Page 47 of Run for Her Life
“No sign of a struggle or heat marks this time.” Zoe’s voice came out hoarse. She crouched on the floor next to her, using a handkerchief to plug her nose. Behind her, Lisa was already on the radio calling for backup.
She had been placed carefully. Legs stretched out, arms carefully arranged, head tilted just enough to look like she were staring at something across the room.
“Clothes torn in places but mostly intact,” she noted. “She’s covered in injuries from the darts. He hunted her down too.”
Another knock on the door—this time it was Ethan. “Pulling an all-nighter, are we?”
His smile was watery, his eyes frantic. “You have to see this.”
Minutes later, Zoe, Aiden, and Lisa were huddled around Ethan’s ancient computer. The grainy image on the screen kept flickering.
“They still make these computers?” Zoe asked.
“We don’t have the budget the FBI does,” Ethan retorted grumpily. “Lisa told me to get CCTV footage from Annabelle’s place of work.”
“The Harringtons turned over their security tapes?” Aiden cocked an eyebrow. “The court order only covered the victim’s laptop.”
“I didn’t need access to their cameras. A museum across the street voluntarily gave us access to their tapes.” Ethan’s finger hovered over a button. “Nothing on the day Annabelle disappeared. But this was two days before the disappearance.”
The images on the screen started moving again—albeit jerkily. Zoe had to squint to decipher faces. The camera faced the side of a street with people walking back and forth. The timestamp read 6 p.m. Annabelle appeared, stepping out of the building. She paced up and down, checking her phone.
“She’s waiting for someone,” Lisa said.
Two minutes later, a man approached her, his back to the camera. She turned around and they began chatting, animatedly. After a minute, Annabelle ushered him into a corner, disappearing from the view. The man followed, his side profile captured on camera.
If it weren’t for the thick glasses and the fact that his face was plastered all over the local news, Zoe wouldn’t have recognized him.
“Did he tell you that he met Annabelle two days before she went missing?” Zoe asked Lisa.
Lisa was taken aback. “He didn’t even tell me that he knew her.”
“Bring Adam in.”
TWENTY-NINE
Adam Deader had no qualms about being dragged to the substation. He was positively delighted as he was escorted into the room, looking around and soaking up every ounce of the experience. He reminded Zoe of her nephew’s first time at Disneyland.
“Why is he so giddy about being called in?” Zoe stifled a yawn, wincing at Adam’s megawatt smile.
“He’s delusional narcissist bordering.” Aiden cracked his neck. “How deep that delusion runs, I don’t know yet.”
Her nerves jangled at Adam’s glee but she managed to form a polite smile. “Thank you for coming in this late, Adam.”
“Of course.” He gave her an impish smile, like they shared a secret. “I’m hoping you have come to your senses and require my expertise to solve this case?”
“Maybe.” She placed a printed copy of his meeting with Annabelle captured on camera. “Why don’t you start with this?”
Adam’s smile faltered. “Where did you get this?”
“An advanced piece of technology called CCTV,” Zoe quipped. When Adam didn’t reply, she continued, “For someone who has a lot to say on the evening news these days, you’ve gone awfully quiet.”
Aiden’s eyes shifted as if he were doing a mental calculation. “There is no point in denying it.”
“Is that it?” Zoe sat back and leaned back in her chair, enjoying dismantling some of his arrogance. “You wanted to help us solve the case and didn’t care to mention something this important?”
He pressed his lips in a thin line. “I didn’t realize it would be important. I didn’t know her that well. This was the first time I was meeting her. Before that, we only talked on the phone a couple times.”
“Why?” she asked.
