Snatched by Karin Slaughter Page B

him. “It might be the difference between finding the girl and finding her body.”

     
    Will sat across the table from Jenner with his hands clasped in front of him. His watch was on full display, the hands set ahead by an hour and twenty minutes. It was a big jump, but Jenner had been in the room for almost four hours. He’d spent most of the time either staringblankly at the two-way mirror or napping. There were no magazines. No TV. No distractions. His sense of time would be infinite.
    At least they hoped it would be.
    Will looked at his watch. He knew that Jenner hadn’t had lunch. “It’s way past dinnertime.”
    Jenner shrugged.
    “I can get you a hot dog, chicken sandwich.”
    Jenner didn’t answer. He was turned sideways in his chair. One leg was crossed over the other. Jenner’s mouth had stopped bleeding, but he looked bad. Bruises were starting to form around his eyes and nose where his face had met concrete. Dried blood speckled his chin. A crease was down the side of his face where he’d fallen asleep with his cheek on his arm.
    He didn’t seem scared or anxious. If anything, he seemed bored.
    Will forced out a heavy sigh. He sat back in his chair. “You wanna know why I was in the bathroom?”
    Jenner’s chin lifted. He gazed at Will out of the corner of his eye.
    “It’s part of a sting operation to catch men cruising for sex.”
    Jenner snorted a laugh, then seemed to think better of it when the pain shot through his busted nose. “I suppose the police don’t have anything better to do.”
    Will ignored the observation. “I arrested a minister last week.”
    “Hmm,” Jenner said.
    Will didn’t add how awful he’d felt parading the man out in handcuffs. There was a reason Amanda had assigned the job as a punishment. Every day, Will felt like he needed to go home and scrape the filth off of him.
    Then again, it was nothing compared to how disgusting he felt sitting across from the likes of Joe Jenner.
    Will said, “You really should make a deal.”
    Jenner cleared his throat. “I’ve advised my client that it’s best not to take legal counsel from the man who’s trying to send him to prison.”
    “You were so easy to track.” Will amended, “Your client was, I mean.”
    Jenner rolled his eyes at the game.
    “And the hand-off in the parking lot. Pretty smooth. You know we found your disguise.”
    Jenner didn’t move, which was evidence enough that Will had hit on something.
    Will tried another lie. “Eleanor told us where it was. We’ve got her in the other room.”
    Jenner pursed his lips.
    Will said, “My boss is talking to her right now.”
    “Is that so.” Not a question, but Will could tell that Jenner wasn’t so sure of himself now.
    “You’re a lawyer, Joe. You know that the first person who makes the deal always serves the least amount of time.” He pressed a little harder. “Eleanor’s already served time. She knows the system. She’s going to flip on you. You know that. It’s just a matter of time.”
    “Time?” Jenner looked down at Will’s watch, then back at the two-way mirror. “I have plenty of time.”
    “Is that right?”
    “I’m not talking to you anymore.”
    “Ever? Or just for now?”
    Jenner’s eyes met his, then went back to the mirror. Will had no idea who was behind the glass. They’d been playing this cat-and-mouse game for a while now. It was tantamount to watching paint dry.
    Jenner cleared his throat. He crossed his other leg over his knee. His fingers tapped the table.
    Will stared at the man. On the surface, he seemed as normal as any other fifty-year-old. Gray hair. A bit of a paunch in the stomach. Some wattle around the chin. That was the thing about these monsters—they looked just like everybody else. They took jobs that brought them into contact with kids. They developed covers that helped them elude capture. They spent everyday of their lives working to bury their tracks, which was why it took so long to unravel the