Why Me…: The Last Words Series Book 1 Read online

  He was sure that Katherine could tell a story or two about him if given a chance.

  The thought of her, like the many others he fooled himself with, made him take pause and remember that Katherine was gone. Too many times, he still referred to her in the present tense, and it only made it hurt more when he had to drag himself back to reality.

  He could still imagine the smell of her and hear her laughter in his dreams. She was still real, still alive in those thoughts, and that only reminded him that he still had hope.

  As Ethan reached the bottom of the article, his phone rang. It was Kevin Delaney. And this time, it wasn’t a surprise. Saving his number had been the first thing he did after his old friend had called with the tip. “Hey, Kevin.”

  “I got your message,” he said. “Come on down if you want. I’m at my desk now.”

  “Thanks. I will. I’m actually just around the corner having coffee.”

  “Smart move. The station coffee tastes like motor oil.” He gave a brief chuckle.

  “I’ve probably had worse,” Ethan said, thinking of the many places he’d punished his tastebuds. “I’ll be right over.”

  He ended the call and left a tip for the waitress as he got up from the table.

  After walking down the street to the station, Ethan went inside and noticed a crowd at the front desk. A man in front of him was looking for his teenage son and claimed the young man had taken off in his car without permission. Another woman next to him, who looked like a pill-head with a dead expression, slapped her hand down on the counter and demanded the man had cut in line.

  As the argument ensued, Kevin Delaney poked his red-haired head around the corner and waved him back. “Come on,” he said.

  Ethan quickly crossed the room and started to the back with him. “Thanks. I thought I was going to have to call you.”

  “Yeah, this place gets a little crazy after lunch.”

  A lot of departments got crazy busy now and then, but this place was a madhouse. There were officers all over the room instead of out on duty, and most were laughing and cracking jokes, and some were huddled up having what seemed to be intense conversations.

  It was certainly not as organized as Captain Bowden ran his precinct, but Ethan hoped that he would be able to get the answers he needed without any hassle or Thomas Asher looking over his shoulder.

  As they walked down the aisle between desks, Kevin looked over at him. “What was this video you found?”

  Ethan had a feeling when he showed Kevin, he would recognize it. “It’s spreading on the internet. I’ll be surprised if it hasn’t caught your attention already.” He showed him the video, and Kevin watched intently and cringed as the gun fired.

  “Oh man, that’s bad. No, I haven’t seen anything that violent going around. Jesus Christ.”

  “It’s about two days old at least. Someone had to have reported this girl missing at some point. By the plant life in the background, I’m guessing summer, so I think it was recent. And I was wondering if we could make a positive ID.”

  Kevin nodded as he let out a breath as if to shake off what he’d seen. “Okay, so, let’s get to my desk and figure out where to start.”

  “Will your captain care? Are you supposed to be doing something else?” He looked around the room and wondered if the captain had been locked in a closet somewhere.

  “Captain Payton won’t care. He’s with his girlfriend right now anyway. She’s been making him take dance lessons or something stupid like that. Meanwhile, we get to hold down the fort.”

  “I see.” All kinds of personal chatter was going on and a lot of laughter, which seemed out of place.

  Kevin shrugged it off as they reached the back row of desks that were situated against the wall. “Yeah, well, it’s kind of the honor system. And while I know it’s a bit laidback, we’re getting the work done. We’ve all been around awhile, and we know what is expected from us.”

  “I went to Bowden’s precinct.” Ethan gave him a look like the two places were night and day.

  “I feel sorry for those guys. They’ve really got it a lot worse, dealing with Bowden. That guy is a real hard ass.” Kevin pulled up a chair next to the one at what Ethan assumed was his desk.

  “He seemed like an okay guy.” Ethan didn’t know him enough to judge him. And he didn’t mind a bit of order in the workplace.

  The expression on Kevin’s face told Ethan a lot about what he thought of Bowden. “You haven’t ever seen him angry. Trust me. It’s something. Did you see Asher while you were there?” Ethan offered him the chair and sat down at the desk with him.

  “Yeah, he doesn’t come off as the kind of guy to be drinking out at the bars and getting wasted. He seems too serious for that kind of nonsense.”

  “Which is what made what happened even weirder. I mean, we all frequent Cuff’s now and then, but to get wasted like that? Nah, never happens. He’s lucky it wasn’t packed that night. The boys would be having a lot of fun over it.”

  “Well, he didn’t say there was any news on the case either.”

  “You asked him?” The man’s eyes widened. “Wow, you don’t waste any time.”

  “I worked it in. And I did the same with Bowden. He didn’t have anything on the Starr Asher case either.”

  Delaney gestured to his hand, where he still held on to the phone. “So, you’re here about this video.”

  “Yeah, for now.” Ethan took it back from him and placed the phone on the desk.

  “Where did you get it? It’s awful.”

  “Sarah Green. Do you know her?”

  Delaney’s brown eyes widened. “Shit. Isn’t she the woman who wrote that piece about Starr Asher and her brother? Some say that’s what killed the case.”

  That was the one. Ethan’s ears were still ringing over reading that piece. He hoped she had intended it would go better than it had. “For the record, I didn’t know about that at first. I just hoped she knew him since she showed up and spoke to him. They had a bit of a spat right in front of me, and I could tell they had a past. It got pretty heated for a minute, and I thought I’d have to step in, but he finally walked away.”

  “Damn. I’m telling you, man. He’s not balanced. I haven’t seen him often, but lately, when I do, he seems different. Difficult.”

  “I got that for sure. But he seemed too focused to be a drunk. I can’t imagine him acting that sloppy. Or being that careless.”

  “I saw what I saw, and I heard what I heard.” Kevin was so serious Ethan knew he would have taken it to the grave. He wouldn’t have called him if he hadn’t thought it was important.

  “I believe you.” He trusted Delaney more than most people. And he wouldn’t have bothered coming if he didn’t believe his story and concern.

  The man shrugged. “So, what now?”

  “I’m having dinner at Sarah’s place tonight. I thought if I could pick her brain, I might be able to figure out why Thomas would make such a claim about his sister and see if she knows anything else.”

  “Dude, you’re good. You’re in town a few hours and already have a date. It took me years to find one of these California chicks to put up with a redneck like me.”

  “It’s just business. And I hope it leads somewhere. But I told her I’d find out something about the girl in this video.”

  “It’s a snuff film,” said Kevin with a look of disgust. “Lowlifes. They lure these girls into it unsuspecting and make them think it’s an act before they really kill them. They never see it coming until it’s too late. Those assholes get off on the fear. They love it.”

  “I agree. It’s twisted. I need to know who she is. Do you think we could call missing persons and see if they have any information?”

  “You want Pam at the front desk. At least, I’d call her first. She knows everything that goes on around here. If someone called looking for this girl, she’d know it.”

  “That’s what I’m counting on. But we don’t have a name.”

  “Maybe the
y gave it to her. She might remember or have a list. She’s pretty good about keeping up with things.”

  Ethan picked up the phone as Kevin reached over and hit the extension. When the phone rang, Ethan cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m Agent Charles. I was wondering if I could speak with Pam.”

  “This is Pam. How can I help you, Agent Charles?” She had a humored tone in her voice, and it made Ethan smile.

  “I just needed to see if anyone had called in recently to ask about a missing woman.”

  “I get a lot of those calls every week. What’s the name?”

  “I’m not sure. I hoped you had a list or something? This would have been in the last couple of days. No, earlier.”

  She went quiet all of a sudden, but he could still her breathing. After a deep intake of breath, she said, “I did have one call. The man almost sounded like he was trying to disguise his voice. It didn’t sit right with me for some reason. I think I made a note of it. But I have been pretty busy lately.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know who it was who called, would you?”

  “No, there isn’t a note, and I remember he didn’t leave a name, which is odd. Most people give me that much. I asked if he wanted to make a report, but he said that he’d call around and check and get back to me. Before I could convince him to tell me who he was, he hung up.”

  “Oh, well, I’m afraid that’s not much help.” Ethan needed names or something that would lead him to one.

  Pam groaned. “Well, before you go getting all disappointed, I do have an idea. I record all of the calls, and I know this one came in yesterday around three.”

  “Could you look it up for me and get the name?”

  “Nuh uh. But you could look it up yourself, Mr. Agent Charles.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “You’re right. I can do that, can’t I?” He wasn’t going to argue with the woman. She clearly wasn’t rattled by titles.

  Kevin chuckled. “Tell her you’re with me. Pam loves me.”

  Ethan thought he’d give it a shot. “It’s okay. I think my buddy, Officer Delaney, can help me out.”

  “You know Kevin?” Pam asked with a bit of interest in her tone.

  “I’m with him at his desk now. He’s the one who suggested I call you. He said you were the one person in this department who knew everything.”

  “Hey, Pam,” said Kevin, leaning in so she could hear him.

  Pam let out a wheeze that he was sure was supposed to be a laugh. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’ll send the file right over. It should be timestamped and fairly easy for you to find.”

  “Thanks, Pam.” Ethan shook his head as he prepared to hang up.

  “Thank you, Mr. Agent Charles.” Her voice was as sweet as honey before she ended the call.

  “She’s something else,” said Ethan, putting the phone receiver back on the dock. “Hates me one minute, but she sure warmed up to me quick.”

  “You’re welcome. Everyone here loves her.”

  “Well, after name-dropping, she’s sending over the file. It’s a call from yesterday we’re looking for. Around three p.m.”

  Kevin moved in closer to his desk to pull up his email on the computer. “It shouldn’t take her long to find it.”

  A moment later, the new email made a ping, and Kevin opened the attached audio file.

  “That’s perfect,” said Ethan. “Now, let’s hope it gives us something.”

  They listened to the call where the man’s voice was muffled as if he was trying to disguise it. “Yeah, can you tell me if you have a Cassie Ryan locked up at the present time?”

  Pam sounded bored as she told them to hold. When she returned, she told him no and offered to file a report, just like she had said. The man refused and said he’d call back later.

  “It does sound disguised,” said Ethan. “That’s why it stuck out to her. Does it sound like anyone you know?”

  “No, not really. It could be anyone. Who knows why people do stupid things? If they didn’t, we’d be out of jobs.”

  “Well, at least we have a name. Cassie Ryan. Let’s look it up.”

  Kevin went to work typing in the name on the computer. “I can check and see if she has a record too.”

  “Good idea. And I’ll check social media.” He took out his phone and did a search on her.

  “How do we know this girl doesn’t live in a different country or state?”

  Ethan waved his hand. “YouVerse is set up with local pages where people in the same cities can share within the city. Each post shows the location. It was at the top of the video file. The video was posted locally, so that much we know.”

  “It should be traceable.”

  “Should be. Let’s see if I can clip a photo from the video. I bet if we do a reverse image search, we’ll find a lot of hits.”

  “Preferably one before the bullet,” said Ethan.

  Ethan looked up at Kevin, who closed his eyes, realizing he probably shouldn’t have said that.

  “Sorry,” he said. “It’s just not every day you see that, thankfully.”

  Ethan grabbed a still shot from the footage and moved it to a reverse photo generator that would show other photos like it.

  “This is her,” said Ethan, showing Kevin the phone. “I’d know those eyes anywhere.” They had been haunting him since he saw the video for the first time.

  “Sadly, I think you’re right,” said Kevin, looking over from the computer screen.

  “She’s some kind of influencer.” Ethan looked at the page, which was a private one, and realized it contained a watermark over all of the photos. It was very hard to see, but not impossible. “Do you see the watermark? Is that RC?”

  “Maybe it’s just for Cassie Ryan, but reversed?”

  “No. I don’t think so. And look at this logo.” He pointed to the top of the entertainment page. He’d seen it before.

  “She doesn’t have too many followers,” said Kevin, who was still too wrapped up in the page and not checking the database. “That’s probably why the video hasn’t gone viral. Most of her followers are from out of the country too.”

  “Well, at least we have a name. Do you think she has a record?” He gestured to the computer to get Kevin back on track.

  Kevin let his fingers go to work, and shortly after, the screen changed and brought up a file from eight months ago. “No. She doesn’t have a criminal record. She did have some traffic tickets that she had trouble paying, but that was eventually handled. One was no license. The car was registered to a Collier, Roald. It looks like he is the one who paid the fines.”

  “Roald Collier. RC.” Ethan went to the search bar and looked up Roald Collier. And when the results popped up, there were plenty of other women’s names to go with it.

  Ethan couldn’t believe his eyes. The man was a huge talent manager and investor.

  “Damn, look at this. He not only had represented Cassie Ryan, but he had represented Starr Asher too!” Kevin grew excited. “Holy shit. That’s crazy! Do you think it means something?”

  “I don’t know,” said Ethan, not sure what to make of the revelation. “But I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

  Chapter 6

  Sarah

  It was nearly seven when Sarah finally got the casserole in the oven. “Get in there and behave yourself,” she said, shutting the oven door.

  “Mom always said that when she was trying something new,” said Alice as she came into the kitchen and took a seat at the island bar.

  “I haven’t made it before, but it looks like the photo that came with the recipe.”

  “You found the recipe online? Are you sure you could handle it? It’s not like you’re a cook.”

  “Hey, I can cook. Besides, how bad could you go wrong with a pasta bake?”

  “Pasta bake?”

  “Yes, now help me with the salad.”

  “Why are you going through the trouble?”

  “Because we have a guest coming.”

  “W
ho?” Alice rolled her eyes. “Is this why you insisted I be around for dinner? Because if this is some weird guy you want to date, I’d rather be scarce.”

  Sarah hadn’t bothered explaining, hoping to do so in person instead of through a text. “No. It’s not a date. I met someone today who is going to talk to us about the video. I did what you said, and I got someone to look at it. He wanted to talk about it and thought it would be good to talk to you too.”

  “Really? Why would he want to talk to me? And why is he coming to dinner? Shouldn’t we go down to the station and talk to him or something?”

  “He’s with the FBI.”

  Alice’s eyes widened. “FBI? No fooling? Does that mean it’s real? That lady really died?”

  “It seems like it.”

  “Oh, man. Wait until everyone hears about this. They all think it’s some deep fake, but I told them it looked too real.”

  “No, you’re not going to talk to anyone about it. Not until we find out what’s going on. The last thing I need is for you to get in trouble or tip off the wrong person with your newfound knowledge.”

  “Oh, I get it. You want the exclusive. Relax, none of my friends read your stupid boomer mag anyway.”

  “It’s not about that.”

  There came a knock at the door. “Oh no! He’s here! I wanted to be finished. Get on the salad! Open the bag and add tomatoes and cucumbers. Can you do that?”

  The real question was, would she do that?

  Alice rolled her eyes and nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

  Sarah made her way to the front as she took off the apron that she had put on to protect her clothes. She stopped long enough to do a quick check of her hair in the mirror at the entry.

  “Gosh,” she said, seeing a splash of pasta sauce had somehow ended up on her cheek. She licked her thumb and wiped it off as the knocking returned for another round. “I’m coming!”

  Sarah couldn’t believe her nerves, but it was the first time she’d had a guest over for dinner since her mother had passed away.

  She opened the door to find Agent Ethan Charles holding a bottle of wine. He had changed out of his suit and now wore a nice pair of casual jeans and a button-down with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms.