Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
Amanda and Trent stopped by Malone’s office and filled him in.
After telling him about Nadia’s phone call, his thoughts tracked with theirs.
It was unsettling such sites existed. Not that the depravity in this world should shock them working in law enforcement.
He wished them luck with Sharp’s neighbor, Paris Dobson, who had seen the mystery jogger.
The humidity was heavy in the air even at four o’clock as they made their way up the woman’s front walkway.
Amanda rang the doorbell, and a woman in her forties answered, wiping her hands on a white apron she was wearing.
“Yes?” She spoke through a crack in the door, and only propped it open farther after Amanda and Trent held up their badges. Red stains were left where she’d wiped her hands. “I’ve been a little on edge ever since…” She nudged her head toward Dominique Sharp’s house across the street.
“I understand.” And Amanda did. Being back on Charmed Court days later, the air held a tangible feeling of darkness. “But you have no reason to worry. Just to confirm, you are Paris Dobson?” She’d seen her license photo, but a verbal confirmation never hurt.
“I am, but I would disagree with no reason to worry. A woman was murdered just feet away. What’s to say the killer won’t come back to this neighborhood again?”
Amanda considered what she was going to say. It is just as likely lightning would strike the same place twice… Though that is possible… She settled on, “There’s nothing to indicate this person will be back.” Simple works…
“If you’re sure…” By the tone of the woman’s voice, she wasn’t.
“Could we come in for a moment?” Amanda asked. “We have a question about your statement to Officer Wyatt.”
“I told him everything, but okay.” Paris opened the door wider and stepped back to let Amanda and Trent inside.
The smell of strawberries and sugar floated to the front step and permeated the home.
Amanda inhaled with great appreciation, as she was flooded with memories from living at home with her parents.
“We shouldn’t be long and value your cooperation.
Are you making strawberry jam?” She tried to hold back the latter bit, but she was experiencing sensory overload.
Paris smiled. “I am. It’s something I do twice every summer. I also pickle cucumbers and make blackberry jam toward September.”
Amanda would love to share this experience with Zoe.
It would be a fun and productive project they could do together.
And it sounded amazing, until Amanda’s imagination carried on.
She could see red stains everywhere. Zoe was far from a baby, but she still often wore her food.
And getting her to tidy up after herself was getting harder by the day. “Well, lucky you.”
“Yes, well, you said you wouldn’t be long. I need to get my jam in jars.”
“Of course. Is there somewhere we could sit?” Amanda jabbed her gaze toward a side sitting room.
Paris took them in there, gesturing for them to sit wherever they would like. Both Amanda and Trent sat on the couch.
“I’m just going to remain standing, if it’s all the same to you.” Paris pointed at the mess on her apron.
Amanda nodded. “You told Officer Wyatt that you saw a woman on Friday night. Could you run us through that again?”
Paris recounted what Amanda had read in Wyatt’s report, but it wasn’t verbatim.
This went far in convincing Amanda that Paris was being truthful and accurate to her knowledge. But this also flagged a discrepancy in how Wyatt had interpreted her statement. “And you’re sure that’s what you saw?”
“Yes, she was just jogging in place out front of the house across the street.”
“And you never saw this woman before Friday night?” Trent asked.
“Like I told the officer, I never saw her before. I’m sure I would have remembered if I had.
Who runs with a backpack through town? And we rarely get joggers on Charmed Court anyhow.
Janice at three-twenty-five sometimes. It depends on the week.
She fluctuates between health kicks and bingeing on wine and chocolate. ”
And there’s that… neighborhood gossip… “What about any unfamiliar vehicles driving through?” The hit woman could have staked out the house and area prior to Friday night to get the lay of the land.
She was reminded of what Paris had said in the interview but wanted to see if any memory jogged loose.
“I can’t say any stuck out to me.”
“It sounds like you vividly recall what she looked like. If we showed you a picture, do you think you could tell us if it was her?” Amanda presumed she would and dug her phone out of her pocket.
“Yes, I think so.”
Amanda would show her the photograph that Nadia had sent over, along with two others of similar-looking women.
This way if Paris recognized the Anaconda Killer, the identification would be more reliable.
Amanda got up and walked over to Paris. “I’m going to show you three photos.
Let me know if any of these women are who you saw. ”
Paris met her eye and nodded.
Amanda held her screen up for Paris. “The first one. Is this the woman you saw?”
Paris took a few seconds but ended up shaking her head.
“The next picture.” Amanda shuffled to the second photo.
“That’s her!” Paris pointed at the screen.
The photo was the Anaconda Killer. “And you’re certain?”
“One hundred percent, no doubt in my mind.”
“Great, thank you.” Amanda closed the Gallery app, put her phone away, and passed a look at Trent with a slight nod.
“Where did you get that picture of her?”
“We’re not a liberty to say, ma’am.” Amanda was preparing to offer the standard “it’s an open investigation” line when Paris’s eyes widened.
“You don’t even know who she is, do you? It’s a candid shot, something taken from a security camera, in a hotel hallway from the look of it. If you knew her name, you’d have shown me her license photo.”
Amanda respected Paris’s detective skills, but there were still rules they had to follow. Disclosing details of an open investigation would strip her of the badge. “As I’ve already said, we can’t comment.”
“All right, then, it seems there’s nothing else to discuss. And I really need to get back to my jam. If you could see yourselves out…”
“No problem at all,” Amanda said. “Thank you for your time.”
“Uh-huh.”
Amanda didn’t know about Trent, but she was walking a little lighter on the way back to the car. An eyewitness had just identified the Anaconda Killer as being at their crime scene.
Now, to find this woman…