by Tyora Moody
“Jade, what do you do for a living?”
She seemed surprised by the question. “I work as a social media manager at a nonprofit foundation.”
“That must be exciting. Which social media do you find you use the most?”
“Facebook and Instagram. I take a lot of photos behind the scene that helps draw attention to the fundraiser.”
Toni nodded. “What type of issues or causes does the foundation financially support?”
Jade took a breath. Her shoulders relaxed as she talked. “The Niles Foundation supports a lot of causes for women. Our main cause is raising money for breast cancer awareness and research.”
That was Toni’s first cue to glide the interview along. “Was that the purpose of the fundraiser last night?”
She nodded. “Yes. We’ve been working really hard to promote the event the past three months.”
“I imagine you had to stay late and help wrap-up afterwards.”
Jade blew softly. “A few of us stayed behind to help clean. I was still uploading photos to Facebook and Instagram when the others called me to help with the cleanup.”
Toni smiled. “I’m sure you’re very good at what you do and pay a lot of attention to details.”
Jade stared off into space. “Yeah, but I forgot my phone in the office, so I had to go back to get it. It was so quiet with no one else there. I thought I was alone, but then I heard a noise. I looked around and started freaking out because I was seeing shadows move or at least that’s what I thought.”
Jade’s fear was so palpable Toni felt the hairs on her arm stand up. “I hurried to the office so I could get my phone and get out of there. As I walked closer to the door, I thought I saw movement ahead of me, which was weird because I thought I heard someone behind me too. I called out, but no one answered. I just kept walking thinking my imagination was running wild from being tired.”
Jade raised both hands to her head and rubbed her temples as if to remove the memory from her mind. “As soon as I put my hands on the office doorknob, I felt someone behind me. I turned and something slammed hard against my face. I remember seeing nothing but stars. I felt an arm around my neck and tried to scream. But, he tightened his grip on my throat and pushed me inside the office. At this point, he was choking me and I was struggling to breathe so I just went limp on purpose hoping he would stop.”
Toni’s hands shook. She needed to be calm so she guided Jade to the next step. “I’m sorry you have to repeat this again. I understand what you went through.”
“Do you?” She accused.
Toni responded, “I was assaulted two years ago. My circumstances may be a bit different. I knew my attacker,” she gripped the pencil tight. Toni glanced at her hand and loosened her grip, fearing she would break her pencil in half. “Anyway, believe me, you want to bring this person to justice.”
“I want you to get him.”
Toni hoped she could help Jade. With it being dark, she wondered how much Jade really saw. “So you said you made your body go limp and he stopped? Did you see his face?”
“Yes. He let me go and I just slid to the floor. I kept my eyes closed.” Jade touched her throat. “But I opened them just as he walked out. He turned to look back and that’s when I saw his face.”
Toni wondered about the angle and the lighting. ”You got a clear look at his features from the front?”
Jade nodded.
“Do you think you can describe his general features? His race, approximate age, eye color…any minute detail you can remember will be helpful to me.”
“He was white. He looked like he could be in his late twenties or early thirties.”
“That’s good. What about the shape of his face?”
“He had a square jaw.”
Toni let her pencil glide across the sketchpad as she quickly outlined the shape of the face.
Jade continued talking, “I remember his eyes. They were blue…and cold. Icy almost, like he didn’t care.”
“Describe his eyes a bit more. Were they set wide or close together?”
“Close together. He had high cheek bones.”
Toni quickly added the eyes and proceeded to fill in the cheekbone structure. She’d seen and studied many faces over the past year. “What else do you remember about him? What about his nose?”
“Long, slim.”
“His mouth?”
“Thin lips.”
Toni’s pencil scratched across the pad. A face was starting to form, but at this point Toni needed confirmation. She flipped the sketchpad around on the table so Jade could view what she’d captured. “Here is what I have so far. We can keep working on the sketch.”
Jade studied the composite. She shook her head. “No. His eyes aren’t right.”
“Okay, that’s fine. What are we missing?”
Jade stared. “His eyes should be more narrow. And, his jaw was more square.”
Toni was surprised by how much detail the woman was able to remember. She erased portions of her sketch and made the changes Jade suggested. The more the face changed, the more Toni started to feel perplexed.
This face seemed familiar.
Toni flipped the sketchpad around and watched Jade’s face. Tears formed in the woman’s eyes and she began to shake. “That’s him! That’s him.”
Toni stared at the sketch again and felt her own body beginning to shake. Jade just confirmed the sketch was spot on.
Why does this sketch resemble Paul Lambert?
Chapter 3
Wednesday, June 7 at 4:01 pm
Toni was confused. Had she messed up? She’d followed all her training and listened closely to every suggestion Jade made. The sketch wasn’t totally accurate, but these were Paul’s features. The man had been on her mind the past week and she was just talking about him with her sisters. Can this really be him? She knew Paul could turn violent, but why would he be skulking in the Niles Foundation building.
She remembered his bipolar condition. If Paul isn’t on his meds, he can become extremely impulsive.
She held Jade’s gaze. “You’re sure this resembles the man you saw last night?”
Jade nodded furiously. “It’s him! I will never forget that face.”
Toni tried to be calm. All she was supposed to do was get a composite sketch. She did what she needed to do.
Still she had to ask. “Have you ever seen him before?”
Jade frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”
Toni reigned in her thoughts. She didn’t want to add any more stress to the victim. “You did good, Jade.” Toni tore the page from her pad. She couldn’t look at the sketch anymore. “I will give this to Detective Noble. He’ll consult with you about what’s next in the investigation.”
“I hope he catches him.”
“Me too.”
Toni’s hands shook as she opened the door. She wasn’t sure what to think. Paul had been on her mind more so than she wanted the past few days. She still felt like she must have unconsciously included his features in the sketch. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to bring Paul to justice. If he assaulted another woman, his supposed rehab didn’t do a thing.
But Jade said she didn’t know him.
Cam was at his desk. As she drew near to Cam, she must have appeared distressed because he stood and she could see his look of concern.
“How did it go?”
She passed the sketch to him. “Good. I think.”
He took it and examined it. “This is pretty detailed.”
“Yeah, she said it was him.”
Cam placed the sketch on his desk and held out his hand towards the chair next to his desk. ”Why don’t you sit for a minute? You did a good job, but you look a bit shaken up to me. Let me talk to Ms. Lewis first.”
Toni nodded. Her knees did feel weak. She plopped in the chair, letting her bag slide to the floor. She wasn’t sure if she should say what was on her mind or not. She didn’t want Cam to think she was losing it. As she
pondered the similarities from the sketch, she tried to convince herself it was nothing.
Cam appeared around the corner. He peered at her. “Are you sure you’re okay? I know that must have been hard.”
Toni swallowed. “It was hard to hear, but I made sure she was comfortable and that she trusted me. There are a few details bugging me though.”
Cam sat and slid his chair closer to her. “Okay.”
The more Toni thought about it, there were two main things that seemed odd to her.
“First, I was surprised by how much detail she remembered since she said the place was dark.”
Cam said, “I thought that as well when I heard her statement, but I went by the building this morning. There’s a walkway between the gallery and the office where she was assaulted. It’s possible that light from the surrounding buildings and the moonlit sky came through the door at just the right moment. She mentioned she saw his face when he turned towards her.”
“She’s blessed to be alive. I guess this guy didn’t think she would be able to identify him.”
Cam folded his arms. “She was smart with letting her body go limp. I suspect this man was there for another reason and he wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the building. It’s possible someone wanted something out of the gallery. They do keep pretty pricey items inside. Even though the owner claims the gallery was locked tight, I asked for an inventory and for her to let me know if anything was missing. It’s possible Ms. Lewis could have been in the way of a robbery.”
Toni frowned. A robbery? Paul was a wealthy man, so he certainly didn’t need to stick around to steal.
Cam continued, “I’m also going through the guest list for the fundraiser since it had to be someone with an invitation. There were approximately six men in attendance. Most of the attendees were women. This person had access and could have found a way to stick around after everyone left.”
Toni shook her head. “Yeah, but why not just stay in the shadows until she left? Why attack Jade?”
Cam shrugged. “That’s a good point. Maybe the person panicked. Or they could have wanted to throw off the real reason they were there.” He studied her face. “You still look troubled. What else is bothering you?”
She was sure Cam had seen her with Paul a few times. “Look at the sketch. Does this guy look familiar?”
Cam stared at her, picking the sketch up from his desk. He peered intently at the sketch again and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He looked at her. “Are you saying you know this face?”
“I hope I haven’t screwed this up, but this sketch looks a lot like Paul Lambert to me.”
“Your ex-boyfriend? The guy who assaulted you?” Cam blew out a breath. “That would be quite the coincidence for you. But he does have a history of violence.”
Toni continued, still trying to process her thoughts. “Paul is the kind of guy who does things in the heat of the moment, especially if he stopped taking his meds. It sounds like this person who stayed around was more purposeful. Maybe you’re right, this person was waiting in the wings so they could get access to something in the gallery.”
Cam held up his hands. “The latter scenario seems more reasonable to me. Keep in mind I have a guest list here. Paul Lambert’s name is not on this list.”
Toni sighed. “Well, that’s good. Look, I’m sorry. I just thought I should tell you. I know how important details are to an investigation. Right before you called, I was talking to my sisters about Paul. The protective order expires soon and I’m not sure if it needs to be renewed.”
Cam narrowed his eyes. ”Maybe you should get it renewed. That’s probably what’s bothering you after seeing Ms. Lewis.”
“You could be right. Still, would you mind keeping me updated?”
“Sure thing, but I don’t want you worried about this. You did your part with the sketch. Besides, all of us supposedly have a person in the world who look exactly like us.”
“A doppleganger.” Toni stated.
“Yeah…that.” Cam grinned.
Toni stood. “But you will check to see if Jade has any connection to Paul, right?”
Cam’s smile disappeared. “If that will give you some peace of mind, sure.” He slid his chair back and stood. “I need to talk to the captain about releasing the sketch to the media. Whoever this guy is, we’ll find him.”
“All right. I appreciate you calling me in.”
“Thank you for lending us your talents.”
As she turned to walk away, what Cam really said sunk in. It would be better for someone else to ID the sketch as Paul Lambert if that was the case. Of course, he’d also just said Paul was not on the guest list.
So, why am I still stressing over the sketch?
As Toni exited the building, she wondered if she’d just made a complete fool of herself in front of Cam. She basically let it be known that she still had issues. Of course, as much as Cam and her brother hung out, it wasn’t a secret that she’d stayed to herself after the assault.
After she climbed inside her car, Toni sat for a few minutes with the air condition on full blast. She didn’t consider herself the investigative person in the family. That was more her siblings’ territory. She knew she needed to let Cam deal with his investigation, but as she drove off, questions continued to hound her.
Is there any connection between Paul and Jade? What could have been so valuable that it resulted in a woman’s assault?
Chapter 4
Wednesday, June 7 at 6:08 pm
When Toni arrived home, she wasn’t sure what to do first. Full of questions, she wanted to talk to someone. She certainly didn’t want to approach either one of her sisters, especially after their lunchtime conversation. Both of her older sisters could make a situation more dramatic than necessary. Toni often sought out her mother first because she felt like she really listened. While Vanessa Reed’s advice was not always appreciated, all of her children agreed Mama Bear was the one they went to for support. Their parents, Justice and Vanessa Reed, were on a ten day cruise in the Caribbean. All of the siblings, including their half-brother Jax, had chipped in to send their parents on the cruise.
Toni thought out loud, “It would be unfair for me to call. The ship left the Charleston port on Monday. They’ll return next week. That sketch could be anyone.” She knew she should listen to Cam and wait to see what happens when the sketch went public.
For some reason, that wasn’t good enough for her. Toni dialed her brother’s number. If anyone would set her straight, Cori would. Out of all her siblings, Cori had the same calming presence their mother had.
Cori answered on the second ring. “What’s up, Sis?”
“Are you busy?”
“Naw. I’m about to order some food. You want to come over?”
“I’m starving. I’ll be there shortly.”
It didn’t take long for Toni to drive to her brother’s apartment. They lived approximately ten minutes from each other. That’s why she stayed in Charlotte. She liked being able to drop in to see her parents or hang out with her siblings. She loved her big Southern city with its hometown feel.
She knocked on Cori’s door and he opened it with a big grin. His smile wavered as he eyed her. “Uh-oh, something’s up.”
“Sorry, Bro. You’re the only one I can talk to right now.” She brushed past Cori and entered his apartment. Surprisingly, for a bachelor, Cori kept his place neat and orderly. Being a crime scene investigator, Cori was detailed and logical about most everything in his life. Her brother was also the nerd of the family, while she tended to be the artistic one. Where her apartment walls were covered with her own art, Cori’s walls resembled a sophisticated adolescent. Posters of several science fiction films like Star Wars and Matrix were framed. Toni had helped him find the frames.
She followed her brother through his living room towards his kitchen. Two large pizzas lay on the table.
Toni reached for a paper plate. “Were you planning a party?”
&nb
sp; Cori flipped open the first pizza and grabbed a slice of pepperoni. “No, but I should warn you Cam said he might drop by.”
Toni held her hand with the plate in mid-air. “You could have told me he was coming over.”
Cori chewed the pizza. “You said you needed to talk. Besides, he won’t be here for another hour. He may not make it at all. This is the third time in a few weeks we’ve been trying to get together.”
“Oh, I see. Speaking of Cam, why are you talking about me with him?”
Cori grinned. “I take it he asked you to help him with his current case? Good for you to work together.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Toni hated when her brother had that knowing look like he knew her so well. She pointed her finger at him. “I told you about playing matchmaker.”
He shrugged. “Cam’s a good guy. He certainly has a track record that’s better than some other guys from your past.”
Toni couldn’t argue with him on that one, but for the millionth time she wasn’t interested in dating and she certainly didn’t want to be in a relationship with Cam Noble.
“Hey, what time is it?” She jumped up and grabbed the remote from Cori’s coffee table. Maybe she would catch the end of the six o’clock news.
Cori asked, “You looking for the sketch on the news? I’m sure you did a good job.”
Toni really wanted someone else to look at the sketch and tell her she wasn’t crazy. She sat back down so she could face the television. “This was a different experience today. The face looked familiar to me. I almost thought maybe I unconsciously added features.”
Cori wiped his hands with a paper towel. “You were trained to learn common facial features.”
“I know. The victim was detailed about her description despite the fact her surroundings were dark.”
Cori nodded. “The mind is pretty incredible. It can retain more detail from a traumatic experience than we realize.”