Page 72 of Red Snow
Detective Jarrod Granger
“SO, DANIELLE ISputting out Jeffrey’s picture all over the state,” Marcus says in my ear. I lay back on my couch, putting my feet up as I look up at the ceiling, listening to Marcus on the other end of the phone. “She sent his photo to Wasilla, Homer, Alyeska, and Seward too, so if he shows his face anywhere, he’s fucked.”
“That’s good to know, I guess,” I reply, feeling good and relaxed after my awesome night with Brandi. “I just wish it wouldn’t have come this far.”
“Yeah, I know. We should’ve brought him in as soon as we saw him on that video from Koot’s,” Marcus says. “Oh, and we also got the word back about the blood we found in that garage.”
“Oh yeah? That was fast. Usually DNA takes weeks, and that’s if you’re lucky.”
“Yeah, well I guess Danielle had our sample bumped to the very front of the line. Some hookup someone owed her in the lab.”
“Of course. So, what’s the word?”
“Just like we thought. The blood found in the garage belongs to Britney Cruz.”
“Wow. We got him.”
“Yep. It’s great that we know it was him who killed Britney, and it’s great that we have him on tape leaving Koot’s with the first victim, but none of it means shit if we don’t have him in custody.”
“True,” I reply behind an exhale. “But we’re gonna get him. We just need to be ready. Tomorrow, we need to go out and see if there’s anything we may have missed. I want all the evidence we can get on this cock sucker so that when we do catch up to him, which we will, he won’t stand a chance on trial.”
“Yeah, that’ll work. We can go down to Eagle River again and see if there’s anything else we can dig up about him. See if he has any friends. The guy must’ve hung out with someone.”
“Right. There has to be at least one person who knows something about this asshole.”
“There has to be. Okay, so that’s the plan for tomorrow, but before we hang up, I wanted to ask you about Stacey. You talk to her yet?”
“Nah, not yet. When I got home tonight, Brandi was here waiting for me. So I was a little too busy to be thinking about calling Stacey, but I will. The plan is to call her up tomorrow and see if she’s cool with meeting up so we can talk.”
“What if she’s not?”
“If she’s not, then I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to talk about it over the phone. Either way, we’re gonna talk about it, and if she’s completely done with me, she can tell me. I’ll sleep on it tonight and give myself a full day to prepare for this conversation, because I’m sure it’s going to be a crazy one.”
“Oh I bet it is,” Marcus agrees. “But I’ve been meaning to ask you something, bro. Once you get closure from Stacey, are you planning on trying to go steady with Brandi?”
“Oh geez, man, I don’t fucking know about all that.”
“I’m just asking because Yolanda and I think that would be awesome.”
“Well, I hate to burst yours and Yolanda’s bubbles, but I haven’t even thought that far. Right now, I just need to wrap up the loose ends with Stacey, then I can start thinking about other shit. Brandi is a cool chick, but I’m not sure what I’m gonna be ready for after the thing with Stacey is officially complete. We’ll just have to see.”
Marcus exhales and clears his throat. “Alright, man. Well, I know this whole thing is gonna be tough on you, so you can always talk to me about it, especially after you talk to her.”
“Yeah, thanks man. I appreciate it. I’m sure I’ll need to once this is done.”
“For sure. Well, I’m about to head to bed. I’ll see you at HQ in the morning.”
“You got it, man.”
Marcus and I hang up and I glance at the clock on the wall. Almost one in the morning. It has been another long day, in an even longer week. My brain feels like scrambled eggs right now, so it’s time to call it a night.
I get up from the couch and walk into the bathroom, where I pee for the last time and start to brush my teeth. As I brush, I hear my cell phone ringing on the coffee table. With my toothbrush hanging from my mouth, I walk into the room and see the call from Brandi. It’s a little strange getting a call from her since she just left, but I have a mouth full of toothpaste and spit, so I decide to rinse my mouth out before answering. I walk back into the bathroom and spit with the phone in my hand, but it stops ringing before I can answer it. She doesn’t call back, so I figure it’s nothing, and plan to call her back once I’m done with my nightly routine.
I wash my face, walk back into the living room and turn off all the lights in the kitchen before killing the ones in the living room on my way to the bedroom. Once I’m comfortably in bed with the sheets keeping me warm, I call Brandi back. As the phone rings, I feel anxious to hear her voice, but when the line picks up, it isn’t Brandi’s voice I hear.
“I knew you’d call back, lover boy,” I hear a male voice say. It takes a second, but I realize I recognize this voice. It’s Jeffrey.
My body immediately jolts up in bed. “What the fuck is this?” I snap, feeling hot all over. “How the fuck did you get her phone?”
