As twilight gathered around the church, Asher started the SUV and flipped on the lights. The drive would take about twenty minutes. Both she and Asher grew quiet. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Twenty minutes to go over every possible reaction in her head. Please keep us strong for them, Father.
The Abbots’ home was in a typical middle-class neighborhood. The father was a principal at the local school. The wife was a teacher. They were simple people who were about to face the worst heartbreak possible.
Asher pulled into the drive, turned off the lights.
Olivia glanced around the quiet neighborhood. People were coming home from a busy day at work. Making dinner. Watching TV. This family’s world was about to change forever.
They headed up to the door. Before Olivia had time to think about what she would say, the door jerked open. A woman who appeared in her fifties stared back at them. The depth of pain on her face resonated down to Olivia’s soul. She’d lost someone she loved as well. It had been a wave of burrowing down into her very being and changing her DNA.
“Did you find her?” Olivia recognized the woman as Sylvia’s mother.
“May we come in, ma’am?” Asher responded because Olivia couldn’t. Neither of them wanted to have this conversation on the front step, yet the truth could not be hidden.
“No.” Linda Abbott half screamed half moaned the word before she collapsed into Asher’s arms, crying uncontrollably. He gently held her upright and guided her into the house while Olivia closed the door and tried to collect herself. She couldn’t fall apart now. Even though this brought back that moment when she’d received the news about Sawyer’s death.
Asher lowered the woman to the sofa. She clung to him and continued to weep.
He looked to Olivia. Neither knew how to make this easier for Sylvia’s mother.
Mrs. Abbott finally gathered herself and pulled away. Her face streaked with tears, she stared at Olivia pain-stricken eyes. “Why? Why did this happen?”
“I wish I knew,” Olivia said, the answer inept. “Is there anyone I can call for you, Mrs. Abbott?”
Fresh tears filled her eyes. “M…my husband. He had to go into his office for a little while.” A trembling hand covered her mouth. “I have to call him.” She grabbed her cell phone and called. “Ron, oh…they found her.” Her voice broke off into a sob unable to finish. Olivia took the phone from her and explained as best she could over the phone.
“Thank you, sir,” she said when Ron Abbott confirmed he’d head home right away. “Do you want me to have a patrol car escort you?”
The man sighed audibly. “No, I’ll be okay.”
The call ended. Olivia placed the phone on the coffee table. They would wait for the husband to come home before questioning the family. Asher left the room and returned with a glass of water. He placed it on the coffee table near Linda.
The woman wiped her tears and glanced between them. “What happened to my baby?”
“We don’t know much yet.” Olivia tried her best to explain how her daughter had died while sparing this woman the terrible details.
“She was murdered. This monster who took her murdered her.” Linda’s tear-soaked eyes held Olivia’s “The other two agents asked a lot of questions about Sylvia. They said they thought she might have been taken by a serial killer.”
The last thing Olivia wanted was to fuel that fire. If Sylvia’s death proved to be at the hands of the Van Gogh Killer as they suspected, there would be plenty of time to go there.
“We don’t know anything yet.” Asher’s eyes locked on Olivia’s, and she caught what he was thinking. The last thing they wanted was information leaking out to the news agencies before the Bureau confirmed the truth.
The rumble of a vehicle approaching was followed by lights flashing across the front of the house. The husband was home. Olivia stepped out to meet the man.
“Is it true?” The grief-stricken face of Sylvia Abbot’s father broke Olivia’s heart.
“Yes, sir, it is. I’m so sorry.”
Ronald Abbot’s chin wobbled as he fought back tears. “I can’t believe it. She’s our only child. We had Sylvia late in life. Linda and I doted on her.”
Shades of losing Sawyer bled into the moment. They’d met in college. Sawyer had been so easy to fall in love with. After his death, Olivia had gone into a dark depression that had taken months to pull out of. Still today, thinking about Sawyer made her sad. And not a day went by that she didn’t miss him. She understood grief wasn’t something you ever fully got over. You just learned to live with it as your companion.
Ron gathered himself and went inside to his wife. When she spotted her husband, she ran into his arms.
“Ron, our baby is dead.” Her husband held her while she sobbed, tears glistening in his eyes.
“Mr. Abbott, I’d like to get a list of your daughter’s friends, if I may,” Asher said. “The places she frequented. Her work contacts. Anything you can give us that might help us to find the person responsible for hurting your daughter.”
Ron nodded. “I will get you that information, but right now I need to attend to my wife.”
“Of course, I understand.” Asher placed his card on the coffee table. “I’ll leave my card here. You can send the information to my cell phone. If you think of anything or if you have questions, call me at any time.” Asher and Olivia showed themselves out.
“Here, give me the keys. I’ll drive.” Asher smiled and shook his head before tossing her the keys. Olivia ended up driving ninety percent of the time, not because she didn’t trust Asher’s skills, but because she needed something to do with her pent-up energy.
As they started back toward D.C., snow continued to fall from the dark skies. The headlights picked up the swirling flakes.
Asher’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. “It’s Luke.” He answered the call and placed it on speaker.
“We may have caught a break. I was doing a search of crimes that involved a stun gun, and I found a report from Arlington where a woman said someone tried to kidnap her from outside her home.”
“You’re kidding?” Asher said in amazement. “What’s her name and address? Olivia and I will head over and speak to her.”
“Tracy Donofrio. I’ll text you the address and Tracy’s phone number.”
“Thanks, Luke.” Asher ended the call and shifted toward Olivia. “If this woman was a victim of the new Van Gogh and survived, it could be a major break.” The phone in his hand buzzed the address. Asher gave it to Olivia.
She made the necessary changes to head them in the right direction. “We need to find out if this woman knows Lizzy.”
“Exactly, but we can’t speak to Lizzy.” Asher stated the obvious problem aloud. “The less contact we have with her and Will the better for everyone. As soon as we know something, let’s reach out to the sheriff, and let him pass the news on.”
Olivia nodded and focused on the road ahead as she maneuvered through the light traffic.
“I’ll call ahead and let Tracy know we’re coming.” He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must be. Asher typed in the number and put it on speaker once more.