Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
T HE REST OF S ATURDAY WAS somber and filled with shock. Hanna took Gizmo with her to the crisis pregnancy clinic to relinquish him to Mandy.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I can take him, at least not now.” She stroked the little dog’s head. “I’ll be planning Edda’s celebration of life and notifying people. Besides, I’ve got Grandma Betty with me. She’s still recuperating from hip surgery.”
Hanna remembered that Betty had had surgery right before Scott’s funeral. “Oh, I remember, how is she doing?”
“Good. She should be home on her own in a couple of days. I’m not sure it would be safe to have little Gizmo running around while she’s still using a walker.”
“I’ll have to stop by and say hi.” Hanna looked around the normally happy and welcoming clinic. It was open, but there was no joy. Everyone there was crying or wiping away tears. Hanna felt like crying herself. Edda was everyone’s sweet aunt.
“It’s hard to be here without Edda. I mean, she was always here for me, for us.” Tears started and Mandy grabbed a Kleenex. Hanna sat next to her friend, set Gizmo on the floor, and put an arm over her shoulder. It had hit her hard too. Mandy was right; Edda was family.
Hanna groaned.
“What, what is it?” Mandy asked, sniffling.
“I just thought about how horrible it will be at church tomorrow.”
Mandy started crying harder, and Hanna couldn’t stop her own tears.
“Sunday was hard for me,” Hanna said when she met Nathan Monday morning for coffee. “But it looks as if the whole weekend was hard for you.”
Dry Oaks Beanery was across the street from the PD. It was their go-to coffee spot. They both sat with steaming cups of coffee to share a few minutes together before they had to start their workdays. Nathan looked as if he’d never ended his from Saturday. Hanna knew how that was. A case like he had, well, you wanted to solve it. You wanted to get the bad people off the streets as soon as possible.
“You have no idea.” He yawned. “Maybe you do. I think I got four hours of sleep the whole weekend. Was everyone at church torn up about Edda?”
“Understatement. Everyone was in shock. Who could hurt the sweetest person in the world? You are chasing a monster.”
“I am, believe me. I consider that every minute.”
She reached over and put her hand over his. “You still need to take care of Nathan. Working yourself into the ground won’t help the investigation.”
He flashed a tired smile. “Yeah, Chief, I know. I’ll work on getting some rest.”
“Good.”
He sipped his coffee, and she gave him a minute before asking for an update.
“Where are you guys at right now?”
He shook his head. “The only edge we have is that he killed her shortly before he dumped her. That’s way earlier than with the others. If he was rushed, we might find evidence. The techies unlocked her computer, and they’re going over the contents.”
“You’re frowning. What’s wrong?”
“Edda’s case is different. Hers was not a romance scam. From what I’ve read so far, she truly wanted to help the guy calling himself Diego, at first. Mandy was right. Then something changed, and Edda began to doubt. She feared that he was pretending. Her last messages were almost threatening.”
“What do you mean?”
“She told him she didn’t believe his name was Diego. That she was certain he was local and not in a faraway place. Her last message to him was, ‘I think I know who you are.’”
Hanna stared, digesting this information.
“Out of three victims, it looks as if only Edda gave the guy good reason to get rid of her. He’d hooked her at first, but she was trying to wriggle off the line.”
“Did she say who she thought he was?”
“No.”
Hanna thought for a minute. “Scammers scam. They prey on people’s weaknesses. Bobby was Edda’s weakness. Scammers target pain, whether it’s caused by loneliness or guilt.”
“He played to her pain, but eventually she saw through it.”
“You’re not thinking there’s two different killers, are you?” Hanna stared, her mind churning with the horrific ramifications of such a thought.
“No, no. It’s too early in the investigation. You know me, I like the ducks to all line up. We’ve got a duck out of order here, and it bugs me. Could be he changed his MO because Edda found him out.”
They sipped their coffee in silence for a moment. Could killers break form? Sure, it just wasn’t terribly likely. She prayed that there were not two killers and switched back to Edda being vulnerable online.
“Bobby’s death really knocked Edda sideways.” Hanna broke the silence. “The thought that someone played with that information, scammed her, and then killed her because she figured it out is excruciating. My mom went on a date once with someone she’d met online. I’m thankful nothing came of it, and the only thing that guy lied about was his weight and his hairline.”
“Yes, social media can make it so much easier for illegal and dangerous activity. And now it’s probable we have a serial killer. I don’t even want to look at Marcus’s headline this morning.”
“I saw it; it’s sensational for sure.”
“He’s been dogging us since Victim Two.”
“It’s almost as if he’s salivating for more victims.” As soon as Hanna said the words, she regretted it. “Aw, it’s probably not fair of me to assign motives to Marcus, is it?”
Nathan let out a rueful chuckle. “I would never assume he wants to see someone murdered, but that man cares little for anyone but himself, and sensational headlines get clicks. I’m tired of thinking about Marshall.”
“If you had to give your investigation a progress report, where would you be?”
“Moving forward, but slowly. At least the online angle is clear in all three cases. Though catfish are usually all about money, not murder. I am worried that he’s escalating. Right now, it looks as if he just got sloppy yesterday, leaving a witness, albeit not a great one. Good for us but dangerous for any potential victims.”
“I have faith in you and Manny. You’ll catch the guy.”
“Thanks. By the way, where did little Gizmo end up?”
Hanna smiled, perhaps a little sheepish. “When I left this morning, he was curled up on a towel in my kitchen.”
“Hmph.”
“I did take him to Mandy. She’s busy. She’s going to coordinate Edda’s celebration of life. And she has Betty staying with her, recuperating from hip surgery.”
“Okay. Personally, I think you should keep the dog.”
“Really?”
“He took to you right away. I’d say you guys fit together.”
“Well, thank you, Nathan. I think so too.” She finished her coffee.
He sipped his coffee. “Have you decided about Joe? I mean, will you say yes for Mandy?”
“I don’t know. Her request surprised me. I never considered that she would still be thinking about finding her parents’ remains. She was only two when they died.”
“Working homicide, I’ve noticed how important having a body to bury is to some people. And with Mandy, well, she’s never known the true story of what happened to her mom and dad. Really, all most people know about that is what Marcus concocted. The truth might be very different.”
“How different can it be? You’re not going to say Joe could be innocent, are you?” The question came out sharper than she intended.
“No, of course not. But you know as well as I do that his confession was short on specifics. I’m not sure why that would make you angry.”
Hanna bristled. “I’m not angry, I just—” She shook her head. “I’m irritated, okay? Irritated that this all has come up now. Why now? In addition to everything else, we have to bury a friend.”
“Will you help Mandy with Edda’s arrangements?”
Hanna sighed. “If she asks me, yes. It’s taking all my self-control not to jump into your investigation and find the guy who killed Edda.”
“Since I’m a deputy and you’re not the sheriff or a micromanager, I have no fear of that.”
Hanna smiled, feeling some of the tension leave her body. “Thanks. Call or text if you get any good information.”
“Will do.” He checked his watch. “Now I’ve got to go. Jailhouse interview.”
“You’re sure he can’t be Diego?”
“I am. I can’t see that at all. He was on foot. No way he could have dumped the body. But he was lying to me. There must be a reason for the lie. He had a legitimate warrant in the system, so I have some leverage. With luck, I’ll get him to tell me the truth.”
“Nothing lucky about it. You’ll get him to tell the truth because that’s the awesome investigator you are.”
“Aw, there you go with the flattery. Maybe we should go out on a date, Chief Keyes.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
For a second, he held her gaze, and Hanna saw how tired and troubled he looked. Three dead women weighed heavily on him.
“I’m praying you get headway on this case,” she whispered.
He released a faint smile. “Thanks.”
Hanna watched him walk toward his car, get in, and drive away.
She had to get to work as well but tarried. Procrastination was normally foreign to Hanna, but today she dragged her feet. There was still the matter of Scott’s murder and talking with Chase. They had zero leads thus far. The puzzle of the alleged Buckley book needed to be solved as well.
The reason she was glad Nathan hadn’t pressed her about what she was going to do about Joe was that she still didn’t know herself. How could she say no to Mandy one minute, while the next minute the thought of Joe Keyes in her house repulsed her?