Sydowski had enough and stepped closer to Corliss,invading his personal space. “I’ve eaten about as much of this as I can stand,sir. A few hours ago a little girl, about the same age as your daughter, waskidnapped from her mother by a man with a beard, like yours, driving a pickuptruck, like yours. He used a dog, like yours, to lure the girl away. A few daysago, a man kidnapped a boy from his father on the subway. These children aregone. Their parents are crazy with fear. The last time this happened, we foundthe child, a two-year-old girl. She was stuffed in a garbage bag.” Sydowskimoved closer to Corliss. “Her throat was cut. I know. I held her corpse.”
Corliss blinked.
“Now, why don’t’ you just trot over there to the pressand tell them how outraged you are. Tell them what a terrible injustice thishas been for you. I’m sure the parents of the kidnapped children will thankyou. And think what a hero you’ll be to everyone who knows you.”
Corliss adam’s apple bobbed as he absorbed Sydowski’sadvice.
They heard a child’s voice and saw Jennifer Corliss.
“Daddy!”
Corliss picked her up in a crushing hug.
“The police said it was a false alarm. We can go now,Dad.”
Corliss studied his daughter’s face, kissed her, thenhe turned to Sydowski. “Then I guess we’ll be on our way.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
Four hours after Gabrielle Nunn was kidnapped, scores of reporters crammed into the Hallof Justice cafeteria, which was serving as a press room. Flanked by a number ofSFPD brass, detectives, and officers from various jurisdictions, the chief tookhis seat and prepared to tell San Franciscans a monster was preying on theirchildren. He sipped some water, cleared his throat, and leaned into themicrophones heaped on the table before him.
“Five-year-old Gabrielle Nunn of San Francisco wasabducted by a man a short time ago while at a birthday party at the Children’sPlayground in Golden Gate Park. The suspect drove away with her in a pickup truck,a battered, dark-colored Ford, late 1970’s, plate beginning with a ‘B’ or ‘E’or ‘8’. We suspect the same man also kidnapped three-year-old Daniel Beckerfrom his father on BART near Balboa Park and are investigating any link to lastyear’s kidnapping and murder of two-year-old Tanita Marie Donner.”
Blazing TV lights accentuated the chief’s green eyes.Speed winders whirred with sporadic camera flashes.
“We have some aspects of Gabrielle Nunn’s abduction wewill make public. A month ago, the Nunns’ blond cocker spaniel pup, Jackson,disappeared from their home in the Sunset. We believe the dog was taken byGabrielle’s kidnapper, who used it today to entice her to go with him.”
“Another vital lead comes from a family who wasvideotaping their outing at Golden Gate Park today when Gabrielle Nunn waslured away. They recorded Gabrielle’s abductor. We’ve enhanced the tape andwill show it to you. We have since produced a composite of the suspect.Everyone will be given copies of the video, the composite, pictures ofGabrielle Nunn, and her dog.”
“We’ve expanded our investigation into these crimes byestablishing a formal task force consisting of the SFPD, FBI, stat, and otheragencies. We have a dedicated tip line for any information on these crimes. Andthe mayor’s office has increased the reward for information leading to anarrest in any or all of the cases to $200,000. Anyone with any informationshould call us.”
The chief nodded to an officer. Suddenly, an enlargedcolor picture of Gabrielle Nunn stared at reporters from the screen overhead.It was one of the Polaroids taken at the party. Gabrielle, eyes bright, andoblivious to the horror looming.
“What a cute child,” said a reporter near Tom Reed.
An angel. That’s whatWilson had called her.
Suddenly the computer enhanced face of Gabrielle’sabductor emerged beside her. A Caucasian, in his late forties, early fifties,bearded, with snakelike strands of blondish hair writhing from under a ballcap. His mouth was like a slit. Large, dark glasses hid his eyes, concealingwhatever force was propelling him to hunt her, take her, and ram another stakeinto San Francisco’s heart.
Seeing his face next to Gabrielle’s was chilling.
Reed examined the composite.
Something was familiar. What was it?
The officers rolled a large monitor and VCR to thefront.
The chief said, “Now, we’ll show you the videotape.The sequence we’ve edited lasts about twenty seconds. We’ve removed the sound,isolated Gabrielle and the suspect with identifying circles.”
It was incredible. A hissing snowstorm filled themonitor before the dark-light strobe revolutions of the carousel appeared andthe abduction of Gabrielle Nunn was carried out, in slow motion.
It was surreal.
Reed took notes.
The footage was blurry, jittery. Gabrielle and herkidnapper were trapped in halos. It was still difficult to discern the manunder the ball cap, glasses, and beard. The tape vibrated, was out of focus.Even in slow motion, his face was indistinct. Then he turned, the cameracaptured his slightly distorted profile. It froze.
The rapid-clicking of the still cameras broke thesilence.
“That’s our best image of Gabrielle’s abductor,” thechief said.
Reed examined the monitor. Something gnawed at him.The screen was glowing with the suspect’s computer composite.
Then the video monitor.
The composite.
The monitor.
He swallowed. Hard.
The man. His beard, his nose, the shape of his head,his build.
Edward Keller.
He resembled Edward Keller, the religious nut from thebereavement group. Reed never forgot the people he clashed with. Keller wasirrational, telling him how he lost his three children in a boating accident.But Reed could not find any news clippings of Keller’s tragedy. Why? Was Kellera liar? An eccentric? Quoting ancient poetry and Scripture, babbling about his“ divine revelation” and his “blessed reunion with his children”.
Didn’t the FBI’s profile say Danny Becker’s kidnapperwas traumatized by a cataclysmic event involving children?
His blessed reunion with his children.
Children.
Are you the specter sent to destroy my work?
You can rescue them if you truly believe you can.
Reed found Sydowski among the stone-faced dicks liningthe wall. Should he put him on to Keller? But what if he is wrong? What ifKeller was just a nut, sick with grief, and Reed sicced the police on him.Especially now? Didn’t Dr. Martin say the anniversary of the tragedy wasapproaching, always a difficult time for grieving parents? The last time Reedhad galloped after a hunch, a man committed suicide, and Ann and Zack left him.Reed tapped his pen against his pad. But two children had been stolen.
The chief was taking questions. Reed had missed mostof them, coming out of his thoughts to catch a stunner.
“… you found a bloodied body part in the Sunset andit belonged to Gabrielle. Is that true, Chief?”
The chief was not pleased. “Your information isinaccurate. We found some of Gabrielle’s hair. We believe her abductor cut itto alter her appearance. It is not uncommon in abduction cases.”
“What about the blood?”
“We haven’t determined if it’s the abductor’s orGabrielle’s. And I can’t disclose details on the hair.”
“Chief, what about the stop made on the Golden Gate?”
“False alarm. Somebody who resembled the description.”
“There’s a rumor that a fugitive child-killer fromCanada is a suspect and is under surveillance.”
“We have a number of people we’re checking out. Wehave no Canadian fugitives under surveillance.”
“Did you arrest a suspect and let him go?”
“No. We brought in a few people known to us forquestioning.”
“Do you have any leads on the suspect in the video?”
“None.”