Chapter 20

Running Out of Time

Monday

Lucas came armed with a peace offering of a black coffee, placed it on Maggie’s desk and bestowed her with his most charming smile.

“Wow, you look happy and refreshed,” she noted, studying him. “That sleep in obviously did you some good?’

“We both know I wasn’t sleeping in.”

“So, you did get lucky then?”

“I might have.” He smirked at her. “What you working on?”

“Reading over the reports from Andy and Greg, oh and thanks for the suck up coffee by the way.” It was Maggie’s turn to smirk. “Where do we go from here? What did you find out from Chelsea?”

“I have a couple of possible leads to check out, an ex-boyfriend of Chelsea’s, Wesley Robinson, and her delivery driver, Gavin Morgan. At the moment, they seem to be the only people that have a lot of direct contact with her, past or present. The calls she’s been receiving are personal which indicates to me that he knows her and where she lives.”

He tapped away on the keyboard for a few moments while Maggie waited with anticipation. “So, what did you find?”

“This is interesting. Robinson has a sealed juvie record. I’ll request a copy of the file. Nothing came up for Morgan. Chelsea is convinced neither of them could be involved but I’m not taking any chances. I think Lindsay might be running out of time.”

“Agreed, this is her fifth day missing.”

“I’m going to ask Captain Shaw for some uniforms to watch Chelsea’s house and Bloom.”

“Might be a good idea.”

Lucas knocked on Captain Shaw’s office door and waited for his response.

“Enter.”

He went in and sat on the chair opposite and hoped he had enough for his boss’s approval.

“What is it, Hudson?”

“Captain, Maggie and I believe that Chelsea Summerville may be our perp’s target. She has been receiving threatening phone calls.”

“Her resemblance to the victims is certainly a concern.”

“With Elle’s murder and her family’s wealth it doesn’t seem too far of a stretch. We may be wrong but I don’t think we should be taking any chances.”

“Are you talking about twenty-four hour surveillance?”

“Ah, no.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Detective.”

Lucas nodded.

Shaw brought a hand to his chin while he mulled it over. Lucas waited impatiently.

“One uniform is all I can give and, as it won’t be continuous protection, the overtime will be justifiable.” He pulled a form from his desk drawer and filled out the acquisition of a uniform for protective duty and handed it to Lucas.

“Thanks, Captain.” Lucas stood and walked over to the door, anxious to organise the officer.

“Lucas,” Shaw called. Lucas turned as he opened the door. “Be careful. I’m turning a blind eye to this and I don’t want egg on my face. Are we clear?”

“Crystal, Captain.”

Shaw offered a curt nod. Lucas set the wheels in motion before returning to his desk.

“Done,” he said Maggie.

“Good. So any other suspects to consider?”

“The only other option I think we may have is one of Chelsea’s regular customers. She’s going to fax me a list of names this morning. She told me they are mainly females though.”

“Have you told her the suspect could be blond?”

“No.”

“Is Robinson blond?”

“Yeah, I was able to get a description but no details of his arrest or photo.”

“So he could be a suspect?”

“Yes, Morgan is also blond but I think it’s unlikely he’s a suspect. The thing we can’t connect him to is the flour. I believe our perp would have to have access to a lot of it to transfer it. I can’t see any reason why Morgan would have this kind of use.”

“I can go and talk to him if you like, just in case?”

“It wouldn’t hurt. See how he reacts to the photos and if he knows any of them. I have Chelsea’s phone records that Andy left for me.” He scanned the document. “It appears all the calls she received were from an untraceable pre-paid phone.” This was why Andy hadn’t called regarding the log - there was nothing to report.

“Of course, have we gotten any sort of break so far? This guy is really covering his bases. He’s definitely been planning this for a while. Should we still be pursuing Matthews?” Maggie said.

“Yes, but I don’t know if we have enough for a court order to compel him to have a DNA test.”

“Hang ten, I’ll make a call,” she said as she picked up the phone.

“It’s done,” she said after she’d hung up. “We’ll have it this afternoon. Someone owed me a favour,” she told him being her only explanation.

“Good, we can have two uniforms pick him up. Let’s hope he’s a match and then we don’t have to look any further.”

“Let’s say he isn’t, should we be looking at the flour angle as well? Perhaps there is a bakery where all three girls went or maybe he’s a customer at the café and he works nearby. What about Robinson? Does it say anything about an occupation?”

“Nothing on screen about Robinson. I’ll ask Chelsea.”

Jumping onto the computer, Maggie looked up all the bakeries in the vicinity of the café. There was only one and it was around the corner. They hadn’t noticed it when they visited the café on previous visits, as they’d come from the other direction.

They found Ben’s Bakery four shops down from the Coffee Break. An appetizing aroma of baking bread and cakes greeted them.

“Can I help you?’ a young assistant asked.

“Yes, I’m Detective Johnson and this is Detective Hudson. Could we ask you a few questions?”

“Sure.”

“Do you have any bakers working here with blond hair?”

“Yes, Chad.”

“Is he here at the moment?”

“No, he’s off today and tomorrow. He’s working on Wednesday.”

Do you know his surname?”

“No, I never asked.”

“Is there someone here who may know?”

“The manager would but he’s at the bank at the moment.”

“Can you tell us anything about Chad?”

“He’s medium height with straight blond hair and blue eyes. He’s very cute and charming but a bit shy. What has he done?”

“Nothing, we just need to talk to him about an investigation.”

“Oh, okay.”

Maggie placed her card on the counter. “Could you have the manager call us when he returns?”

“Sure.”

They decided to ascertain whether any of the staff from the café recognised the name Chad. His description definitely piqued their interest.

After they’d interviewed two of the three waitresses on duty, with neither of them having heard of him or recalled anyone with that description, they were starting to think that they were either looking in the wrong direction or would have to interview the night staff, when they struck gold with the third waitress.

“Yeah I know Chad,” she said. “He’s super sexy. He asked me out last week and said he would make arrangements with me the next day and I haven’t seen him since.”

“When did you last see him?” Lucas asked.

“Um, it was Wednesday. I remember because Adrian wasn’t here so I was able to stand and chat with him for a while without getting in trouble.”

“Would you say he was shy?”

“Absolutely. I saw him watching me for days before he even had the courage to talk to me.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“Is it me or did that waitress resemble someone?” Maggie asked him.

“Yes, she looks a little like Chelsea,” he said with hardened expression.

“He’s blond, a baker and is shy but charming.”

“Sounds exactly like the guy we’re looking for.”

Maggie’s phone rang as they walked to the car. Lucas watched as she listened to the caller.

“We’ll be right there.” She ended the call. “The manager is back at Ben’s”

* * *

“I’ll go get him for you. One moment please,” the assistant said when they walked back in. She disappeared out the back.

About ten minutes later, she returned with a short man in his fifties, with a friendly face and rosy cheeks.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. You’re looking for Chad?”

“Yes sir. Do you have any details for him - surname, address?” Maggie asked.

“Wilson - that’s his surname.”

“Do you have an address on file for him?”

“This is the strange part. His file is missing.”

“It hasn’t been misfiled?’

“No, I checked all the employee records and it’s not there.”

“Do the employees have access to the records?”

“Not normally. Sometimes my office door is open and the cabinet isn’t locked when I’m here, so it’s possible that someone could access them if they wanted.”

“Well, if you could try to find his records for us, that would be helpful.”

“We’ll do our best.

“And we’ll be back to see him when he returns to work on Wednesday.”

“Be my guest. I’m sure he’ll co-operate. He is a good worker.”

When they’d returned to the station, Lucas immediately looked up Chad Wilson, to find no record of him whatsoever.

“This guy is a ghost,” he said when she hung up. “It’s quite possible this is our man. He’s not in the system and has no driver’s licence.”

* * *

What was left of the morning went slowly for Chelsea and Charlotte. Chelsea filled her sister in on her day at the carnival. Charlotte attempted all morning to get the juicier details but Chelsea wasn’t forthcoming.

Chelsea’s phone rang early in the afternoon and she welcomed the distraction. She checked the caller id before answering, to see it was Lucas.

“Hello, Detective,” she said seductively. “I was just talking about you.”

“Oh, were you now? I hope you found something nice to say about me?”

“Absolutely.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Just dinner and a movie probably. Then again, there is this sexy guy with hazel eyes I was thinking about inviting over.”

“How would you like it if a certain detective came and spent the night instead?”

“I would say is the day over yet?”

Lucas laughed. “What about the guy with the hazel eyes?”

“He might be busy. You’ll do.”

“You’re in big trouble now.”

“What are you going to do, tickle me?”

“Keep it up and you’ll find out.”

“Empty threats, Detective.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll come over after work.”

“I suppose you would like dinner too?” she teased.

“I am a simple man who can’t cook.”

“Dinner is at six-thirty. Don’t be late.”

Huskiness filled his voice. “I’ll be there earlier if I can. I miss you already.”

“I miss you too. I went back to bed after you left and I could still smell you in the sheets.”

“Ah, please don’t say anymore. I have to get through the rest of the afternoon and I need to concentrate. Have you received any more calls today?”

“Yes, before I left this morning, just more of the same thing. I think I’m going to stop answering the phone and let the machine pickup.”

“That could be better for us too. We may be able to use the voice recording, if he leaves a message that is. Anyway, an officer should be there shortly.”

“Why?”

“To protect you.”

“Oh, he just walked in.”

“I don’t want you going anywhere without him.”

“Ok, will he be at the house all the time?”

“Except when I’m there.”

“Oh. So, how’s it all going?”

“Well, that is another reason I called. Do you know a guy named Chad Wilson?”

“Name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Have you ever been to Ben’s Bakery? It’s near the Coffee Break Café.”

“No, I don’t think so. Do you think he is the one doing this?”

“We aren’t sure yet but he seems to fit in with the evidence and he’s a customer at the café.”

“Elle did say she met a guy there as she was coming out one day.”

“Yes, I remember, which only makes him more of a person of interest. We just don’t know where he lives yet.”

“I’m sorry, Lucas but I don’t think I know him.”

“That’s okay, babe. Um, there is one other thing.”

“What is it?”

“As much as I dislike hearing about you with Robinson, I need to know what he did for a living.”

“Oh, he was a law student and worked part time at a sports store.”

“He’s not a chef?”

“Not when I was with him.”

“Ok thanks, babe. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I can’t wait.”

When Lucas returned to his desk, he updated Maggie.

“I guess now we should divide up the victims’ families and friends and ask them about Chad,” suggested Maggie.

“Yeah, hopefully someone remembers him.”

“We got lucky today with the bakery. Maybe we can get lucky again.”

“Let’s hope so, for Lindsay’s sake.”

They divided who was going where and they knew it would take the rest of the afternoon to interview everyone, so they decided to compare notes after the funeral the following day.