by Tim Kizer
Nick slipped out of his seat, and she got up and stepped out into the aisle.
If Veronica’s body was found, the police might meet the bus in Houston and question them, which might interfere with her plan.
Holly checked her watch as she walked down the aisle. It was 2:08 p.m. They would arrive in Houston in a little over two hours.
She went into the restroom and opened the browser on her phone.
They might have already found Veronica’s body.
He had probably killed her in a place where there were no security cameras and made sure not to leave any fingerprints or DNA behind. He had probably gotten rid of the murder weapon.
Holly searched the Internet for “Buffalo TX police department” and discovered that Buffalo did have a police department, and it was less than two miles from the Sunrise Mart. She tapped the Buffalo PD’s number, and the dial pad popped up on the screen.
Maybe she should call the Sunrise Mart and ask them to look for Veronica’s body?
Holly found the Sunrise Mart’s phone number and dialed it. After three rings, a man answered, “Sunrise Mart. How can I help you?”
“Have any dead bodies been found near your store today?”
“What?”
“Have any dead bodies been found near your store today?”
“No.”
The questioning might take hours, and her next bus was scheduled to leave at five o’clock.
She didn’t have to tell him about Veronica now. It didn’t matter when her body was found, so she could ask him to look for it after they arrived in Houston.
What if Veronica’s still alive?
It was unlikely but not impossible.
“I saw a man attack a young woman near your store about fifteen minutes ago,” Holly said. “I think he might have killed her. Could you look for her body?”
“You should call the police.”
“She may still be alive. She may be in critical condition. Please look for her.”
The man sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” Holly hung up.
She believed that the Sunrise Mart guy would look for Veronica but doubted he would do a thorough job of it. She should call the police; they would search every nook and cranny.
They’ll ask for my name.
I’ll tell them my name’s Mary Tyler.
An operator answered on the first ring. “Buffalo Police Department. How can I help you?”
“I saw a man attack a young woman near the Sunrise Mart at Main Street and I-Forty-five about fifteen minutes ago. I think he might have killed her.”
“The Sunrise Mart at Main and Interstate Forty-five?”
“Yes. She may still be alive. I think he might have hidden her somewhere.”
“Are you in any danger?”
“No.”
“Are you at the Sunrise Mart?”
“No.”
“What’s your name?”
“Mary Tyler. Please hurry.”
“Where are you, Mary?”
“I’m in my car, on I-Forty-five.”
“Are you calling from your cellphone?”
“Yes.”
“Can you describe the attacker?”
“I believe he’s white. I didn’t see his face. He wore dark pants and a gray T-shirt. I think it was gray.”
“Thank you for calling, Mary. We’ll send a car right away.”
“Hurry up.” Holly hung up.
It had been eleven minutes since they had left Buffalo. How long did it take a person stabbed in the chest to die? Probably less than eleven minutes.
What if the killer had stabbed Veronica in the heart? She would have been dead in less than a minute.
The poor girl is probably dead.
Holly opened the messaging app and sent Eric and Ralph a text saying: “I think he killed one of the passengers in Buffalo, a young woman named Veronica. She sat in the 5th row.”
Twenty seconds later she received a reply from Eric: “Jesus. Please be careful.”
Holly sent the men another text: “I asked the Buffalo police to look for her body. I hope she’s still alive.”
Chapter 9
1
They had about two hours to figure out who the owner of the phone was.
Two hours. That’s not much time.
Sam had said he had another bus to catch in Houston. Where was he headed?
He may have the same bus to catch as I do.
He knew a guy who knew a cop in Dallas. Maybe he should ask him to help find out who that phone number belonged to.
“Nick.”
Nick turned his head and saw Holly, who had returned from the restroom. He stepped out into the aisle, and she took her seat.
“You’re right,” Holly said in a low voice. “She doesn’t look like a killer. I think he killed her.”
Nick frowned.
She thought the owner of the phone had murdered Veronica? Well, it wasn’t a far-fetched idea.
“Poor girl,” he said. “I hope you’re wrong. We have to call the police.”
“I already have.”
“Did you tell them about the phone?”
“No.”
“Did you tell them the killer is on this bus?”
“No, I didn’t. I’ll tell them if they find the body.”
Nick leaned close to Holly and whispered, “I think the guy that sat next to her may be the killer.”
“Why?”
“His phone beeped when you texted the killer. I think it was his phone.”
Holly straightened up in her seat and looked over at Sam.
“He said his name is Sam.”
Sam pulled another slice of pizza from the box and began eating.
“Maybe he sat next to her to gain her trust,” Nick said.
Holly nodded. “Maybe.”
“Did you call the sheriff’s office?”
“Buffalo has its own police department. I called them.”
Holly dialed a number on her phone and held it to her ear.
“Hi,” she said. “I called you a few minutes ago. Did you find the body?”
A pause.
“Did they police arrive?”
Another pause.
“Thank you.” She ended the call. “The police have arrived.”
“Did they find the body?”
“Not yet.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“He might have hidden her body.”
Where could the killer have hidden Veronica’s body?
There were no bushes around the parking lot.
Maybe there were bushes behind the store?
Nick looked up the Sunrise Mart on Google Maps, switched to satellite view, zoomed in, and saw that there were no bushes behind the store.
The killer might have hidden the body under a car. If it bled, it would be found soon because of blood flowing from under the car.
He might have tossed Veronica in a Dumpster. There must be a Dumpster nearby, and the cops would certainly check it.
Holly looked at Nick’s phone and asked, “What is it?”
“The Sunrise Mart. I wonder where he could’ve hidden the body.”
There appeared to be a line of bushes behind a convenience store across the street from the Sunrise Mart.
It would take the police no more than half an hour to comb the Sunrise Mart, the adjoining restaurants, and the lot. How long would it take them to search the whole block? Probably three hours.
Holly’s phone rang, and she answered it.
“Hi, Jack,” she said.
It must be her cop friend.
“Someone’s sending me nasty text messages. Could you help me find out who it is?”
Nick whispered, “Give him the number the killer texted us from, too.”
Holly nodded, then said into the phone, “He uses two phone numbers. I’ll text them to you. I need his name, address, and picture.”
A pause.
“How long will it take?”
Jack replied, Holly thanked him and then hung up.
“He’ll get back to me within an hour,” she said.
“Great.”
They would get the killer’s picture before arriving in Houston, unless of course both of those numbers were disposable.
Would the government be able to prove that the owner of the phone was a murderer? Nick was pretty sure the photos alone wouldn’t be enough to win a conviction.
After Holly sent Jack the killer’s phone numbers, Nick said, “Ask the killer if he killed Veronica.”
“Okay.” Holly pulled out the killer’s phone and typed a message: “Did you kill Veronica?”
She showed the text to Nick and he nodded.
“I don’t think he’ll ignore this message,” he said as Holly tapped Send.
He stared at Sam, who had finished the second slice of pizza.
Did Sam have his phone in his hand?
Nick had an idea. He would stand next to Sam, dial the killer’s number, and watch Sam’s phone for an incoming call notification.
“Can you give me his phone?” Nick said.
When Holly handed him the cell, he opened the killer’s message, then got up, walked up to Sam, and saw that he was holding his phone in his left hand.
“I feel bad for Veronica,” Nick said, and Sam looked up at him.
As Nick tapped the phone icon, dialing the killer’s number, Sam slipped the cell into his pocket and said, “Yeah.”
“I’m headed to Miami. You?”
Nick glanced at the killer’s phone. No one was answering.
“Baton Rouge.”
Baton Rouge was on Nick’s itinerary. Sam was getting on the same bus in Houston as Nick.
“It’s a nice place.” Nick smiled. “Take it easy.”
He might think I’m hitting on him.
“You, too.”
Nick returned to his seat and put the killer’s phone to his ear. The voice mail picked up a moment later. The greeting message didn’t include the name of the person who owned the number.
Nick gave the phone back to Holly, and she asked, “You called the killer?”
“Yes. No one answered.”
Sam leaned forward and then moved to the window seat, disappearing from Nick’s view.
“Sam moved to the window seat,” Nick said.
Why did he change seats?
“I wonder if they found the body.”
Holly dialed a number on her phone. “Hi, it’s me again. Sorry to bother you. Did they find the body?”
After a pause, she said, “Thank you,” and ended the call. “They didn’t find her body yet.”
“Who did you talk to? The police?”
“A clerk at the Sunrise Mart.”
The killer’s phone vibrated. Holly checked the messages and said, “He replied.”
Chapter 10
1
The killer’s text read: “Who’s Veronica?”
Sam moved to the window seat so I couldn’t see him type on his phone.
“Tell him she sat in the fifth row,” Nick said. “Tell him he killed her in Buffalo.”
Holly messaged the killer: “She sat in the fifth row. You killed her in Buffalo.”
When the killer’s phone vibrated half a minute later, Nick looked at the guy across the aisle. The man’s hands were empty, and there was no phone in his lap or on the seat next to him. He wasn’t the killer.
The killer’s text read: “I didn’t kill her.”
Nick said, “Why is he lying?”
“I have no idea.”
Holly texted back: “What’s your name?”
The killer responded: “Harry.”
Holly messaged: “You’re on this bus, aren’t you?”
They stared at Harry’s phone for half a minute, waiting for his answer, then Holly asked, “Are you sure no one else got off in Buffalo?”
“Yes.”
Harry must be a fake name. Why had the killer chosen it? Was he a fan of Harry Potter? Harry Houdini? Harry Truman? Did he have a brother named Harry?
Nick was about to open his duffel bag and get a bottle of water when he noticed something odd.
The sliders of the bag’s zipper had been about two inches apart when he put the bag under the seat in Dallas, and now they were next to each other.
He had not touched the sliders after he placed the bag under the seat, he was sure of it.
Someone had gone through his bag.
Was it the killer? Was he looking for his phone?
He must have done it during the stop in Buffalo.
It might have been a thief. Good thing he had nothing valuable or important in his duffel.
There was nothing in the bag that would help the killer identify him or find out where he lived.
Nick opened his bag, reached inside, and pulled out a bottle of water.
“Did you get off the bus while we were in Buffalo?” he asked Holly.
“Yes, for a couple minutes.”
Nick took a sip of water. “I think the killer searched my bag for his phone while we were in Buffalo. He might’ve gone through yours, too.”
“Oh my God.”
Nick turned to the husky guy in the Bob Marley T-shirt across the aisle, who was staring out the window, and called, “Hey.”
The husky guy looked at him, and Nick said, “Did you see anyone rummage through my bag?”
The husky guy shook his head. “No. Was something stolen from your bag?”
“I haven’t checked yet, but I know someone went through it.”
“Damn.”
Nick turned to the woman in the aisle seat behind him and asked, “Did you see anyone rummage through my bag?”
“No,” the woman said.
Holly asked Nick, “Did you have anything valuable in your bag?”
“No.”
“He must’ve gone through my bag, too.”
“Check if your tablet’s still there.”
Holly opened her bag and looked inside. “It’s still here. Why would he take my tablet?”
“To find out your name. Did you have your wallet with you while you were outside?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone talk to you while I was away?”
“No.”
“Did anyone stare at you?”
“No. Why would he want my name?”
“To track you down.”
Holly frowned.
Nick figured she knew why Harry would want to track her down—to murder her.
“Do you own a gun?” he asked.
“No.”
“You should get one if we don’t catch this guy.”
Holly took out her tablet and switched it on.
Her tablet wasn’t protected by a passcode. If she had put her real full name in her email account’s personal info section, the killer could have found out who she was simply by opening the Email app on the device. That would have taken him less than ten seconds.
Holly opened the Downloads folder and said, “The pictures are still here.” She put the device back in her bag. “Why didn’t he take my tablet?”
“He was in a hurry. Maybe he didn’t go through your bag.”
Nick thought about telling Holly that the killer might have gotten her name from her email account but decided against it, not wanting to scare her.
2
As Nick checked his messages, an idea came to him.
Some of the murdered women’s bodies might have been found. The pictures of those whose remains had been identified would have been posted online.
“Can you give me his phone and your tablet?” Nick said.
The killer might have been a suspect or person of interest and the police might have released his photo.
Holly took out her tablet and handed it and the killer’s phone to him.
“Thank you.” Nick opened the browser on the tablet, googled “woman’s body found in Texas,” and then tapped the Gallery icon on the killer’s phone.
The first woman had been murdered on September 12 of last year. If Harry hadn’t buried or hidden her body, it would have probably been discovered within five days.
Nick tapped the Tools button on the search results page and set the time range to between September 12 and 17 of last year.
The first search result was a news story about a fifty-five-year-old Galveston woman whose body was discovered near the vacant Falstaff Brewery in Galveston on September 16. The woman in the picture appeared to be between twenty and thirty-five, so Nick moved on to the next search result, which was a news story about a thirty-three-year-old Dallas woman found murdered near a road in Kaufman County on September 13. Her name was Laura Thibodeaux. Nick clicked on the link to the story and studied Laura Thibodeaux’s photo.
Like the woman murdered by Harry, Laura had had white skin and chestnut chair. You could only see the side of Harry’s victim’s face, so Nick couldn’t tell if she was Laura Thibodeaux or not.
In the photo, Laura was smiling and looked happy, unaware that she’d be murdered at the young age of thirty-three. How old was this picture? Had it been snapped not long before Laura’s death?
The story said that Laura’s body was wrapped in cloth and dumped near the shoulder of FM Road 3039 in Combine, Texas. She had last been seen at her home in Uptown Dallas on September 12. Authorities did not have any motives or suspects.
“You think she’s one of the women in the pictures?” Holly said, looking at the tablet.
“She may be one of them. Her body was found on September thirteenth.” Nick pointed at Harry’s victim’s photo. “And this picture was taken on September twelfth.”
Nick looked up Combine on Google Maps and found that it was about twenty-five miles southwest of Dallas. The killer had probably transported Laura’s body there in the trunk of his car.
Nick did a search for “Laura Thibodeaux murder” and found no new information on the case.
“They haven’t solved her murder yet,” Nick said.
He checked the remaining four pictures and found that in all of them you could only see the side of the victim’s face.
“Who’s investigating her murder?” Holly asked.
Nick opened the Laura Thibodeaux story and looked for the name of the investigating agency. “The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.”
Holly looked up the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office’s number and added it to her contacts.
“When are you going to call them?” Nick asked.
