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I wasn’t sure how much time actually passed, but it felt like forever. Hours turned into days as we tried to come up with information regarding Miranda, the Sentinel and the person using my mom’s name as a pseudonym online.
We went back and forth to Jace’s apartment and HQ, where I slept, mostly alone. Sometimes I slept with Teo, but he was worried, and it was getting worse. The more it felt like we hit a brick wall, the harder it seemed for him to deal with it.
I didn’t want to ask him.
I didn’t like seeing Teo worried.
It meant that things werebad. He was usually so cool and composed that this felt like it made me totally doubt everything.
It was about a week later and things didn’t feel like they were moving along at all. Victor, Jace, and I were back in Jace’s apartment. The stale scent of coffee hung in the air as I tapped my fingers against the keyboard, trying to recall the names and faces of my old journalistic connections. My past life as a reporter had given me access to a wealth of resources that might prove useful in our investigation.
“Guys,” I said, glancing at Jace and Victor. “I think I’m going to reach out to some of my former colleagues. They might have information or know people who can help us.”
I’d stopped short of doing that because I didn’t know what my reputation was like amongst my former circle after independently publishing the piece on the Orchid Strangler.
“Good idea,” Victor agreed, taking a break from the pull bar in Jace’s doorway to his bathroom. “We need all the intel we can get.”
“Keep us in the loop,” Jace added, his voice tight with tension as he continued to sift through data on his computer.
I shot them both a nod before dialing the first number. The phone rang several times before a familiar voice crackled through the line. “Sofia? Is that you?”
“Lily!” I said, breathing a small sigh of relief that she had even answered my call. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Too long,” she said, then quieted for a second. “Are you okay? I heard you were in hiding.”
I shook my head, though I knew she couldn’t see me. “Not exactly,” I said. “Mindful seclusion.”
She laughed. “Okay, Gwyneth Paltrow,” she said. “Good job on the Strangler piece. Powerful stuff. The police were mad.”
“I know,” I said. “Maybe they should’ve thought about catching the guy first. Then they wouldn’t have a reason to be mad.”
She laughed again. Hearing someone who wasn’t part of the Blades was almost surreal. “What can I do for you, Sof?”
“Anything you’ve got on the Sentinel and a woman named Miranda Olivier. Her online handle is TrueCrimeCharm, all one word,” I said, watching as Jace and Victor exchanged a glance. “I think there might be a connection between them.”
“Why are you looking into the Sentinel?”
“I’ll fill you in soon,” I said. “I promise. For the time being, just do this for me, please?”
“Okay,” she replied. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Lily. You’re the best.”
“You know it.”
I hung up the call and moved on to my next contact. As the hours wore on, I contacted more of my old connections, conducting interviews and gathering information. Each new piece of evidence only served to deepen the mystery, casting further doubt on our initial theory.
Meanwhile, Jace and Victor dedicated themselves to fact-checking and cross-referencing each scrap of data we uncovered. Their determination was like a beacon of light in the darkness that seemed to be closing in around us.
Finally, after days of hard work, we had a breakthrough. Lily had been able to uncover a lead on Miranda Olivier. Apparently, she was spotted meeting with a well-known drug lord from another city. It made little sense. Olivier was into investigating crime, not committing it.
And the person giving her information on the meet-up was Sara Garcia.
We didn’t know what it had to do with the Sentinel yet, but it was more information than we’d had before.
“Looks like we might have found our link,” I said to Jace and Victor as I ended the call with Lily.
“Let’s hope so,” Victor replied, wiping sweat off his forehead with a towel. “We need to bring this to Teo and Grayson.”
