“So, after Tristan convinced me that she wouldn’t have just flaked, we called the non-emergency police line for a well-visit. I thought it was extreme, but it turns out she was missing. The cops told us she wasn’t at home, but her car and purse were there.”
Gene was curious.
So, he went there.
“So, was it the media call just now that alerted you to her death? Because that would be a quick switchover from vigil to memorial.”
Robert explained.
“Well, no, the media just now didn’t clue us in. Granted, all of this was a vigil, but this morning, as I was waking up, I put on the news. It was all over it that she, and two other women were found dead. So, we switched to memorial.”
Once more, the media was up in their case.
That also explained why they were calling the school. Soon, they’d be calling the bar, and the store where the other victims worked.
Damn it.
What was annoying wasn’t that these people were talking to the media, but that someone let it leak, and now, the media was going to get in their way.
“Did they now?”
Robert nodded.
“Yeah, the news said that her identity was confirmed, and I had to come in and tell everyone.”
Well, shit.
Ethan pulled the flier out that the captain had given him. It was the same one the man at the copier was printing out, except his said vigil.
The new one said memorial.
“Is she dead?” Tristan asked. “Really?” he asked with tears in his eyes. “I had hope that the media was wrong, but with you guys here…”
Ethan and Gene both nodded to confirm what was being said.
Well, the cat was out of the bag, so there was no point in sugarcoating it.
“We’re sorry, but she is. It was definitely Ivey.”
There was silence.
Finally, the principal spoke.
“Well, that’s shitty,” Robert said. “Who would hurt Ivey? She was the sweetest woman in the world. Everyone loved her!” he admitted, his voice full of emotion.
Yeah, they could see that.
The school employees were definitely fond of the woman if the balloons, ribbons, and memorial said anything.
From where he stood, making copies, Rodney sighed.
“One of my students told me she has a snack closet in her room for kids who need food. She genuinely loved her job and her kids. They feel the same. They love her so much. I hate that we’re going to have to burst that bubble of hope.”
Yeah, that was going to suck.
Now, the other man, the balloon blower, was sobbing. Tristan was taking this hard.
Robert hugged him.
