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for Mr. Olson’s nod, and watched Claire add the jewelry box to her growing collection of Jan’s possessions. “What about the rest of Jan’s textbooks and notebooks? Whatever she wasn’t carrying around?”
    Mr. Olson pointed at a cardboard box that was nestled in the corner of the closet. “Anything like that would be in there. You’re welcome to go through it.”
    “I’d like to take it with me,” Claire said. “I want to sit quietly by myself and go through all the contents of the box as slowly and thoroughly as possible. Rushing the process would be a mistake. I need to get as strong an awareness of Jan as possible.”
    “Fine.” Mr. Olson waved his arm. “Take it. As I said, take anything that might help you find my daughter—or what happened to her.”
    Casey sensed that Claire had finished her work here. She glanced down at Hero, who’d been sniffing the carpet this whole time.
    “Besides the things we’re taking with us, would you mind giving me a few more items right now? Things you remember Jan having in her possession as close to her disappearance as possible? Before we take off, I’d like to make scent pads for Hero.”
    “Of course.” Daniel Olson walked immediately over to the bed. He picked up a stuffed bear and a throw pillow. “Jan had these from when she was a child. She never went anywhere without them. She kept them on her bed at home and then at school.”
    “Perfect.” Casey unzipped her tote bag, which contained gauze pads, jars, tongs and latex gloves.
    She had this routine down to a science. She’d pull on the latex gloves, set the gauze in place and put Jan’s personal articles on them. Then she’d use the STU-100 to vacuum the articles for thirty seconds. The gauze would collect the necessary scents, after which she’d deposit them in the jar, storing Jan’s scent for Hero’s future use.
    She wasn’t worried about the items they were taking with them. She could make scent pads for those back at the office. They would be the objects most likely connected to Jan’s disappearance, maybe even things she’d been wearing or carrying during an interaction with the offender. If that was the case, they could isolate the offender’s scent for Hero and, if they were lucky enough to close in on any suspects, let the bloodhound do his work.
    For the umpteenth time, Casey reminded herself that this wasn’t supposed to be about apprehending the person responsible for Jan’s disappearance, just about locating the young woman or her body. But Casey couldn’t help herself. She was desperate to catch the scumbag who, if her instincts were right, was a serial killer. She wanted to give Daniel Olson the peace he required. At the same time, she wanted to nail Jan and Holly’s killer.
    She worked methodically with the vacuum, and then handed the stuffed animal and the pillow back to Jan’s father. “Thank you. This is great for now. My whole team will be on this. I’ll get back to you as soon as we have a lead.”
    “I appreciate it.” The dying man looked so grateful, it was emotionally painful to witness. “Time is working against me. I’m aware of your reputation. So I feel my first sense of hope.”
    “Hang on to that,” Casey urged, zipping up her tote bag and giving Hero’s leash a light tug to let him know they were leaving. “We’ll find the answers you’re looking for.” She knew she was making a promise she might not be able to deliver. But she couldn’t help it. She had to give Jan’s father something to hold on to.
    It was up to her and the FI team to make that something a reality.
    Bottles, Wines and Spirits
Morningside Heights, NY
     
    The liquor store was a few blocks away from Columbia. Kendra and her friend Marie made a quick trip there after classes were over. They were eager to buy a large enough quantity of booze to impress the upperclassmen at the frat party they were going to that night. Kendra had her fake ID, so the age restriction wasn’t an