directly in front of the screen.
“We just finished interviewing the last child from Henley’s bus stop,” said the older agent. “There’s a consensus that she wasn’t on the bus.”
Sanford nodded. “I’ve been making a lot of my decisions with the assumption that your interviews would back up what we heard from the two kids first thing this morning.”
“There were five altogether,” the agent continued. “Each kid stated that Henley wasn’t at the stop and didn’t get on the bus, but we also wanted to see for ourselves. The school district emailed this video a few minutes ago.”
The other agent pointed at each kid on the screen as they sat down, reciting their names. “These are the kids getting on at Henley’s stop. You have to wait until they turn around, but I recognize each child we talked to this morning. They’re all correct. Henley didn’t get on.”
The group of agents was silent as the video froze, highlighting an image of a dozen children seated on the bus. Mason squinted at the screen, studying each face. No blonde girls with delicate features looked back at him.
“No chance she got on at a different stop?” Ava asked.
“We asked the kids that, too. All of them say she didn’t get on.” The first agent put a finger on the face of a dark-haired girl. “This girl said that she usually sits with Henley when she rides that bus and swears her friend wasn’t on this morning. I’ve watched the whole video. When the kids get off at the school, I had a clear shot of each face. There wasn’t even a question.” The agent next to him nodded emphatically.
“I agree,” the second agent said. “She’s not there.”
Sanford blew out a breath. “Okay. Pull all but two agents from the school. I want everyone back at the area between the Fairbanks house and the bus stop. Our current target area just narrowed for now.”
Ava tipped her head at Mason, and they quietly moved away from the group a few feet.
“I don’t know whether to be pleased about this turn of events or not,” Ava whispered.
“I think it helps. It essentially eliminates investigating the entire school area. It really narrows down the time frame and location,” Mason stated. He made a mental plan to do some of his own footwork in the neighborhood. There could never be too many eyes on a scene.
Ava nodded, her forehead creased in concentration, and he suspected she was making the same plan.
Sanford answered a phone call, listened for fifteen seconds, and said, “We’ll be right there.” He touched his screen to end the call and addressed Ava and Mason. “One of the BAU agents is ready to give me a preliminary profile. You two want to stick around for that?”
Mason nodded in unison with Ava.
BAU. The Behavioral Analysis Unit. The “mind hunters.” They knew how to analyze information and come up with a profile of the kind of bastard who’d kidnap a kid. Mason admired the practice but didn’t quite understand how it worked. There seemed to be a lot of hocus-pocus and generalizations involved. But if one of them had insight into Henley’s kidnapper, he wanted to hear it. He’d take any help they could get.
They followed Sanford out of the command center and a short way down the hall to a small room with a circle of chairs and huge windows. An agent flipping through a file folder on a table in the corner turned as they entered. Sanford made introductions. Special Agent Bryan Euzent wore glasses, had a firm handshake, and looked young enough to be Mason’s son. Mason reserved judgment. This was one of the bigger brains in the BAU unit, Ava had whispered to him. No one knew more about the workings of a kidnapper’s mind.
Their group filled the circle of chairs and looked expectantly at Special Agent Euzent.
“I spent the flight analyzing the information that’s been collected on the case,” Euzent began. “I’ve been reviewing the interviews and the cast of people who interact with Henley. There’s
“We just finished interviewing the last child from Henley’s bus stop,” said the older agent. “There’s a consensus that she wasn’t on the bus.”
Sanford nodded. “I’ve been making a lot of my decisions with the assumption that your interviews would back up what we heard from the two kids first thing this morning.”
“There were five altogether,” the agent continued. “Each kid stated that Henley wasn’t at the stop and didn’t get on the bus, but we also wanted to see for ourselves. The school district emailed this video a few minutes ago.”
The other agent pointed at each kid on the screen as they sat down, reciting their names. “These are the kids getting on at Henley’s stop. You have to wait until they turn around, but I recognize each child we talked to this morning. They’re all correct. Henley didn’t get on.”
The group of agents was silent as the video froze, highlighting an image of a dozen children seated on the bus. Mason squinted at the screen, studying each face. No blonde girls with delicate features looked back at him.
“No chance she got on at a different stop?” Ava asked.
“We asked the kids that, too. All of them say she didn’t get on.” The first agent put a finger on the face of a dark-haired girl. “This girl said that she usually sits with Henley when she rides that bus and swears her friend wasn’t on this morning. I’ve watched the whole video. When the kids get off at the school, I had a clear shot of each face. There wasn’t even a question.” The agent next to him nodded emphatically.
“I agree,” the second agent said. “She’s not there.”
Sanford blew out a breath. “Okay. Pull all but two agents from the school. I want everyone back at the area between the Fairbanks house and the bus stop. Our current target area just narrowed for now.”
Ava tipped her head at Mason, and they quietly moved away from the group a few feet.
“I don’t know whether to be pleased about this turn of events or not,” Ava whispered.
“I think it helps. It essentially eliminates investigating the entire school area. It really narrows down the time frame and location,” Mason stated. He made a mental plan to do some of his own footwork in the neighborhood. There could never be too many eyes on a scene.
Ava nodded, her forehead creased in concentration, and he suspected she was making the same plan.
Sanford answered a phone call, listened for fifteen seconds, and said, “We’ll be right there.” He touched his screen to end the call and addressed Ava and Mason. “One of the BAU agents is ready to give me a preliminary profile. You two want to stick around for that?”
Mason nodded in unison with Ava.
BAU. The Behavioral Analysis Unit. The “mind hunters.” They knew how to analyze information and come up with a profile of the kind of bastard who’d kidnap a kid. Mason admired the practice but didn’t quite understand how it worked. There seemed to be a lot of hocus-pocus and generalizations involved. But if one of them had insight into Henley’s kidnapper, he wanted to hear it. He’d take any help they could get.
They followed Sanford out of the command center and a short way down the hall to a small room with a circle of chairs and huge windows. An agent flipping through a file folder on a table in the corner turned as they entered. Sanford made introductions. Special Agent Bryan Euzent wore glasses, had a firm handshake, and looked young enough to be Mason’s son. Mason reserved judgment. This was one of the bigger brains in the BAU unit, Ava had whispered to him. No one knew more about the workings of a kidnapper’s mind.
Their group filled the circle of chairs and looked expectantly at Special Agent Euzent.
“I spent the flight analyzing the information that’s been collected on the case,” Euzent began. “I’ve been reviewing the interviews and the cast of people who interact with Henley. There’s
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