Page 48 of Say Nothing
"It’s all clear," Derek said."I’m getting you out of here anyway, and I’ll have a forensic team come up here and see if they get anything."
"There’s this," Alison said, unable to look away from the photograph and the words.
"Geez," Derek said as he came beside her.
He slowly lowered his gun and arm, and she relaxed.She had the weapon fixed on the photo, ready to shoot it.
"I’m with you twenty-four-seven until we catch the killer," Derek said.
"The reporter was just here," Alison pointed out."Do we even know who he is?"
"No, but I saw his car parked out front," Derek said."I’ll put an APB out for it now and we’ll bring him in."He took out his phone and made a call back to the office.
Alison wanted to grab her alcohol cleaner and some rags from below the bathroom sink and scrub the framed photograph clean, but she had to leave it for forensics.
"We found the lipstick from Patricia’s apartment," Alison thought out loud."Did the killer also take one from there?If not, are we looking for a woman?Someone who would carry lipstick around with them?"
Derek held the phone to his ear as he talked to his colleagues at the CBI offices, requesting that they find the car that had just driven away from Alison’s property.He said something else, and he nodded toward Alison: they had something else.
"That’s great, send it over now," Derek said.He hung up without saying goodbye.Then, he addressed Alison."We traced the phone that sent the text to a residence near the courthouse.We don't know who the phone belongs to, but we assume it’s the same person who owns the house, and we do know that.Vanessa Taylor, a court reporter until about three months ago."
"She’ll have been in court many times, depending on how long she worked in the courthouse," Alison said."She might have heard the testimonies of all three victims.It could be her lipstick on the photo."
"Forget your clothes for now, we’re going there now," Derek said."The phone was at the address the last time they pinged it.I don't want her getting away."
They ran together out of the house, the gun still in Alison’s hand
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
"Alright, I have the information," Alison said when she downloaded the file from her email.
Derek drove dangerously fast, partly fueled by what they’d found in Alison's house.She was next.That’s what the message said, and his protective nature kicked in.He would take a little risk to find the person who had threatened her life.He would put himself in the firing line if necessary.
The sounds of other cars came in two tones as they flew past them.The engine noises rumbled at a certain tone, and when they were past, the Doppler effect kicked in, and the tone changed.
Someone honked at them as they passed.
None of it deterred Derek or caused him to slow down, and the closer to the downtown core they got, the busier the streets became.Alison trusted Derek’s driving, but she held onto her seat with one hand as they swerved in and out of traffic.
"What are we looking at?"Derek asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Vanessa Taylor, thirty-seven years old, a former court reporter," Alison relayed."I know the names of the court reporters, and I never worked with her, or I don't remember working with her.There are a lot of court reporters doing the rounds.She left the job three months ago, and worked in the role for ten years before that."
"She would have observed hundreds of cases," Derek said."They’re checking back at the office and trying to link her to the other victims.She didn't work with you if you’re remembering correctly, so maybe she thought she wouldn’t be connected to you."
"Yeah, but why the text message?"Alison asked."She sent that to me, and whether it was by mistake or not, it’s suspicious, as if we’re walking into a trap."
"I hear all the time about criminals being chased by law enforcement, and the longer it goes on, the more connected they feel until they reach out.Maybe it’s like that.Maybe she feels connected to you, or she wants to play games with you."
"But what games?"Alison asked."If she sent the text on purpose, then she knew we would trace it to her home.She knew we’d go straight there.What if she has it rigged to explode or something like that?What if that’s how she gets me?I walk in there, and a bomb is detonated?"
"That’s why you’re not going in there when we get there," Derek said."I am."
Another car changed tone as they flew past it, Derek driving even faster as the traffic became denser.
"Do we have a motive?"Derek asked.
"Yeah, we do," Alison said as she read the file."Her brother was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to twelve years in prison.Two years ago, after serving eight years of his sentence, he won his case on appeal when new evidence came to light.The brother’s ex-girlfriend testified against him."
