Home > The Skill of Snooping(4)

The Skill of Snooping(4)
Author: Christy Barritt

Michael locked his gaze with mine. “Are you going to?”

“Seems like I should. But it also feels awkward since Hunter and I weren’t really dating, just talking.”

Michael tilted his head, a pinched expression on his face. “You should probably still say something to him. Guys can be clueless sometimes. True fact.”

“You’re probably right. But now’s not the time. I’ll try to do that a little bit later.”

Right now, I glanced at Velma’s door and waited. I wanted to hear what Oscar thought. What the police thought. What Hunter thought.

I only prayed that their conclusions were more optimistic than mine.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

 

Twenty minutes later, Hunter emerged from Velma’s apartment. Though Michael and I waited near the stairway, Oscar had lingered just outside the door.

He and Hunter exchanged a few words before Hunter paced away, his phone to his ear.

I was dying to know if the police had found anything that Michael and I hadn’t.

Until I could talk to Oscar, I’d have to wait on hearing that answer. But with every second that passed, I knew the chances of finding Velma alive decreased steadily.

And that wasn’t okay.

Michael leaned closer to me and whispered, “You hanging in?”

I nodded, even though I didn’t know if it was the truth. I almost felt like everything had both gone still around me and was spinning like crazy as well. I knew it didn’t make sense, but I couldn’t shake that feeling that my world was tilting on its axis.

If Velma had been abducted—and I felt certain she had been—then we needed a plan on how to find her. I didn’t even know exactly where to start, but I hoped Michael and Oscar might have some good ideas. Doing nothing wasn’t an option here.

Hunter breezed past Michael and me, his phone still pressed to his ear. As he did, Oscar approached us.

“Ordinarily, it would be too soon to launch a missing person investigation,” Oscar started. “But, because of everything going on in the area with the Beltway Killer, the police are going to start looking into Velma’s disappearance now.”

“How can we help?” I rushed.

Oscar motioned for me to keep my voice down. “The police don’t want us to help. But, of course, we’re going to. I thought maybe we could meet back at the office and figure out our next plan of action.”

“Did Hunter say anything else we should know about?” I couldn’t stand the thought of waiting until we were back at the office to learn potentially pertinent information.

“Not really. But we’re going to need to talk to Velma’s neighbors.” Oscar glanced at the cops lingering in the distance and frowned. “We’re not going to have a chance to do that—not now. We’ll come back later.”

I stared at the parking lot, trying to picture what might have played out. “We have to assume that Velma was able to get back here since her car was in the lot. So, the most likely scenario, is that she got out of her car, and, in between the car and her apartment, something happened.”

Oscar frowned. “You’re probably right. But we can’t leave any stone unturned.”

“What are these stones you’re talking about?” I asked, absolutely confused.

Michael leaned closer, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Oscar just means he wants to make sure we scrutinize everything and make sure not to miss any details.”

I suppose that made sense.

Just then, Hunter appeared again, shoving his phone back in his pocket. He pulled out a small notebook as he approached us.

“Elliot,” he started. “Michael. I’m going to need to get a statement from both of you. Separately, please.”

I nodded, knowing this was part of the deal.

But what I really wanted to do was to start looking for Velma right now.

 

 

I sat with Hunter in his car and recounted everything that had happened. As I did, he took notes and nodded and offered noncommittal responses. It was strange because it almost seemed like we weren’t even friends. That we hadn’t hung out together.

Everything felt stiff and professional. But maybe that was the way it should be. This was a serious investigation into a potentially dangerous crime. Personal relationships had no role here.

When I finished, Hunter clicked his pen, closed his notebook, and turned toward me with those serious eyes of his. “Thank you, Elliot.”

I stared at him, not ready to finish this conversation yet. I still felt like there were things that needed to be said. “Do you think it’s the Beltway Killer?”

“Too early to say.” He shrugged noncommittally.

I couldn’t let him off that easily. “But that rose with the rope around it . . . it was found at the baseball field. This guy could have known that Driscoll and Associates was investigating. The flower could have been left as a sign that Velma was going to be the next victim.”

It seemed pretty clear to me. I needed to light a fire on this investigation.

“Believe me, we’re going to take all of that into consideration.” Hunter’s voice sounded reassuring. “The best thing that you can do right now is just to lie low.”

“You know that we’re not going to be able to do that. Velma is our friend, our coworker. How long do we have before he . . . ?” I couldn’t finish the question.

“If this is the Beltway Killer, he usually keeps his victims alive a couple weeks.”

“So we have approximately fourteen days before Velma dies, and even longer than that before her body will be discovered.” A sick feeling gurgled in my stomach. It sounded surreal to say those words.

Hunter’s grim look told me everything that I needed to know.

I swallowed, though my throat felt swollen and uncooperative. “Are you going to tell the media?”

“That’s not my call,” Hunter said. “I need to go back to my captain and talk to him about everything. He’ll make the decision.”

I shook my head, and my hand went to my forehead. I rubbed it, trying to soothe away the tension headache that had formed. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Hunter’s hand covered my shoulder. “I know. And I’m sorry, Elliot.”

My head popped up as I remembered his connection with this killer. The man had murdered Hunter’s fiancée. How could I not have thought about that earlier?

“How are you doing, Hunter?” I studied his face, honestly wanting to know. I couldn’t help but think he was carrying all his burdens alone.

He looked away, his lips pressed together and his gaze burdened. “I’m trying to separate personal and professional. The captain will probably take me off this case. But, of course, I’m trying to find answers. I never stopped trying to find answers.”

“Of course.”

“The FBI will probably be brought in on this,” he continued. “I expect our department will be removed from lead on this case and only be used as support.”

“I’m so sorry that you’re going through this.” I touched his hand, knowing that this had to be so hard on him. I hated to think about how much he was suffering.

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