“No, he’s not-he sells luxury cars and owns a sporting goods store-but his father is in real estate.”

Mia raised an eyebrow.

“Commercial real estate. He owns a lot of rentals here in town and built a few of those strip malls you passed on the way into town.”

“Do you think Mickey fits the profile?”

“Good Lord, don’t even put that idea in my head. The last thing I want to think about is my little sister dating a serial killer.” Beck rested both forearms on the table and stared at Mickey Forbes from across the room for a long time. Finally, he said, “Jesus, I guess just about anyone in this room fits it in some way.”

He exhaled and took a long drink of water.

“The guy in the yellow shirt over there at the bar? Carl Jackson? He’s the town Realtor. Last I heard, he was renting properties over in the beach communities. The guy next to him? He lost custody of his kids to his ex-wife after he was brought in on domestic abuse charges.” Beck seemed to know everyone in the place. “The guy in the plaid pants? He still lives with his mother over on St. Mary’s Place. Never married. Momma never liked any of the girls he brought home. He turned fifty-one last week and Momma is still buying his clothes.”

He looked across the table at Mia. “If that isn’t control, I don’t know what is.”

“You checking them out?”

“Sure. Jackson, however, as you may notice, weighs about three hundred pounds and he’s pushing fifty. He’s on crutches a lot because his knees are taking a pounding. You think he’s capable of carrying anyone anywhere?”

“Well, there is the real-estate connection, maybe someone in his office…”

“Only person he employs is his wife. And frankly, we both know the condo, the beach house, were most likely bait. Those places might not even exist.”

“True. If you’re planning on killing someone, lying about owning a condo at the beach probably isn’t a real issue.”

“The truth is, you start breaking down a group, you’re going to find a number of men who can fit the profile. So you tell me, how do you start to eliminate some and focus on the others?” he asked. “How do you cull from that herd?”

“Actually, the herd will start to cull itself,” she told him. “Like Annie says, sooner or later, he’ll lead you to him.”

“How many more women are going to die between now and then, Agent Shields?” His face hardened.

“I can’t answer that,” she told him, “and it’s Mia, please.”

“All right, Mia. How do we get him to identify himself?”

“You’ve scheduled your meeting for tonight, right?”

He nodded.

“Let’s see who shows up. Let’s see who shows the most interest. Open the meeting to Q and A, see who asks the most questions, who makes suggestions. Maybe we can start to make a list of people to take a closer look at.”

“You really think that’s going to work?”

“You have a better idea?”

“In the absence of any physical evidence, I guess not.”

“By the way, we have agents assigned to track down and interview the victims of those beach assaults from two, three years ago. I’ll let you know as soon as we have something on them.”

“Terrific. Would love to get a description out of them.”

“Be honest. You’re hoping the descriptions of the rapists in all three cases match up, and you’re hoping to get a name out of it.”

“Yeah, but I’m also hoping to win the lottery next week. That probably won’t happen, either.”

Beck’s phone rang, and he answered it immediately. He said little, then finally, “Thanks. Thanks for staying on it.”

He placed the phone on the table and told Mia, “That was Lisa. She received the dental records on Holly Sheridan and drove them out to Dr. Reilly. She waited to see what Viv would have to say, and she didn’t have to wait long, as it turned out. Holly Sheridan apparently had extensive reconstructive work done after a riding accident when she was fourteen. All of her teeth on the left side, top and bottom, had crowns. All Viv had to do was open the girl’s mouth and look.”

“Crowns?”

“Capped north and south.”

“Well, at least we know for certain.”

“Yeah, and so should Holly’s family.” Beck stared at the mountain of pasta in front of him. “Look, if you wouldn’t mind, I think I need to get back up to the office.”

“I don’t mind,” she told him.

“Sorry to bail on you…”

“Don’t apologize. I understand completely. Go on. I’ll finish up and meet you back there.”

He started to signal for the check, but Mia stopped him.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it. Just go. Do what you have to do.”

“Thanks.” Beck stood and pocketed his phone. “I’ll see you back at the station.”

Mia nodded and watched him leave the restaurant, his face darkening with every step he took.

He’s thinking about what he’s going to tell the Sheridans, she thought. What could be worse than calling a mother and father to let them know their child has been positively identified as a murder victim? Mia shivered. It was a call she’d had to make several times herself, and she knew just how hard the next half hour or so was going to be for Beck.

She picked at the food on the plate in front of her, her appetite gone, but not wanting to leave the restaurant to head back to the municipal building. She was pushing a chunk of crabmeat around with her fork when a shadow crossed her table.

She looked up to see Daniel Sinclair approaching.

“Agent Shields, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mr. Sinclair. Nice to see you again.”

“Ah, I see Jimmy talked you into the crabs and spaghetti.”

“He did. And they definitely live up to their reputation.”

“I’ve been trying forever to talk Jimmy into leaving Lola and coming to work for me, but he’ll have none of it.” Dan Sinclair paused and added, “Actually, I’ve tried to talk Lola into coming and cooking for me when she retires, but she keeps putting off giving me an answer.”

“Word is that Lola’s planning on a long cruise when she retires,” Mia repeated what Beck had told her.

“Oh, I meant after the cruise.” Sinclair smiled.

“Well, good luck with that.”

“There’s talk of a meeting at the community center tonight,” he said. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Yes, I think Beck mentioned seven thirty, but you might want to check with the station. And I think they’re going to give the information to the local news stations so that as many people as possible hear about it. I suspect there will be some information on the early local news.”

“Is there a suspect?”

“No. The chief just wants to make sure all the information that’s circulating is correct.”

“Oh, right. Squelch any rumors, that sort of thing.”

“Right.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you then.” He started to leave.

“Mr. Sinclair, any chance I could get a room at your inn tonight? It just occurred to me that the meeting might run late, and I have a distance to drive.”

“I’m sure we can accommodate you. Just come on over after the meeting and go to the front desk inside the lobby of the main house. We’ll have something reserved for you.”

“Great. Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure.” He touched a finger to the brim of an invisible cap and started toward the door. A middle-aged woman holding the hand of a small child was coming in just as he reached it, and he paused to hold the door for them before turning and giving Mia a wave.

Well, she thought, at least I won’t have to make that long drive back to Connor’s. Maybe she’d duck into Bling at some point between now and the meeting and pick up something to wear tomorrow, maybe take a look at that cute bag. She always had an emergency bag in her trunk with toiletries and a nightshirt, but she didn’t usually travel with an extra set of work clothes. She’d been wanting to look around in Bling anyway, and this would give her a good excuse. It was as close to downtime as she was going to get this week.