“Annie, did she do something…?”
“Oh, no, no. I just wanted to ask her about a report she wrote a few years ago, that’s all.”
“Oh, okay. She didn’t seem like the type to be involved in anything shady.”
“I’m sure she wasn’t.”
“I’ll transfer you now. Take care, Annie. I hope to see you soon.”
“Me, too. Thanks, Mia.”
Annie listened to Grady’s phone ring and ring. Finally, his voice mail picked up and she left a message for him to call her about Melissa Lowery. She was on her way to her car when her phone rang.
“Annie, hi.” Grady sounded rushed, as if he was hurrying off someplace. “What’s this about Melissa Lowery?”
“I wanted to talk to her, but no one seems to know where she is.”
“What makes you think I’d know?”
“Mia mentioned you used to date her.”
“I wouldn’t say I used to date her. We grabbed a movie together a time or two, had dinner once or twice, no big deal.” There was a long silence on the phone. “Why do you need to talk to her?”
“Because, as you know, Evan and I were looking over Dylan’s file, and there are several items missing, one of which is a report written by Melissa.”
“Oh, it probably slipped out of the file or got misplaced. It happens all the time.”
“That’s what one of your brothers said.”
“Well, it happens… By the time a file is retired, who knows how many times it’s been read through. Things fall out and get tucked back into the wrong file by accident.”
“This isn’t a retired file, Grady.”
“Sorry, Annie. Look, I don’t mean to make light of this. It’s just a fact of life that papers fall out of files. It happens all the time.”
“I guess.” She set her bag on the ground next to her rental car while she unlocked the driver’s door. “So you don’t know where Melissa went after she left Virginia?”
“No, sorry, I don’t.”
“Any idea where she’s from, where her family might be?”
“No, it never came up in conversation.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who might know where Melissa is now, would you?”
“No, sorry. We didn’t keep in touch, and I didn’t go out with her long enough to find out who her friends were. Sorry.”
“Yeah, me, too. Thanks, Grady.” Annie disconnected the call and tossed her purse onto the front passenger seat. The conversation with Grady had left her dissatisfied. It wasn’t that she thought he was lying as much as she felt he’d brushed over certain things. Who dated someone and didn’t ask where they were from? Wasn’t that part of that whole small-talk thing, like where you went to college? When you’re just getting to know someone, wasn’t that just basic?
She tucked the overnight bag behind the driver’s seat along with the case holding her laptop. Her phone rang again just as she turned the key in the ignition.
“Annie, it’s Evan. Would you have time to stop in at Sheridan’s office before you head out?”
“Not really. My flight leaves in two hours. What’s up?”
“All hell’s breaking loose around here. Our killer apparently was very busy last night. Writing letters, including one to the local paper,” he hastened to add. “Which is preferable to some of his other nocturnal activities. Sheridan is calling a press conference at noon and was hoping to have you there.”
“For what purpose?”
“Between you and me, I think he just wanted to parade his bevy of FBI personnel so that county residents could see that all the big guns are out on this one.”
“If he wants me to look over another letter from the killer, I’m happy to do that. He can fax it to my office. But I don’t have time to take part in a dog and pony show today. John wants to meet with me later this afternoon, and since he’s going to be out of the office all of next week, I can’t put him off. There are things he wants to talk about before he leaves tomorrow.”
“Hey, no apologies necessary. I agree with you. I’ll tell him your plane took off already, I couldn’t reach you. No big deal. Frankly, I’d like to take a bye on this myself.”
“He wants you there, too? Even though you’re not working the case anymore?”
“He wants everyone there. But as soon as he’s done talking, I’m outta there. I called the cop in Chicago, and I’m still waiting to hear from him. That’s my priority today.” He paused. “I don’t suppose you heard from Connor?”
“No, but that’s not unusual. He’ll get to me when he can. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from him.” She stole a look at the clock on the dashboard, then turned the key in the ignition. “I need to get going.”
“I’ll give you a call tonight.”
“Maybe we’ll have news to exchange by then.” She thought of the conversation she’d just had with Grady. “Oh, speaking of news. Guess who used to date Melissa Lowery?”
“Art Sheridan.”
She laughed as she pulled away from the curb. “Grady Shields.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Of course, he tells me it was just a casual thing, just a few movies and dinners.”
“Does he know where she is now?”
“No. He claims to not even know where she’s from.”
“You say that as if you don’t believe him.”
“I thought there was something slightly evasive in his responses. I mean, how do you go out with someone and not know where they’re from? That’s the type of thing you ask when you first meet someone. But maybe that’s me. And maybe he just felt it was none of my business who he dated. And of course, it isn’t.”
“Well, maybe Will can come up with something.”
“I’m counting on it.” She made a left at the light and headed for the highway. “I have to go. I’m moving into heavy traffic. I’ll talk to you tonight.”
Annie dropped the phone into her lap and set it to voice mail, then eased onto the four-lane highway that would take her to the airport.
She sped along, reflecting back on the morning’s events. The Schoolgirl Slayer had revealed more of his hand by sending yet another letter, which she was eager to read. Evan had a solid contact in his case, and she was a step closer to Melissa Lowery. All in all, it had already been quite a day.
She hoped that the officer in Chicago would have something that would shed light on the deaths of the three young girls-his girls, as Evan had started referring to them. She knew he’d work this case until he solved it, and she loved him for that, for caring about three nameless girls who seemed to go unnoticed in death. What they had been in life had yet to be determined.
There would be no glory for him in the resolution of that case, unlike the case of the Schoolgirl Slayer, which would undoubtedly land Sheridan, Malone, and Weller on CNN and Good Morning America. It was more than likely that Sheridan wouldn’t even bother to call an all-out media conference once Evan found their killer. Since they were lumping these deaths in with the others-at least for now-there’d be no band playing for Evan, no recognition of his dedication and hard work.