Page 30 of Let Her Hide

"How did it happen?" Tilly asked.

"Your father was found dead earlier today," Jake began, his voice gentle but firm. "We're investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, but it appears to be an attack from a series of stinging insects. Currently, we think he's the third victim in a series of murders committed by one person."

Tilly's gaze remained steady, her face betraying no emotion. "I see," she said softly. "It's been ten years since I last saw him. He left when I was a child, and we never had a relationship after that."

"Did he ever try to contact you?" Fiona asked.

"No," Tilly replied, shaking her head. "He never tried. He made his choice long ago. I did reach out to him a few times as an adult, but our relationship just never panned out."

"Ms. Fogel," Jake said, leaning forward in his seat, "we believe your father's death may be connected to another case we're working on. Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm him?"

Tilly's eyes narrowed as she considered the question. "Like I said, I haven't seen him in ten years. I don't know anything about his life or who he associated with."

"Is there anything you can tell us about your father's past? Any friends, enemies, or old acquaintances?" Fiona pressed gently.

"Nothing that would help you," Tilly sighed. "I've spent my entire adult life trying to forget about him, and now he's gone, just like that."

At that moment, Jake felt a pang of sympathy for Tilly. She had been robbed of any chance at closure with her father, and now she was left to make sense of his sudden, violent end.

He wondered if she would ever be able to find peace with the memories of her father or if the pain of his absence would linger forever.

"Ms. Fogel, if you do think of anything that could help us with our investigation, please don't hesitate to contact us," Jake said, handing her his card.

Tilly nodded and stood up, indicating that their conversation was over. "Thank you for coming," she said quietly. "I hope you can find whoever did this."

Jake and Fiona stood up and made their way to the door. Once outside, Jake took a deep breath of fresh air, trying to shake off the melancholy feeling that had settled in his chest. He was starting to feel like they were getting closer to the killer, but the case was still far from over. He glanced over at Fiona, who had a perplexed frown on her face. They made their way back to the car. As Jake shut the car door, his gaze lingered on Tilly's house, with its freshly mowed lawn and white picket fence. It saddened him that she'd lost contact with her father. Jake would give anything to see his mom again, alive.

"Did you notice anything off about Tilly?" Fiona asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

Jake shook his head. "Not really. She seemed genuinely upset about her father, but more like someone who'd lost a distant relative than a parent."

Fiona stared out the window, her brow furrowed. Jake could tell there was something bothering her, something she hadn't shared yet. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb before asking, "What's on your mind?"

"Remember Craig Tozer, our first victim?" Fiona said, her voice tight. "He abandoned his kids too. Both of them had a broken relationship with their children. Maybe that's the connection we've been missing. It doesn't explain Carrie, but... it's something, right?"

Jake gripped the steering wheel tighter, the implications of Fiona's words sinking in. A killer targeting estranged fathers—could it really be that simple?

"Let's look into it," he suggested, glancing at Fiona. "We'll dig deeper into both victims' backgrounds, see if we can find any common threads."

"Agreed," Fiona replied, pulling out her phone to start researching.

As they drove through the quiet streets, Jake couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. If Fiona was right, there could be more victims out there, waiting for their past mistakes to catch up with them. And until they found the person responsible, every estranged parent in town was a potential target.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The sunlight streamed through the blinds of the police precinct briefing room, casting striped shadows on the walls. Fiona hunched over her laptop, Jake doing the same across from her, each absorbed in their own hunt for a connection between the three victims. The room was eerily quiet, amplifying the rhythmic tapping of their fingers against the keyboards.

"Nothing yet," Fiona mumbled, frustrated by the seemingly endless search. Her eyes darted across the screen, scanning lines of text as her fingers clicked and scrolled impatiently. She couldn't help but feel that she was missing something crucial, a hidden thread that would tie the victims together and lead them to the killer.

"Let's just look," Jake replied, his voice low and steady.

Fiona took a deep breath and refocused her attention on the screen. She sorted through medical records and social media profiles, searching for a commonality between the victims. As minutes ticked on, her frustration grew, and she could feel the weight of the case pressing down on her like a heavy fog.

She decided to focus her attention on Gary, opening up his financial records. She scrolled through, all showing fairly innocuous purchases; some fast food, beer here and there. By all accounts, it seemed Gary was a normal man who had been enjoying his lonely retirement before his untimely death.

Fiona felt for him. It seemed unfair to live for so long only to meet an end so cruel and nonsensical.

But as Fiona scrolled, something caught her eye.

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