Vanished (29 page)

“So far,” said Mason. “Doesn’t look good for her, though.”

The second man stepped forward and held his hand out to Detective Callahan.

Victoria couldn’t breathe; her gaze locked on the man’s face. Every coherent thought vanished from her brain.

“This is Seth Rutledge,” said Dr. Campbell as he greeted the man. “Glad you could make it. Dr. Rutledge is one of the applicants for my position. I had the office call him to the scene,” Dr. Campbell told Mason as the men shook hands.

Dr. Rutledge met Victoria’s eyes. “Hello, Tori.”

Everyone looked at Victoria.

Victoria pressed her lips together as she held Dr. Rutledge’s gaze, her spine stiff, her hands crammed in her pockets, her ears ringing. “Seth.”

Seth gave a half smile, and the shield around Victoria’s heart started to crack.

“Been a while, Tori.”

Victoria nodded and all ability to speak abandoned her brain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Kyron Horman, one of Oregon’s still-missing children, was consistently present in my thoughts while I wrote this book. May his family find peace one day.

My readers often request stories for characters they have fallen in love with. Over and over I heard, “When will Mason get his book?” I’d always known I’d write about him, but I was surprised to discover that I needed more than one book to tell his and Ava’s story. Keep an eye out for the next phase in their lives, and please let me know whom you want to read about in the future.

Thank you to Special Agent Pelath, Special Agent Rogers, and especially Special Agent Devinney, who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with a nosy writer and answer my ton of emails. Thank you to Angela Bell, who arranged for me to talk to these fabulous female agents. I got a big kick out of telling my kids, “I have a meeting with the FBI today.”

I write fiction; these smart women gave me guidance, but authors have a tendency to write whatever makes their characters happy. Or miserable. Any mistakes are my own.

I have a dream team at Montlake. JoVon Sotak, Kelli Martin, and Jessica Poore keep me sane. As always, Charlotte Herscher wields her red pen with a master’s touch to whip my stories into order.

My girls put up with a mom who stares at a computer screen all day and who loses her cool when they ask, “What’s for dinner?” at 2
P.M
.
They share my love of reading, and I couldn’t be prouder that I have such sharp cookies for kids.
How did I get so lucky?

My husband understands my need to dissect serial killers’ histories and buy books on poisons and criminal psychology. He gets me. Thank you, Dan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© Yuen Lui, 2010

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Kendra Elliot has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female sleuths and heroines like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls before proceeding to devour the works of Stephen King, Diana Gabaldon, and Nora Roberts. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. A Golden Heart, Daphne du Maurier, and Linda Howard Award of Excellence finalist, Elliot shares her love of suspense in
Hidden
,
Chilled
,
Buried
,
Alone
, and now
Vanished
. She lives and writes in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her husband, three daughters, and a Pomeranian, but dreams of living at the beach on Kauai. Keep in touch with Kendra at
www.KendraElliot.com
or through Facebook.