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“Ms. Zimmer,” Sylvie said, correcting Theo as she leaned forward for the remote. It didn’t take long for Piper Zimmer’s photograph to appear right below Bella Kadel’s picture. “Mother and father are divorced, and Mr. Taylor Zimmer currently lives in South Dakota.”
“Were Bella and Piper friends?” Theo asked.
“Not as far as I can see from their social media profiles.” Sylvie set the remote back down on the table. “Lorelei never closed or deleted Bella’s online accounts. As we know from experience, a lot of families don’t even give it a second thought. But like Theo mentioned before, Harbor seems to be a very close-knit town. My guess is that they knew of each other, but they had different circles of friends. On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be any connection between the two victims. That could easily change during our investigation.”
As the team continued to talk, Brook studied the crime scene photos. Bella had been wearing what appeared to be expensive makeup, and her bright red lipstick stood out in stark contrast against the transparent plastic bag wrapped around her head. Upon closer inspection, the material clung to the victim’s mouth like a suction cup.
Only there didn’t seem to be any defensive marks on the victim’s hands.
Brook zeroed in on the manicured fingernails, painted in the same bright red as the victim’s lips. Brook couldn’t find one single chip in the polish, and there didn’t seem to be any marks or bruising on Bella’s wrists.
There were absolutely no signs of external damage anywhere.
Sylvie was right in that the two victims looked nothing alike. They were also two years apart and had different professions. Where Bella had appeared more carefree, Piper Zimmer ‘s dark brown hair and sharp features had lent her an air of sophistication.
Maybe Detective Hartley was right about there not being a connection between the two cases. Brook wouldn’t know for sure until she’d had a chance to look at Piper Zimmer’s crime scene photos. All Brook had to go on right now were the clear plastic bags and the thin chains around the victims’ necks.
“…until we go through their financials. Bit, you mentioned that Mrs. Jameson gave you access to Bella Kadel’s bank statements. Did they include all her accounts?”
Theo must have received a non-verbal reply from Bit, because the four of them shifted to another area of research that would need to be conducted in the coming days. By this point, Brook was standing as close to the monitor as she could get while using the touchscreen to zoom in on specific areas of the living room, bedroom, and kitchen.
“Brook, we’re going to clear out of the conference room so that you can use it for your class,” Theo said as he garnered her attention once more. “The semester is almost over with, right?”
“Two and a half more weeks,” Brook replied as she finally stepped away from the monitor. “Another semester begins the second week of January.”
Brook had been asked to teach a criminal profiling course at the college, and she’d been enjoying it immensely. She’d started out in academics before becoming a criminal profiler, and returning to her roots was something that she never thought she’d be able to do. The course had offered her a nice change of pace, and the twelve students who she had hand-selected had exceeded her expectations.
“Oh, before everyone returns to their offices, I wanted to remind everyone that I’ll be decorating the Christmas tree tomorrow.” Arden held up a hand in case anyone decided to protest. “I know that we could do so during company time, but we all know that there are no such hours in our jobs. We work an investigation twenty-four-seven. With that said, you’ll all be leaving for Harbor, Maryland on Monday. As incentive, I’ve been saving a special recipe for salted caramel hot chocolate that I’ll be whipping up at nine o’clock tomorrow morning for anyone who would like to join me.”
“I’m in,” Bit called out louder than necessary. He was the only one who had remained seated, and Brook was curious as to whether he was working on the Kabel case or if he’d discovered something interesting regarding the Cary family’s connection to Jacob…and her. “Wait. Marshmallows?”
“Of course,” Arden said in a slightly offensive tone at the thought that Bit would assume otherwise. “And a variety of holiday music.”
“Brook, you’ve been staring at those photos for the past five minutes,” Theo pointed out as he stood behind his chair while holding his tablet and protein shake. “Is there something that we’re missing?”
Brook hadn’t meant to be dismissive of their conversation regarding tomorrow’s festivities, but she couldn’t take her attention off the thin silver chain links wrapped around Bella Kadel’s neck.
“I don’t believe that is a regular chain from some hardware store.” Brook shifted slightly back so that they could all observe the delicate item that she’d magnified for closer inspection. “I think that’s a woman’s belt. Not only that, but I do believe that the unsub is a woman.”
Chapter Six
Brooklyn Sloane
December 2023
Monday — 1:32pm
TheChesapeakeBayinthe first week of December exuded a somber beauty as the steel-grey waters churned against the desolate shore. Patches of fog clung to the rocky sand and grass, glistening like diamonds in the weak winter sun. The briny scent of the bay filled the air, but it was rather subtle against the pleasant aroma of burning firewood from nearby homes.
Brook stood next to her Volvo S90, gripping an overnight bag in one hand while holding her empty travel mug in the other. She’d hoisted her leather bag and purse over her right shoulder after exiting her car, so she wasn’t quite as balanced as she should have been given the fact that she was still wearing high heels. She’d driven straight from the college to Harbor, Maryland.
She’d packed last night, just enough clothes for a two nights’ stay since she planned to be back at the campus first thing Wednesday morning. It was a nice change of pace to be so close to home while conducting an investigation, and Arden had outdone himself with the accommodations. They had stayed in small rooms above a bar during their last case.
Brook’s breath fogged in front of her as she turned her focus to the cute cottage that faced the bay. With its whitewashed walls and inviting cobalt-blue door, it seemed to defy the encroaching cold. Another check in the plus column was that it was located less than a half mile from what was considered downtown Harbor.
Considering that Theo’s Jeep Wrangler wasn’t parked out front of the cottage could only mean that he’d already driven downtown. It wouldn’t have surprised her if he’d considered walking or jogging, but Sylvie had probably joined him, and she wasn’t too big on that type of exercise. She enjoyed yoga or palates, whereas Bit had just been genetically blessed with a lean frame.
Brook made her way to the front door, not surprised to find that it wasn’t locked. Bit had no doubt set up enough security cameras around the property to rival that of Fort Knox. He’d almost certainly been alerted to her arrival the second that she’d pulled her car up to the cottage out front.
