”

The three found the room. Wells was typing on a laptop at a large, round table and motioned for them to take seats. The room appeared to be a small library. Books lined the shelves, and several comfortable chairs were available for reading. Spiritual posters with scripture and clever quotes lined the walls.

DOWN IN THE MOUTH? TIME FOR A FAITH LIFT.

7 DAYS WITHOUT PRAYER MAKES 1 WEAK.

The peace and quiet was a welcome relief from the buzz of the command center. Ava breathed a sigh of relief that Wells was doing Jake’s interview. She knew he’d be thorough and thoughtful of the boy’s feelings.

“Okay, Jake. Why don’t you tell me about Duke,” Wells began with a small smile. “What are you studying, when are your classes, who do you like to hang out with, and how’s the college food?”

Jake glanced at his father, who nodded. Jake launched into a description of his school life, and Ava let her mind wander for a few seconds. College seemed forever ago. She’d gone to UCLA, wanting to live the Southern California experience that she’d seen on TV. It hadn’t been like TV. It’d been packed with people, and her apartment had been a near-slum, but that’s all she could afford. She and Jayne had grown up in a quiet Northern California community. Almost a rural experience.

Jake seemed to like his college. As a freshman, he lived in the dorms and ate mostly at one of the campus cafeterias or restaurants that took college dining credits. He hadn’t joined a frat, his closest friends were his roommate and two other guys in his hall, and he had a hard time getting to his 8 A.M. classes. He shot a look at his father with his comment about the early classes. Callahan shrugged. “You were never a morning person.”

Wells led him through some casual conversation about his major—engineering—and Ava saw the boy gradually relax and stop analyzing every answer in his head before he spoke.

“When did you get to Portland?” Wells asked.

“I landed around 4 P.M. on Wednesday. Mom met me at the airport. But we didn’t leave for another two hours because they couldn’t find my bag.”

“Were you at baggage claim when the bags started coming out on the carousel?”

“Nah, I hit the bathroom and then stopped at the coffee place to get something to eat, but there was a big line. They didn’t serve us anything but snacks on the plane, and I was starving. Mom met me at the waiting area past security. By the time I got down to baggage, the suitcases were already going around.”