Page 36 of Roughing
This case was my shot to prove myself to Carla and to get my feet wet on a real, meaningful investigation. I could make a difference.
Carla consulted the stack of papers on her desk. “The people who were in the bar that night are Grady Jefferson, Gordon Clarmont, Desmond Hall, Leila Janushi, Aspen Bedford. Anyone else?” Carla scratched the names on the whiteboard in barely legible handwriting, but I wasn’t about to point that out.
“Not that I know of, but I’ll find out.”
“Okay. That’s a start. See what you can uncover without making them suspect a motive other than curiosity.”
“That’s right up my alley. Everyone expects me to ask questions.”
“Good. I’ll scour the nearby bars and restaurants to see if anyone saw or heard anything strange that night. Write down even the most innocuous information that might be the last piece of the puzzle.”
“I’ll start tonight.” I hesitated and took a deep breath, debating on telling her about the scream last night and my suspicions about Gordon.
“Is there more?” Carla read my face.
“Gordon Clarmont was there that night and pissed off Pria shut him down. He was escorted from the bar.”
Her smile wasn’t exactly approving. “Gordon is on my radar and Portland PD’s. The patrons in the bar across the street claimed he was in there until closing. Since several have vouched for him, he’s moved down the list of people of interest.”
“Maybe they’re confused about the time frame.”
Carla shook her head. “I will follow every lead to its logical conclusion. That’s what good investigators do. Gordon is still a possibility, but currently, there’s no proof.”
She might be right, and I held back from further argument. If he had been in that bar long after the abduction had possibly happened, he couldn’t have kidnapped Pria, but there were still other missing women.
“Let’s look at the time line.” Carla stood and pointed to my chart. “What do you see here? Anything stand out?”
I wasn’t sure why she was asking my opinion, but perhaps it was some kind of test, and I was determined to pass. “The dump sites are drastically different. One is in an alley near here. The other is in a wooded area west of Portland. I don’t see any similarities other than the person who did the dumping had to know Portland and the surrounding area.”
Carla nodded. “What about the disappearances? Anything they have in common?”
“I couldn’t find any evidence the women knew each other, but they frequented bars in the same area of Portland.”
“The cameras on various buildings didn’t capture this guy, though there’s video of some of the women walking alone before they disappeared. He’s done his research. He knows where the cameras are, and he avoids them. This particular part of town is older and many of the buildings have minimal outside cameras.” Carla leaned back and steepled her fingers, sighing deeply.
“Gordon frequents those same bars,” I pointed out and was rewarded with a scowl from Carla.
“We’ll investigate Gordon, but we’ll also look at others. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Carla’s annoyance was easier to see than Briggs’s number on his hockey jersey. She’d gone from approval to disapproval in sixty seconds or less. I scrambled to gain back her faith in me, sticking with just the facts and evidence. As a result, I didn’t tell her about the scream we’d heard last night. I didn’t want to earn another demerit for speculating without proof.
I left the office several minutes later, eager to get started on my assignment. Carla had trusted me, and I wouldn’t let her down.
I drove to the Puck and took a seat at the bar. Heidi and Leila were both working. The Icehawks game was playing on televisions around the room. The guys were getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter. Briggs had asked me to go, but that’d signal we were more than friends. I’d been tempted. Watching the disaster unfold, I regretted not going. Briggs would be cranky as hell, but he could’ve used the support whether he admitted it or not.
The boys would probably drop by after the game to drown their sorrows, and I’d be here, waiting to offer whatever support and sympathy Briggs would accept, most likely none.
Therein lay the problem. The man refused to open up and trust me with his innermost feelings, yet he was trying to change for the better. Perhaps he needed more time, and I needed more patience.
ChapterThirteen
WINNERS AND LOSERS
~~Briggs~~
Icehawks lost. Again.
