“What do you think that means?” he asks.
I think about it for a second. “Maybe this isn’t a missing person like Julia. This is actually recognized as missing. And people thought this person disappeared at one time, but it actually ended up being another. A few days apart? Even an entire season, depending on the weather.”
I add that to the list and look it over. Something about it sounds familiar, but not enough to actually tell me who it is.
“Should I call into the station and let them know I’m not going to be able to come in today?” Sam asks. “I can stay here and help you with this.”
“No,” I say. “Don’t do that. You need to be at the station being a sheriff and doing your job. I appreciate you wanting to help and trust me, if I can think of anything that you can do, I’ll let you know. But for now, I’m just going to do some research and see what I can figure out.”
“Okay,” he says. “Then I should start getting ready.”
He heads for the bathroom to take a shower, and I read through the letter again. It seems like every detail is carefully placed. These words aren’t arbitrary. Whoever wrote this letter wanted to make sure I had the information, but that they didn’t make it too easy on me.
I go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and one of the donuts I grabbed at the store on impulse, but I’m now glad I did. While I’m in here, I put together lunch for Sam to bring to the station with him. By the time he gets out of the shower, I am back in the living room, scrolling through results on the first search inquiry I did.
“Did you find out anything?” he asks.
“Not yet,” I say. “The details in the letter are really specific, and yet also really vague. We know it’s cold and snowy, but that could describe any number of places and any time between October and Spring. We know the person was on a narrow road, but that could mean just about anything. A couple of things are standing out to me, though.”
“Alright. I have a minute. Go ahead and talk it through.”
“It talks about the coat. This person only has pieces of the last one left. I think that’s significant. It doesn’t feel like these letters would just have random things thrown into them. Everything is carefully chosen. The other detail is the angel. It says the angel looked great. That it was perfect. I really don’t think that’s going to be a divine reference. This is something tangible the person saw.”
“Maybe an Angel of Death murder?” Sam says.
I give a hesitant nod and let out a sigh. “I thought of that, too. But I don’t think it fits. That’s a phrase that’s used in media and law enforcement. It’s not really something a victim’s family or friends would use, and I really doubt if we were able to have a chat with someone murdered by one of them that they would think of them as an angel. They usually kill in hospitals, nursing homes, things like that. Not outside. I guess it’s possible, but really unlikely. And that would mean a murder with a body, not a missing person.”
“True,” Sam says. “Maybe a church?”
“That’s my next thought. So, I’ve been doing research trying to find anything about people going missing near a church that would have any other of these details. I found one that went missing near a church and left behind a pair of shoes. And one that went missing from inside a church, but it was summer, so no snow. There is one who went missing after telling her sister she was going to church to see the nativity. She never got to the church and no one ever saw her again.”
“That’s promising. Anything about a coat?”
“It’s a start. The other pieces don’t really add up, but it’s something to look into.”
He kisses me on the top of the head, and I look up at him for another.
“You’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to some of the detectives, see if any of them have heard about a case with those kinds of markers. Why don’t you give Eric a call?”
“I already emailed him with a copy of the letter. He’s going to try to figure out if he can source the origin of the links and run the details through databases to see if he can find anything. I’m going to call Dean later and see if he knows anything,” I say.
“Good.”
He smiles at me for a second, and I look up at him from the screen again.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m just proud of you for being willing to ask for help now. I remember an Agent Emma Griffin, FBI, who never wanted to ask anybody to get involved in anything and insisted on doing everything herself,” he says.
“I’m persistent,” I shrug.
“You’re stubborn as an ox and about as flexible. You’d rather chase down a serial killer with no gun and no cell service than wait for backup to get there.”
“Sometimes there’s no time to wait for backup. And this isn’t a movie. I don’t always have my gun within fingertip reach, and it’s not going to be the first thing that goes through my mind when I need to react to something. If I have it with me or I see it and can grab it, great. But if I don’t or something happens and I need an instant response, I might not immediately think about going and getting my gun. There are times when having a higher chance of stopping a dangerous person is more important than making sure I’m armed,” I point out.
“I can definitely agree with that. But the point is, you are willing to
