Page 11 of Serial Love

“And he had a mustache,” Sybil added.

“Did the hair and mustache seem the same? Were there any inconsistencies?”

Perplexed, both girls just stared, so Blaise continued. “Did the color look the same? Did the hair color matchhis face or did it appear dyed? Were the roots the same color as the rest of the hair? Was there white or gray mixed into the blond? Did he have wrinkles that seemed out of place with the blond hair?”

Sybil’s face scrunched expressively as she thought about her answer. Alice’s eyes glanced to the side in reflection. She was the first to speak.

“I admit that by the end, we were fairly drunk, but when he first came over…”

“Yes, go on,” prodded Jack.

“There was no gray nor the different colors you usually see in hair.”

“Different colors?”

Alice reached over to Sybil’s light brown hair and held a handful out to the men. “See. Look closely. There’s brown, a little red, and even some blonde.” The men eyed the strands with interest. “Most natural hair is like that,” she added. At the men’s silent question, she explained, “My mom’s a hair stylist. I grew up knowing about hair and coloring.”

Offering an appreciative glance, Blaise nodded for her to continue. “His hair was just all the same from root to tip. His mustache was exactly the same as well. I assume that it was freshly dyed.”

“Could he have been wearing a wig?”

Slowly Alice nodded. “Yeah. Now that I think back, it could have been. I just didn’t think of it at the time.”

“He was older,” Sybil added. The men’s attention jerked over to her as she continued. “When he laughed, he had little crinkles at his eyes.”

Alice looked at her friend. “Everyone’s eyes crinklewhen they laugh. See?” she said while smiling large, showing the lines around her eyes.

“Yes, but when you’re young, they come right out when you stop smiling,” Sybil noted as she pointed to Alice’s face, no longer smiling. Gazing back at the men in front of her, she said, “When he was leaning over Tonya one time, I noticed the wrinkles around his eyes did not go away.”

Both girls appeared perplexed, and Sybil said, “Why didn’t we think of these things right away? Why are we just noticing them now?”

Jack answered smoothly, “Most witnesses are upset, traumatized. The mind can blank out little details that later are able to be brought to the surface.”

After continuing their questions for a while longer, they stood, thanking the girls for their cooperation. Jack handed them a business card, saying, “If you think of anything else, here is the email where you can reach me.”

Alice took the card from his proffered hand, glancing down at the simplistic design. A saint’s symbol, along with an email address, were the only items on the card.

The two women started to walk away when Alice turned back. Lifting her gaze to Jack’s, she held it courageously. “You will find him, won’t you?” she pleaded.

Nodding, he promised, “Yeah. We’ll get him.”

With his confident assurance, Alice linked her arm through Sybil’s and the two walked out of the campus center.

Blaise looked at his friend and boss, asking, “You reckon we can keep that promise?”

Jack speared him with a glance. “Yeah. This fucker’s hiding and he’ll strike again, but we’ll get him.”

With the interview complete, the two drove back to the company compound outside of Charlestown to meet with the others.

The next morning, the eight-member team of Saints met in the basement conference room to debrief. While Jack and Blaise had been at Montwood College, Bart and Marcus had gone to Rasland College to interview the friends and possible witnesses of Helena Rorton. Chad and Cam had also been on the road, driving to Richmond Community College to investigate Sheila Carlson’s murder.

Luke had stayed behind, continuing to research the similarities as the team sent in their information. Monty had been busy with his contacts with the FBI. Monty reported, “Shirley Kerstig, an FBI profiler, will join us by secure conference later.” Luke had arranged for the team to have video conferencing with others, but only the group would be able to see the person speaking to them. The Saints Protection & Investigations would not be seen by the others, nor would their location be compromised. Working with the law while not playing by their rules, had Jack cautious about keeping his compound out of sight.

The men sat, laptops in front of them, as theycompared their findings. Luke had taken their notes but wanted to verify the information before continuing his analytical investigations.

Jack began, “Tonya was in the company of a man at a bar before her disappearance. Blond with a mustache, but witnesses said it could have been a wig. She did not normally visit bars, so this was an anomaly for her. Helena had been to a campus church service and was seen praying with a redheaded man, according to her roommate who attended with her. He had a beard, but the witness could not identify if it were real; she also said the man was not college age. Sheila worked as a waitress in a coffee shop near the campus and so she was in contact with a great many people. No one could determine if there had been anyone in particular and the coffee shop has numerous repeat customers so there’s a possible dead end there.”

“Helena came from wealthy parents. She could have gone anywhere on daddy’s money but chose a state college to follow a high school boyfriend. He flunked out, but she stayed and was doing well,” Bart reported.

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