Page 70 of Girl, Undone
Ella clenched her teeth as she found herself caught in an eddy of confusion.
What if it was all wrong?
What if she was completely off the mark here?
Suddenly, the door swung open with force to announce Ripley's arrival.She, too, looked exhausted, and Ella had to wonder if retirement wasn't on her mind again.
‘News,’ Ripley said as she joined Ella at the whiteboard.
‘Go.’
‘Derek had paraquat in his system.’
Ella immediately thought of the famous paraquat poisonings in Japan in the eighties.Twelve dead.‘Jesus Christ.Paraquat is crazy strong.’
‘Yeah, so unless those syringes were filled with magic, you weren’t saving his life no matter what.Derek was as good as dead from the moment you got there.’
The comment was as good as a boxer’s fist to the jaw.‘Small mercies.’
‘Yeah.We found Derek Graham’s car in an alley near the church, where he always parks.So our killer ambushed him on his way to his group session tonight.’
Ella filed it away.Another piece.Another angle.
‘Is there CCTV at the church?Maybe we can get a visual on our guy.’
‘No.The church is old school.No cameras.’
‘For God’s sake.’
‘Literally.’
‘Anything else?’
‘I talked with Derek’s brother – his only surviving relative.Got some personal insights, though nothing that screams important.’
Ella glanced back at her whiteboard and asked, ‘Like what?’
‘Derek’s life, that kind of thing.Poor guy didn’t have many friends, it seems.’
‘Did he mention Derek’s son?’
‘Yeah,’ Ripley nodded.‘Lost his wife ten years ago and his son last year.Poor guy had a tough run.’
Ella’s professional barriers eroded as she found herself momentarily lost in the sea of Derek's grief.She pushed her hair back off her face and said, ‘He didn’t deserve this.’
'Yup.Other than that, he didn't own a cell phone, and he loved fishing.'
In that breathless moment, standing before the sprawling canvas of her thoughts as her partner spilled the details of Derek’s life, Ella felt the adrenaline rush of breakthrough coursing through her bloodstream.
‘Wait a minute.Say that again.’
‘Huh?What can I say?The guy loved fishing.’
Ella's pulse rate amped up.A surge of energy coursed through her in a tide that washed away the silt of doubt and frustration.She felt as if a veil had been lifted.
‘No, not that.The cell phone.Derek didn’t have a cell phone?’
'That's what his brother said.He had a laptop, but that was it.Why?'
