Page 83 of High Frequency

“Yeah. As out of my depth as I was, and as overwhelmed as I remember feeling at the time, I love the memories I have.” Her eyes come to me. “But I wasn’t a single parent.”

“There’s that,” I concede. “Too bad I don’t live in a state offering paid parental leave. I had to use up my sick leave and vacation days to get any time off. I could’ve at least had some more time at home with her.”

“Would’ve helped if her father hadn’t been a waste of space,” Mom points out. “What happens if he shows up some day and demands to see his daughter?”

It’s actually something I have thought about on occasion. I’m not going to stop him from seeing his daughter if he wants to, but if he ever shows up looking for any kind of custody—shared or otherwise—I will fight like hell for that not to happen.

“If he wants to see her, as long as it’s on my terms, he can. But I won’t let him lay any claim on her, and to be honest, I don’t think he will.”

“Well, if ever he shows his face, you better get that last part in writing.”

“I will.”

“By the way, I talked to Steve last night,” she announces. “Told him about your ankle and this case you’re working on, and he suggested I could stay longer than the two weeks, if you need me.”

“Thanks, Mom, but I can’t keep you here. You have a life in Panama, and at some point I’m gonna need to figure my life out on my own.”

“Maybe you won’t have to figure it out on your own,” she offers with a smirk as she gets to her feet. “Here’s Dan now.”

“Detective Eckhart, I understand you have an update for us? A license plate, I believe?”

Special Agent in Charge Bellinger, as he was introduced at the start of the meeting, is a big, burly guy, probably in his fifties. He has the kind of presence that leaves no doubt as to who the top dog is. It’s not that he’s loud, or pompous, he just oozes a quiet authority you can feel in the room. He reminds me of Tom Selleck’s character inBlue Bloods.Looks a little like him too.

We’ve already heard an update from the forensic team, who have apparently finished up in the gorge. Not including Nita’s body, they report up to a possible six additional bodies. One is believed to be male, and missing the right leg. We’re told the others look to be female.

“Yes, a license plate, a name, and an address.”

I hadn’t been able to get to sleep last night and ended up working until three in the morning, running the plate number and pulling information on the owner.

“We received the security feed off three separate cameras from the Exxon gas station in Columbia Falls. The location from where Chelsea Littleton was abducted,” I clarify.

Looking around the room, I go into a description of what I viewed on the video.

“It confirms Chelsea’s own account of events, insofar as she can remember. As the truck drives off, you can catch a quick glimpse of the license plate.”

I catch sight of Betty standing by the door, waving a stack of papers. “We’ll pass around a still of the camera feed with the plate number visible, and the information we pulled on it. As you can see, the truck is licensed to Cedric Transport out of Eureka. A small one-truck delivery service owned and operated by Michael Cedric.”

“Good work, Eckhart,” SAC Bellinger states, assuming I’m done, which I’m not.

“Sir,” I interrupt him. “I have additional information I literally received on my way in this morning.”

He gives me a nod. “Go right ahead.”

“I heard back from the US Forestry Service. They emailed me the copy of a permit they issued back in 1997 for the construction of the cabin our officers found near the trail on Kenelty Mountain.”

“And?”

“A single permit holder, and only one name attached to it; Cornelius J. Cedric. The address on the application looks to be in Eureka.”

“That can’t be a coincidence,” one of the other law enforcement officers pipes up.

“My guess is the two are related,” I agree.

“All right, Detective Eckhart, since you are already deep into this investigation, why don’t you find out what background you can on both Cornelius Cedric and Michael Cedric. Find the connection. Also, forward me the video feed and the information from the USFS.”

“Will do, sir.”

When I get home, I can get on social media and see if I can find accounts in either of those names. That’s usually the quickest and easiest way to get information on someone. People don’t realize how much can be gleaned from the things they post on Facebook or Instagram. This kind of stuff is right up my alley. I’m a bit of a computer nerd and I love poking around, at times skirting the lines of what could be considered legal, but always for the greater good.

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