Page 45 of Criminology of a Character

“They were good ideas,” Griffin said. “Unfortunately, ideas are all we have since the evidence is thin. This crime was so wellplanned and executed, that I’m afraid we’ll never find him… but that’s my exhaustion talking. Why don’t you two go home?”

“I’m not leaving you here,” Bel said. “You stay, I stay.”

“Then I’ll leave,” Griffin said. “I smell. I think we all smell. We need showers and food and sleep in a bed. We’ve been here for days, and I’m worried we’re getting sloppy.I’m going tosend the officers home in shifts so that everyone gets a few hours to rest.”

“Well, as long as you’re leaving,” Bel said, the idea of Eamon, Cerberus, and a mattress so comforting she wanted to cry. Her back ached from napping in chairs and couches, and she missed her dog. She rarely slept without him, and it had been days since she’d seen his face.

“I am.” Griffin glanced at his watch as he stood from his desk. “It’s 8 p.m. I’ll start breaking everyone into shifts, so finish your paperwork and head home. You both can return for the 6 a.m. shift.”

“I could kiss you,” Olivia said. “I might crawl out of my skin if I don’t see my shower.”

“I will kiss you.” Bel kissed her boss’ cheek.

“Don’t work too late.” Griffin squeezed her biceps.

“We won’t,” Bel and Olivia promised. They returned to their desks and worked for another two hours before their eyes started blinking closed. Organizing their paperwork for the next morning, the women said goodbye, and Bel spent the entire drive to Eamon’s trying not to fall asleep at the wheel. Cerberus was living with him while she’d been trapped at the station, and even though she hadn’t texted to say she was coming over, she couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping alone.

The mansion was dark when she parked in the driveway, but before she exited the vehicle, her phone vibrated in the cup holder. For a split second, she contemplated ignoring it. Shecouldn’t handle much more without sleep, but when she noticed the caller ID, she snatched the cell and lifted it to her ear.

“Agent Barry?” she said as the line connected.

“Emerson, I’m sorry for calling so late. It’s been a day,” he said.

“You have no idea,” she agreed.

“I saw the news,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”

“It makes me sick.”

“You have a lot on your plate, so I feel bad calling you, but I figured you’d want an update.”

“About the island?” Bel sat up to attention, praying for good news.

“Unfortunately,” Barry said, and she sagged against her seat. “We looked deeper into Jake L. Hyde since he’s still eluding custody, and we’ve discovered why. Hyde doesn’t exist.”

“What?” Bel leaned forward as if focusing on her steering wheel would help her hear clearer. “No. I met him.”

“You met someone, but not Hyde. It’s an alias. Legally, there’s no such person.”

Bel cursed and dropped her head against the steering wheel with a groan. “Today has been full of dead ends. Hereally doesn’t exist?”

“He’s a ghost. Whoever constructed his identity had talent. We’re still combing through all the falsified documents, but we have no leads on the island’s owner.”

“How did he manage that?” Bel asked. “Creating a false ID from scratch is incredibly difficult these days. It’s why most people steal the dead’s identities.”

“That’s the other concerning part.”

“Oh god.”

“Turnsout his clinic didn’t just cater to criminals but also government officials who saw fit to betray their country. A handful had the authorization to provide Hyde with a credibleidentity. The alias is good. It would’ve hidden him indefinitely if we didn’t know to look into him.”

“I wish I knew somethingthat couldhelp you,” she said.

“Even if you had information for us, I doubt it would help. We suspect the man you met was an actor hired to play the role, but whoever Hyde is, he was careful not to let anyone get close.”

Bel groaned, her frustration escaping despite her lack of words.

“I had the same reaction,” Barry said. “I hate putting this on you while you’re working that Matchstick case, but I figured you’d want to know.”

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