Page 24 of Girl, Haunted

‘Not a pro, but not a disorganized offender. Not removed from reality. He’s enacting out a fantasy, one he’s thought through in detail.’

Ella turned to the sheriff, whose face had assumed a shade of white reserved for bathroom tiles. The poor guy was probably used to bagging drunks and cleaning graffiti, not witnessing homicide on grainy CCTV.

‘So what’s our next move?’

‘First, check every one of these cameras for a glimpse of his face. Second, get everyone’s name from that group of punters. The Screamatorium must have a list of attendees.’

'Yes, ma'am.' Redmond reached the door, stopped and turned around. 'It's nine PM. What time do you guys work 'til?'

‘’Til the job is done,’ Ella said.

It was going to be a long night of digital detective work, but this was what she lived for.

CHAPTER NINE

The night dragged on. Empty foam coffee cups littered the desk like casualties of a caffeine war. Ella's eyes burned, gritty and raw from hours of staring at grainy footage, searching for a face that refused to materialize.

She and Luca had been through all the USB drives, combing through endless hours of footage with the tenacity of a dog with a bone. But for all their efforts, they'd come up empty. The masked figure had been meticulous, keeping his face hidden from the moment he stepped into the Screamatorium to the second he slipped out after snuffing out Van Allen's life.

'Nothing,' Ella growled. 'Six cameras. Six hundred hours of footage. Our guy doesn't even show his face once. Why did none of those damn actors manage to pull his mask off?'

Luca scrubbed his face and said, ‘Maybe he’s got a skin condition.’

‘Not the time for jokes, Hawkins.’

‘Sorry. Maybe we ought to quit for the night. Come back tomorrow with fresh eyes.’

Maybe he was right. Ella was having intermittent periods of not knowing what state she was or what day it was. Even this caffeine wasn’t doing much to keep her straight.

She was about to pack up when Sheriff Redmond shuffled into the office. His salt-and-pepper beard was more salt than pepper now, and the bags under his eyes had bags of their own.

‘Any luck?’ he asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

‘Nothing. Our guy kept his face concealed the whole time.’

Redmond nodded. ‘Well, I've got some news. Jeremy, the admin guy from the Screamatorium? He says he can get us alist of names for that night's guests. But he needs access to the computers there to pull it.’

Ella perked up at that. Good. We need that list first thing in the morning. I don't care if you have to drag Jeremy out of bed at the crack of dawn. Get those names.’

‘I'll make it happen. I’ll wake the guy with an air horn if I have to.’

‘Appreciated.’ She was grateful for the sheriff's cooperation. So many local law enforcement types got territorial when the feds showed up, seeing them as interlopers rather than allies. But Redmond seemed to be cut from the same cloth as her.

Luca shut his laptop lid. ‘Well, if that's all we can do for now, I say we call it a night. We're no good to anyone if we're too fried to think straight.’

Ella wanted to argue, to insist that they keep going, keep digging until they found something. No detective ever cracked a case while they were asleep. But the rational side of her, the side that knew sleep deprivation was a torture method in some countries, obliged.

‘Yeah. Let’s come back in the morning. You too, Sheriff.’

Redmond said, ‘Understood. I'll have that list waiting for you, along with a gallon of the strongest coffee in Oregon.’

As Ella reluctantly began shutting down her laptop, a thought struck her. ‘Redmond, one more thing. Get some of your guys to keep an eye on the local haunted houses tonight. Just in case our guy’s got his next target picked out already.’

‘Will do, but every business in town is closed for Columbus Day, even the haunts.’

Ella breathed a sigh of relief. Columbus Day. She'd completely forgotten about the holiday, too consumed to spare a thought for anything else.

‘Columbus Day. Thank God.’

---