The River Girls by Melinda Woodhall

Author:Melinda Woodhall [Woodhall, Melinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Creative Magnolia
Published: 2018-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nessa watched the four detectives file into the briefing room. She leaned against a whiteboard that spanned the length of one wall, anxious for the men to settle in.

Detectives Marc Ingram and Ruben Ortiz sat together at a metal table near the front of the room. They arranged their mugs of coffee, laptops, tablets, cell phones and a selection of power supplies around them, before nodding to Detective Reinhardt who had arrived empty-handed. The older detective leaned against the back wall and folded his arms across his chest.

Detective Jankowski came in last and sat down at a table by himself. He removed his black leather backpack and began unpacking files, a notepad, and a variety of electronic gadgets.

“I see you guys like to travel light,” Nessa said, taking a sip of coffee from her own big mug. “Can we get started, or does anyone need to use the little boy’s room first?”

None of the men cracked a smile. Nessa raised her eyebrows and sighed to herself.

This is going to be a rough crowd, Nessa. Don’t let them get to you.

“Okay, well thanks everyone for getting over here so quickly,” Nessa said, using her all-business voice.

“As ya’ll know, Chief Kramer has asked me to head up a task force to investigate the murders of the two girls found in the river this week. Based on the short time span between the two killings, we’re worried the offender won’t waste time picking his next victim.”

“I’m partnering with Nessa on this one,” Jankowski said in a loud voice as he leaned back in his chair and looked around the room. “We appreciate your help.”

Nessa stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decide if she should waste time on a sarcastic remark about alpha males feeling the need to mark their territory, or if she should just grit her teeth and move on. She turned to the whiteboard where she had taped up two photos and took a deep breath. She had to keep herself calm and detached.

You’re a professional, she reminded herself, then began to speak without looking around.

“The first victim was Jessica Carmichael. A sixteen-year-old white female. She’d been a student at Holy Cross High School up until her mother was incarcerated in March, at which time the victim was displaced, moving between friends and family. She hadn’t been seen by any of her acquaintances for over two weeks but was only officially reported missing on Wednesday. Her body was then found in the Willow River on Thursday.”

Nessa stopped to take a breath, staring at the photos. Jessica Carmichael’s tenth-grade school picture showed a girl with big, gray eyes and long brown hair parted on the side. High cheek bones and rosebud lips transformed her from plain to pretty. The other photo was a mugshot.

Jankowski stood and strode to the whiteboard, tapping a long finger on the mugshot.

“The second victim has just been identified as Brandi Long. She’d been arrested in Tallahassee last year on a drug charge, so her prints were in the FDLE database when the M.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.