But there’s no way she’d be able to afford the Saints for our assistance.”
Shaking his head, Jack declared, “Look around. We’re sitting in a state of the art security and investigation compound. Got lucrative contracts from government agencies and corporations. If we can’t utilize some of our time and resources to aid someone in trouble, then we’re not the kind of men I think we are.”
Grinning as he breathed a sigh of relief, Blaise observed the nods from every man in the room. “Okay, then. I’ll start working with Luke to see if we can get an ID from her image.”
Chapter 4
T hree hours later, Luke and Blaise looked at each other in frustration. “The problem is that in trying not to draw too much attention to herself, she keeps her head down and barely looks up. The closest image is when she looks up in surprise at Chuck when he sets the food down, but that is only a partial image with her body facing almost away from the camera.”
Blaise leaned back in his chair, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. They had compared the data to missing persons, domestic violence complaints from police files, runaways going back almost five years, and even the FBI database.
Blaise had even reached out to veterinarians in the state, sending a mass email inquiring about a woman bringing in a German Shepherd who may have been injured. Several had emailed back with possibilities, but in checking them out, none of them were the Mystery Lady.
“Well, we’ve collected data on a number of possible hits, so we can start going through them one at a time,” Luke said. “Why don’t we get started again after lunch?”
Blaise nodded in agreement and headed out of the compound. He bypassed the fast food chains and headed home instead, taking the opportunity to check on his animals. Taking his sandwich with him in his jeep after making his rounds petting his menagerie, he turned toward Chuck’s instead of heading straight back to Jack’s.
Walking in, he caught Chuck’s head jerk and plopped down at the bar.
“I see from your expression, you ain’t found her yet.”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. Thanks for the video disk. Luke’s processing it to see if we can figure anything out.”
Chuck lifted his eyebrow, staring at his long-time customer. “This woman’s got a hold on you, don’t she?”
Shaking his head, Blaise replied, “I just know she needs help, Chuck. Can’t explain it, but now that I’ve seen her, I want to help…in any way I can. I’d like to—”
“Thank God you’re here!” Trudi screamed as she came running into the bar, her face flush with excitement. “I saw her!”
“Where?” Blaise shouted, jumping from his seat and turning to face Trudi, who was still trying to catch her breath.
“I saw her crossing between some buildings and it looked like she might be heading to the park on the campus side of town,” she panted. “I was stuck in traffic and couldn’t get turned around. Then I didn’t have your cell phone number but thought maybe Chuck would know how to get hold of you guys.”
She barely finished before Blaise bolted from the establishment, buckling only as his jeep peeled out of the parking lot. Placing a call to Luke he promised he would be careful, but would try to get fingerprints, even if by subterfuge. Jesus, that sounds creepy, even to my ears. But if she’s in trouble, it’d be nice to at least know who I’m trying to help. I could find her house…or job…or something.
Heart pounding, he drove to the large park in Charlestown, near the campus. The sunshine had brought out the families and college students, and quite a few dog walkers. A perfect place for her to blend in for a while.
Driving by the perimeter of the park for a few minutes he finally realized he did not have a clear enough view of the acreage. Parking, he began to walk swiftly along the sidewalks meandering throughout the park. Forcing himself to slow down so as to not draw