“Sorry, It’s Carly. Carly Jacobson.”
“Melanie is your friend?”
She nodded as tears flooded her eyes again. “Yes. Best friends since diapers. Oh god!” She held the tissues to her face and took a deep breath before blowing it back out again. Then she lowered the tissues to her lap and squared her shoulders. “How can I help?”
I admired her bravery and her determination. She obviously cared deeply about her friend. “Let’s start from the beginning. Did Melanie talk about meeting anyone before last night?”
She shook her head. “No. We were worn out from a long work week, so we decided to go to the bar. Lazy 8. You know the one?” I nodded, encouraging her to continue. “We got dressed up and headed out, just wanting to have some girl time and relax. Have a little fun. You know how it is.”
I nodded, but I really didn’t know what it was like. I’d never had a girlfriend I spent time with. Not since Mariposa. Eyeing the young woman who cared so much about her friend, my heart clenched. I sincerely hoped their story ended better than mine did. I knew what it was like to lose a best friend.
“What was she wearing?” At her sharp look I quickly explained. “I’m not victim blaming,” I promised. “It’s merely for the record, nothing else. If —when we find Melanie, it would be helpful to quickly identify her.”
With a sigh, Carly nodded. “Melanie dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a blue tank top with sequins on it.”
I nodded. “Thank you. What time did you get there?” I asked.
“Umm, about nine thirty, I think. We went straight to the bar and ordered a couple of shots. We planned to have a couple before switching to mixed drinks. It’s a cheaper way to get thatbuzz going, right?” I smiled. I’d heard people say that, but since I’ve never been to a bar, I had no idea.
“We had just grabbed our drinks when this guy approached. He headed straight for her, like he’d been eyeing her since we came in.”
I sucked in a breath while trying to keep my expression calm, doing my best not to give away any of the excitement I was feeling at having our first real break. “Did you get a good look at him? Notice the color of his hair or eyes?” My heart sank as soon as her head started shaking.
“It was dark inside, and he wore a baseball cap pulled down low. He also kept his head down. I never really saw more than his chin. I noticed he’d only slightly tilt his head up a little as he looked at Melanie. I thought he was shy.” She hiccuped.
“How tall was he?” I pressed. “Was he muscular? Slim? Larger?”
“Umm, he was average, I guess. Average height, maybe five foot ten? Average build. Not really muscular, not fat. Just… average.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know how else to describe him.” She let out a sob.
I had assumed it would be the case. Most serial killers would be overlooked on the streets. They tended to blend in and were often described as unremarkable. It allowed them to wear a mask of normality while being absolutely insane inside. My thoughts drifted to Gage and how completely un-average he looked. No matter where he went, he would always draw the eyes of everyone around, whether male or female. I shook my head and focused back on Carly.
“What happened after he approached Melanie?”
“Well,” she took a breath and took the time to organize her thoughts, which I appreciated. “The guy encouraged her to dance with him. When she asked me if she could, I just nodded.I was happy for her. It had been a while since either of us had boyfriends, so we didn’t have a lot of guy time.”
“Why did she ask you first?” I asked, wanting to understand the dynamics of their relationship. It wasn’t something I was familiar with.
She eyed me. “It was supposed to be a girl’s night. Girl code says you don’t abandon your friend on a girl’s night.” Right. Girl code. Something I knew nothing about since I didn’t have friends.
“Okay. So after they danced, what happened?” I asked, moving on from the subject.
“Melanie came back to the bar and looked so excited. I hadn’t seen her look so happy. She felt bad for wanting to ditch me, but really wanted to go home with him.” She spread out her hands, one of them still clutching the wad of tissues. “I couldn’t say no.”
“Where was the guy while she was talking to you?”
“He was waiting by the door.”
Right, like it had been a foregone conclusion that the girl would leave with him. “Do you feel like at any time he might have drugged her? Managed to slip something into her drink? Did she look incapacitated in any way at all?”
Carly shook her head. “No. We were always careful with our drinks and looked out for each other. Besides that, we’d only had the two shots before he came over. She hadn’t even had time to sip her drink yet.” I nodded and glanced over to Officer Blake, who was writing furiously, his dark hand moving rapidly over the paper.
“So she left, then you went home, too?”
She nodded. “After she left, I didn’t want to stay by myself anymore, so I called for a ride and went home. When I woke up this morning, I noticed she hadn’t come back yet.”
“You’re roommates?”
“Yes. We share an apartment not far from here.”
