Chapter Four
“Her name is Ellie Carmichael,” Jen said as she wiped mascara-stained tears away from her eyes, and then chuckled sadly. “And if she’s still alive, she’d kill me for telling you that.”
“She’ll understand,” I assured her. I’d called Jen as soon as it became apparent that Synamon wasn’t coming back to her livestream. She didn’t answer my first call, or the half dozen texts I sent right away.
My bear was feral inside me. I reminded him countless times we were absolutely fucking helpless until we talked to Jen.
I hated that I couldn’t activate Sawtooth Security into action. Barrett had just finished telling me that Synamon’s problems were none of our business unless she paid us. It pissed me off even if I knew he was technically right.
Morally, no fucking way.
Jen had finally called me back, apologizing that she’d been coaching her kid’s soccer game and hadn’t looked at her phone. I urged her to head to Synamon’s house, hoping we’d find her instead of swearing at her computer, unplugging cords and hitting buttons, trying to get back to her live feed.
“Tell me what’s different about the apartment,” I continued. Every second counted, and we’d already lost too many of them.
“There was definitely some sort of struggle,” she said. “El-Synamon’s apartment is always perfect. She said it was because she didn’t have kids, but I think it’s because she doesn’t want to let anyone see her be messy.”
I hated to think this was the perfect time to press Jen for information about her best friend and her secret identity, but I couldn’t have her putting up walls like Synamon or Ellie. I needed her to be real, raw, and vulnerable if we had a moon’s chance of finding her.
Jen gasped. “There’s blood on the floor.”
“Where?” Now it was my turn to stay calm, cool, and collected in the face of chaos.
“Right near her studio. It’s really her spare bedroom, but it’s where she films all her Only Bears content.” She turned the phone so I could see the room.
My heart sank. The camera had been knocked off its tripod. Lightboxes lay on their sides. The greenscreen had a massive tear right down the middle.
“Does she often shift on camera?” I asked, hoping there could be a reasonable explanation for this. I’d only made it through a fraction of her catalog during my early morning binge.
“Never--well, not as far as I know. Can’t say I watch a ton of her content. Which sounds terrible, I know,” Jen added quickly. “I completely support what she’s doing. I don’t always understand it. Especially how she protects her fans who leave her creepy comments.”
No surprise there was more than one fan that had gone too far, but still this was valuable information. “How long has she been filming? Is Only Bears the only place she posts?”
“A few years. She got in at the beginning of Only Bears, and her channel exploded. This used to be a ring light and her phone on a tripod.” Jen shook her head as she surveyed the damage.
“I know I’m supposed to be her manager, but the truth is she only asked me to help her with the live appearance because in real life, Ellie is incredibly shy.
Nothing like Synamon Honey. The transformation is pretty incredible.
As far as I know, Only Bears is her big platform, and she cross posts promo material in some other places. ”
“That’s great. We can work with Synamon’s online footprint.
” That was, if the guys at Sawtooth Security were willing to take the case again without the guarantee of a paycheck.
In the forest, shit like that didn’t matter.
We fought for what was right. And I would catch this guy, whether I had a team to help me or not.
“What can you tell me about those creepy guys? What did you see that made you get us involved?”
“Nothing specific, and everything.” She sighed.
“The comment section on all her videos gives me the ick. It’s a fantasy site, I get it, but they were so specific, like Synamon belonged to them, and I got scared someone would take things too far in real life.
You saw her on that stage. She completely transforms into an absolute superstar.
But underneath it all she’s sweet little Ellie who gives more than she’ll ever take. ”
“She never mentioned anyone who gave her the ick?” I used Jen’s language. “Anything specific to the Centerfold Slasher?”
“What the hell does that guy have to do with anything? Didn’t they lock him up and throw away the key?”
I groaned. Synamon hadn’t told her best friend she was being stalked by a serial killer. I shouldn’t have been surprised, especially considering what she just shared with me.
“He’s out on bail. And he was spotted at the Stepchild the other night. I thought that’s why you called us.”
Jen’s face fell. “Oh.” She took a seat in the chair in front of the ruined greenscreen, that I’d watched Synamon play strip trivia from just hours before. “I just figured you got handsy when you took her backstage and she didn’t want to talk about it. It was pretty obvious you were into her.”
I fought back the disappointment that she didn’t say the feeling was mutual, but we didn’t have time for that.
“I need you to drop a pin with your location. I want to look at the place myself ASAP. Pick up on her scent before it goes cold.”
“Brad, I’m not sure—”
“Your best friend might have been abducted by a serial killer who targets women just like her.” There was no time to sugarcoat this.
I loved that Jen had Synamon’s back, but she couldn’t keep Ellie’s secrets any longer.
“Every second we don’t know where she is puts her in more danger.
Blame me if you have to, but her secrets won’t mean anything if she’s dead. ”
“Okay. It’s just that, Ellie’s always so careful about everything. I can’t believe… It doesn’t matter. I’ll give you all the information you need. Help in any way I can. Just tell me what to do.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Right now, go home and hug your kiddos. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’ll call you with any questions.”
Moments later, Jen sent the pin. Synamon, or Ellie, lived in a small apartment building just outside of Boise. I did a quick check of her real name to find out she worked as an auditor.
Her picture came up with the search. Seeing Ellie for the first time took my breath away.
Synamon was over-the-top, sexy, and flashy, the polar opposite of Ellie Carmichael.
Ellie had shoulder-length light brown hair and hardly wore any makeup.
She wore a beige blazer and a white silk top underneath.
But there was no dressing down the fire in those blue eyes.
Mate, my bear insisted.
It didn’t matter who she was. Ellie Carmichael was in danger, and I had a feeling that Synamon Honey wasn’t the only secret she was hiding.
I rose from my chair and closed the laptop feeling much more bear than human. But I couldn’t shift. Not yet.
Barrett waved me into his office. Bellamy and Beau were in there with him, and I fought the disappointment of not being included in whatever they were talking about.
Beau got a big promotion after his last case, and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t a race and I wasn’t a complete fuck up for bungling my assignment.
“We need to go to Boise. Now,” I said. “And we need to find any and all information we can about Ellie Carmichael, city auditor.”
Three stunned faces stared back at me.
“Who’s Ellie Carmichael? I don’t remember that name on a case file,” Barrett finally asked.
“It’s Synamon Honey’s real name,” I explained. “Someone came into her studio during a livestream. The place is trashed and there’s blood. No sign of her.”
Beau raised a brow. “The Synamon Honey who fired you last night?”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “Does it really matter? There’s a serial killer on the loose and she’s missing. Gone.”
I expected Barrett or Bellamy to chime in, but they didn’t.
“Listen, I take complete responsibility for what happened last night. I scared her. Never thought she’d run away like that. But none of that matters. She was taken from her apartment and we need to find her before she winds up a statistic and we’re saying nice things at her funeral.”
“Wait—apartment or studio?” Barrett asked.
“Both. What does it matter?” I paced, my bear restless inside me. She needed our help now.
“How do you know all this?” Bellamy added.
“I was watching the livestream. I saw it happen.” I ignored the looks my coworkers exchanged. “I called her manager, since that was the only contact number we have on file. She gave me the information. She wants our help.”
Barrett rubbed his beard. His brow was furrowed. I’d worked with him long enough to know he was not only deep in thought, he was conflicted about what he should do.
“But Synamon, or Ellie, fired us. You’re right to be concerned about her safety. I am too. But this isn’t our case anymore, Brad. The best thing we can do is report it to the Boise police. They’ll have more resources to find this guy, if the Centerfold Slasher is responsible.”
“I understand that’s the correct answer, but it is right?
” A growl slipped out. I was already treading on thin ice after last night, and now I was willing to put everything on the line.
“We need to get out there now. The police might have more resources, but we’re not stretched as thin as they are.
We have intelligence they can’t access. Expertise they can’t afford.
But what we don’t have is the luxury of time to keep arguing about what we should do, when every bear in this room knows damn well what the answer is. ”
“Brad, I understand you want to make this right, but—”
“She’s my mate.” And with that, I left the office. It would’ve been great to have the guys on my side, but they’d just confirmed what I’d known all along—it was time to trust my own instincts.