Page 11 of Little Stolen Memories

And I was up to the challenge.

“We’re dealing with both the past and the present on this one,” I said. “Solving a cold case won’t be easy, but I’m confident we can do it.”

“Well … I, for one, can’t wait,” Simone said. “This is the first homicide case we’ve had in months. I’ve been dying for something like this to come our way.”

Dying may not have been the most appropriate way to describe her excitement, but I could relate.

I spent the next several minutes sharing what I knew about the case so far. While Simone’s enthusiasm grew the longer I spoke, Hunter remained tight-lipped, not saying a word, even after I’d finished talking.

I turned toward her and said, “How are you feeling about all of this, Hunter?”

She kicked her Birkenstocks to the side and leaned back on the sofa, thinking.

“I’m glad you took the case,” she said. “I’m always up for helping people get the closure they need to move on. It’s just … I guess I can’t stop thinking about what it must have felt like to be the sole survivor. I mean, can you imagine the guilt you’d feel to live after your friends have been murdered?”

“Cora’s been through a lot,” I said. “It makes taking this case even more meaningful and important. We have to solve it.”

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, we do, and we will. I say we find this creep and nail him to the wall.”

Simone and I exchanged surprised glances. Given the anxiety Hunter often had with cases like these, she worked behind the scenes, gathering information for us to follow up on. It wasn’t often she made bold statements like the one she’d just made. I found it refreshing.

“I’m glad we’re all in agreement,” I said.

“Where do you want to start?” Hunter asked.

“I’d like us all to go over the case file Harvey gave me. Three pairs of eyes are always better than one. I might see or think of something you two don’t, and vice versa. In the meantime, I’ve asked Cora to go through her old high school yearbook and to point out anyone who may have had a problem with her or her friends. There’s also this Danny Donovan character Harvey told me about today.”

“Who’s he?” Simone asked.

“He lived near the cabin during the time the murders took place. When Harvey questioned him, he said Danny acted weird and shied away from saying too much. And get this—they found a metal bat, which they believed to be the murder weapon, not far from Danny’s property.”

“Sounds suspicious to me,” Simone said.

“Yeah, but they couldn’t prove he did it. I’ll go through the case file tonight and make copies to pass off to the two of you.”

“Is there anything I can do before then?” Hunter asked.

“You can find out where Danny Donovan is living now. I’d like to question him.”

“What about me?” Simone asked. “What can I do?”

“I want you to look into the victims’ families,” I said. “I want to know everything about them—their backgrounds, what they were like as parents, what they were like as citizens of Cambria, what they’re like now … that kind of thing.”

“I’m on it,” Simone said.

“And I know it’s been a long time,” I said, “but I want to go out to the cabin and get a feel for the place, check out where each victim was found. You know, just poke around, see if anything speaks to me. Cora told me her family hasn’t been out to the cabin since the night of the murders. She’s going to get me a key.”

“I bet it wasn’t easy for Cora to come to you today,” Hunter said. “Must have brought up all kinds of unwanted feelings.”

“I’m sure it did, and that’s why we’re going to give this case everything we’ve got. Even though Harvey did all he could on the original investigation, I’m sure the victims’ families feel somewhat let down by law enforcement. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again, and let’s make sure Cora isn’t looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. These families need closure, and we’re going to be the ones to give it to them.”

CHAPTER 7

San Luis Obispo Chief of Police Rex Foley leaned back in his office chair and laced his fingers behind his head, cocking his head to the side as he said, “So, let me get this straight. You were hired this morning to investigate a cold case, and you decided you’d drop by today to inform me just so I’m aware of it.”

“Right,” I said. “This case is twenty years old, which is long before the time you came to work for the department.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you want, Georgiana?”

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