The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Author:Emiko Jean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2024-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter SIXTEEN

CHELSEY IS IN LACEY, A rural town outside Olympia, in the passenger seat of a cop car winding through the quiet tree-shaded streets. She flexes and unflexes her toes inside of her black tactical boots. It’s one of those rare spring days, cold but clear.

“We’re nearly there,” Montoya says. Chelsey forces her attention away from a burned-out bus on the side of the road and refocuses on Montoya. He is a detective, too. And has too many accolades to count, including an impressive stint in the capital’s counterterrorism unit. But he’s best known for his work on the White Mountain serial killer case. He’s smart. Savvy. And handsome in a boy-next-door type of way. He also loves Creedence Clearwater Revival. “Born on the Bayou” is his favorite, with “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” a close second. He clicks off the music. His fingers are slender, with clean round nails. He has admitted to her that he gets a manicure once a month. Nothing too fussy. Just a clip, file, and buff.

Chelsey has learned all this over the last twenty-four hours, working closely with Montoya to chase warrants, debrief the team, and set up the raid. Chelsey holds photographs in her hands—a picture of Lewis Salt and drone footage of his property.

Lewis Salt is an unemployed construction worker. He is the son of Timothy Salt, the inmate serving time at Riverbank for rape and armed robbery, whose DNA was a partial match for the blood on Gabrielle Barlowe’s sweatshirt. Lewis Salt has had three run-ins with the police, all involving spats with his girlfriend. But none of these infractions led to any arrests or convictions. His DNA isn’t in the system. Lewis has a license to carry a concealed weapon. He lives in a two-story house on fifteen acres in the middle of the woods. A busted-up barn is also on the property. The roof is partially caving in, the boards cracked and splintering. It is a place he could have kept Gabby and Ellie, Chelsey thinks. And the final nail in Lewis Salt’s coffin: he drives a blue station wagon.

Chelsey rubs her hands together and focuses on the car in front of them. All in all, there are ten police units and one SWAT van. She’d wanted something a little more understated, but Abbott opted for flashier. A joint task force between Coldwell, Tacoma, and Olympia PD, co-led by Calhoun and Montoya. Once they get him, Chelsey hopes Ellie won’t be so afraid. That she’ll come to Olympia for a lineup. That she’ll be able to raise her arm and point to Lewis Salt through the glass. That’s him. He’s the one. Maybe then she’ll lose the haunted look in her eyes.

“What’s his MO?” Montoya dips his chin to the picture of Lewis Salt, one hand on the wheel. “I always wonder what makes these guys tick.”

Chelsey swipes a thumb over the photograph of Salt, right over his scraggly beard. “That’s what we’re going to find out.”

“Yeah.” They pass a splintered wooden sign with Smokey the Bear stating FIRE DANGER IS LOW TODAY.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.