Cold Case Theresa #2
“Not from my end. I’ve got no probable cause to hunt him down.
There’s nothing new on his wife’s murder case that would let me resurrect it.
It was shitty, yes, him walking out when the initial charges were dropped, but we didn’t have enough evidence to continue on.
And now . . . there’s no crime committed here, either.
No law against leaving your family. But .
. . if y’all end up finding some financial fraud and get me enough evidence that I can ask the judge to swear out a bench warrant, then we have something to work with.
But no one’s going to let me start a wild-goose chase for a former suspect who was never formally charged just because I feel like it. ”
“You always were a rule follower, T-Lee.”
“You have another suggestion?” she asks, hopeful.
“I . . . no. Not really. But I’ll let my friend know what’s happening. Maybe they’ve found some proof of malfeasance, and the warrant can come from our end. Okay?”
“Sounds like a plan. Oh, before you go, Drake, you don’t have access to the TSA database, do you?”
“I can get it if I need to. What am I looking for?”
“The videos from the airport. I’d like to see Andrew leave with my own eyes.
Odds are, when he saw Eden, his whole life felt like it was about to unravel, and he took off.
That’s what a guilty man does, right? But assuming that puts everything else in my blind spot.
If there’s something on the cameras that the TSA missed .
. . I just want to take a look. I’m sure I can go to the airport tomorrow and ask around, but you might have more weight. ”
“Yeah, let me get on it. I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re the best. Thanks.”
“Sure thing.” There’s a pause, a silence that quickly grows awkward.
“Hey, come up here and let me take you out for dinner sometimes. There’s a terrible restaurant nearby, all plaid walls and stag heads.
Smells like the seventies. You’d love it.
They’re shutting down soon. It’s one last chance to experience some real FBI history. ”
“You know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you? Terrible food and stag heads.”
“What can I say. I try.”
They hang up laughing.
She sits for a few minutes, thinking. Feeling warm and fuzzy at the idea of seeing Drake again.
The one who got away. If his invitation is sincere, she needs to capitalize on it.
But first, she needs to follow this lead and see if she can get to the truth.
Her spidey-senses are on fire. All is not what it seems in the house of Locke. Of course, it never was.
Chloe’s sister was the one who fingered Andrew for the murder.
Eden found him covered in his wife’s blood, the scissors used in the crime by his side, still slick and wet.
Not caught in the act but caught moments after.
Eden was adamant that Andrew did it. She filled in the blanks on their private relationship during her interview.
Andrew and Chloe fought. He was cheating.
He hit her. The works. Until finally, it became too much.
Theresa believed her. It’s always the husband.
Of course, there was evidence. His prints were on everything.
Chloe’s blood was in his car, on his person.
Yet it was all circumstantial, legitimately explained away.
He lived in the house, so of course his DNA was everywhere.
He’d been hugging her bleeding body in grief.
And the man had a plane ticket that showed him flying home to Atlanta from Colorado Springs when the coroner made the time of death.
He’d been given a discharge; it was all confirmed.
The case never made it past the grand jury.
Every cop has one like this, where they know in their heart the suspect is guilty, but they’ve covered their tracks too well. This is hers.
So when Eden called this afternoon to say she’d been at the airport in Atlanta with Trey Locke’s new family and he’d bolted the second he saw her, that little spark of hope lit inside her. Maybe it would come together now.
Eden won’t let it lie now that she’s found Andrew, that’s for sure.
Theresa and Eden have become friends, in an odd sort of way, joined together in the search for justice for Chloe.
She wouldn’t be friends with Eden Barrow on her own, not only because she’s older, the authority figure.
Eden is too intense. Always throws herself into things fully.
Has since she was a kid. She wasn’t popular because she was a truth teller.
She couldn’t seem to help herself. No one wants that person in their life, the one who is totally unfiltered, especially when you’re a teenager.
It made her younger life rough. Their parents were strict, too, kept a close watch on Eden and Chloe.
But where Eden was kept on a tight leash, Chloe was dating the captain of the football team.
She had it easier. The pretty ones always do.
After Locke disappeared, Eden used to call every day for updates. Got a little pushy, until Theresa sat her down and promised not to retire until she had a resolution, either Trey or another phantom killer behind bars.
Now she just has to find him.
The things we promise people.