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"Can you tell us more about the albatrosses and other rare birds you keep here?" she asked, her mind racing with possibilities. "Any information you might have could be crucial in catching this killer."
Caroline nodded solemnly, seemingly eager to assist in their investigation. As she began to speak, Morgan clenched her fists, steeling herself for whatever revelations lay ahead. The truth was tantalizingly close, and she couldn't afford to let it slip through her fingers.
Caroline's eyes flitted nervously around the room, as if she were searching for the right words to describe the situation. "It's true that we have some rare birds here, including albatrosses," she admitted. "But it would be very difficult for anyone to get near them without being a staff member."
"Can you tell us more about your staff?" Morgan inquired, her investigative instincts kicking in. She knew that no stone could be left unturned in this case.
Caroline sighed, adjusting her glasses as she answered. "Well, right now, it's just me and my teenage daughter who have access to the birds. We're very protective of our animals, so we don't let just anyone in."
Morgan frowned, trying not to let her disappointment show. A mother and a teenage daughter didn't fit the profile of the killer they were looking for. But she had to keep digging. "Has there ever been anyone else who worked here, maybe someone who could have taken the feathers before?"
Caroline hesitated, her fingers playing with the hem of her blouse. "There was one time when we hired someone outside of the family," she said quietly. "I regretted it almost immediately. About six months ago, we had to let a young man go because he kept creeping out our customers."
"What do you mean?" Derik asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Well," Caroline continued, "he would often engage people in long, drawn-out conversations about the birds. It was incredibly overbearing, and it started scaring off business. So I had no choice but to let him go."
Morgan clenched her jaw, feeling a spark of anger at the thought of this mysterious man potentially using the sanctuary's resources for such sinister purposes. "Do you remember his name?" she demanded, her voice tight.
"Adam Sallow," Caroline answered, her voice barely a whisper. "He was strange, but passionate about birds. I wanted to give him a chance, but in the end, it just wasn't worth jeopardizing our family business and the safety of my daughter."
"Adam Sallow, you said?" Morgan asked, her voice sharpened with determination. "Do you have any more information on him? Anything that could help us find him?"
Caroline hesitated, fidgeting with the glasses perched on her nose. "I don't know much about his personal life, but he was always very knowledgeable about birds. He seemed to have a genuine love for them... I wanted to give him a chance, but it just became too much."
"Thank you, Caroline," Morgan said, her eyes locked onto the older woman's. "Your help is invaluable."
"Of course, Agent Cross," Caroline replied, her expression a mixture of worry and hope. "I hope you can catch this person and bring them to justice."
With a nod, Morgan and Derik turned to leave the sanctuary. As they stepped out into the sunlight, the scent of fresh grass and bird calls filling the air, Morgan's thoughts raced. Adam Sallow. A name to a faceless monster. She could feel the urgency bubbling up within her.
"Come on, Derik," she urged, striding towards their cars. "We need to find this guy before he hurts anyone else."
"Hey, slow down," Derik called after her, jogging to catch up. "We need to make sure we go about this the right way. We can't just rush in without a plan."
"Every second we waste is another second he has to find his next target," Morgan snapped, her frustration boiling over. "We need to move now!"
Derik paused, his green eyes searching hers. "I know you want to catch this guy, Morgan. We all do. But we have to be smart about it, or we risk letting him slip through our fingers."
Morgan clenched her fists, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "You're right," she admitted, the words tasting bitter on her tongue. "But we can't just sit around and do nothing."
"Fine," Derik sighed, relenting to Morgan's stubbornness. "But we're making that report after we check out his house."
"Not a chance," Morgan said tersely, climbing into her car and slamming the door behind her. She didn't want to waste any more time on this; she needed to get to Adam Sallow and put an end to this nightmare once and for all.
As she drove through the winding streets of the quiet suburb, Morgan couldn't help but play the events of the past while over in her mind. The gunshot echoing through the night, the smell of burning rubber, Thomas' betrayal — it all swirled together like a storm cloud above her head. And despite her best efforts, a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered that maybe, just maybe, she should slow down and think things through before diving headfirst into danger.
But she pushed those thoughts aside as she pulled up to the address they had found for Adam Sallow. She had a gut feeling that she was about to come face-to-face with a monster.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Morgan pulled up to Adam Sallow's address. The house was dilapidated, with peeling paint and an overgrown lawn that looked as though it hadn't been tended to in years. No car in the driveway, no lights inside; it seemed as if the place had been abandoned long ago.
She stepped out of her car, wincing at the throbbing pain in her head. Her body was screaming for food and water, but she ignored the hunger pangs and focused instead on the task at hand.
Derik wasted no time, jumping out of his car and hurrying over to Morgan. He looked her over with concern in his green eyes, taking in her disheveled appearance. "Morgan, you look like you're about to pass out," he warned.
"Thanks for the observation, but I'm fine," she retorted, suppressing a wince as a sharp pain throbbed in her head. She didn't need Derik's concern right now; she needed answers.
