by David Archer
“God, I wish I could remember,” she said. “You have been so sweet and gentle with me, and I really want to feel whatever it is that I was feeling for you before.” She looked at him, and then rolled off and lay down beside him. “Am I being bad? Wanting to—you know?”
Chance laughed. “No, not at all,” he said. “It’s like I said. I just don’t want you to ever think I took advantage of you in a moment of weakness. There is something else we can do, though.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Roll over,” Chance said. Gabriella obeyed, and then Chance started gently scratching her back for her.
“Mmmm,” she said. “That feels wonderful.”
“Yeah? How about if I give you something else, then?”
She turned her head and looked at him, curiosity showing in her eyes. “What might that be?”
“A few days off,” Chance said. “I already told Pete, I was going to let you stay home for a couple of days. That may change if we need to talk to you again about what happened, but I think maybe you could use a little time to try to adjust to everything.” He hesitated for just a second, then went on. “And maybe Enrico can help you remember some things.”
Gabriella smiled at him. “I think that might be a good idea,” she said. “Maybe—maybe some of it will come back.”
* * *
The next morning, Pete, Chance, Carol, Jake and Tina all gathered at the substation once again. Commander Motley had already set up Angela’s protection detail, and introduced them as soon as they arrived.
“Lewis called a few minutes ago,” the sheriff said. “Angela is being released right now, and they’ll be here in about an hour.”
“That’s good,” Pete said. “Once we get her statement about the events that transpired last night, we might be able to narrow down our suspect list. If we are correct that Angela is the suspect’s real target, she might even be able to help us get an idea of who it could be.”
As the team settled down to wait in the command center, Pete’s phone started to ring. He stared at the caller ID, smiled, and answered his phone. "Hey, honey, give me a second. I'm putting you on speaker," he said happily. A call from Josie sometimes meant a break in the case.
“Hey, everyone,” Josie said through the phone. “Okay, I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want first?”
"Give us the bad news first," Pete said decisively.
“Okay, then,” Josie said. “I have dug deep into all the pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics in the radius you gave me, and nada. All their stocks are full, no drugs missing, no opioids unaccounted for.”
"How else could opioids be acquired?" Chance asked.
"We could be dealing with someone who knows the system well enough to know how to cover his tracks," Jake suggested. "Or a doctor who prescribes it to a fake patient. I suppose there's also always the black market."
"But if we’re dealing with drugs off the street, why would would it always be the same one?" Tina asked. "It's not exactly easy to come across, at least not compared to meth or heroin."
To this, Jake could only shrug his shoulders.
"What about the staff at those places?" Pete asked.
“Clean as a whistle,” Josie said. “Well, I mean, we have a few people with minor infractions on their records, but nothing that would indicate a drug thief.”
"I don't even want to know how you found that out," Pete said. "It certainly can't be legal."
“I plead the fifth,” Josie replied.
"What about the good news, then?" Chance asked.
“Good news, right!” she said, getting back on track. “I know you didn't actually ask for this, but I didn't want to come back to you guys unless I had some form of good news. I got into the security video at the ATM across the street from the coffee shop that you guys told me about, and I searched through days of surveillance, and I found something. The last known video footage of Zoe Castellanos. I've sent you all the video.”
Tina pulled out her phone and opened Josie's email. A grainy video started playing, showing the coffee shop closing for the day. The front doors opened and a woman came out, the video too grainy to make out a face. The woman started to walk down the road when a sedan pulled up next to her. They could see the woman stop and turn toward the car. She leaned down as if she were talking to the driver. She visibly hesitated before opening the passenger door and entering the car, which then drove off.
“I zoomed in and cleared up the image of the woman leaving the café. It was grainy and a bit difficult to make out, but I ran it through a facial recognition, and I can confirm that that woman was Zoe Castellanos. Unfortunately, blowing up the image and filtering some of the graininess out of the video did nothing to help make out the license plate,” Josie informed them. “I followed the car as far as I could through various traffic cameras. It went west, toward the university, and then I lost it. But this video does show that you Jake was probably right, the café is most likely how our suspect is picking new victims, and they do probably go with him willingly at first.”
"So the next step is investigating that coffee shop," Pete said.
“One step ahead of you, lover boy,” Josie said happily. “I did a background check on all employees there, and believe me, it was not easy. I'm still investigating two employees, but no major red flags come up.”
"Any names?"
“Jennifer Cargill, she's the manager who has a degree in nuclear medicine and can’t find a job in her field. Nathan Larrabee takes care of the equipment and cleans the place, he’s done small stints in county for bad checks, but that’s the extent of his criminal record. Alan Batts is a barista and he seems clean. He likes to flirt with older women, but there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Last one is Donna Logan, another barista. She's got quite a criminal record, mostly for public intoxication or petty theft, but there’s nothing that jumps out at me.”
"We should probably talk to them more, but I agree. Not many red flags are being raised here," Pete said. "Maybe a bit suspicious, but none pop out as dangerous."
“There is one more thing I was able to find. This is a bonus good news,” Josie said. “I went through the coffee shop’s customers to see who the regulars are. From that ATM security video, I was able to make out quite a few regulars, Angela Lambert included, but there is one particular customer that caught my attention. He's there at least twice a day every day and always pays with card, which makes it extremely easy for me to see who he is. I sent you the video. Take a look at one Professor Lance Harmon.”
"The professor from the university?" Chance asked.
“Yes, yes he is. How did you know that?” Josie asked.
"His name has popped up before," Chance answered.
"He's definitely someone we should look at a little more closely," Pete concluded.
“I'm already on it, babe,” Josie announced.
"Great, keep us posted."
“Will do. Talk to you later.”
"Alright, Chance and Carol, I want you to go to the university and talk to Lance Harmon," Pete said, getting back to business. "I’ll go to the coffee shop and talk to some of the employees there. Tina and Jake, I want you to stay and wait for the detectives to get back from the hospital with Angela. Jake, you seem to be getting along with her the best, so I want you to be there when they get a statement from her. You might be able to help her recall some details that might get missed, otherwise."
With that dismissal, the team stood up and made their way out the door. Pete was all business as he led the way out. Chance and Carol were about to follow, stopping to say goodbye to Jake and Tina, when three new people entered the room. "Morning, folks," a voice called out.
The four of them turned and were greeted by none other than Lewis Lambert and Jason McCoy, with Angela between them.
"Detectives… you're earlier than we expected you to be," Carol said.
"Yeah, Angela doesn't like hospitals," Lewis said, looking pointedly at his daughter, who on
ly shrugged in response.
"Where are you guys going?" Angela asked in a tired voice, one that didn't go unnoticed by the investigators. She either was still recovering from the afternoon’s events, or still had some of the drugs in her system. Either way, Jake felt she shouldn't be out of the hospital.
"We're not going anywhere," Tina said. "Jake and I want to be present for your statement about what happened to you. Pete is on the way to the coffee shop, because we have new evidence that supports the theory that the suspect may be hunting his victims there, and Carol and Chance are going to have a talk with Professor Harmon," she added on, more for the detectives' benefit, rather than Angela's.
"Lance?" Angela asked, surprising the detectives. "I don't see what he has to do with any of this."
"You know him?" Carol asked.
"Yeah, he's my supervisor," Angela answered.
"Really?" Chance asked, intrigued.
"Yes," Lewis confirmed. "And she's filed multiple complaints about him."
"You have?" Chance asked Angela.
She hesitated, just for a fraction of a second, before responding, "Yes," in that same tired voice. The pause did not go unnoticed, but they left it for the moment.
"What for?" Carol asked.
Angela hesitated before looking down, making it clear she wasn't going to answer.
"Just generally being inappropriate," Lewis answered for her. Jason nodded in agreement.
"What was it he said last week? 'If you were an apple, you'd be delicious'?" Jason asked.
Angela rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah," she confirmed in a soft voice.
"Great, we'll definitely bring that up today. Thank you," Chance said, exchanging a look with Carol. "Come on, let's go." Carol nodded and together they made their way out of the building and toward their car.
"You really should have told us earlier," Tina noted.
"We didn't think it was important," Lewis said quietly. "And believe me, I know how annoying that is to hear. It's even more annoying to say."
Tina smiled and nodded, knowing that if anyone could, a fellow investigator would understand the frustration of those words.
"Well," she said, "let’s go find somewhere to talk, and Jake will join us in a couple minutes. He's just gone to get some coffee."
The three of them nodded and followed Tina toward their conference room. They all sat down at the table, the detectives sitting on either side of the young woman, with Tina sitting across from them. She took the opportunity to update the detectives on what they had so far as they waited for Jake to join them again. Several minutes later, Jake walked into the room, an apology in his eyes and a coffee in his hand. He quickly sat next to Tina and set the coffee on the table.
"Sorry," he said timidly. "I didn't think you'd be here so soon."
Jason and Lewis looked at Angela. She, in turn, acted as if she didn't even notice. She just glared at the table.
"Let's just get that statement," Tina said, noticing the tension. Angela nodded in agreement. "Why don't you just start off by telling us what you remember."
"Nothing about him," Angela said quickly. "Nothing distinguishable, at least."
"Just try," Tina encouraged.
Angela was silent for a moment, thinking back, before she spoke. "I was at the substation first. Bonnie Riley texted me and offered me a ride home, and I was starting to feel a bit stir crazy, so I agreed. About an hour later, Lewis called, and that was when I was attacked." She crossed her arms and looked back down, indicating the end of her contribution.
"Can you think of anything else?" Tina tried again. Angela shook her head.
"Why don't you try closing your eyes?" Jake suggested. Angela looked up to meet his eyes, momentarily surprised. "Studies show..."
"…the average person can remember more if their eyes are closed," Angela finished for him. “High school psychology.”
Tina glanced at Jake, waiting for some confirmation. Jake just nodded. "That's right."
Angela glanced between Tina and Jake for a moment longer before sighing and closing her eyes.
"Great," Jake encouraged. "Now, think back to yesterday, let’s get your mind off this for a moment. We ran into each other in one of the conference rooms, I had a map up on the board, and we started talking about where it's best to do work."
"You were wondering why I was working at the sheriff’s office," Angela confirmed.
“Yes,” Jake said. “You were telling me why you didn’t work at your office.”
"Yeah,” Angela continued. “I said something about not liking to work in the library, and you got this look on your face. You ran out of the room, and I sat down and did some work.” She shrugged. “After a while, I went home."
"Okay,” Jake said. “Now let’s talk about what happened yesterday. What time did you come by the office?"
Angela hesitated. "Just after lunch,” she said. “It was a short day, and I only had a couple papers to grade."
"When your friend Bonnie texted you, what did she want?"
"She wanted to go out and grab a bite to eat, but I said I was tired. I usually ride home with Dad, but I knew it would be a while before he would be done. I told Bonnie I didn’t know when I’d get out of here, so she offered to come by and give me a ride home." Angela paused for a moment. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
"It’s okay, sweetie," Lewis said, a strained smile on his face. Angela gave him a weak grin in response, but said nothing.
"What kind of car does Bonnie drive?" Jake asked.
"A black one, I don't know what kind. That’s never been my thing," Angela answered.
"So you and Bonnie went straight to your house?"
"Yes."
"Was there anything out of the ordinary? Either from the car ride home or the moment you arrived?"
"If you're suggesting that Bonnie is your suspect, you are outa your mind."
"I'm not suggesting anything," Jake assured her.
"We just want to get all the details we can," Tina confirmed.
Angela nodded her head and inhaled deeply, concentrating hard on remembering. "No, nothing," she said at last. "We arrived, she asked if I need a ride in the morning, I told her not to worry about it. We said our goodbyes, and I walked to the door. I unlocked the door and went inside, just like I always do. Bonnie waited till the door was open, I waved at her, and she drove off."
"What did you do when you got inside?" Jake asked.
"I cleaned up a little bit. I'm always too tired to function in the morning and can't stand to clean when I first get up, so I always leave it till later. I washed the dishes and swept the floor, stuff like that. I wiped down the counters and took the trash out."
"Did you leave the door unlocked when you left the house?"
"I left it open." At the pause from Jake and Tina, Angela spoke up again, "The door locks automatically once it shuts, so I leave it open if I'm only running out for a minute. I was only out for maybe twenty seconds, so there's no point in locking the door. I just walked out, put the bags in the can and walked back in. Twenty seconds, no more than thirty."
"Are your trash cans out front?"
"No, they're outside the back door, by the garage."
"And you went straight back in the house after that?"
"Yes."
"Did you leave the house any time after that?"
"No."
"Is this a normal ritual for you?"
"Yes. Like I said, I'm not much good in the morning, so as soon as I get back from work, I clean everything up. Once every couple days I'll take the trash out."
Tina and Jake glanced at each other, both knowing the exact same thoughts were going through their heads. There was no sign of forced entry, at least not from all the windows on the ground floor. They weren't sure how the suspect entered the house, but it had to be while she was taking out the trash. The door was open, and for five or ten seconds, maybe more, her eyes couldn't have possibly seen it. Someone who had watched her enough,
someone who had stalked her daily habits at home enough, would have known that moment would give them the best chance to slip inside.
"Tell me what you did once you got back inside," Jake continued.
"I locked the door and sat at the kitchen table, started going over the lesson plan for tomorrow. I worked through some of it before my phone rang."
"While you were doing that, did you notice anything unusual? Any sounds from inside the house that you wouldn't normally associate with being home alone?"
"I don’t remember anything."
"Think hard,” Jake said. “Anything at all that might have seemed unusual or out of place."
Angela's brows furrowed and she concentrated really hard. "A creak. I remember a creak just before the phone rang. I remember hearing a small creaking noise that sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. The door has always been kinda noisy, but I just figured I left a window open and there was a breeze."
Jake nodded, but he knew from their sweep of the house that all the windows were closed.
"So your phone was ringing," Jake prompted.
She nodded her head. "It was Daddy. I got up to answer it because there’s no cell signal out there, so I had to get the phone on the wall." She paused again, a frown forming on her lips. "He told me you all wanted me at the substation, and that was when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I screamed and out of instinct, I guess, threw my phone to the floor. I turned around and I saw a syringe."
"Angela, this is really important, look at his face," Jake urged.
"I—I can’t see it…"
"Focus on his face. Don't look at the syringe, focus on his face. What do you see?"
"I can't see anything, he's wearing a mask."
"Okay, what happened next? You turned around, and then what happened?"
"I don't really know what came over me, but I guess I just knew I had to act. I punched him in the face before I ran past him. I tried to get out, but he—he grabbed me. I remembered what Jason had taught me, and I elbowed him as hard as I could. He let go of me and I ran for the door again. I twisted the knob but it was locked, because I had locked it before. He grabbed me again and I fell down on the floor, and I hit my head on something, but I don't remember what. I tried to get up again, but I was just too dizzy. I remember trying to turn over, but then there was a sharp pain in my neck…"