CHAPTER 35 Cross
Cross
MELISSA’S FACE IS FLUSHED. Alex Cross can see how nervous she is.
Bree is staring straight at her, holding up the laptop screen. “Okay, Melissa—tell me all about breaking into Professor Lucas’s house.”
“How do you know about that?” Melissa asks, her voice shaking.
“I work for a very technologically advanced investigation firm. You’d be surprised what we can dig up. You and your friends all talked about the break-in—in encrypted emails.”
“Okay,” says Melissa. “Yes. When we couldn’t get a straight answer from the school, we went to Professor Lucas’s house and checked it out. We figured out how to hack the alarm code and we all went in together.”
“You know that’s unlawful entry, right?” asks Alex.
“That’s why we didn’t tell anybody.”
Alex scowls. “Including us.”
Melissa nods. “With you being cops.”
Alex is furious. “We’re not cops, Melissa! We’re investigators! We’re on your side!”
“So what did you find?” asks Bree.
Melissa takes a deep breath. “The place was empty. But Professor Lucas’s cat, Otis, was there, no food or water, litter box stinking.
He was so excited to see us, and he’d clearly been alone for a while.
Lucas talks about Otis all the time. He loves that cat.
No way he would have just left him like that. ”
“Where’s the cat now?” asks Bree.
“Otis? Nia took him. She’s taking care of him at her apartment. Wait—is that stealing?”
“Never mind that,” says Alex. “What about Amy Tyne’s place?”
“We checked there too. Her neighbor hadn’t seen her in a week.”
“Did you report all this to the department head?” Alex asks.
“Damon said it was no use,” says Melissa. “He said we’d have to investigate ourselves. Then a few days later, he disappeared too.”
“I’m calling Malone,” Alex says. He puts the call on speaker when Detective Hugh Malone picks up.
“Hello? Dr. Cross?”
“We found my son’s bicycle,” says Alex.
“Where?”
“On a trail in the Mason Farm Biological Reserve.”
“Anything else there? Clothing? Phone? Laptop?”
“No.”
“Any signs of violence? Disturbed vegetation? Scuff marks on the ground? Blood?”
“None of the above,” says Alex. “How long before you can get somebody out here?”
“I’ll do my best, but we’ve got a lot on our plate here. I’ll send someone to retrieve the bike and photograph the scene. Make sure you don’t touch anything.”
“I know how to handle evidence.”
“No disrespect meant,” says Malone. “I’m sure you do.”
“Detective, I think we need to set up a search party. The sooner the better.”
“I’ll tell you what—let’s get the bike back to the station, dust it for prints, and see where that takes us.”
“Fine. You do that,” says Alex, his voice hard and cold. “In the meantime, we’ll look for Damon ourselves.”
Alex hangs up and turns to Melissa. “Ready to go to work?”
She nods eagerly. “Anything.”
“If we’re going to conduct a proper search, we need volunteers.
I want you to contact everybody you and Damon know around campus, including your friends from the Grotto.
Tell them to meet us out here at two o’clock, in hiking gear.
” He hands her a credit card. “Then I want you to go to the nearest supermarket and buy plenty of water and snacks. As much as you think we’ll need. ”
Melissa tucks the card into her pocket. “I’ll do it, Dr. Cross. Don’t worry. And again, I’m sorry about not telling you guys everything.”
“One more thing,” says Bree. “I want you to go to Staples and print up a few hundred missing person flyers with Damon’s photo on them, the same photo that the police are using. I’ll text you the number I want at the bottom.”
“Sure, Chief Stone. No problem.” Melissa heads up the trail to where the cars are parked.
“Think we can trust her?” Bree asks Alex as Melissa disappears from view.
Alex looks at his watch. “Guess we’ll find out at two o’clock.”