“Is it?” Ruby asked. Her voice shook but her gaze was steady behind those thick frames.
“I think so, yes.” Sam met each of the young women’s stares. “I think one of the people she was interacting with on the gaming platform might have abducted her,” Sam said. “And that’s why I’m going to ask you not to interact on Jenny’s account or, if you have one, on your own.”
“Okay,” Ruby said. “I won’t game.” She slammed her lips together, but her chin still wobbled. Her eyes filled with tears. “Give me a minute, and I’ll screenshot the messages and avatars. That’s part of the emergency exception or the consent ruling, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Thanks, Ruby. Any information you provide freely can be used. And you giving me that list will definitely save precious time. If you can think of anyone Jenny was close to or who made her uncomfortable—
“This one,” Ruby said, clicking on an avatar.
An avatar of an orange tabby with a jangly collar.
“OctoBoi817,” Sam read. “What can you tell me about this avatar—Octoboi?”
Ruby sniffled, her eyes red and watery. “I knew she shouldn’t have talked to him. He asked all kinds of personal questions. They got more aggressive when she beat him.”
“You mean she outperformed him in the game?” Raynor asked.
Ruby nodded.
“Once?” Sam asked.
“No. She beat him a few times. The first couple he laughed it off, but he kept insisting they play again. So he could crush her.”
That was it—the connection Sam needed. The truth of it settled over him with a click. Granted he still needed to prove it, but he’d bet his badge that OctoBoi817, probably also known by other names, picked victims based on who defeated him at his preferred games.
Losing angered him. Proximity allowed him to vent his rage. But what did losing have to do with the cat?
21
Cici
One had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap. ― Ida B. Wells
* * *
“May I help you?” Mrs. Sanchez asked Cooper Urlich as he stepped into the outer office of the church.
He was disheveled, his eyes red-rimmed and his cheeks stippled with dark hairs. He appeared more hunched—as if he tried to contract into himself so he couldn’t feel any more pain. Cici’s heart pinched as she looked at the grief pulling at his features. Sam must have talked to him about the possibility of an intruder.
“I need to see the reverend.”
“Hi, Cooper,” Cici said, stepping out of her office. “What can I do for you?”
“I came here to talk to you about Patti’s service.” He choked up on his wife’s name, tears welling in his eyes. “But, now, I just…” His hands fisted. “I need to go to talk to your boyfriend. No,” he shook his head. “Chain of command. Go to the department, find his boss.”
“Cooper,” Cici said, her voice gentle. “What’s going on?”
Cooper’s distant gaze snapped back to Cici. “That jerk Raynor. He kicked us out of our house.”
Cici brought her fingers to her lips. “Oh, that’s hard. How’s your son handling that change?”
Cooper hung his head. “He cried until he vomited. Neither of us slept last night. He couldn’t, not without Patti. Then, he cried more because he doesn’t even have his stuffy.”
Cici grasped Cooper’s hand. “Come into my office. Please. We’ll have a cup of coffee or tea or something. Let me help you.”
Cici wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him toward her door. He shuffled forward, his emotions aging his limbs.
She settled him in one of the chairs she’d purchased a couple of years ago. Most people commented on how comfortable they were. Cooper sat up straight—military attention straight.
“Why did you mention Sam?” she asked.
Cooper scrubbed his palms down his face. “Not your boyfriend. The other one. Raynor. Thanks to him, my neighbor told the whole street I killed Patti.”
Cici blinked at Cooper a few times, assimilating what he’d said. No wonder the poor man looked so much more haggard than yesterday. To have all his neighbors talking about him, probably avoiding him on top of his wife’s death—the pain would be too much.
Cici touched his biceps with gentle fingers. “There must be something I can do—”
“You don’t get it,” Cooper said, his voice shaking with emotion. “My son’s going to hear these whispers for years. There’s no way we can stay here, and that’s what Patti wanted for Jay.”
Cici wasn’t surprised the man’s shoulders heaved. The stress and grief were too much to hold in.
“No one will talk about you once the killer’s found and convicted,” Cici said.
Cooper swallowed hard. “What if…what if she was having an affair?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Why would you think she was?”
He looked away and his face took on a desolate expression that had Cici wishing to comfort him.
“Why would you think that?” she asked again.
Cooper’s agitation increased. “I don’t know she was—it’s a possible explanation. From what your boyfriend said yesterday.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cici said.
“Detective Chastain called, asking if I knew of a large guy who showed up at our place after I went to pick up Jay.”
“Ah.”
Because of Cici’s dream. She’d been fairly certain Sam had talked to Cooper, but hadn’t gotten around to asking Sam last night. She appreciated Sam’s thorough follow-up.
“Do you know anyone?” Cici asked.
Cooper stared down at his linked hands. “Patti was always so fun, you know? Outgoing. I loved that about her.” He met her gaze, his blazing and bloodshot. “I know what people are saying. My neighbors, Patti’s coworkers. How could something like that happen? How could it? Especially when they hear about the other man…they’re going to say I must have killed her. I must have wanted her dead. I mean, I heard the cop—Raynor—saying he’d never heard of people tying up rain barrels.”
He raised his gaze to hers, his eyes tortured, bloodshot.
“I did it to keep Jay safe. I would do anything for my family, Reverend. Anything.”
He dropped his gaze to his hands. They were large, his fingers callused. They hung limp between his knees as if he didn’t know what to do with them.
“She was acting so strange. I…I almost expected her to be gone when I came home with Jay. That day.”
“How was she acting strange?” Cici asked.
Cooper shrugged. “It’s hard to describe. But Patti seemed preoccupied, and not in a good way. She’d been on the computer a lot in the previous couple of weeks, playing video games. She told me she was excited about beating one of the guy’s high scores, but when she turned off the computer, she seemed worried. She didn’t want to leave the house.”
The behavior didn’t sound like Patti. She loved teaching. She was also happiest surrounded by others. “Not even to teach?”
Cooper shook his head. “She had a substitute come in for the entire week. She kind of zoned out, staring out the window but refusing to garden, to take walks—anything. When the cat showed up the first time, she freaked out way more than I’ve seen her before.”
“The cat scared her?” Cici asked.
A cat…no, there must be more to why Patti became frightened. Maybe it had something to do with the video games.
Or maybe not.
A loud knock came on her door. Mrs. Sanchez stuck her head around the corner, her salt-and-pepper hair and dark, all-seeing eyes a welcome sight.
“Reverenda? Your Sam is on the phone. He said he needs to speak to you,” she caught Cooper’s gaze and seemed to be saying, I’m watching you. And I have people.
So, Mrs. Sanchez had heard the rumors. She’d spread the gossip faster than a wildfire through dry juniper.
Cici cleared her throat. �
��Would you let Sam know I’ll need to call him back in a few minutes? Once I’ve finished meeting with Cooper.”
Mrs. Sanchez didn’t leave the room but she focused on Cooper for another long moment that caused the man to shift his weight.
“Your Samuel told me to tell you he is picking you up in thirty minutes and you better be ready to leave. Because he has something planned.”
Only Mrs. Sanchez could make those words seem like a threat, but she delivered them more ominously than any spy could have. And Cici knew a damn good spy.
“I’ll look forward to seeing him.” She turned her attention back to Cooper. Cooper glanced back to make sure Mrs. Sanchez left, which she did with incredible slowness, leaving the office door wide open.
“She believes I killed Patti,” Cooper muttered.
“Maybe. But Mrs. Sanchez likes to believe the worst in people—gives her a thrill. Where did Patti go to university?” she asked.
Cooper shook his head. “She went to State. She still keeps in contact with a lot of her friends there.”
Cici caught the present tense of the verbs, like Patti was still alive, and her heart ached for the widower. The large friend group would make it more challenging to spot a single person, but that’s where Sam’s investigative capabilities would shine.
“Can you compile a list of her friends that graduated from NMSU?”
Cooper’s brows drew together. “Probably. They’ll be in her social media accounts. Why?”
Cici wasn’t sure if she should answer that directly. Before she could figure out how to address the issue, Cooper said, “I need to get back to Jay. He doesn’t like me gone long. Scares him. He thinks I’m going to go away and not come back now, too. Patti’s mom wants a memorial service over the weekend.”
“Will Saturday work?” Cici asked. “We can do anytime between ten and five.”
Cooper rose, still haunted but less stooped. Cici hoped talking to him helped, but she wasn’t sure anything could alleviate Cooper’s demons—not until he’d managed to walk through his valley of death and grief.
“Sure. Um. Morning would be good. Patti’s brother has to fly back out Sunday.”
After Cooper left, Cici stepped out into the central courtyard they sometimes used for outdoor services—like the popular Easter sunrise one. She walked the perimeter of the garden, touching the familiar foliage to ground herself.
She wanted to grieve for Patti Urlich or her sweet little boy, who would now grow up without one of the most important relationships he’d ever have. She made another slow, careful loop around the yard, stretching her stiffening muscles and searching for a meditative state that reduced the unhappy twists and turns of her mind.
Sam strode out into the garden sometime later.
“Cooper was here,” Cici said.
“When?”
Cici pulled her phone from her pocket. “I guess twenty, thirty minutes ago. He seemed to think Patti was having an affair.”
Sam shoved both hands into his hair, a gesture that told Cici just how harried he was. “That’s not helpful.”
“He mentioned video games. Maybe she was involved with a gamer.”
“Could be. I’m looking into gaming with the latest missing woman. If Patti was involved with the man, that would give the lover a motive.”
Though she didn’t feel like smiling, her chest warmed. Sam mentioned the lover having a motive—not Cooper. Maybe he really didn’t think Cooper killed Patti, but if he did have doubts, at least Sam was keeping an open mind about another possibility, too.
“Seems like a strange one to me—killing over a computer game.” Cici plucked at one of the leaves, watching the plant sway a little. “But that’s not all. Cooper thinks Raynor told the neighbors he killed Patti.”
Sam cursed. “He wouldn’t.” His jaw jerked and he scowled. “Maybe I should rephrase. Doing so would be damn stupid.”
“Last night, you mentioned Raynor canvassed the neighborhood,” Cici said.
Sam nodded. “After we got back from OMI.”
“And you came home.”
Sam raised her hand and kissed her knuckle. “I did. Raynor knows how to question folks. There’s no way he’d mess that up.”
“Cooper’s really torn up about it,” Cici added.
“I’ll deal with it,” Sam said, his voice as grim as his expression. “That’s not why I came by, though. I wanted to tell you I looked through all files of missing teens and young women in the area.”
Cici sucked in a long breath. “Because of my dream.”
The nightmare still shook Cici to her very core. The poor girl’s fear was a palpable force, one that caused Cici’s own skin to itch.
“There are quite a few open cases,” Sam said. “One’s been gone over a year, close to two—her name is Josette Hampton.” He waited but Cici shook her head.
“She’s from Pojoaque. I figured it was worth a shot to look into the case.”
“Anything?”
Sam shook his head. “She walked out of her dorm at the University of Art and Design one morning, and no one has seen her since.”
Not something Cici wanted to contemplate for long. Just…poof. She said a prayer for Josette—that the girl was safe and healthy and would soon get in touch with her family. She faltered though, when a soft brush of cold air hit the back of her neck, raising the hairs there.
Cici licked her lips. Was Aci trying to tell her Josette was, in fact, dead? Perhaps a victim of the man who killed the girl in her dream. The cold swirled around her face and down her back to settle at her lower spine, causing Cici’s skin to breakout in chill blains.
“Was there another? Did you find Kelli?”
“I found out she’s missing. Her full name is Kelli Ann Vander Keck.”
“Do you have any connection between them?”
“No,” Sam said. “But I’m going to find out if either of them played video games.”
22
Sam
She would stand and behold the waves rolling, and think of the voice that could still the tumultuous deep. ― Mary Wollstonecraft
* * *
Kelli. Her name swirled through Sam’s chest, seeming to leave a parade of fire ants behind. They stung his lungs and stomach. He’d hoped the dream Cici woke from in such a state was nothing more than a nightmare. Now, he had the name to confirm her nightmare—and they were both now stuck in it until the young woman was found.
Dead. She’d be found dead. Sam was sure of it.
“She was about to start at New Mexico State, but she disappeared. The report I read said she was camping with some friends up in Santa Fe National Forest.”
“When was that?” Cici asked.
“Four years ago.”
“Was she a video gamer?” Cici asked.
“Don’t know. It wasn’t a line of questioning by the original detective.”
Why would it be? Until now, the police hadn’t thought to ask if Jenny, Patti and possibly Kelli talked to users on the various gaming platforms.
“So she disappeared while you lived in Denver,” Cici said.
Sam stared at one of the fading roses on the bushes in the courtyard as he settled next to Cici on one of the wrought iron benches. Some of the petals were still supple and pink while others were brittle, brown, desiccated by the elements. The evil in the world tried to freeze out the good, the soft, the beauty, but the roses came back each year.
“So, she’s still missing?” Cici asked.
“Officially, yes.”
“We need to talk to her parents,” Cici said. “Her friends. I want to know why she was in Santa Fe that day.”
“We don’t. I will. Maybe.”
“You have to Sam. You have to find out what happened when he…” Her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat. “When he abducted her.”
“You’re sure a man took her off the streets? I mean, you’re sure?”
Cici’s nod was emphatic. “And he was wearing an NMSU T-shirt. I a
sked Cooper about Patti’s college.”
Sam puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled. “She went to State.”
“Yes.”
“Another connection between Kelli and Patti anyway, though not to Jenny,” he muttered. “Her ex attends state. So, a possible link to the man. He could have known all the women, depending on when he was at the university.”
Sam compressed his lips as the prickle of stress, the need for answers caused his gut to clench.
“That seems like a stretch, though. And I’m sure it’s too old for the hotel to still have video. The likelihood of the city having CCTV is about nil.” He stretched out his legs. “So, we need to know who she would have talked to.”
Sam watched, fascinated, as she closed her eyes and seemed to turn inward, searching. “Mara.”
“Pardon?” Confusion and then frustration swirled through him. “I thought we were talking about Kelli.”
“Kelli’s friend, the one she contacted while she was in the Eldorado Hotel, was Mara. Maybe her parents will be able to point us in the right direction there.”
“To call them at this point, I need something about the case to share with them,” Sam said. “And, really, it’s up to the former detective.”
“Who was that?”
“Cornell. He retired last year.”
His lip twitched in annoyance. While Cornell wouldn’t care, Raynor might. So might the chief. “After I talk to Raynor, and if he agrees, I’ll ask them some questions.”
She agreed without enthusiasm. “But ask him now,” she pressed.
Cici never pushed. From the glint in her eye, he got the sense she’d continue to press him on following up with the parents. Cici was typically reluctant to cause pain, so her drive for answers surprised him.
Sam called Raynor. “Mind if I call the Vander Kecks?” Sam asked. “It’s one of the cases we looked at earlier.”
“Nah. Why would I?” A long pause. “Do you think it’s related to Patti Urlich’s death?”
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