There’s a slight pop before Liam’s voice rings through the room, “Do you need a short break?”
Macey shuffles her papers, avoiding answering, so I assume the question was to me. “I’m okay to continue.”
“Alright. Mace, let’s go back to the roommate angle, this time we’ll leave out the journal.”
Macey nods quickly before smoothing the papers over her legs. “What happen to lead you to believe there was more to it than a roommate borrowing her things?”
It takes me a moment to reorganize my thoughts and answer the question in a new way. “A few things, but I think what happened to her is the biggest clue that something was going on.” Landry gives me a tiny nod of his head, as if giving me a sign of approval.
From there, Macey asks about Hayzel’s classes and any new friends she made, then she winds it down with some questions about what things were like after. Those questions are hard. I didn’t think about how to answer those. The inquiries about her funeral, how I handled it, about me leaving school, and what I’ve been doing since are tough too, but for a completely different reason. I don’t want to talk about myself and all the things I should be doing for Hayzel because she can’t, like finishing school and doing something other than rotting in the house.
“I think that’s it for me.” Macey leans back in her chair and glances toward Landry, who hasn’t spoken up again since he told me to be careful, as if he may add something now, but unsurprisingly, he doesn’t utter a word.
“Well, okay.” I place my hands on the arms of the chair, preparing to rise.
Macey rises with me. “It will take a few days in editing before we get everything spliced together, and I’m still hopeful to get a call back from the detective assigned to her case.” She holds up her crossed fingers. “If we run into any issues or need any pickups, Michele will reach out.”
“Pickups?” I question.
“Editing stuff, like if the sound is bad or something is garbled. It doesn’t usually happen, but just in case.” She shrugs and walks me toward the door.
It’s not until I turn to say goodbye to her, slightly panicked that I might have to wait in the parking lot for Landry to get a chance to talk to him again, that I realize he’s standing right behind us.
“Thank you for helping me get this out. The more people who are aware, the better.” I’m not really sure how anything I said could be helpful, but it only takes one little thing to crack a case. I’ve seen and heard about it happening countless times on other shows. Maybe them digging up information on Hayzel and her case will be the catalyst needed to solve her murder.
“Thank you for allowing us to spread the word. I really hope you can get some answers.” I don’t doubt her words or sincerity. I’m sure nearly everyone feels the same way, but it still feels like a platitude.
I give her a practiced smile then turn my attention to Special Agent Landry. “This may be way out of line, but would you be willing to talk to me?”
“We have—” Macey starts, looking back and forth between us.
“Not now, it can be later, in a week, at two o’clock in the morning, anytime. Whenever you have a spare moment,” I add in a rush.
“How about we exchange numbers? I don’t think it will be two o’clock in the morning, but more than likely it will be tomorrow.” He chuckles, and my face gets hot. It’s on the tip of my tongue to apologize for making it weird, but I decide it would be better to just ignore my blunder.
“Yeah, okay. Thank you.” When he takes his phone out, I rattle off my number. My phone is still turned off in my bag, and just as I’m about to reach for it to ask for his, I sense Maceystaring at the side of my face, and I feel like I am overstepping. Instead of going for my bag, I reach for the door handle and escape the suddenly tense environment, fleeing the office then the building altogether.
The moment I close my car door, I regret allowing my discomfort to keep me from getting the agent’s number. If he doesn’t call, I won’t have any way of reaching him, and let’s be honest, I’m sure he has more than enough to do with his job and whatever he has going on with theUnexplained Casespodcast, so calling me could easily slip his mind.
I search the surrounding cars in the lot, wondering which could be his, but there’s no convenient rental car company plate or sticker on any of the vehicles, and from what I can see, they all have Michigan tags. I let out a long groan when I realize it’s foolish to assume he traveled here like I did. For all I know, he’s from the local office. The FBI has an office in nearly every state, which I learned when I watched a series on the highway killer.
I contemplate sitting right where I am until he leaves for the day, but that feels a bit stalkerish. My face twists. I hate even thinking the word now.
I pull my phone from my purse to type in the GPS coordinates of the condo while buying a little time to think. If he happens to leave in the next few minutes, I’ll at least have an excuse to still be here.
My phone cycles on quickly, and the top notification on the screen is a text from an unfamiliar number. A wave of relief hunches my shoulders. His message is straight to the point.
Unknown: Hey, this is Landry
Me: Hi, Harlyn here. I wanted to say thanks again for giving me the chance to possibly talk with you. Call anytime that works for you.
I feel hopeful when I place my phone in the center console, which isn’t how I expected this interview to end.
CHAPTER 8
Boone
“Well, that was unexpected.” Macey winces as Harlyn dashes from the recording room. I have to admit her departure was a little hasty, but she has been answering questions about her sister for well over an hour. I’m not surprised she took her leave quickly. I make a noncommittal sound, not willing to engage with Macey regarding Harlyn. As much as I understand why she’s here and agreed to the interview, I wish someone would have convinced her this might not be the right time, especially if her suspicions about her sister’s death are true.
