Page 65 of Love Me Steadfast
His voice sounds tight when he answers. “She was close friends with my sister.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“When she went missing, it shook our small community. She was a good kid, a little wild, but talented, and driven.”
I don’t miss his use of the past tense. I don’t even know this girl, and I already feel for her family. And Luke.
“The team also found a link to another venue called Creekside. It’s up north.”
The name’s familiar, but I can’t place it.
“Ms. Cole performed there also. Along with two other young women we’re taking a look at.”
This doesn’t sound good. Ballard deals with the sickest of the sick. Serial murderers and rapists. People who commit the absolute worst types of harm against others. Why would he be looking atrising music stars who overdosed or disappeared? “So you think these girls were all connected in some way?”
“The day after Ms. Cole’s overdose, we received an anonymous tip. Let’s just say it connected a few dots for us.”
He’d tell me more if he could—something I’ve learned from Zach over the years.
“An interesting bit of info popped up in my digging. Dagney and Ari played at both Creekside and The Limelight, and so did one other artist…Morgan Hannah.”
My curious thoughts jerk to a stop. “Uh, okay.”
“There are privacy laws in place, laws I will absolutely respect, but I’m pretty good at reading between the lines. I also know where she is right now.”
Even though he’s friends with Hutch, Zach, and Everett, they wouldn’t be able to confirm this. So where did he get this intel? Though maybe being FBI gives him access to all kinds of information.
Or was his anonymous tip about Morgan?
I take a step back and lean against the building.
I realize Ballard’s still waiting for my reply. “You know I can’t share anything about what happened on that call.” And Morgan’s not dead, or missing, so how does she fit the pattern?
“Yes, I’m aware. And that’s not what I’m looking for anyway.”
I huff a breath and wait.
“What if these girls landed on some sicko’s radar? Maybe it’s nothing, but…” He gives a tight sigh. “It could be a person they met. Someone who targeted them. Because they all played at either The Limelight or Creekside or both, it would likely be someone in the music industry. A producer. A manager. An obsessed fan.”
Creekside. That’s how I know it. That was the venue where Boxcar Doves played. Some kind of summertime jam thing. I wanted to go, but I was in the middle of pre-season football training in Oregon.
“The team’s trying to find anything else theyhad in common,” Ballard continues. “I’m coming at it from the criminal behavior side. Trying to understand what kind of person would coerce young musicians like Ari and the others. And what he might do next.”
Coerce them to do what though? “Morgan’s…” I search for the right word “…out of pocket right now, but did you ask Ray?”
“I’m still waiting on a call back from him.”
I haven’t seen Ray since he handed me the keys to The Limelight last week. “Morgan’s sister Charlotte is in town. She played at The Limelight, and Creekside too. Their band is”—I catch myself—“wascalled Boxcar Doves. Charlotte’s a violinist now, but she might have information.” It reminds me of the ticking clock that is her audition. Will she be able to do it remotely, or is she planning to return to Seattle? I grit my teeth. She’s only been in Finn River for six days, but I feel like I’m not any closer to convincing her to stay.
What is it going to take for her to believe in us again?
“That’s helpful,” Luke says, pulling me back to our conversation. “If I send you the list of names, do you think you could check The Limelight’s records for the nights they all played? See if there’s a list of people or staff who may have had contact with them?”
I’m sure Ray kept some kind of organizational paperwork, but I have no idea how to find it. “I’ll do my best.”
“Zach says you were close to Charlotte growing up.”
We were more than justclose, but Luke doesn’t need to know that. “Yeah.”
