The Missing Slipper by Sandra Nikolai

Author:Sandra Nikolai [Nikolai, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vemcort Publishing

I met up with Ryan in the kitchen minutes later. “There are no new comments on Vicky’s website page or calls on the Info-Crime line.”

“You can’t expect a steady flow, Amber. Feedback from the public is unpredictable.” He poured coffee into a cup. “I’m hoping that new leads surface from the evidence Michael Elliott promised to hand over.”

“Speaking of leads, why didn’t you mention our suspicions about the white van to him?”

“Because we don’t have solid proof.”

That may be true, yet I sensed that he wanted to give himself an advantage in solving the case. “You could have shared that detail. We can use all the help we can get.”

Ryan stirred milk in his coffee. “Deep down, Michael is a journalist in search of a banner story. I didn’t want him to go chasing after every white van in the area.”

“I doubt he’d waste his time doing that. He seemed pretty serious to me.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, we don’t have any solid proof to offer.”

His mind was made up. I deviated to another topic. “Megan said they noticed fairy-tale links in other cold case files they were reviewing. Our three suspects might be linked to more abductions. It wouldn’t hurt to skim through other files.”

He took a sip of coffee, then placed his cup on the counter. “Vicky Johnson’s case has taken all our time so far. We can’t do the legwork for more cases right now.”

“Then we’d better find a damn new strategy before it’s too late,” I blurted in anger.

Ryan raised his hands in the air. “Slow down! What’s this all about?”

“You want the truth?”

“Yes.”

I folded my arms. “You didn’t have to make it sound as if I were a trainee. I put my fair share of effort into this investigation too, you know.”

He drew his eyebrows together, concentrating. “You’re taking it the wrong way, Amber. I was trying to show them that we were on top of things, that Vicky’s case had our attention long before they came on board.”

Recognizing his sincerity, I stopped. My venting wasn’t going to get me far anyway. My job would vanish in a second if Ryan thought I was trying to top his efforts. I had to persuade him to join forces with me and speak with the lieutenant.

I changed my focus. “Okay. If we really want to show the lieutenant we’re making progress, we should listen to Michael. We need to reach out to the public in a different way and ask for their help with the case. A video reenactment is a terrific solution.”

“I would have jumped at the chance, Amber, but we have a limited budget,” Ryan said. “Producing a video can run into thousands of dollars. The lieutenant won’t go for it.”

“If we don’t ask, we won’t know.”

“Right now?”

“Why not?”

He appeared to be running a scene through his mind. “Okay. Let’s discuss the fine points first. We have to make a convincing argument.”

After a brainstorming session, we met with the lieutenant. He listened as we updated him on the Cinderella case and our recent discussion with Michael and Megan.

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