The Doll Collector's Son

Chapter 17: Maria

My press conference had been riding the morning cycle for the last hour. My hands wouldn't stop shaking from the adrenaline and the anticipation that the killer would reach out. Offering myself up was the only logical response. It was me they wanted, so why not give them what they wanted? Of course, SAIC Sherwood and Zach had much to say about that. They'd spent thirty minutes lecturing me on how stupid I'd been in not sticking to the script.

If there was one thing I knew, it was that killers never stuck to the script. They had sent me a note threatening my daughter, how was that in the damn script? As punishment for going rogue, I'd been assigned social media duty. One other agent and I had spent a good hour scouring through the victim's social media to find some traces of a Chrissy. In this day and age, there was no way that someone could live without leaving behind a digital footprint. She wasn't a ghost.

SAIC Sherwood entered the room donning lunch. I leaned back in my chair just as my stomach grumbled in anticipation. How could I even be hungry at a time like this? Zach was on the other side of the room, catching up with some work since the FBI had been so gracious as to pick up his laptop from home. SAIC Sherwood had begged us to stay in the office and allow for his agents to work on finding Luciana. Zach had not stopped tapping his foot nervously on the floor.

The only upside of the entire day was that the reporters and protestors had finally left, but not before managing to break a few more windows. I thanked SAIC Sherwood as he set my to-go plate in front of me. He'd bought hot chicken for us, medium spicy for me. I wasn't built like before. Just as I was about to dig in and enjoy some kind of peace for the next few minutes, another agent ran into the room.

She had been able to obtain security cam footage for two of the victim's apartment buildings. After some searching, she'd also been able to narrow down dates of when Chrissy might have been visiting with the victims. Her words were spilling out a mile a minute, but her excitement was hopeful. I leaned in as the news we were hoping to hear finally came out.

"We managed to capture a photo of a young woman who appeared at both apartment buildings around the time we imagine the killer was making contact. This woman is not seen again after the confirmed disappearance date. We also ran her face through our facial recognition software and got a hit. We have a name. Christina Diana Galindo-Rojas. Also known as Chrissy. Here's the kicker. Her Facebook page has been memorialized. She's dead. The rest of her social media hasn't been updated since the year she passed. She died at eighteen, and here's where it gets even messier. She was a triplet, and has two other sisters. One is named Chloe Griselda Galindo-Rojas, and the other is Nadia Marina Galindo-Rojas."

I stopped for a few seconds as other triplet's name echoed in my mind. Zach stood from his seat, and leaned across the table.

"Could you repeat the second name?" he asked.

"Nadia Marina Galindo-Rojas. Do you know her?"

"Marina Galindo is Jordan's girlfriend's name." I said almost breathlessly.

SAIC Sherwood stood suddenly and hurried over to take a look at the pictures that the agent had found. No, it wasn't possible that it could be the same Marina Galindo.

We would have noticed if something was off, I would have noticed. Guilt suddenly emerged again from the depths of my body. SAIC Sherwood set the photos down in front of me. The photos of Christina Diana Galindo-Rojas did in fact look like an eighteen-year-old Marina. I'd only met her once, it's not like her face was seared into my mind.

"We have an address that's nearby. I think it may be her parents." the agent continued,

Zach shook his head.

"Her parents are dead. That's what she told Jordan." he said.

I held my face in my hands, dragging my fingers down to my chin.