knock at his door. He looked up to find Steven Loomis standing in his doorway.
Loomis looked tired and weary, but there was an intensity to the man that was unmistakable. It was the eyes more than anything. Grady had seen eyes like that before, eyes that had witnessed death and had peered into hell only to come out on the other side with a certain calculated coldness. The difference was that Loomis wasn’t a psychopath or a sociopath. He was clearly an extremely intelligent and controlled guy with no tolerance for bullshit and the highest level of motivation anyone could have.
Grady sat back down in his chair, “Mr. Loomis, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Loomis came into the office without being invited and sat down in the chair in front of Grady’s desk. He smiled a thin, knowing smile, “I ran into Detective Mullins on the way in. He mentioned you guys might have caught a break.”
Grady gave Loomis a deadpan look and took his time responding. Loomis was testing him; he was trying to find out just how much they would be willing to share with him.
If Grady had read this guy correctly, he already knew they had caught a break and knew just what that break was. “Yes, yes, we did. Well, I don’t really like to think about the disappearance of two little girls as a break, but yes, two girls went missing that had a clear link between them.
“They were friends and schoolmates. Their families know each other and have attended a lot of recitals and school activities together.”
Loomis was nodding, pleased that Grady was not going to try to shut him out. It was the smart play; their way of keeping him informed just enough for him not do anything on his own. “So you are working off of a hypothesis that whoever took them had to have been around both of them at some point and that narrows down the list, yes?”
It was Grady’s turn to nod, “That’s right. You’re in the business, do you believe it is just coincidence?”
Loomis answered, “No, not in something like this. I get it. The other girls were completely unrelated to one another, they had nothing in common.” He had to fight through the rage that welled up when he referred to Tracy as one of the other girls, and Grady could see it in his face.
The jaw clenching and the eyes becoming colder, Loomis went on, “So there was no pattern to follow, they all seemed like they had been taken during a hunting expedition when the opportunity presented itself, when he saw what he wanted, and with Mia Reynolds and Emily Wu, he had to have seen them together or somehow know both of them. I get it.”
Grady folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward, he knew why Loomis had explained it to him.
He wanted Grady to know exactly how good his sources were, “Very good, Mr. Loomis. I’m not going to ask how you have the names of the two missing girls or how you came to formulate your scenario, because to be honest I don’t want to know.
“I would just ask that you do not in any way interfere or compromise any part of this investigation. If you can do that, I can guarantee that I will be absolutely honest with you and will keep you informed as much as it is legally possible.”
Grady got a sideways response, “As much as it is legally possible?”
Grady held up his hands, “Hey, I told you what you find out on your own and how you find it is none of my business, I don’t want to know.”
Loomis leaned back in his chair. They were on the same page. “Fair enough. Thank you for your time, detective.”
As Steven got up to leave, Grady threw out another caveat, “And I will expect the same courtesy from you, Mr. Loomis. You’ll let us know if you happen to run across something interesting, right?”
Steven turned around, “Sure, but I thought the NYPD wasn’t too keen on civilians being a part of the investigation.”
Grady crossed his arms and smiled, “The NYPD doesn’t like civilians involved in a criminal case, especially one like this one,
Loomis looked tired and weary, but there was an intensity to the man that was unmistakable. It was the eyes more than anything. Grady had seen eyes like that before, eyes that had witnessed death and had peered into hell only to come out on the other side with a certain calculated coldness. The difference was that Loomis wasn’t a psychopath or a sociopath. He was clearly an extremely intelligent and controlled guy with no tolerance for bullshit and the highest level of motivation anyone could have.
Grady sat back down in his chair, “Mr. Loomis, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Loomis came into the office without being invited and sat down in the chair in front of Grady’s desk. He smiled a thin, knowing smile, “I ran into Detective Mullins on the way in. He mentioned you guys might have caught a break.”
Grady gave Loomis a deadpan look and took his time responding. Loomis was testing him; he was trying to find out just how much they would be willing to share with him.
If Grady had read this guy correctly, he already knew they had caught a break and knew just what that break was. “Yes, yes, we did. Well, I don’t really like to think about the disappearance of two little girls as a break, but yes, two girls went missing that had a clear link between them.
“They were friends and schoolmates. Their families know each other and have attended a lot of recitals and school activities together.”
Loomis was nodding, pleased that Grady was not going to try to shut him out. It was the smart play; their way of keeping him informed just enough for him not do anything on his own. “So you are working off of a hypothesis that whoever took them had to have been around both of them at some point and that narrows down the list, yes?”
It was Grady’s turn to nod, “That’s right. You’re in the business, do you believe it is just coincidence?”
Loomis answered, “No, not in something like this. I get it. The other girls were completely unrelated to one another, they had nothing in common.” He had to fight through the rage that welled up when he referred to Tracy as one of the other girls, and Grady could see it in his face.
The jaw clenching and the eyes becoming colder, Loomis went on, “So there was no pattern to follow, they all seemed like they had been taken during a hunting expedition when the opportunity presented itself, when he saw what he wanted, and with Mia Reynolds and Emily Wu, he had to have seen them together or somehow know both of them. I get it.”
Grady folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward, he knew why Loomis had explained it to him.
He wanted Grady to know exactly how good his sources were, “Very good, Mr. Loomis. I’m not going to ask how you have the names of the two missing girls or how you came to formulate your scenario, because to be honest I don’t want to know.
“I would just ask that you do not in any way interfere or compromise any part of this investigation. If you can do that, I can guarantee that I will be absolutely honest with you and will keep you informed as much as it is legally possible.”
Grady got a sideways response, “As much as it is legally possible?”
Grady held up his hands, “Hey, I told you what you find out on your own and how you find it is none of my business, I don’t want to know.”
Loomis leaned back in his chair. They were on the same page. “Fair enough. Thank you for your time, detective.”
As Steven got up to leave, Grady threw out another caveat, “And I will expect the same courtesy from you, Mr. Loomis. You’ll let us know if you happen to run across something interesting, right?”
Steven turned around, “Sure, but I thought the NYPD wasn’t too keen on civilians being a part of the investigation.”
Grady crossed his arms and smiled, “The NYPD doesn’t like civilians involved in a criminal case, especially one like this one,
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