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“Meet me at Hiker’s Haven in twenty minutes.”
Brook was prevented from asking what had transpired at the B&B when the sheriff disconnected the line. She’d been in the process of gathering her notes together for the upcoming meeting that was supposed to have included the sheriff. It appeared that she wouldn’t be briefing her team on the adjusted profile until later today.
“Good morning to you, too,” she murmured before setting her phone back down on the desk. She wasn’t surprised when Bit poked his head around the connecting doorway. “That wasn’t Sylvie, Bit. I have to meet the sheriff out at Hiker’s Haven. I’m not sure if it’s about Proehl or not. Can you let Theo and Erika know that the morning meeting has been moved to ten o’clock? That should give me enough time to meet the sheriff and drive back to town.”
“In that case, I’m going to walk down the street and grab a box of donuts.”
“Would you please grab me some coffee cake while you’re there?” Brook asked as she began to shut down her laptop. “And maybe take the carafe over to the diner for a refill?”
“Sure thing, Boss. I won’t say anything to Gumshoe, either.”
“You don’t need to say anything to Arden, because he still makes the best caramel macchiato on the East Coast.” Brook wasn’t exaggerating, and the mere mention of their other team member had her reaching for the phone. She made sure it was on speaker before straightening the manilla folders that she’d acquired since arriving in town last Thursday. “Good morning, Arden.”
Only Bit referred to Arden by the nickname given to a lot of private investigators back in the day. Bit basically had a nickname for everyone.
“Top of the morning to you, Brook,” Arden greeted, his voice gruff from years of smoking. She’d gotten used to him arriving at the office before her. It wasn’t that she expected anyone to put in the same number of hours that she worked on a daily, weekly, or even annual basis. However, having the lights turned on and a special caramel macchiato waiting for her when she arrived had definitely spoiled her. “What can I do for you?”
With Ned Proehl still missing, there was quite a list of volunteers who needed to be interviewed over the next few days, and Sylvie had flown back to D.C. Being short a team member required that Otto be a little more involved in the case, because Erika had no idea how to conduct an interview. The team’s liaison to the park ranger service was outstanding in her own job responsibilities, but she’d never worked a murder investigation before.
“Arden, how do you feel about taking a drive over to the college?”
“Do I get to join in on a game of beer pong?” Arden laughed at his own reply.
“Let me guess,” Brook said as she closed the lid on her laptop. “You were the only semi-sober one at your frat parties.”
“And you weren’t,” Arden asked with a knowing cadence in his tone. “I don’t think I’ve known you to take second place, Brook.”
Memories from college came flooding back, making it hard for Brook to breathe.
Cara Jordan had been the worst partner to have for beer pong, but Brook hadn’t been able to bring herself to choose anyone other than her roommate. They’d been inseparable starting their freshman year, and they’d requested to share a dorm room from that point on…until Jacob had intervened and ended Cara’s life.
“…time do you need me to be there?”
“Eight o’clock,” Brook answered after clearing her throat. She did her best to push aside the past that always seemed to hit her out of nowhere. “They’re working on an assignment. They can use the three hours of class today to conduct some research, but I’d like you to be there if they have any questions.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Thanks, Arden.”
Brook reached out and disconnected the call. Her firearm, holster, and credentials were off to the side, so she picked them up and secured them to the cream belt that she’d chosen this morning. The black turtleneck was a nice change from the business blazers that she’d worn for their previous case, and she was able to wear a more comfortable jacket. Theo had mentioned before taking a shower this morning that the high of the day was only fifty-eight degrees. Relatively normal for the end of October.
“I ran into Bit walking down the hallway,” Theo said right as Brook finished tying the laces on her right hiking boot. The cream and brown material came above her ankle. Since she wasn’t sure exactly why the sheriff wanted her to drive out to Hiker’s Haven, it was best to be prepared. “He said the morning briefing is postponed?”
“Otto called and requested that I meet him at the B&B.” Brook walked back to the desk where she’d left her cell phone. After double-checking that her driver’s license, corporate credit, and personal credit card were in their designated spots inside the phone case, she slid the contents into her right pocket. “Erika should be here soon with a list of volunteers who searched for Carissa Norman. Since we have the names of those in the search parties for Helen Beckham and Luna Breen, compare them so that we have one comprehensive list of who was involved with all three. You don’t have to wait for me to start questioning them, but I don’t want Erika on her own. Keep her with you or let her remain back here with Bit. I’m sure he has something for her to do.”
“Have you heard from Sylvie?”
“No.” Brook was aware that Theo and Bit knew of her phone conversation with Nigel Deering, but she’d given her word that she wouldn’t reveal what had been said between them. Should Sylvie want to share with them her personal feelings in regard to her father’s devastating diagnosis and what could only amount to unresolved feelings over such news, then that was her personal choice to do so. “The sheriff said that he’d loan us a couple of deputies, but I’d rather he be personally involved than someone we don’t know.”
“And Riggs?”
“Riggs is back on patrol as a deputy until such time that we need someone else besides Erika to help us out in that area. Jace is back minding his bait and tackle shop, and Dominic has that interview rescheduled with that famous climber. Those two were only helping us search the mountains for places the unsub could have taken more victims.” Brook didn’t need to give her reasons as to why the two men were no longer involved in the investigation. Theo understood completely, but he would have to speak with each of them regarding their previous experience with the mountain rescue teams. “I’ve witnessed you several times during interviews such as these. There’s no one better.”
“Yeah, well, the interviews aren’t typically with the ones who’ve helped us out the way Jace and Dominic did last week,” Theo said grudgingly as he unscrewed the cap of his protein shake. “I want to look over their background investigations once more before speaking with them. I wanted to see if we missed anything, especially since you amended the profile to include that the unsub would most likely insert himself into the search groups. Why not the investigation? Hey, that reminds me. You left out the unsub’s relationship status.”
“I need more to go on,” Brook replied reluctantly as she walked over to her suitcase. She’d tucked her gloves into one of the corners, along with a scarf. She pulled the scarf out first before draping it around her neck. “There’s a reason that the unsub needs to leave after spending a day in the mountains with his victim. Job, marriage, kids? The profile is definitely a work in progress.”
Unfortunately, the team still hadn’t heard back from forensics regarding the evidence at either crime scene. There was always the possibility that the killer had left behind his DNA. If he was in the system, the investigation could be wrapped up in hours. As it stood, they could be waiting for such a call for a while.
