Exposed (19 page)

Sam jogged off toward his car, probably to call it in on the radio. Maddie looked at Brian. The cut above his eye trickled blood, and she once again felt the tight grip of fear that made it difficult to breathe.

He whipped out his phone and started dialing someone.

“Are you really all right?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“What did you see in there?”

He shook his head once, sharply, confirming that he
had
seen something but he wanted her to drop it.

“Hey, it’s Beckman.” He looked over his shoulder at the blaze behind him. “I need an evidence response team out on Highway 84, north of Route 12.” He paused to listen, and then pressed the phone against his chest. “Hey!” he called across the driveway. “What’s the ETA on that fire and rescue squad?”

Sam looked up from his conversation with another agent, who was also on the phone. At least, Maddie assumed she was an agent. The blond woman looked about Brian’s age and had on one of those FBI jackets like Maddie had been wearing the other night.

“Fire and rescue’s been diverted,” Sam shouted. “They’re responding to a car fire west of here. Someone’s trapped in a vehicle.”

A
car
fire? Maddie’s stomach knotted as she thought of Jolene.

“West?”
Brian looked at Maddie. “But you said they went east. You’re sure about the direction?”

“I’m sure. Sam, are you talking rescue or recovery?”

“Don’t know.”

“Let’s go,” Brian said. “We need to find out.”

The sight of Kelsey’s white Suburban parked beside the fire rig confirmed Maddie’s worst fears. Road flares and cones marked off the accident scene, reducing the highway to one lane near the blackened wreckage.

Brian rolled to a stop behind the line of emergency vehicles, and they trekked over the asphalt to the smoldering car that was nose-first in a ditch. Smoke and fumes burned Maddie’s nostrils. She gripped her camera strap and braced herself for the sight.

Kelsey was crouched at the back of the vehicle, and Maddie could feel the heat emanating from it as they drew closer.

“How’d you get here so fast?” Maddie asked.

Kelsey glanced up from her work. She wore the same clothes she’d had on earlier at the Delphi Center—jeans and a cable-knit sweater—but she’d traded her lab coat for a green ski vest.

“I was on Twelve driving home when the sheriff called.” She glanced at Brian, and her gaze turned suspicious. “Who are you?”

“I’m with the FBI. What can you tell us?”

Kelsey seemed to ignore the question as she stood up and made notes on her clipboard with a gloved hand. After a moment, she glanced up.

“Nothing yet. The burns are too severe from all the gasoline.”

Maddie hazarded a look inside the car. A charred skeleton lay curled in the fetal position on the backseat. The stench of burning flesh and gasoline made her take a step back.

“Hey, Maddie!”

She glanced down the road to see Sheriff Bracewell waving her over.

“Come get a picture of this gas can, would you?”

She started to move, but Brian caught her arm. “Hold up. This isn’t your crime scene.”

Before she could argue, another car pulled up. Sam and the blond agent got out. Probably sensing a territory dispute, Bracewell abandoned the gas can and stalked over to Brian.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

Brian flashed his badge. “Special Agent Brian Beckman, FBI. We’ve got an evidence response team en route to this location.”

The sheriff’s gaze narrowed. “On what grounds?”

“Trust me, you don’t want this one,” Sam said, sauntering over.

“Who the hell are you?”

Forgoing the badge, Sam held out a hand and introduced himself. Then he turned to look at the smoldering vehicle.

“This is a budget buster. Ditto the factory fire down the road there.” Sam had dropped the Maryland accent and was channeling Texas good ol’ boy. “Lotta man-hours involved. You’re best off letting us pay for it.”

“What’s all this about?” Bracewell demanded, and Maddie held her breath, hoping Sam wasn’t clueless
enough to give a glib answer. If he tried to pull a sorry-I-can’t-comment-on-a-federal-investigation, Bracewell would take it as a declaration of war. His ego far outweighed his budget concerns.

But Sam pulled him aside to talk, and Maddie returned her attention to Kelsey.

“I take it you’re the ME?” Brian asked her.

“Forensic anthropologist.”

“And this is your autopsy?”

“Afraid so.” Kelsey held the clipboard against her chest.

“And you’ve already determined there was gasoline involved in this fire?”

“Quite a lot, I’d say, judging from the damage.” Kelsey nodded at the car. “Looks like the victim was doused.”

“How long until we get an ID?”

Kelsey looked him up and down. She walked to the front of the car, which was significantly less damaged than the back. Not touching the hot metal door, she peered through the broken side window, then stood back and shook her head.

“No purse or wallet, front or back,” she said. “Too hot to check the glove compartment yet, but someone removed the plates. I don’t have a lot to go on here.”

“What about the body?”

“I can get you the big four by tomorrow.”

“Big four?”

“Race, sex, age, stature,” Kelsey said. “Anything more specific is going to require more time.”

Maddie listened to the conversation as she edged
closer to the driver’s door and looked inside. She adjusted her flash settings and lifted her camera to get a photograph of the dashboard.

“Vehicle identification number,” she explained at Brian’s questioning look. “No tags, no ID, but at least you can get started on the VIN.”

“Good idea.” He turned to Kelsey. “And we’re definitely going to need more than the big four. We need to know who this is. How soon for a positive ID?”

“Depends. If I have dental records, it’s faster. If not, I’ll need to extract tooth pulp, maybe even bone marrow.” She glanced at Maddie, clearly concerned. “Why? Who do you
think
it is?”

Maddie opened her mouth to respond, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat.

“A missing woman,” Brian said for her. “She’s a witness in a federal investigation.”

“This the kidnapping I heard about?” Kelsey glanced over, and Maddie nodded. Her friend knew this case related to her personally. “And do you have a DNA sample?” Kelsey asked Brian.

“I can get one.”

“Do that,” Kelsey told him. “Send it to Delphi, and I’ll work as fast as I can.”

Maddie stepped out of the concrete building and tipped her head back to look at the sky. The night was cold and cloudy. She took a big gulp of air and let it sit in her lungs to wake her up. She had a thirty-minute drive ahead of her, and she needed to get it over with before her emotions kicked in and sapped what was left of her energy.

It had been a grueling night. After spending more than an hour at the fire scene, Brian had taken her to Delphi to pick up her car. Then she’d followed him back to the FBI office to debrief with the task force and look at mug shots.

“You finish up in there?”

She turned to see the female agent she’d met at the vehicle fire—LeBlanc.

“They showed me a photo array,” Maddie said. “I picked out one of them.”

The woman strolled over, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket. In khaki tactical pants and an FBI golf shirt, she looked more casual than Brian and Sam.

“One’s better than none,” the woman said. “Did you hear about the VIN you photographed for us?”

“No.” Maddie could tell by her tone of voice that it wasn’t good news.

“Vehicle traces back to Anatoli Petrovik, a known associate of Goran Mladovic. Same man you picked out from the lineup, the one in the SUV.”

Which meant a clear connection between Mladovic’s crew and the burn victim. Maddie closed her eyes. She’d known it anyway, but hearing it confirmed just added to her bleak mood.

“It’s a mess of a case,” the agent said.

Maddie looked at her. “Sorry, I never caught your first name.”

“Elizabeth. Or you can call me LeBlanc, like everyone else.” She glanced out over the parking lot. “Team’s going to grab a drink now over at Blackjack’s Pub. You want to join us?”

Maddie watched her, instantly on guard. Was there a hidden agenda here? An invitation to get a beer with everyone implied that she considered Maddie part of the investigation, as opposed to a civilian witness. Brian had seemed intent on keeping her in the latter category—and controlling the information flow. Despite being unsure of her motive, Maddie was flattered to be asked.

But drinks with the team would include Brian, and that probably wasn’t smart. It was getting late.

“Thanks,” Maddie said, “but I really should get home.”

“Hey, you coming to Blackjack’s?”

She turned to see Sam pushing through the glass door.

“She’s on the fence,” Elizabeth said.

“You know, Beckman took off already.” He gave Maddie a knowing smile. “Coast is clear. Come on, have a beer with us.”

Maddie felt her resolve slipping. She didn’t want to go home to her empty house and her empty bed and her thoughts of those charred remains in the back of that car. She hadn’t even taken the crime-scene photos this time, and yet the brief glimpse was seared in her memory.

That was what happened when she allowed herself to develop a personal connection to a case. It was going to be a long, sleepless night—despite her exhaustion—and she wasn’t ready for it yet.

A beer sounded tempting, the company even more so. After a bad crime scene, cops were the only people she could stand to be around. They’d seen the same horrors she had, and there was an underlying comfort level, because they didn’t pry or push or show the slightest hint of lurid curiosity about her job.

“Come on,” Sam said again.

Maddie looked down at her wool coat, which had blood smudges on the front. Her blouse was wrinkled, and her hair was falling out of the neat chignon she’d worn to trial that morning.

“You look fine,” Elizabeth said, reading her mind.

“I don’t even know where I’m going.”

“That’s easy.” Sam smiled. “Follow me.”

Brian stepped into the crowded bar and scanned the room, fully expecting to be disappointed. But she was
there, sitting at a corner table with Sam and Elizabeth and a few others from the task force. When he’d seen the white Prius outside, he’d thought there was no way in hell he could get that lucky.

He eased through the crowd, reaching the table just as they all scooted their chairs back and stood to leave.

“Hey, look who’s here,” Elizabeth said, prompting a chorus of greetings from everyone but Maddie.

Sam slapped him on the back. “Damn, Beck, you got stitches? This calls for another round.”

“Sorry, not for me,” Elizabeth said. “I need to get home.”

The others echoed the thought and shrugged into coats. It was late. They had to work in the morning.

Brian made his way over to Maddie. She fisted her hand on her hip and glared up at him, and he felt a warm shot of lust.