AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What came out all wrong?” Theo asked from behind Brook. She purposefully took the container from Sylvie and held it out to him. He glanced down at them with confusion, but that didn’t stop him from taking one. “Hey, cookies are never wrong.”
“Sylvie told Bit that he was her person,” Brook divulged as she handed the tin container back to Sylvie. “You know, the one you call when you need to bury a body, no questions asked.”
Brook had made sure to time her response with Theo swallowing half the cookie, garnering the desired effect. By the time that he got his choking and coughing fit under control, Sylvie had all but shoved the container of cookies into Bit’s chest.
“Nice,” she muttered in disbelief. “Real nice, Bit. You’re making me rethink my choice.”
“Don’t do that,” Brook said with a wave of her second cookie. “Really, Bit is a wise choice. He’d know exactly where all the cameras were located to make sure that you didn’t get caught on video.”
“It’s not only about burying bodies,” Bit said in defense, not taking her hint that she wasn’t bothered by the discussion. He was still attempting to dig them out of some misguided hole. “It’s about being someone’s person. Not a significant other, either. You know, it’s about the one person who won’t judge you, the one who knows just what to say and when to say it, and the one who will bring the best shovel with no questions asked.”
“I know what I would like to do with that big ol’ shovel,” Sylvie stated as she changed her mind on the cookies. She stole the container back before standing from her chair. “Shall we get some actual work done?”
“Bit is your choice?” Theo asked Sylvie as he joined her on the way through the doorway. “Really?”
“Who is your person?”
“Definitely my father. I know that he was just appointed as the NYPD Commissioner, but…”
As Theo’s voice trailed down the hallway, Brook claimed the chair that Sylvie had just vacated. Bit appeared crushed, but Brook had let all of them know on the first day that they shouldn’t walk around her on eggshells.
“Sylvieisyour person, Bit. And you are her person,“ Brook reassured him as she still held the second cookie in her hand. “I know that the two you didn’t mean anything by the topic of conversation. Jacob…well, Jacob is a psychopath. We should all have that one person who doesn’t fall into that category.”
“Who is yours?” Bit asked her with utter sincerity. What would her childhood had been like if she’d had him as a brother? “Who is your person? Everyone should have one.”
They both ate a cookie while she thought over his inquiry and subsequent advice. When she was tempted to take another cookie, she decided that coffee would be a better filler. Just as tabling this conversation was probably in her best interest.
“I’m working on it, Bit. I’m working on it.”
Chapter Ten
Brooklyn Sloane
February 2023
Tuesday — 8:02am
“Theo,takelead,”Brookdirected as she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee from the carafe.
Kate had checked her phone twice since everyone had taken a seat at the conference table. She was clearly waiting on a decision regarding her FBI application. Brook hadn’t said anything to anyone, but she’d already placed a call to Harden regarding the results. Her acceptance into the academy was the sole reason that Brook hadn’t assigned Kate any tasks regarding their latest case. Brook could have said something days ago, but she hadn’t wanted to take away from such a momentous occasion.
“I spoke with Agent Parker,” Theo said as he pulled out a small notebook from the pocket of his burgundy dress shirt. He was always dressed impeccably, yet he somehow managed to pull off a casual flair. “The case was fresh, so he didn’t have to comb through any old notes. There were no viable suspects, although he made it seem as if he didn’t agree with the profile that was given to him by Sinnett. Speaking of the profiler, he hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
Brook refrained from reacting to the news. If need be, she would reach out to Ann. In the meantime, it wasn’t like they didn’t have access to the original profile created by Sinnett. They technically had what they needed, but Brook understood Agent Parker’s concern with the first draft.
“What didn’t Parker agree with regarding the original profile?” Brook asked as she leaned back in her chair. The coffee wasn’t her caramel macchiato, but it was a close second. “It seemed pretty straight forward. I have my reservations on some points, but that happens from time to time. It is possible that Sinnett observed something in Agent Parker’s notes that I haven’t come across.”
“You read through it?” Theo asked in surprise. “I thought you wanted to wait to pore over the profile until after you drafted your own. You didn’t want your judgement swayed.”
“You might say that I had a change of heart. What didn’t Agent Parker agree with?” Brook asked again as she caught Sylvie turning on her tablet. She was no doubt looking for the profile in the shared files. “Sinnett believed that the unsub was Caucasian, late twenties to early thirties, methodical, and received a sexual high by having the victim return to the scene of her abduction.”
“According to Parker, he believed that Sinnett was wrong about the motive. He said that he couldn’t bring himself to connect a bloody handprint to sexual release.” Theo flipped a page in his small notebook. “Agent Parker also followed up with each and every family member of the victims. Not one of them made mention that there was someone new in the victims’ lives, and only two of the victims’ lives seemed to cross paths even remotely. Debbie Horton and Felicia Rhimes. They didn’t know one another, but Horton’s grandmother was in the same nursing home as Rhimes’ great uncle. It turned out to be a dead end, because Parker couldn’t connect any of the other victims to the nursing home.”
“Sylvie? What were you able to find out from Detective Ferrer?”
“Jenny Capshaw was reported missing by her husband—Ian Capshaw—two weeks ago. Of course, Detective Ferrer looked into the husband first, but he was actually out of town the day that she went missing. Ferrer verified the husband’s alibi.” Sylvie didn’t need to look at her screen to recap the conversation. “From what the detective could piece together, Jenny was on her way to work at a dental office where she worked as a hygienist. She would treat herself a couple mornings a week with her standard double shot latte with whole milk. Needless to say, she didn’t show up to work that day.”
“There is footage of Jenny entering the coffee shop, but she left before her order was ready,” Bit interjected as he held an energy drink in his hand. Brook grimaced at the thought of mixing such a cold beverage with chocolate chip cookies. “From the footage, I didn’t see anyone speak to her or vice versa. She just left. And no, she didn’t receive a call or a text on her cell phone.”
