Page 41 of Wicked and Claimed

That was more information than she’d gotten out of Mr. Benedict. Then again, she hadn’t wanted to risk his wrath on day one and ask.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Did the cop mention any cameras or other security measures they checked for information?

Granted, her boss had mentioned that all his measures failed during the last abduction, but what about the others?

JasperThePrivateDick: When the mall first opened, there were static cameras in public points of entry and exit, and of course in the customer-facing parts of the mall. But areas that were designed for mall staff and other employees? No. Cameras were added in those parts of the facility after the second disappearance. But apparently, they’re proving unreliable for some reason. Entire days have passed where nothing is recorded, including the disappearance of the third victim and the first foiled attempt. The tech was upgraded again after that, but it still goes on the fritz occasionally.

Haisley frowned. On the fritz…or someone intentionally turned it off when they plotted to grab the next target.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Anything else you can share?

JasperThePrivateDick: Not that I can think of. But I have questions about the layout of the mall, since I’ve never been.

RedHotSavvySleuth: What do you want to know?

JasperThePrivateDick: What’s in that part of the mall? I understand it’s the food court, but that’s all I heard.

RedHotSavvySleuth: The design of that area is very odd, at least in my opinion. The bathroom is down a hallway behind one sit-down chain restaurant. If you’re facing the food court itself, that’s on the right side of the area. To the left of the hallway is a pastry shop known for their cinnamon rolls. They do a banner business on the weekends and make a mean hot chocolate. But I digress.

JasperThePrivateDick: Do you like cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate?

RedHotSavvySleuth: Am I female? LOL! Love them. Anyway, the remainder of the restaurant storefronts all fan out to the left of the pastry shop before a nasty pizza place curls back toward the main aisle on the far left.

JasperThePrivateDick: No point of entry or exit by the bad pizza joint?

RedHotSavvySleuth: No. Just more shops. Did your cop connection say any of the other abductions were in a different part of the mall?

JasperThePrivateDick: No. All in the same spot. Which begs the question, why doesn’t your boss do something about that location? Is he not concerned?

RedHotSavvySleuth: He’s deeply concerned. At least that’s what he says. Between you and me, I think he’s mostly concerned financially. He’s worried this will ruin him. But according to him, he’s tried to beef up security to no avail.

JasperThePrivateDick: Besides the parking lot, what’s behind that mall? It looks like a main thoroughfare with several highways close by.

RedHotSavvySleuth: Exactly. So once these kidnappers get someone out the door and into their vehicle, they can be on the freeway, headed to almost anywhere, in less than three minutes.

JasperThePrivateDick: That’s disturbing, but optimal for scum like these kidnappers. I also looked at a county map. I see a couple of private airstrips not too far away.

RedHotSavvySleuth: That’s possible. To be honest, I never paid attention to them. I’m not flying any sort of airplane myself, except maybe paper. LOL!

JasperThePrivateDick: A private airstrip is the easiest way to get a victim out of the area and ultimately anywhere in the world where there’s a waiting buyer.

The idea made Haisley sick to her stomach. Yes, she knew such things happened, but knowing it was taking place so close to where she laid her head every night? So close to a place she’d been shopping? It was deeply unsettling.

RedHotSavvySleuth: So you think they’re being sold rather than being a kill trophy for a single sick perpetrator?

JasperThePrivateDick: Either is possible, but no one has found any bodies. The rate of the abductions and the fact they’re getting more frequent suggests this is likely a burgeoning business model rather than a sick thrill. Of course, serial offenders need their high more and more often, so I won’t take that possibility off the table, but it seems awfully organized for one perpetrator. And correct me if I’m wrong, but the curb just outside those double doors is a no-parking zone.

Haisley had never looked herself, but she opened her scan of the mall’s schematics and verified with the satellite footage available online. It led her to one obvious conclusion.

RedHotSavvySleuth: You’re right. That suggests this guy isn’t working alone. The bricked-off area where the dumpsters are housed protects anyone driving on the street west of the mall from seeing whatever’s going on at the curb. The east side isn’t really visible either since the mall curves around. Even the main drag encircling the mall is probably half a football field away. So unless you’re in that specific area—which almost no one is—or you’re looking at those double doors—which, again, why would anyone do that?—then no one would see a victim being dragged out against their will.

JasperThePrivateDick: Precisely. It almost makes me wonder if the mall was designed with this vulnerability.

Was he suggesting her boss had purposefully designed the building as the perfect place for abductions? She didn’t know Mr. Benedict, and she didn’t like him so far, but being gruff hardly made him evil. It also didn’t make him a saint.

RedHotSavvySleuth: I don’t know. That seems like a big leap. I mean, it would still be hard to take someone from that area without anyone hearing. Victims surely screamed… Did your cop contact say anything about witnesses hearing cries for help?

JasperThePrivateDick: No. But I didn’t ask specifically. Our conversation was cut short since he got an urgent call. I’ll add that to my list for what I hope will be our next conversation. You make a good point, though. My guess is that, with road noise and whatnot, it’s a noisy area in general, so any screaming might get drowned out or ignored. And that assumes the victim isn’t being gagged or drugged as she’s being hauled into the offenders’ vehicle.

---