Page 18 of Vanished in the Mist
He chuckled. “Doesn’t sound intimidating at all. I’m sure if we don’t take time to eat or sleep, we can get it done.”
“Right? I know it’s a lot. And that’s not even all that I want to do on Tanya’s case. We’ll have to prioritize, decide what we think we can accomplish versus what we’ll have to set aside. At least for now.” She tapped her computer keys, presumably entering a password. “I definitely want to research her social-media accounts looking for anything suspicious, maybe someone bothering her online, or references she made, posts, telling us her plans in the weeks and days leading up to when she went missing so we can establish a solid timeline. I’d love to check any forensics reports too, see what the police may havefound that Cassidy and Tanya’s parents don’t know about. But we’re going to do all that as one step, or as few steps as possible. I don’t want to overwhelm you, so I’ll stop right there.”
“Too late. I’m totally overwhelmed. I wouldn’t have thought of half of that on my own. The main thing I wanted to know when I started my own research before coming here was whether she could swim, and whether she was the type to get near the water.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Those are exactly the sorts of questions we need to explore. You might have more of an instinct for this sort of work than you realized.”
“Doubtful. I’m just the kind of guy always focused on water. That’s my job.”
She shivered. “I’m grateful there are people like you to do that. I sure couldn’t. Looks like we’re a good pair. Our skills complement each other’s. Maybe we’ll get lucky and solve this together. But we honestly won’t have a chance if the police didn’t do a lot of the important groundwork—like cell-phone records and forensic searches of her cell phone and other technology. That stuff takes a lot of time. If our base of information from themissolid, and if we build an accurate timeline, then our work should point us to where we should search. If it all goes back to the lake, then it’s on you to find her remains. But if this isn’t a simple drowning in a place that likes to keep its bodies and hold on to them, then it could be something else entirely.”
“Murder. Possibly connected with the body we found.”
“That’s a leap I wouldn’t normally consider this early in an investigation. But, yes. I think we have to explore that as a potential theory as part of our short-cuts.”
He sat silent for a moment, taking it all in. “Then we need to look into our John Doe. Search for connections between him and Tanya. Right?”
“Absolutely.” Glancing at the dark windows that formed the corner of the cabin where the table was positioned, she asked, “What time do you normally turn in for the night?”
If he hadn’t cautioned himself about trying to quash his burning attraction for her, he’d make some lame sexy joke in answer to that question. But he had to focus. Keep the personal stuff out of this.
No matter how much he longed to make it far more personal and a hell of a lot more intimate.
He checked the dive watch that he always wore, and winced. “It’s a lot later than I realized. But it doesn’t matter. I’m keyed up and won’t be able to sleep anytime soon. If you’re okay staying up for a while, count me in.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She moved half of the stacks of paper toward him and pulled the others closer to her. “We’ll get as much done as we can tonight. Then, tomorrow, be prepared to get going really early.”
“Where to?”
“The scene of the crime.”
Chapter Nine
Shanna shook her head in exasperation and shifted on the picnic bench to make herself more comfortable. “I can’t believe there are, what, twenty-five, thirty rubberneckers out here at the scene of the crime? You’d think the police would rope off the entire area to keep people from potentially interfering as the divers search for evidence and more remains this morning.”
“Isn’t a rubbernecker someone who slows traffic because they’re gawking at a car-accident on the side of the road?” Kaden asked, from his seat beside her.
“I’m pretty sure it applies to anyone who’s being nosy, watching some event that has nothing to do with them and getting in the way. Not that they can see all that much, anyway, with all the mist on the lake this morning.”
He chuckled. “The mist is already clearing. As to the audience, the police officers are watching the crowd, just like us. I’m sure they’ll make sure no one interferes.” He pointed to her laptop screen, which displayed pictures she’d uploaded from the police investigation folder last night. “Having so many curious onlookers out here is a blessing in disguise. I’ve already identified five of them by comparing them to those pictures. Most appear to know each other, probably locals. I’ll do what I can to get pictures without being obvious. If John Doe’s killer is out here watching the recovery like you think he might be, we should come out of here with his picture. If nothing else, itmight help the police with their investigation. And if the same person did something to Tanya, it can helps ours too. Win-win.”
“Are you always this happy at nine o’clock in the morning?” she griped.
“Are you always this grumpy?”
She cursed beneath her breath, making him laugh.
“Oh, got another one.” He wrote a name on his legal pad.
She glanced at it. “Jessica DeWalt. Wait. Isn’t she the head cheerleader from the local high school?”
“Wasthe head cheerleader. She graduated the same school year that Tanya went missing. There are several graduates from last year’s senior class here, all of whom were interviewed by the police last spring. The odd thing is that they’re not mingling together. They’re standing or sitting around in different areas. It’s a small town, even smaller school. You’d think they’d all know each other, wouldn’t you?”
“Probably.” She glanced around at the other picnic tables scattered around the sloped hill above the lake where the Chattanooga police divers were searching. After a few minutes of casually looking, she nodded. “You’re right. It’s as if they’re purposely avoiding each other. You saw the football team’s quarterback over there, right? By that tree? He and the cheerleader would have to know each other.”
“Sam Morton. Maybe they didn’t like each other at school. That could explain it.”
“Maybe.” She opened a new document on her computer and made some notes before pulling up the pictures again. “Give me your list. I’ll focus on trying to ID everyone while you subtly take more photographs.”
