The Lost Souls (A Logan and Scarlett Thriller Book 3) by Dan Padavona

Author:Dan Padavona [Padavona, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

27

As Bell sifted through Jake O’Brachta’s background information, searching for something important she might have missed, Detective Alvarado set the phone down and wheeled her chair to Bell’s laptop.

“The cable company agreed to send Hallie Gleason’s phone records,” Alvarado said. “They should arrive any second now.”

Though Gleason owned a cell, as had Abigail Shaw, her cable television plan included a phone the two women had shared. Alvarado opened her email.

“Did you get it?” asked Bell.

“I’ll send the document to the printer.”

The printer hummed to life and spit out five pages. Alvarado snatched the records and brought them back to her desk.

“These days, most people use mobile phones,” Bell said. “That’s an extraordinary number of calls to a house phone.”

“And it appears they’re all received calls, most from the same number.” Alvarado turned the papers to face Bell and tapped a fingernail on the first page. “See what I mean?”

Bell whistled. “There must be almost a hundred calls over a two-month period.”

Alvarado pulled out her notes. “That’s O’Brachta’s number. He’s our crank caller.”

Was Deputy Director Carter right about the former boyfriend being the killer?

“Talk about obsessive. We need to get him back in here. These calls change everything.”

“I’ll phone him now. If he gives me the runaround, we’ll send an officer to his apartment.”

They didn’t have to wait long. Alvarado reached O’Brachta at home, and he agreed to come in. The detective impressed Bell with her soothing voice and the way she made it appear they just had a few follow-up questions to ask. He had already threatened to bring a lawyer if they pushed too hard, so it was important they gain his trust, then catch him off guard.

At nine thirty, an officer escorted the suspect to the interview room.

“Here we go again,” Alvarado said. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I will ever be,” said Bell. “This time we’ll double-team him.”

“Good cop, bad cop?”

“More like mean cop, meaner cop. Let’s put the fear of God into him.”

Unlike during the initial interview, O’Brachta appeared relaxed, almost disinterested as he sat in the same chair he’d chosen last time. He glanced up when Bell and Alvarado entered.

“I hope this won’t take long,” he said. “I need to be at work by eleven. What’s this all about?”

They sat across from the suspect.

“We have additional questions about your relationship with Abigail Shaw,” said Alvarado, staring him down. “Yesterday Agent Bell asked you if you had followed Abigail after the breakup. You claimed the meetings at the clubs were coincidental.”

“They were.”

“Did you ever call Abigail after she ended the relationship?”

“Once or twice. I deserved an explanation. We’d gone together for two years, and she didn’t want to see me anymore.”

“That’s understandable, but I think you called her more than once or twice.”

“That’s a load of crap. Why would I keep calling her? I moved on.”

“But you didn’t move on,” Bell said, smiling. “You still loved Abigail, and you never let her out of your sight. That’s why you showed up whenever Hallie and Abigail hit the clubs.

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