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was a pretty woman, but her eyes were hard and tired.
    “Was there anyone in particular who liked to hit on Lily?” Kyle wanted to know.
    “Lily was going through a divorce. She flirted, but she never carried it past that. There was no one.” Her shoulders trembled. “Lily’s gone ?”
    She seemed to have just understood how significant that was. Family and friends often had that delayed reaction as the pain and fear set in fully for them.
    Susannah Jane’s fingers were shaking as she poured herself a—whiskey? Yes, that was what it looked like. She knocked the drink back fast.
    Interesting. “Do you have any security cameras here?” Cadence asked.
    Susannah Jane shook her head. Her fingers clenched around the empty glass.
    “Where’s the employee exit?”
    Susannah Jane pointed to the door on the right. “Lily parked her car out back, two spots over from the Dumpster.” She swallowed and her voice dropped as she said, “Always in the same spot.”
    Cadence realized that would have been a pattern the perp could have easily noticed. “Were any other waitresses on duty last night?”
    “Just me and Lily. Stacey and Leann are both sick. That’s why Lily had to pull the double.”
    “If you think of anything else, call me, okay?” Cadence slid her card across the bar.
    Susannah Jane stared at it a moment. Didn’t take it. “There’s nothing else.” Her voice was hoarse.
    Cadence left the card on the counter. “You never know. You might remember something later.” She inclined her head. “Thanks for your help.”
    Cadence and Kyle headed for the employee door. Susannah Jane was already reaching for her phone as they left. The card was still on the bar top.
    The door took them to the back of the building.
    “No lights,” Kyle muttered as he glanced around. “At night, this place would have been perfect for hunting.”
    Too perfect.
    Cadence slowly walked from the back exit over to Lily’s parking space. Her nose twitched at the acrid scent in the air. “Do you smell that?”
    “Gasoline.” The one word was clipped.
    Yes. Just past Lily’s parking space, long green grass grew in a wild tangle. She bent near the grass. “The scent’s stronger here.”
    Kyle had followed her. “The SOB drained her gas, then dumped it here.”
    Sure looked that way.
    Cadence rose. “He was out here, waiting for her.” Or he’d even been in the bar, watching her.
    Cadence turned around and stared at the long rear wall of Striker’s.
    Why did you pick Lily?
    What was it about Lily that had caught her abductor’s eye?
    “He planned out every moment,” Kyle said, and she looked over to see him glaring at the parking space. “He could have taken her right here, if he’d wanted. It was so late, no one would have even noticed what was happening in the darkness.”
    Cadence pulled in a slow breath. When she profiled, she used the victims to help her. She saw the killer through them.
    But Kyle tried to get straight into the minds of the killers. Sometimes, he seemed to get into their minds almost too easily.
    “He wanted her alone,” Kyle continued, his voice deepening. “Far away, so it didn’t matter if she shouted for help.”
    Goose bumps rose on Cadence’s skin. She was conscious of the secure weight of the holster under her arm. “He was watching her out here.” He’d had to be. He’d emptied her tank, made sure she would break down, and he’d followed her, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
    Waiting for that long, lonely stretch of road.
    “He had it all planned out, every minute.” Kyle faced her. “He’s done this before.”
    She was very afraid he had. “We’re already checking for missing persons.”
    “We’re going to find them. Sonofabitch, we’re going to find them .”
    The clench in her gut told Cadence that Kyle was right.

    Heavy rope cut into her wrists and ankles. Lily had been jerking and twisting against the rope, and she’d made the skin raw and bloody beneath her