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FBI forensic specialist Fiona Red walked up to the mall in Portland, squinting into the sun as she looked at it. A few days ago, Fiona had taken a cold case file from the Portland police department, given to her by her childhood friend and police officer, Erica.
The file had been placed near the file of Fiona’s missing sister, Joslyn. At first, the file had looked like an ordinary missing persons case—a sixteen-year-old girl who’d vanished from a mall. The very mall Fiona was now walking up to.
But that wasn’t all.
A strange bug had been found on the girl’s flip-flop, left behind at the scene. And as Fiona had read more case files, she’d realized that this case went a lot deeper than Joslyn’s.
The main point being that they actually did end up finding a body.
Sixteen-year-old Julia Rowe of Portland had been found dead on Lindbergh’s Beach—the same beach Joslyn would go missing from three years later.
The moment Fiona had realized that, sitting alone in her apartment, she’d known she had to look into this further. Even if she was only a lab worker, she’d been getting more field experience lately after being paired up with Jake Tucker and Lauren Price, two esteemed FBI field agents.
Both Joslyn’s and Julia’s cases had been cold for years. But Fiona couldn’t help but wonder if they were somehow connected.
What was even more concerning was, this mall was only a ten-minute walk from the beach.
Could the culprit have been someone who lived in the area?
Fiona was determined to find out.
She stepped into the mall, her eyes darting around at the surroundings. She’d never been here before, and it was much bigger than she had expected, more of an outlet mall.
Julia had gone missing from this very mall.
Fiona wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she was looking for here—she just wanted to feel what it had been like to be here, to see for herself the place Julia had gone missing.
The mall was bustling with people, and it seemed like everyone had a purpose. Some were just window shopping, others were running errands, but Fiona noticed that there were some people who seemed to linger around, watching the shoppers intently.
Fiona’s heart raced as she walked through the mall, her eyes alert for anything suspicious. She looked at all the stores and shops, trying to imagine what Julia had been doing here before she went missing. Despite being in a public place, there was an eerie feeling about the mall—as if something sinister had happened here in the past.
She walked past stores and kiosks, taking in the sights and smells. She watched as people moved around her, some walking with purpose and others just strolling along. As she continued to walk, Fiona noticed something out of place—a small store tucked away in the corner that didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the mall. It had a large sign outside advertising “antiques,” but it seemed too quiet compared to its neighbors. Fiona pulled out a sheet from Julia’s file and unfolded it.
Right near this shop was where Julia’s flip-flop had been found.
Back then, there were no security cameras in the mall, but Fiona noticed an elderly woman behind the counter in the antiques shop. Maybe it was a long shot, but Fiona wondered if the woman had been working here at the time Julia went missing. It was thirteen years ago, but this seemed like a family store.
Asking couldn’t hurt.
As Fiona stepped inside she saw shelves lined with antiques, boxes of trinkets and knickknacks, a glass display case filled with jewelry. In the corner was an old wardrobe and there were paintings on the walls. Fiona’s nose was filled with the musty smells of dust, furniture polish, and old paper. The elderly woman stood behind the counter, watching her with curious eyes. The woman was small, with gray hair and glasses. She smiled warmly at Fiona.
“Can I help you, dear?” she asked in a gentle voice.
Fiona cleared her throat. “Hello, I’m sorry to bother you. This might sound strange, but how long have you been working here?”
“Oh, I’ve been here since this mall opened,” the woman said with a smile. “Thirty years. Why do you ask?”
Fiona’s pulse picked up. “Well, I… I’m looking into the disappearance of a girl. It happened about thirteen years ago.”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded her head slowly. “Oh yes, I remember it well,” she said solemnly. “It was such a tragedy for that poor girl’s family.”
“Did you see anything?” Fiona asked, then immediately felt silly. “I mean, of course you would have been asked before, but…” There were many interviews with employees from the mall in Julia’s file, but Fiona hadn’t read them all yet. It was a lot to go through.
“I’m afraid I was never able to recall anything strange,” the woman said, “although I do know her shoe was found near my store. The officers asked me back then if I’d noticed anyone strange in the mall, but in all honesty, I hadn’t been paying much attention.” Her eyes were downcast. “I wish I’d been more of a help back then, and I wish I could help more now.”
Fiona smiled sadly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you did all you could at the time. Did you ever see anyone strange around in general?”
The woman shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not. People come and go in the mall all the time, it’s impossible to keep track of them all.” She paused for a moment, then added, “And I’m getting old too. My memory isn’t what it used to be. I’m sorry I’m not of more help.”
