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“I will when you do.”
It was tempting to pretend to do just that to force her hand. But knowing Elly, she would hear him moving around and just join him anyway.
Turning his attention to the computer, he gave up on the skaters and went to the next victim he remembered. Not the eight-year-old boy, he couldn’t imagine he was the intended victim. Kyle? No, he didn’t have social media.
There was another young couple who’d been hit. He pulled up the list of victims, found the woman’s name, and typed it into the search engine. Before he could do anything more, his phone rang.
He expected the call to be from Rhy or one of Elly’s other siblings, but he didn’t recognize the number on the screen. He debated sending the call to voice mail, expecting a robo call letting him know his warranty is up, but given the circumstances, he answered it. “Kingsley.”
“Why haven’t you found him?” The shrill voice in his ear had him pulling the phone away with a wince.
“Ah, ma’am? Who are you?” He hadn’t recognized the voice, so he didn’t think this was Gabrielle’s or Henry’s mother.
“Kyle’s widow!” Her tone increased in volume. “I demand to know what you’re doing to find the man who shot my husband!”
He remembered how Rhy had mentioned getting an irate phone call from Kyle’s wife, Eloise. Rhy could have warned him that he’d given Kyle’s widow his number. Elly must have been able to hear the woman, too, as she came over to sit beside him.
“We’re doing everything possible,” he said in a calm, reassuring tone. “I promise, we will find him.”
“When?” She sounded slightly less antagonistic. “I don’t understand what’s taking so long. It’s been over twenty-four hours.”
“I know. We have a sketch of our perp circulating through every precinct in the city, and his face has been put out on all the news stations. He won’t be able to hide for long.”
“You have to find him!” Her voice rose again in agitation. “You owe Kyle that much, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course.” He wondered if that was part of the reason for Eloise acting out. Normally, when an officer was taken from them, they visited the widow. Providing support through a difficult time.
They hadn’t done that, their priority being to find this guy before he opened fire on other innocent people again. “Do you need anything? Is there something I can do for you?”
“Just find Kyle’s killer!” With that, she disconnected from the call.
He sat in silence for a long moment.
“She’s grieving,” Elly said. “If you like, I can try to talk to her once we have Kyle’s killer in custody. Maybe she needs another woman to talk to.”
“Maybe.” Logically, he knew everyone handled grief differently. And this was a highly unusual circumstance. “I need to let Assistant Chief Michaels know. A visit from the upper brass may be in order.”
“That’s a good idea,” Elly agreed. “She’s probably feeling lost amidst the media attention.”
The media attention was to help find this guy, but he let it go. He made the call to Assistant Chief Michaels. “Do you have something, Kingsley?” he asked.
He wished he did. “No, sir. Nothing concrete. I think the crime scene techs have been over the truck but haven’t found any prints or DNA.”
“Then why are you calling?” Michaels sounded irritated.
“I just got off the phone with Eloise Malaki, Kyle’s widow. She’s pretty upset, and I was thinking she may need a visit from you, or the chief of police, or even the mayor. I think she feels forgotten in this.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Michaels sounded tired. “I usually count on Finnegan to navigate this stuff. But I know he’s taking well deserved vacation time. And we haven’t followed our usual protocol either. I’ll make an appointment to see her first thing tomorrow.”
“Thank you, sir.” It was telling how their assistant chief depended on Rhy to keep things moving. Not that he planned to point that out to the older guy. He doubted Michaels would appreciate the comparison. He tucked his phone back into his pocket, hoping the assistant chief could smooth things over with Eloise Malaki.
As a cop, he’d seen all sorts of inappropriate angry outbursts. Many aimed at the cops either because they were there or because they hadn’t done enough.
He wasn’t sure why he was taking Eloise’s anger so personally. But he was irked that she didn’t believe they were doing everything in their power to get the guy who’d callously killed a cop. Along with nine other victims.
“Is Kyle on social media?” Elly asked, breaking into his thoughts.
He glanced at her, wishing she wasn’t so close. “No, none of us are active on any of those sites. But you bring up a good point. It’s possible Eloise is.”
