by Jackie D
She nodded and then, like Erica, wiped her hands on her jeans. “I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not going to do that. Is there any milk?” She waved her thought away. “I’m going to be with you every step of the way. This may be the biggest story Clearbrook has ever seen, and if it’s a serial killer case, I’m not going to miss the chance to report on it.”
Erica clicked the whiteboard marker cap in her hand. “These are people, Lucy. People are dead and people are missing. It’s not just some story.”
“Yeah, and that happens whether I report on it or not. So I choose to report, make sure people know these victims. I make sure their stories are remembered and heard.”
Erica understood what Lucy was saying, and she could appreciate the need for the public to know what happened and remember the victims. Erica knew Lucy would do the women justice, and it was better to have the story told with facts rather than assumptions. The unnerving aspect was having Lucy around every day until the completion of the case. Lucy was not only ignoring how this might affect her, she didn’t seem to care at all. Lucy was still driven by selfish aspirations, discounting the feelings of everyone she would impact. Just like old times.
* * *
The look of anger in Erica’s eyes was unnerving. It wasn’t Lucy’s intention to upset her, but she had meant what she said. This story needed to be told and she was going to be the one to do it. Still, she didn’t like upsetting Erica, and she needed to prove she could be helpful.
Erica headed toward the door. “Let’s go down for processing.”
Diego got up and followed Erica, flashing Lucy an apologetic look as he passed. Lucy banged her foot into the desk and caused a cup full of pens to fall to the ground. She tried to catch it on the way down, but she hit the cup and caused the pens to spread farther than they would’ve once they hit the ground if she’d just let them fall. She immediately bent down and started picking the pens up, shoving them back into the cup as she mentally berated herself for being so clumsy. So much for helpful. Nice start.
Erica was beside her, helping. “Lucky Lucy, some things never change.”
They went for the last pen at the same moment, and their hands touched. The contact caught Lucy off guard, and she went to stand and hit her head on the desk.
Erica laughed. “You should take your show on the road.”
Lucy put the cup back on the desk, harder than she had intended. “It’s always been my plan B.”
“Let’s just hope your investigative reporter skills are more honed than your basic ability to move around a room.”
“I can hold my own. Don’t worry about me.” She knew Erica had been joking, but it was really important that Erica believe she was good at her job. She pushed past her to catch up with her brother. She wanted to put the moment of embarrassment behind her. But she didn’t miss the old nickname Erica had used with almost a sense of nostalgia.
The processing area was little more than a three-car garage in size. There were several tools hanging from pegboards, a jack, several portable lights, and a wall filled with gloves, evidence bags, and clipboards. There was also a large workbench area and a desk with a computer. Lucy bit back her comment about this being more like a mechanic shop than an evidence-processing center. She didn’t want to seem arrogant or condescending. She wanted Diego and Erica to look at her as someone who was trying to help, not belittle their work. It certainly made her appreciate the resources available in the big city, though.
A rather petite woman dressed in coveralls hopped out of the front seat of the car. She wore a navy blue hat that read Clearbrook Police on the front in gold, her light hair had been pulled through the hole in the back, and she wore goggles and gloves. She had a fingerprint dusting brush in her hand, which she dropped in her front chest pocket when she noticed the three of them.
“Hey, Chance.” The short woman’s tone was a little too seductive for Lucy’s taste.
“Hey, Stein. You got anything for us?”
She stared at Lucy while speaking to Erica. “Straight to the point today, huh?”
Diego, who was probably unaware of whatever flirtation was between Erica and this other woman, wasn’t in the mood today. “We have a missing person, Stein.”
Stein pointed over to the desk. “I bagged everything I found in the car, but there was no blood, no signs of a struggle. I haven’t even found a fingerprint.”
“Not even one of Jessica’s?” Lucy asked before her brain told her to stop.
Stein squinted at Lucy. “No, I haven’t found a single one. Whoever drove this car wiped everything down thoroughly. I did find her cell phone. It’s on the counter, but the battery is dead.”
Erica pushed on the bridge of her nose. “We need to send everything out for processing anyway. We need to make sure we cover every angle.” She grabbed the bagged phone from the counter. “Thanks, Stein.”
“Anything for you, Chance.” She slid back into the car.
Lucy thought they would go back to the office, but they started toward the cars instead. “How long does it take to send items out for processing?” In San Diego, she knew the police department could put in a rush order and get things back within seventy-two hours.
Diego looked disappointed when he answered. “Usually about a week.”
“A week?”
“Yeah, we don’t have our own processing center.” He motioned at the station. “We have to send things out to private or state-sponsored agencies.”
“It could be too late in a week.”
Erica pulled the car door open and leaned against it, staring at Lucy as she went to get into the backseat. “You don’t think we know that? Look, this isn’t San Diego, but we do our best. We’re going to find Jessica and catch this guy with good old-fashioned police work.”
“Okay.” Lucy slid into the car and held up her hands placatingly, not wanting to piss anyone off. “Where are we going now?”
“To my house,” Erica said as she put on her sunglasses and rolled down the window.
Lucy was going to ask why, since it didn’t make any sense, but Erica and Diego knew what they were doing.
Chapter Fifteen
When Erica opened the door, it only took a few moments for Bella to come wobbling toward her. Maria had texted her earlier, letting her know she had dropped Bella off after a full breakfast of eggs and bacon. It didn’t matter how many times she asked Maria not to feed Bella that kind of food, Maria always spoiled the dog rotten.
Much to Erica’s surprise, Bella scampered right by her and went straight to Lucy.
The shock must have shown on her face because Lucy laughed. “Don’t be offended. I’m just new to her. Holly does the same thing.”
Diego walked straight over to the computer and powered it up. Erica handed him the phone and he plugged it in.
“Why are we doing this here?” Lucy asked, and she started walking down the halls, looking around.
“Our IT guy only works four days a week, and we have to pay him overtime to come in on a weekend. We’ll scan it here first, and if there is anything we can’t figure out, we’ll pay for him.”
She couldn’t hear what Lucy said under her breath, but Erica was pretty sure it was a mocking comment about the size of their small department. Another reminder that Lucy had moved on from their small town. San Diego was now her home, and she had outgrown Clearbrook. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure, do you have any tea?” she called from one of the back bedrooms.
“Yeah, it’s in the fridge. Help yourself.”
Lucy walked by a few moments later. “Such a fine hostess.”
“You’re not a guest.” Erica stared at the iPhone, willing it to turn on now that it had a power source. The home screen lit up a few moments later.
Diego had Jessica’s Facebook account open on the computer, and when the password entry screen popped up, she looked at him. If they couldn’t figure it out, they would need to go back to the station and get her fath
er’s computer. She silently cursed herself for such a rookie move, especially with Lucy watching. Diego read out the anniversary of her and her boyfriend. Erica typed in the numbers, but they weren’t correct. Next, she tried Jessica’s birthday, still wrong.
Lucy leaned over Diego’s shoulder, grabbed the mouse from his hand, and started scrolling through her pictures. She came upon a small orange cat, who, as it turned out, had his own album on Facebook. She clicked on the picture and read the name aloud. “Julius.” She pointed to the phone and Erica punched in the numbers that matched the name. It opened.
Lucy shrugged and took a swig of her iced tea. “Most people like their pets way more than any human they know.”
Erica glanced down at Bella who had curled up in a large ball at her feet. Her neck rolls were falling over her collar, and there were deep snores coming from her snout, which was pressed against her foot. “I can see that.” She tried her best to wish away the redness that she felt burning in her cheeks. It was embarrassment, not anger she felt. They were the detectives, but it was Lucy who had figured out the password.
Diego opened several programs on the computer and dialog boxes started opening, indicating they were screening and downloading the contents on the phone.
“You’re allowed to do all this on your own computer? Isn’t this evidence?” Lucy asked, now wedged between her and Diego on a stool she had dragged over from the breakfast bar.
“Diego and I both have computers at home, purchased by the police department. We can access the department network from here with a virtual pin. Since we’re the only two detectives, the chief wanted us to have home access too. These also happen to be faster than the ones we have back at the office.”
Diego snorted. “She makes it sound real nice. He got us these computers so we would work from home and be less likely to put in official overtime.”
He wasn’t wrong; the chief would save a buck wherever and whenever he could. Even if that meant buying them both an expensive computer system, paying for it upfront, and then letting it pay for itself.
Erica was flipping through the contents of Jessica’s phone, but there was truly nothing out of the ordinary. She didn’t make a lot of phone calls, and the incoming and outgoing were all marked with recognizable names, same with the text messages. The pictures in her phone were nothing exciting either. “When those pictures are done uploading, we’ll take a closer look.”
Erica needed to move around. She thought better that way. Lucy moved past her a moment later, walking toward the wall of photographs. Lucy stared at them for a long time with her hand on her mouth, an indication she was deep in thought.
“You’re more a part of my family than I am,” she said, only above a whisper.
Erica looked at the photos, and from first glance, Lucy’s statement would be true. The sadness in Lucy’s voice scratched at the inside of her chest. She had no idea how often her family spoke of her, how proud they were of her, and just how much they missed her. “No, they miss you.”
Lucy’s cheeks flushed red, and she bit on her thumbnail for a moment. “Are they the only ones?”
Erica wasn’t sure what to say. She did her best not to think about Lucy at all, but was that effective? Had it actually worked? She knew the answer was no. She still thought about Lucy every day. The pain had just become easier to bear. But would she admit that out loud to the woman who had broken her?
She looked at the wall and pointed to a picture of two twelve-year-old girls. They were in the thralls of summer, mouths covered in ice cream, hair damp from the pool, towels wrapped around their skinny bodies, which neither of them had grown into yet. “I miss those two.”
“Yeah, me too.” Lucy had a curious look on her face.
Erica looked back at the picture, feeling suddenly sad. “Everything was so much easier back then.”
“When we were twelve? Yeah, I’d say so.” She laughed a little. “They aren’t gone. They just grew up.”
Erica’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and when she saw the familiar name, she felt the need to turn from Lucy. She felt a bit raw and unbalanced. A small part of her had opened up, looking at the pictures and hearing Lucy’s words. Surprisingly, she had wanted the conversation to continue. But her caller reminded her that there were more important issues at hand. “Hey, Sheila.”
“Have you found anything?”
“Actually, can you come over? We have her phone and are about ready to go through the pictures. You could probably be a big help.”
“I’ll be right there.”
She glanced over at Lucy, who seemed a bit disappointed at the invitation. That wasn’t Erica’s intention, but she felt it was necessary all the same. Any bit of help was welcomed at this point. She couldn’t sacrifice that for Lucy’s benefit, or her own. She briefly thought of going back over, saying something, anything, but the moment had passed.
Chapter Sixteen
Had that just been a moment between her and Erica? She wanted to call Grayson and go over each detail for his examination. She was just thinking about slipping out the door to call him discreetly when she heard a car door close. A few moments later, Sheila walked through the front door. She didn’t knock, the doorbell didn’t ring, and the familiarity stung more than Lucy could have expected. She knew Erica was seeing someone, but she hadn’t anticipated having to see that someone.
Sheila went straight to Erica and threw her arms around her, burying her face in Erica’s shoulder. Erica kissed her cheek and mumbled something. Lucy should’ve been able to hear the exchange, she was standing close enough, but a buzzing had started in her ears and was now throbbing in her head.
Lucy couldn’t will her feet to move, and couldn’t take her eyes off Erica’s hand resting on the small of Sheila’s back. She felt dizzy and painfully out of place. Erica guided her toward the computer to look at the pictures on the screen. It wasn’t that any of these actions were all that significant; there was no passionate kiss, no exchanges of devotion, but it was the ease in which they touched. The way Sheila gripped Erica’s arm as Diego flipped through the images was so…natural.
Lucy had done a bit of reconnaissance when she had first learned of Sheila. She told herself it wasn’t because she cared who Erica was dating, but because she was interested in all aspects of the investigation. It seemed very reasonable at the time, and still did. She knew Sheila wasn’t from Clearbrook, but a few members of her extended family were. She had moved to the area when she was eighteen. Facebook is a useful tool, even if that did make me feel like a stalker. But the rest was a bit of a mystery. She kept everything on social media private, and a basic Google search didn’t turn up anything of interest. She briefly toyed with the idea of running an extensive background check but talked herself out of it. She was worried Sheila would turn out to be exactly as she appeared, and then Lucy would have to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Lucy started planning her escape. But she couldn’t, not after she made that big show of being able to help, of being an asset. Shit. She needed to sit down, and luckily, the couch was only a few steps away. She fell back onto it, and almost immediately, Bella was up next to her, head on her lap. She tried to send the large dog subliminal messages, hoping she could help her make sense of all these jumbled emotions. Bella stared at her for several seconds, and Lucy thought maybe it had worked. Then she yawned, let out a long breath, and put her head back down. Helpful.
Lucy pulled herself out of her own self-pity, only because Sheila had apparently recognized something in the photos. “That’s Lance Wilds. They used to date. The breakup wasn’t a good one. He called her all the time and followed her around for a while. It was bad. But they’ve been broken up for a while now.”
Erica rubbed her back. “That’s good. We’ll go talk to him.”
“I’m sorry. I forgot to wish you a happy birthday.”
Erica touched her face. “I think you get a pass. You’ve had a lot on your mind.”
“Do you want me to
come over tonight? I can make you dinner.”
“No, go be with your family. I’ll call you if we find out anything else.”
Apparently, Sheila hadn’t realized Lucy was sitting in the room until she stood to leave. She looked her over for a long moment, probably trying to place her. “You’re Lucy, right?”
“Yes, Lucy Rodriguez. I’m very sorry about your cousin.” Lucy stood to shake her hand. She hoped the smile she plastered on her face hid her feelings of unease.
“You’re Diego’s sister.”
“Yes.”
“So, then you’re also…” She looked over at Erica, who was now awkwardly pretending not to listen.
Lucy knew what she was thinking. “Yes, I’m also that Lucy.”
She expected to see a bit of anger on Sheila’s face, maybe a flash of jealousy. But it was nothing like that. Her eyes only showed the glimmer of recognition and something else, sadness.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lucy. I’m Sheila, a friend of Erica’s.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Lucy wanted to take this chance, ask her for an opportunity to sit down and talk about Jessica. She wanted to get a family member’s perspective on having a missing cousin, in the shadow of a murdered woman. A woman with whom her cousin shared numerous attributes. But she also didn’t want to cause more panic, or imply that the two were connected for certain. Usually, it wouldn’t have bothered her because the scent of the story would have pushed her past any semblance of appropriateness. But that approach would upset Erica, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Not only because she wanted to stay on this case for an inside look at whatever was happening in Clearbrook. But also because the thought of upsetting Erica was more than she thought she could bear right now.
Sheila stared at her for another moment before leaving. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. Maybe for Sheila to be a bit crasser, or even aloof toward her. But that wasn’t the case, Sheila had looked at her with recognition and acceptance. But what did that mean?
