“No, not at all. From the handprint on the victim’s arm and the force of the blows, I would say the suspect is almost certainly a male and fairly tall. But it was the combination of the homemade pepper spray and the crushed windpipe that interrupted the victim’s breathing until she died.”
I typed a few notes into my phone and thanked Claire for her hard work. Even though it was a different mode of death, something told me to keep an eye on this Tina Barnes case.
CHAPTER15
CINDY THOMAS POSITIONEDherself to bring her right foot off the ground and connect with the taller boy’s groin. She knew she’d have some explaining to do later, but that was better than having to testify against them.
Then she heard a sharp voice. “Flynn, Eddie, why are you bothering that lady?”
Both boys froze in place. They turned to look at the young woman who’d shouted at them. She had shoulder-length dark hair that accentuated her angular face, and Cindy guessed her to be no more than thirty.
The smaller boy, Eddie, said, “We weren’t doing nothing, Miss Gina.”
The woman chuckled and said, “That should be your motto, Eddie. You say it enough that we should make it an acronym to save time.”
“What’s an acronym?”
Gina shook her head in frustration and said, “Something you might have learned if you paid a little more attention in class. Now both of you go back inside and get ready for reading period.”
Both boys looked dejected as they stomped back into the youth center.
Gina looked over at Cindy and smiled. “Sorry if they made you nervous. They’re all bark.”
“I notice their bark didn’t scare you at all.”
“I hear that kind of noise all day long. You learn what behavior you can let slide and what behavior you have to identify and punish.”
Cindy held out her hand. “I’m Cindy Thomas. I know Eric Snaff.”
The youth worker shook her hand. “Gina Scrittori. I work with Eric. How do you know him?”
Cindy gave her a quick explanation of why Eric came to talk to her in San Francisco.
Gina said, “He hasn’t been around much since Nicole disappeared. We all try to cover his shifts when possible.”
“So he’s not working today?”
“He may come in later. I can call him if you’d like.”
“No, thank you. I was just trying to get a feel for the place where he works and the town where he and Nicole live.”
“I can give you a quick tour of the center if you want.”
Cindy agreed and found herself inside the building that looked much more like a school than a correctional facility. There were kids as young as twelve and as old as seventeen, all running around with books and other school supplies. Some were laughing; some were shouting; none seemed too interested in their books. Pretty much like a normal school.
As they walked through the facility, Gina said, “Eric’s a good guy. I hope you can help him. He’s had some tough breaks. I can’t imagine having a daughter disappear.”
“Do you know Nicole well?”
Gina said, “No, not really. I’ve only met her a few times. She’s a very nice girl. Absolutely gorgeous too. But I’ve always had the impression she’s a little on the wild side. Not unlike some of our kids here, you know? I’m not saying that had anything to do with her disappearance. It was just something I noticed.”
Cindy nodded and tucked the observation away. She then asked the Youth Services worker, “How long have you worked here?”
“About two years.”
“Did you always know this was what you wanted to do?”
Gina shrugged. “I went to UC Santa Barbara and was premed. Turned out I probably wasn’t the right candidate for medical school.”
