“It can. There was another break-in at my house with threatening messages and my cat was killed. A toxin was left in my showerhead so that when I turned on the hot water I couldn’t breathe. Just your typical twenty-four hours.”
“Dang woman,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear this. But you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good.”Other than missing my cat.“Listen, I have a possible suspect for you to check out. We like him for this because he has dated two of the missing women, he went to Pembroke State, and he has the Pembroke State baseball cap. I know that isn’t much and we may be grasping at straws here. The catch is his father is the Blair County District Attorney, and his grandfather is a Blair County District Judge. His family has very political ties.”
“I get it, but if he’s guilty that won’t keep him from being prosecuted.”
“I believe that’s the reason nothing has been done on the Barbie Martin case for the last two years. The local authorities have dragged their feet and blamed her for being a party girl and a recreational drug user when she wasn’t. I had a chance encounter with the guy today and he smugly boasted of the fact that he dated Barbie off and on while they attended Pembroke State, but he wouldn’t say whether he saw her the night she went missing from the frat party. We already knew he was the high school sweetheart of Sandy Cranston.”
“Any ties to the third victim?”
“Not that we know for certain. But I’m going to do my best to dig something up or at least put him and his friends at that brewery earlier in August before she went missing,” Quinn assured him.
“Just be careful. It sounds like you’re taking heavy heat for those articles, and if it looks like you’re getting too close to finding out the truth, there’s no telling what might happen,” Street warned.
“I will.”
“I’ve got a meeting with campus security over at Pittman this afternoon. I’ll keep you informed if any new developments come up,” he said.
“Okay. Thanks. Let’s talk again soon,” she said.
“Definitely,” he agreed before the line went dead.
She quickly made a few notes in her reporter’s notebook and then went out to get a cup of coffee. She stopped by her desk and checked for any messages that might have come in while she was out that morning, but there were none. She went back into the conference room to work on her article.
The door to the newsroom opened and none other than Candace Foust Beamer came in wearing a pair of Gucci sunglasses and carrying her Prada bag in the crook of her arm. She removed the shades and smiled.
“Quinlan,” she said. “May I have a word with you?”
Everyone in the newsroom went silent and all eyes were on the socialite.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Beamer?” She crossed the newsroom to where she waited, not daring to take one step further into the establishment.
“I understand you accosted my son this morning at the diner, and I’d appreciate it if you refrained from doing so again.”
“We bumped into one another, and he spoke to me. In fact, he flirted with me even after he identified me as the reporter who wrote the story on Sandy Cranston. All I did was respond that I was writing another piece on her if he wished to give a quote, but he declined. That was the extent of our conversation. Until he boasted that he dated Barbie Martin, and he parties too much to remember if he was there the night she went missing. Now, you tell, Ms. Beamer, does that sound like I accosted him? Because I had the feeling that if his pal in the booth hadn’t called to him, he was going to ask me out on a date because like I said, he was being very flirty. I think your son likes to flirt with women. Don’t you?”
Candace’s face flushed and her jaw twitched. “Just stay away from him. He isn’t supposed to talk to the press.”
“Yes, I know. He told me that too, but he likes to talk nonetheless off the record. I think his flirting could get him in deep trouble if he isn’t careful, Ms. Beamer. Don’t you agree?” Quinn said.
The woman huffed, turned on her heels, and stalked out of the newsroom. Quinn smirked. The newsroom erupted in applause. She turned and curtsied, careful not to spill her coffee, and laughed.
She sipped her coffee and started back to the conference room but didn’t get too far when she heard Sheraton’s booming voice.
“What the hell did that woman want?”
Everyone laughed.
Grimm handed Quinn a brown envelope.“This was in the box with your name on it when Sheraton put the one in from you. The person anticipated you dropping a letter off.”
“Good. Let’s see what this one says.”
Thankyou for agreeing to correspond. I have much to tell you. But know that we are entering into a dangerous liaison. I have been hired to watch over the screwup. That’s what he is known as. I cover up his messes and sometimes they get to be too much for even me. But there is one that is far worse than we should fear more. So be careful of that one. I cannot say more at this time without giving too much away and scaring you off. Just watch and you will know what I am talking about. The monster will rear its ugly head if you are not careful. The monster has been watching you closely and does not like what is going on at the paper. Tread lightly but stay steadfast in your plight for the missing at the same time.
E
“He signed it.Just an initial, but he signed it like I did mine. It’s like we’re on the same wavelength here,” Quinn said. “I swear his messages are getting more and more cryptic in what he is trying to say, without coming out and saying it. Read this one.”
