Page 16 of Find Me

“He told me I’m not allowed to go to the bank anymore, but it’s my money.”

“She’s still able to go places like the coffee shop and deli. It’s habit for her.Familiar.But I told her yesterday there were two places she absolutely shouldn’t go alone: to the bank and to the Logans’ apartment onthe fourth floor. They’re our closest friends in the building, but they don’t always lock their door, and they don’t need Edna walking in and out of their home at all hours. As for the bank, God knows what would have happened if they had allowed her to withdraw all our money. She could’ve thrown it in the corner trash, for all I know.”

He was speaking more quickly and loudly with each new phrase. Ellie placed her hand gently on his forearm.

“Edna, what were you planning to do with all that money?”

“Buy more of this.” When she removed her hand from her cardigan pocket, it held a red silk bag with a black drawstring. As she opened it, Ellie was hit with the smell of unlit marijuana. Rogan placed a hand over his mouth to hide the smile breaking out across his face as he made his way to the staircase that led to the homicide squad. Ellie grabbed the bag, stuffed it in her purse, and led the older couple to an unoccupied corner of the lobby.

“See what I mean?” Hank asked. “That’s why she goes to the Logans’, to steal the doobie.” He pantomimed raising a joint to his lips.

Ellie and Hank reached an agreement that she’d send them home with the red bag on the condition that they’d return it to the Logans and never mention Ellie’s role in the discussion. Ellie also tracked down a list of phone numbers for eldercare resources, including a doctor who could hook up Edna with the good stuff through proper channels. And despite her better instincts, she gave Hank her business card, with her cell number jotted on the back.

When Ellie found Rogan at his desk, he was already hunched over paperwork.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re carrying some old woman’s stash?”

“Consider it squared away.”

“This is what happens when you’re all nice and sweet to strangers. You can take the girl out of Kansas, but...”

“Please. I happen to know you take a chicken-and-potatoes dinner to Miss Celia two floors up from you every Tuesday night.”

“Fucking Rain Man shit,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

He had mentioned that factoid only one time, two years earlier, after he placed an extra-large takeout order when they’d grabbed a bite at the end of shift. Ellie had one of those memories that trapped random details.

“I finished the write-up for the Bunning interrogation,” he said, pushing a document on his desk over to hers. “I figured you could take care of the report for the cousin, and then we’ll send it over to the ADA.”

“Sounds good.”

They had cleared the murder case the night before. Four years into their partnership, splitting up their work came in a natural rhythm.

“Still not used to seeing you with that tan,” he muttered.

“Trust me. I’ll be back to my usual envelope color any day.” She had been home from vacation for nearly a week.

She was almost done with her report when a call came to her desk phone. She could tell from the screen that it had been connected through the switchboard.

“This is Hatcher.”

“Detective Hatcher. This is Lindsay Kelly, I’m a defense attorney.”

“I coordinate all of my case inquiries through the DA’s office.”

“It’s not about the NYPD,” the lawyer said. “I’m calling about one of your father’s cases. His name came up as I was researching an old investigation that dates back to Wichita, Kansas.”

Ellie felt a chill run up her spine. Her father. The College Hill Strangler. Somehow she’d always known that eventually this phone call would come.

“Is this about William Summer?”

Rogan handed Ellie a venti latte from Starbucks as she replaced the handset. She hadn’t realized she’d been on the phone long enough for him to make a coffee run.

“You’re an angel on earth, Jeffrey James.”

“Figured you’d want your privacy.” Rogan had left his desk shortly after she uttered the name William Summer. “You want to talk?”

“That was a defense attorney. She wants to meet with me about the case.”

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