Chapter 8
EIGHT
There was no chance Sandra would risk contacting the hostage taker until she received official confirmation the Susan Crawford accident was being reopened.
Though reopened might be a generous term.
Eric had texted a moment ago and confirmed what they already knew.
The accident was treated as if it were open and shut, but he said there were aspects he had to follow up.
What they were he must not have felt comfortable sharing yet.
She still provided the meager update to those in the vehicle.
Only Coleman and Kreiger missed it as they had stepped out.
“I really think there’s a solid chance the son is the one inside.” Donny held up his hands when she faced him. “I know, we can’t run on assumptions though.”
“No, we can’t. I’m going to call the HT again.” Once everyone was ready, she put the call through.
It was answered, but there was silence.
“Are you there?” Sandra asked.
“Yes.”
“We’ve done what you asked. The case into Susan Crawford has been reopened. You have my word the best detective I know is on this. He will see it through.”
“Good.”
She’d expected more than that. Is he used to disappointment? “If there’s anything you wanted to tell me about the accident that might help the detective… Maybe a specific area he should focus on?” She fished with caution.
“Nah. You have no reason to believe anything I tell you.”
She couldn’t argue that. He was a man taking desperate action and risking five lives in the process. “All right, fair enough. Since I held up my end, and the accident is being investigated, will you do something for me?” She let the silence stretch out.
“What?” he eventually said.
“Since you have my word the investigation is underway and that it will continue, will you peacefully surrender?”
“Lady, there is no way that’s happening. I’ve lived a lie my entire life. No more. And I’m not coming out until the world knows the truth!” He ended the call.
And there it was again… The truth.
“Whoa,” Donny said. “Now he’s showing his true colors.”
Sandra could counter that he had been showing them all along. They were just getting different glimpses at his character. His disappointments and feelings of betrayal had shaped him, making him vulnerable and saying “thank you” one minute while resorting to threats the next.
Gibson got up and updated the markerboard.
Noon – HT refuses to surrender
Wants world to know truth, whatever that is
Sandra’s gaze locked on the word truth. Just what did the hostage taker believe that to be? Would Eric’s findings support the HT’s version of events? And, if they didn’t, would there be fatal repercussions?
The vehicle’s door opened, and Neal came inside. “I just got off the phone with Officer Moore. She showed some initiative instead of calling in immediately after talking with Crawford’s brother. Moore didn’t get the impression he had any idea what was going on.”
“So it’s likely Susan Crawford’s son then,” Sandra concluded.
“I tell ya, though, that’s the one problem with Moore,” Neal said. “She’s a great cop but a touch too overzealous. I made it clear moving forward she’s expected to call in with any findings straight away. Not follow her gut to the next step.”
“What did Officer Moore find out?” Sandra would put money on the fact that Moore had walked away with something from Susan’s brother.
From the little she heard, Moore fell into a type.
A zealous cop who showed independent thinking.
Prone to taking bold, calculated risks if the perceived reward had the potential to outweigh any repercussions.
Neal gave them the lowdown on Moore’s talk with Russell Crawford. Just as Sandra had expected, even though Russell was ruled out as the HT, Moore used the opportunity to extract information from him. Helpful information too.
“Next Moore went by Ryan Crawford’s apartment.
Even though another officer was to go there.
Guess that’s on me as I never made that clear.
Had to call him off.” Neal mumbled the latter part.
“Anyway, Ryan wasn’t home, but his neighbor popped out into the hall.
He told Moore that Ryan works nights at Bottoms Up Pub and didn’t know why he wasn’t around.
I guess this guy binges television with Ryan sometimes.
But that aside, I got a search warrant rolling for his apartment that I’ll have Moore execute.
She’ll keep us posted if she finds anything that might help us make more sense of today’s mystery and bring it to an end. ”
She filled Neal in on the call she just had with Ryan and confirmed Eric was digging into Susan’s crash.
“I’ll guess we’ll need to wait and see,” he said.
Gibson, who had gone back to madly clicking on his keyboard, stopped.
“Yep, there it is in black and white.” He gestured toward his screen, as if expecting everyone to read it from where they were.
“Teresa assumed legal guardianship of Ryan when he was five years old…” Gibson drifted off, caught up in something on his computer.
“Their shared loss would have created a strong bond between them. Her recent death could have brought back the loss of his mother and served as a trigger for today. People say kids are resilient, but there’s no way facing the loss of a loved one early in life doesn’t leave a scar.
” Sandra spoke from experience, having lived the nightmare herself at ten years old and then again at fourteen.
First, her father died in the line of duty, followed soon after by her mother, who succumbed to a broken heart.
At least that’s how Sandra summed up the overdose of sleeping pills she’d taken.
Then her twin brother, Sam, was taken away two years after they were adopted by the Davenports.
She was familiar with feeling like she was lost, living in a world of strangers.
At least Ryan had family to take him in.
Sandra’s mind skipped to the letter from April Clark sitting in her messenger bag at her feet.
I’d love to catch up in person. It’s been so long…
Gibson popped up from his computer again. “Ryan has a clean record. No phones registered to him.”
Sandra did her own search on her laptop. A moment later, she shared her findings with the group. “I pulled Ryan’s credit score. It’s not good.”
“So if he has a phone, it’s likely a prepaid one,” Monica suggested.
Sandra nodded. “Ryan’s employment history doesn’t look good either.
All of them minimum-wage jobs like tending bar or pizza delivery.
He’s been working at Bottoms Up Pub for a while now.
The longest he’s worked in one place.” There was no ignoring Ryan’s dire financial picture.
Money just might surface as a contributing factor yet.
Though it didn’t seem like it to her. She couldn’t shake his vehemence when he made his demand clear.
He wanted truth and justice. And both of those things seemed connected to his mother’s death.
Just what were they missing, and would they be able to figure it out before anyone got hurt?