Page 58 of Lost Lake
A circle churned on the screen as the system thought again, this time returning one investigation from seven years prior. Not in their area but in Bend, a city in central Oregon, more than a six-hour drive from Lost Lake, which made it less likely to be their suspect. But not impossible.
The telltale lobby door squeak sounded and footsteps approached. El swiveled to see Mina headed her way. She was still dressed in uniform minus her cap. Weariness clung to her like a wet blanket. She rested an arm on the corner of the cubicle. “Any luck?”
“Maybe. Four strangulation cases in our state matching some of our criteria and occurring in the past three years. I figured if I went back further than that, it might not be related to our investigation. But if none of these pan out, I can go back further.”
“Did they use zip ties?”
“Not the ones I mentioned, but a Bend investigation, seven years ago, involves unusual zip ties for restraints. Problem is, the murder was so long ago, and it occurred in Bend. I’ll dig into it, but I don’t know how related it’ll turn out to be.”
“But it’s a start.”
El nodded. “I was about to print out the information to review at home tonight.”
Mina’s big brown eyes narrowed. “I appreciate you working all hours of the day, but go home and get at least a couple hours’ sleep. You won’t be any good to others if you don’t take care of yourself.”
El nodded but didn’t commit to anything even though Mina was right. But how could she sleep when a child was counting on her to bring her home? They’d passed the critical twenty-four-hour period. If she didn’t do her job, and they hit forty-eight hours, they would have to begin preparing for worst-case outcomes.
Memories of reaching that timeframe with Victoria swamped her mind. The change in attitude among the investigators and team. The parents. The news media. Sorrow. Disappointment. Gut-wrenching.
El curled her fingers into a tight fist. She wouldn’t let that happen again. She just couldn’t.
Mina pushed off the cubicle. “I’d like to schedule a team update at ten a.m. I’ll contact everyone on the investigation.”
“Could we push it a couple of hours? We should have forensic results from Sierra, and maybe I could get her to come to the meeting to update us.”
“Let’s say noon then. It’s probably better anyway. It’ll let anyone who wants to attend a worship service have time to go. I’ll arrange box lunches for everyone.”
Right, tomorrow was Sunday. El had lost track of days and didn’t want to take time from the search to go to church, but starting the day with God would be the most important thing she could do. She’d make up the time by working all night.
“I’ll text Sierra,” she said. “See if she has time to meet with us. I’d also like Gabe to attend.”
“Sierra giving us results is great, but Gabe attending a department meeting is highly irregular.”
“Nothing regular about this situation. Not when a child is counting on every one of us.” El took a breath, allowing her boss time to think this through. If she said no, El would be forced to remind her of the many ways she’d let the Lost Lake Locators help them in the past.
“If things go south here, my relationship with Nolan will have people calling my actions into question. But you’re right. We need Gabe. He can be there.”
“Great. I’ll tell him. Can Jude attend, too?”
“Fine.” Mina shifted her duty belt. “Home now. Sleep.”
“You should do the same thing.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I just stopped in to check a few things.” She squeezed El’s shoulder. “Don’t let me find you out here when I’m ready to leave.”
El started texting Sierra to avoid making a promise she might not keep. Despite the time of day, Sierra responded promptly.
We’ll have results by then. Glad to join you.
Excellent. We’ll provide lunch.
See you then.
El’s phone rang. Gabe’s name flashed on the screen. He said he would call if the team wanted to meet with her tonight. She answered quickly.
“Any luck with ViCAP?” he asked.
“Maybe.” She explained what she’d located. “I’m printing the files now to review when I get home.”
