Page 27 of The Rookie's Second Chance

He exhaled slowly, "Look, she had other guys around. College, remember? Parties, drama. But if you're trying to get me to name names, I was too wasted most of the time to keep track."

I could feel the frustration building. "You must remember something. Anything that can help us."

Jared rolled his eyes. "Yeah, there was this one dude – older guy. He seemed pretty hung up on her. But for the life of me, I can't remember his damn name. Only met him once, at some party."

Kayla looked at me, her eyes glinting with hope and exasperation. "Any idea where we can find this guy?"

Jared threw his hands up. "How should I know? It's been years!"

I leaned in, my voice low and steady. "Listen, Jared, a young woman's life might be in danger. If you know something, anything, now's the time."

His cockiness seemed to waver a bit, but he remained defiant. "Already told you all I remember."

Switching tactics, Kayla interjected, "Where were you two nights ago? All night?"

Jared looked almost relieved at the change in topic. "At work. Twelve-hour shift at the mill. Check with my supervisor if you want."

I could feel the walls closing in. Every lead seemed to be hitting a dead end. "Anyone else besides this older guy that might've had an issue with Lexi?"

Jared thought for a moment. "Not that I can remember. Look, I've been straight with you both. Yeah, we had a thing, but I moved on. Haven't talked to her in years."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my frustration. "If you think of anything else, you let us know. Immediately."

He nodded, clearly eager to end the conversation. "Will do, officer."

As Kayla and I left the diner, I could feel our unanswered questions pressing down on me. The case seemed to be slipping through our fingers, and I wasn’t sure where to go next.

Chapter Twelve

KAYLA

As we stepped back into the station, the dated case file on Lexi was my sole concern. I plunked down at my desk, spreading the paperwork in front of me.

Jake settled across, rubbing his temples. "You think Jared was telling the truth?"

I barely glanced up, my attention riveted on a particular page detailing a string of unsettling events from Lexi's college days. "Hard to say. But there's something here. Similarities. Patterns."

He looked up, curious. "What kind of patterns?"

Pulling a pen from my hair, I began underlining relevant sections. "Look, here," I said, pointing to a written account. "It mentions Lexi feeling like she was being watched during her sophomore year. Here again, two years later, notes about someone leaving anonymous notes in her mailbox."

Jake's brow furrowed, "But she never reported these?"

I shook my head, flipping a few pages. "No, it seems she brushed them off as college pranks, or maybe she was too scared. I can't believe she kept all of this a secret for so long."

"I wish she'd told me," Jake's voice had a raw edge of concern and frustration.

We sat in silence for a moment, the past and its ties to the present looming over us. My fingers traced over another list, and a name caught my eye.

"Here's something," I murmured, "a list of acquaintances, friends, maybe even flings from her college days. Any of these names ring a bell?"

Jake scanned the page. "A few, but no one that stands out as suspicious."

I sighed. "We need to dig deeper into these names. See where they are now, if any have connections to Silver Creek."

Jake nodded, his face serious. "Let's do it methodically. One by one."

I agreed, "Absolutely. But not yet. First, we need to see if we're missing any connections between then and now. We're dealing with someone who's held onto this obsession for years. There might be more to this story than we know."

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