Page 37 of Just Now

“I think Priscilla may have come here,” Connor said. “Perhaps this was her stop, not the office park. Or she visited the office park, but also came to the diner. She’s been here most days, if I’m right? Most working days, and usually this was her evening stop, at about five-thirty or six p.m.?”

“Yes. Correct,” Cami said.

“And people have to eat. We did. So did she. If she came here most evenings, then that might have been where she was spotted.”

“And if that’s the case, maybe the others did, too?” Now, excitement flared inside Cami, because she saw how this might unfold. It did make sense that Priscilla would have stopped somewhere to eat. And a woman on her own, stopping in a diner in the evening, was likely to live alone. It would have made it easy for the killer to choose her.

“If this is his hunting ground, we need to confirm it first. Now we know where it is. We know she went there most evenings, once or twice at lunchtime. She was a regular there, for sure. But there might be other places along the way. So before we focus on this, we’re going to finish the route and check for any other stops where all the women might have ended up,” Connor said.

Cami felt as if the case had restarted again and was speeding forward.

With all the victims’ phones, and all these points on the map to explore, she felt sure they could piece together the puzzle. And this time, it would lead them to the killer.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Back at the police station, Cami got to work. She had a target location—the Zesty Kitchen.

Now all that was left was to connect the dots and see if the other victims had been there. If so, then they had pinpointed the killer’s hunting ground.

There had been no other possible places along the way. She and Connor had checked carefully, driving to every single location on the map route, not wanting to leave out a potential destination by being too complacent or stopping the search too soon. That diner was the only place offering food where Priscilla had routinely stopped, and Cami felt hopeful that it was the key to this.

She sat down at the desk in the tiny office and pulled out her laptop. She began to search through the GPS data on the victims’ phones, checking for any evidence that they had also visited the diner.

GPS wasn’t the only way she could track their movements, and in any case, Kate’s phone didn’t have it activated at all. So she’d have to look for other ways.

Payments. That was top of mind. A payment to the diner would be the proof she needed.

Cami quickly accessed the bank transactions of the victims and began to scan through them, looking for any credit card transactions that were made at the diner.

Immediately, she saw one on Priscilla’s phone. She’d paid for her dinner every day, so Connor was right. She had chosen that place as her regular eating spot.

What about Gracie? Cami turned to the second phone, accessing all the possible apps she used for payment, and checking carefully through her texts as well, in case the bank had automatically texted her when a payment went through.

There! Not a credit card transaction, but there was something on Gracie’s payment app. She’d had dinner there about two weeks ago. The amount was enough to cover a meal for one, and Cami guessed that’s what she’d had.

So, what about Kate? Was there anything she could find?

Cami’s heart skipped a beat as she scrolled through Kate’s bank transactions. What was this?

There was a credit card transaction from three weeks ago. And yes, it was for the Zesty Kitchen. She must have stopped there late in the evening, probably after a work function or meeting, Cami guessed. At the same diner. Without a doubt, all three victims had been there.

“I’ve got it,” she said to Connor. “They were all there.”

“Good work,” Connor said. “It’s time to get on-site now. This must be the place. And now, we need to find the person.”

*

Cami couldn’t believe that after so many false starts, so many wrong turns, they were finally on the right track. What would they find at this diner, which all three women had visited in the past three weeks?

As Connor pulled up outside, she stared at the brightly lit facade. From the outside, she could see the tables, the patrons reading menus, the smiling waitresses bringing drinks. It seemed like a homely place, a comfortable and safe spot for anyone to have a meal. She could see why women on their own had felt at ease coming here at night.

“I’m going straight to the manager,” Connor said. “First thing, we need to take a look at the staff. They would have been the best placed to see who came and went here. Also, we need to remember the last victim, Priscilla, fought back. So, staff members with visible injuries, anyone who’s got cuts or scrapes, any unscheduled absences, are suspicious.”

“And then the restaurant patrons?” Cami asked. Connor nodded.

“Then we look at the regular clientele. Who’s been around at the same time as the victims. Cameras will help us.”

Cami thought this was a solid plan. It seemed to cover all bases.

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