Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Stella was in her office at the diner when Andre’s name came up on the screen. It had been three days since the wellness check, and she’d been waiting for additional updates on Nell’s case.
“Here’s where we are,” Andre said. “Her description’s gone out to neighboring jurisdictions.
Her phone carrier gave us her tower data with the family’s authorization.
Her phone went dark late Sunday afternoon after her last shift at the diner.
Last tower it pinged was the one that covers her apartment. ”
“So, her phone was last active near her apartment?”
“According to the cell data. I called the bus station and the rideshare companies. Asked them to check their records for Nell Meadows. There are currently no records of her going anywhere.”
“Did you connect with anyone at the Bright Institute?”
“I went up there personally and talked to security. They don’t have any sign of her on CCTV. I interviewed her professors. And there’s been no sign of her on campus since the Friday before her last shift at the diner.”
“Have you talked to her mom?”
“She’s called multiple times and has helped work through a list of Nell’s friends and acquaintances.”
Stella let out a shaky sigh.
“There’s not much more we can do right now. We’ve worked every angle we have. The file is open, but there is only so much that can be done without additional leads.”
Stella closed her eyes. “Okay. I understand.”
“If you think of anything else, you call me.”
She finished her shift on autopilot, handed the keys off to the afternoon manager, walked out the back door at two-thirty-five, and sat in her car in the diner lot. Stella knew that she needed help from someone who operated outside the system.
She needed Steel Protection.