Hating this part of the job, Sean squatted next to Cheryl’s chair when she asked to know what had happened for the third time since they’d arrived moments ago.“I’m sorry to tell you this, but Daphne was murdered.”
Cheryl gasped, her eyes filled with horror.Before she could ask any questions he couldn’t answer, he continued.“I can’t give you the details at the moment, but we need your help to find out who did this to her.Okay?”
Her hand covered her mouth as tears began to roll down her cheeks, but she nodded her assent.Brian sat in a chair across from her at the small table, with a notepad to jot things down, while Sean stood and leaned against the nearby counter, taking the lead.“I know you’ve already told the deputy what happened, but I’d appreciate it if you repeated everything to us.Sometimes people remember things they didn’t think of the first time they tell their story.”
Cheryl took a deep breath as she wiped her teary eyes with a tissue Deputy Cumberland had silently handed her.“A b-bunch of us girls went out Saturday night.We-we went to dinner at Martino’s in-in Jarvisburg.It’s a new r-restaurant on Central Avenue.”
“What time was that?”
Clearing her throat, she got her stuttering under control.“About six thirty.I drove Daphne and our friend Janet, and we met Diane and Michelle there.We were there until around nine, then went to Visions, that nightclub in Elizabeth City.”She looked at Brian and then Sean to see if they knew the bar.
“I’m familiar with the place,” Brian said, gesturing with his hand for her to continue.
“The place was packed as usual, and we were all running into people we knew.It wasn’t anything new to lose track of one another for a while, you know?”
He nodded.“Go on.When did you realize Daphne was missing?”
Cheryl sniffed several times before answering.“We honestly didn’t think she was missing.We just figured she met a guy and ditched us.It wouldn’t have been the first time… but she wasn’t a slut or anything.She didn’t do it a lot, just every once in a while.”
Both Brian and Sean winced slightly at Cheryl’s use of the word “slut.”The sheriff hadn’t revealed to anyone outside the department what had been carved into the victims’ torsos.
Brian made some notes on his pad.“Okay.When was the last time anyone saw her, and when did you notice she was gone?”
“Um… the last time I saw her was about eleven, I think—we were in the ladies’ room together.Around one-thirty or so, the rest of us started to look for her because Janet had had too much to drink and wanted to go home.We searched the whole place and couldn’t find Daphne.At two-thirty, the bar was closing, so we figured she’d hooked up with someone and left.”
“Why didn’t you report her missing when she didn’t come home yesterday?”Sean asked.
Her gaze went to his, and she shook her head.“I didn’t know she didn’t come home.When I got up, her bedroom door was shut, so I figured she was sleeping.I spent most of the day babysitting my nieces while my brother and sister-in-law went to a wedding.When I got home, I went straight to bed.It wasn’t until ten this morning when her boss called to find out why she wasn’t at work that I realized she was missing.”
After asking a few more questions about Daphne’s routine, ex-boyfriends, and whether or not she’d reported seeing anything or anyone out of the ordinary lately, Brian finished by inquiring, “Does she have family in the area?We’re going to have to contact them.”
“Her family’s in Chicago.She has no relatives near here.Their address and phone number are in her journal on her dresser.She told me if anything ever… ever happened to her, th-those were the people I should contact.”
She pointed to Daphne’s bedroom.As Deputy Cumberland went to retrieve the book, the reality of her roommate’s murder finally hit, and Cheryl began to sob loudly.“Oh, my God.I can’t believe she’s dead.We should have looked for her.”
Sean placed a comforting hand on the distraught woman’s shoulder and spoke in a soft, reassuring tone.“Your friend was probably far away by the time anyone realized she was missing.None of this is your fault.Place all the blame on the person who killed her.”As Cheryl looked up at him with red eyes, he continued.“And I promise you, we’ll do everything we can to find Daphne’s killer and give her justice.”
Chapter4
Sean, Brian, and Montoya left the Sheriff’s Department a little after 6:00 p.m.and parted ways.There was still no word on Stuart Crowell, so they had spent the rest of the afternoon on interviews with the women Daphne Jones had been with on Saturday night.No one saw who she’d left with.The nightclub, Visions, didn’t open until eight o’clock, so Brian had asked dispatch to assign a detective to interview the staff and find out if they had video surveillance of the place.They would follow up on the information in the morning.
The sheriff had called from his drawn-out budget meeting and ordered the task force to meet the following morning.He wanted a report from the detectives and the crime scene techs at 9:00 a.m.Detective Brad Lynch would be back by then and needed to be updated.The team would brainstorm about where to go from there.
As he drove through the small business district of Whisper, Sean noticed the lights were on in the storefront across from his uncle’s hardware store.Grace had mentioned that was where her new business was located.She’d been lucky the owner of a former yoga and Pilates studio had closed up shop and moved south, leaving the prime location available.
On a whim, he pulled into an open parking space in front of the shop and killed the car’s engine.Through the large, plate-glass window, he saw Grace painting something on one of the interior walls.Telling himself he was just being friendly by stopping in to see her new place, he climbed out of his vehicle and strode to the door.Pulling on the handle, he found it locked.When he glanced up, Grace was smiling at him and hurrying over to let him in.
Unlocking the door, she held it open for him.“Hi there.Come on in.”She engaged the lock again after he entered.“Welcome to Pro-Care Physical Therapy.”
Sean chuckled as she turned toward him.“You’ve got paint on your nose.”
“Oops.Thanks.”She pulled a rag from the rear pocket of her jeans and wiped the small splotch of gray paint from her face.“Did I get it?”
“All gone.”
Stepping further into the studio, he took in the newly carpeted floor and painted room.Grace was in the process of adding large, gray silhouettes on the pale blue walls.Each was in the shape of a male or female athlete performing different sports.The tiny reception area had a built-in desk and was separated by a half-partition from the large space which housed the remainder of the business.Both rooms were void of any furniture or equipment.He turned back to Grace.“It looks fantastic but a little sparse.”
She giggled and rolled her eyes.“Obviously, my furniture and equipment haven’t been delivered yet.The reception chairs, PT tables, and a stacked washer/dryer are being delivered on Thursday.The gym apparatus comes next Monday and the machinery later in the week.”
