Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was almost four o'clock when River took off her headphones. She'd made notes about every episode. Even though the Casanova case seemed to be the one they should focus on first, each podcast April had recorded was compelling. The behavioral analyst in her wanted to profile all of them, but she wasn't sure it was necessary. She looked over at Tony and noticed that he was staring at her.

"Did you get through all of them?" he asked.

She nodded. "I think April had good instincts. Each of these cases make me want to dig in and look for solutions. Of course, some seem more likely to be connected to April's disappearance than others."

"That's good, because I'm not sure we have time to investigate them all."

"Yeah, because we're so overloaded with work," River said dryly.

Tony laughed. "I hear you, but I'm talking about doing what we can for Nathan." He frowned at her. "That's if we can help him. What do you think?"

"Why don't you let me run these active cases past you? I'd like to see what you think."

"All of them?"

"Yes. I mean, we can concentrate on the Casanova case first, but since we're not certain it had anything to do with April's disappearance, we should look at each one, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "Until we see April's notes, we won't have a clue which case might be connected to her disappearance. Or if any of them are."

"That's what I was thinking." River stood up. "Want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." Tony got up from his chair and carried his cup over to the counter next to the coffeemaker. River didn't even need to ask what kind he wanted. She took his cup, put it under the spout, and added the pod. Black coffee. Always plain black coffee. She brewed his coffee and then handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said. "You really don't need to make my coffee, you know."

"I realize that, but I was taught to respect my elders."

Tony grinned. "You're only a year and two months younger than me."

River shrugged. "Sorry. I forgot. I guess it's because you look so much older."

"Very funny."

He headed back to his desk while she looked through the pods and picked a favorite—Southern Pecan. As she waited for the coffee to brew, her mind ran over the cases she'd listened to. She could understand why Nathan thought the Casanova case was the one that might be connected to April's disappearance, but River wasn't certain. There were a few of them that concerned her. She wondered if Tony would see the same thing she did.

"Hello? You still with us?"

Startled, River realized she was staring at her cup, but it was already done. She picked it up. "Sorry, just thinking. It's hard to listen to April's voice and not feel like I know her. I understand her interest in all of these cases. To be honest, I think I would have picked them too." She sat down at her desk.

"So, you think the two of you are alike?"

"Yeah, I do. I think we could be friends. I ... I really hope this isn't going to end badly."

Tony stared at her for a moment, then said, "River, you know the chance that we'll find April alive isn't good. Unless she purposely left her father and Nathan behind, she would have contacted one of them by now."

"I know. We're used to seeing the worst outcomes. But there's a part of me that can't stop hoping that someday we'll get that fairy-tale ending, you know? It's not impossible."

"But..."

River held up her hand. "You don't need to protect me. I understand the situation."

Tony smiled. "You amaze me. You've survived a nightmare most people couldn't. But here you are, holding out hope for this girl."

"With God, nothing is impossible."

He nodded. "You're right. But the Bible also tells us to guard our hearts and minds."

"Point taken."

Tony took a sip of his coffee, then said, "So, what can you tell me about these cases? We don't have much time. We need to leave around five-thirty so we can get to Nathan's by six."

"First of all, let's divide the work. You want the laptop, the phone, or the notebook?"

Tony sighed. "I can download the laptop and go through the phone. Why don't you take the notebook? Since you identify with her, you might get more out of it than I would."

"Exactly what I was going to suggest."

"Great minds think alike," Tony said with a grin.

River took a sip of her coffee and then picked up her own notebook. Like April, she liked to write her thoughts down on paper. It was what she was used to. Besides, writing something down helped her remember it.

"I guess we should wait before going through the cases in detail. We just don't have time now. I can at least tell you what she called them. Like I said, there are seven different cases. Okay, first up, we have what April called the case of the Missing Mother. After that, there's the case of the Railroad Rage, followed by the case of the Convenience Store Carnage."

"They all have titles like this?"

"Yes," River said. "I guess she needed to call them something."

"Not sure I'm a fan of cutesy titles for crimes where people lost their lives."

For some reason, River felt a little defensive. She realized that she needed to disconnect herself from April. Seeing the truth in situations where murders had been committed needed a certain detachment—the ability to see things clearly and without emotion. Her bond to April could cause her a problem she didn't need.

"After that, we have the case of the Hit-and-Run Hitchhiker, the case of the Virtuous Volunteer, the case of the Disappeared Diabetic, and finally, the case of the Castlewood Casanova."

"Are these in any particular order?"

River shook her head. "I thought maybe she'd list the older cases first, but I don't see any rhyme or reason when it comes to how they're listed. I do want to say that even if you don't like the titles, I'm very impressed with her ability to detail each one. What's on her podcast is for the public. I'm interested in what she's done regarding background research and any tips she may have received. There are some updates following some of the original podcasts. We'll need to listen to all of them at some point—if we take this case."

"Sound good," Tony said. "Hey, I've got nothing in my fridge. I'd like to get something to eat before we go over to Nathan's."

"How can you be hungry?" River asked, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"I just have a faster metabolism than you do."

River shook her head. "You should weigh four times more than you do. I don't get it."

He looked at the clock. "We could run by that pizza place you like so much."

"I thought you didn't like it because they serve froufrou pizza."

Tony shrugged. "Pizza should have red sauce and lots of pepperoni and sausage. White sauce with eggplant and chicken?" He shivered dramatically. "No thanks."

"They do have red sauce and fatty meats. You'll be fine."

"I guess so. I'll just pretend it's the only thing they serve."

River laughed. "You really are fragile, aren't you?"

"No one should mess with pizza."

River was about to make a snarky comment when the door to their office opened. It was the building manager, Dustin. "I'm sorry to bother you folks, but something was delivered to my office that I think you should see."

He walked over and handed a large manila envelope to River, whose desk was closest to the door. She took it and thanked him. Instead of leaving, he stood there, looking distinctly uncomfortable. What was going on? River looked at the front of the envelope. There was nothing written on it.

"You opened it?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Someone slid it under the back door of my personal office. My security guard saw it when he was making his rounds and brought it to me. Whoever left this found the one exterior door in the building that doesn't have a security camera covering it."

River looked over at Tony and frowned. He got up, grabbed a pair of gloves, and brought them to her. After putting them on, she reached into the envelope and pulled out what was inside. It was a rather fuzzy photo printed onto paper, but it was clearly a picture of Nathan Hearne walking out of the building. Written across the bottom were the words Stay away from April Bailey, or you'll be sorry!