Page 12 of The Girl He Wanted

"Yes, I knew Ellie," the woman said. "She was a great climber, always pushing herself to new heights."

"It sounds like the two of you were friends," Paige said.

"We were. We climbed together a few times. Why are you asking? Wait … this is about what happened to her, isn’t it? The FBI are investigating?"

"I'm investigating her murder, along with another in the area," Paige said. "We found climbing rope at one of the scenes, and now that we’ve found out that Ellie was a climber, we think that there might be a link. That's what I need the list of members for."

There was a long pause before the woman spoke again. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to harm Ellie. She was such a kind person. But I'll see if I can help you out with that list of members."

"Thank you, Kate. I appreciate it. Were there any specific problems or conflicts between Ellie and anyone in the club?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Kate said. "Ellie got along with everyone. She was a bit of a loner, but she was always friendly and helpful."

"Okay, thank you, Kate," Paige said. "If you could send me the list of members at this number, that would be great."

"I'll see what I can do," Kate said and then hung up.

Paige hoped that she’d done enough to get the list she needed, and that it would be able to help them in the case. Now that they were off the call, there was a chance that Kate would think again about whether she should pass on the information. In that case, Paige would need to go get a warrant.

As it was, though, it was only a couple of minutes before a list of members from the climbing club came through to Paige's phone. Paige felt a note of hope that she might now have what she needed to make progress on the case.

Paige looked over at Christopher. "I spoke to someone from the club. She's sent us a list of the members there. Any luck with the local authorities?"

"I'm still on hold," Christopher said. "No, wait a minute."

A voice came through on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

"Hello," Christopher said. "I'm Agent Christopher Marriott with the FBI. Who am I speaking with, please?"

“This is Hubert Jenkins with the Winterly Department of Public Works. How can I assist you, Agent Marriott?"

"I'm investigating a case, and I was hoping you could tell me who did maintenance on one of your water towers."

Hubert paused for a moment before answering. "I'd have to check the records, but I can't just give out that information. You need to file a request with the department and wait for approval."

It seemed that he was being more careful with information than the climbing club.

"The water tower is the one where a woman named Bea Milling was found murdered," Christopher said. "We don't have time for that. Lives are at stake here, Hubert. This man has already killed two people and could already be searching for another victim."

"You think one of our maintenance people was involved?" Hubert asked.

"We don't know, yet," Paige said. "That's why we need the list."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Agent King." Paige did her best to empathize with this man who was currently obstructing them. After all, she'd been a psychologist before she was an agent. What did a man like Hubert want? The answer to that was obvious: he wanted to know that everything was being done properly, and that he wasn't going to get into trouble for helping them.

"Mr. Jenkins, we understand that you have protocols to follow, but time is of the essence here," Paige continued. "We're not asking you to break any laws, but we need your cooperation to solve this case and prevent any more deaths. The alternative is that we have to get a warrant and come down there for the information."

Which would cause exactly the kind of fuss a man like Hubert would want to avoid.

Hubert seemed to consider that, making a thoughtful sound before he spoke again. He sighed. "All right. I'll get you the information you need. Just give me a few minutes to pull the records."

"Thank you, Hubert," Christopher said. "We'll be waiting."

Paige and Christopher waited patiently as they both went back to looking through the list of climbing club members. Paige began to cross-reference the list with social media profiles and search for any connections to the two victims. Which members did Ellie Kane know? Did any of them know Bea Milling as well?

Christopher's phone rang, and he picked it up immediately. "Marriott here."

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