Gone Missing (Kate Burkholder 4)

King.”
    Shock punches me hard. “Karns shot the photo? It’s his work?”
    “He’s not talking. But it looks like his style. You know, black and white and kind of noir. There’s a definite sexual element.”
    “That son of a bitch lied to us.”
    “Makes you wonder what else he lied about, doesn’t it?”
    “It makes me wonder if he had a relationship with her.”
    “Does he have an alibi for the night Sadie Miller disappeared?”
    “He’s not talking. Asked for a lawyer. We’re waiting for him now.”
    “Bastard.” I realize I’m grinding my teeth and make myself stop. “That makes him look guilty. Like he’s hiding something.”
    “I don’t know if it will stick, but we took him into custody on an obstruction charge. He’s cooling his heels here at the county jail.”
    I think about what this means in terms of the case, in terms of finding Sadie. “Tomasetti, the photo you found. Is it pornographic?”
    “She’s topless. Her back is turned to the camera, but part of one of her breasts is visible.”
    Fury stirs in my chest, but I tamp it down. I can’t afford to let those emotions out of their cage. I know from experience they can suck the energy right out of you. “So we’ve got him,” I say harshly. “Even if we can’t get him on murder, we’ve got him on child porn.”
    “Second offense, so he’ll do time,” he tells me. “As soon as I get a scan of the photo, I’ll e-mail it to you.”
    “An underage Amish girl.” I spit the words. “What kind of man does something like that?”
    “Pedophile. Sociopath. Self-important prick. Take your pick. If I get the chance, I’ll take a shot at him for you.”
    “I hate to admit it, but you’re actually making me feel better.”
    “That’s my girl.”
    “What really pisses me off about this is that he’ll use this as publicity to promote his photographs and books.”
    “Nothing we can do about that.”
    “Do you think he killed Annie King?” I ask.
    The miles between us hiss; then he says, “I don’t know. Initially, I didn’t think so. I still don’t, really. But, Kate, that photograph and the fact that he lied to us are hard to ignore.”
    The connection between Karns and Annie King is undeniable. So why don’t I feel better about it? “Have you found a connection between Karns and any of the others?”
    “Nothing yet, but we’ve confiscated his computer. We’ve got a lot of material to comb through.”
    The silence that follows lingers an instant too long and I sense our thoughts have ventured back to this morning. “What about you, Kate?” he asks. “Everything okay there?”
    “The CSU finished processing the scene.” I’m well aware that he wasn’t asking about the case, but I fall back into cop mode anyway. Safer ground, I realize, and not just for me. “There wasn’t much.” Thinking of the blood, I sigh. “The traffic-accident specialist tried to piece together what might have happened, but he didn’t have enough for a definitive scenario. He suspects the victim may have been struck by a vehicle and received abrasions from the asphalt.”
    At this point, that’s a best-case scenario, but neither of us says it.
    “Are you driving up here?” he asks.
    “I hate to leave with Sadie still missing, but I’m spinning my wheels here.”
    “Kate . . . I wanted to tell you I know I shouldn’t have laid all that on you this morning,” he says. “I mean about moving in together.”
    “It’s okay,” I say quickly. “You just caught me off guard.”
    “Bad timing on my part.”
    “It was just . . . unexpected. Things are a little muddled for me right now. I mean with the case. I think I just need a little space.” I cringe, hating the way the words sounded, wishing I could somehow take them back.
    He sighs. “They’re getting ready to interview Karns. I’ve got to get in there.”
    In that instant, more than anything else in the world, I want to be there. I want to be with Tomasetti. I want to be there when they question Karns. If the man is guilty of murdering Annie King, there’s a high probability he’s involved with the disappearance of Sadie Miller.
    “Tomasetti?”
    “Yeah?”
    A hundred words dangle on my tongue. I want to say something that will make all of this awkwardness between us go away. I want to let him know we’re okay, that things really aren’t muddled and the problem is that I suck at honest communication, especially when there’s so much at stake.
    “I’m