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Authors: Colleen Helme
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gosh! That’s Tom Souvall. I went to school with him. We graduated the same year!”
“No kidding?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know he’d died. This is awful.” I could hardly believe it. I’d had a huge crush on him, and we’d dated for a while, but after high school we lost touch. He even took me to prom, and I’d always had a soft spot in my heart for him. “So you never caught the person who did this?”
“No. All our leads dried up. We finally came to the conclusion that it was a random act of violence, probably by a homeless drug-user who got close enough to kill him for some quick cash.”
“But what was he doing in that part of town?”
“He went down there occasionally to help at the homeless shelter. He liked to bring food and help serve people. His wife said his older brother was homeless and died from a drug overdose, so that was the reason Tom wanted to help where he could.”
“That’s just so sad,” I said.
“Yeah. He has two kids. I was the one who had to tell his family. I’ll never forget how devastated they were. I promised them that I’d find the person responsible...” He let out a huge sigh. “But I didn’t. I feel like I let them down.”
“I’m sorry. If you want...I’ll take a look, but don’t hold your breath.”
His eyes lost that touch of sadness, and his face brightened. “Thanks Shelby. I really appreciate it.”
“Sure,” I said, tucking the folder into my purse.
“Now...what was it you needed to talk to me about?”
“Oh...yeah. Um...just a sec.” I tiptoed to the door and yanked it open just to make sure Bates wasn’t standing there. He wasn’t...and it kind of disappointed me, but I just shrugged and headed back to Dimples. He was wondering what the heck I was doing. “It’s about Chloe. I know where she is.”
“You do? Is she okay?”
“Yes, but there’s a slight problem.” I told him everything, ending with the fact that she was now at my house, and a cop was probably after her.
“Oh man, seriously? Did she give you a description of the cop?”
“Yes. But he didn’t look familiar to me...I mean...he didn’t sound like anyone I’ve met here, but I was thinking that if you had pictures of all your cops somewhere, like on a roster, I could take a look. Maybe one of them would match?”
Dimples’ brows drew together in confusion. I was talking like I’d seen the guy. That didn’t make any sense, unless I was lying and I had seen him. But that didn’t make any sense either.
“Um...or...I guess we could show Chloe the pictures. Anyway...what should we do? Her parents need to know she’s okay. But we don’t want the cop to know where to find her, right? Since he might want to kill her?”
“Yes...of course. We need to keep her safe.” He was thinking that the first thing he needed to do was tell Chief Winder.
“Before we tell everyone she’s been found, we should figure out who the cop is, right?” I asked. “Why don’t you let me take a quick look at the roster while you talk to the chief...just in case I pick up something with my premonitions?”
“Uh...okay...sure,” Dimples agreed, slightly dazed that I knew he was going to talk to the chief.
I followed him upstairs to his desk, passing Bates, who outwardly ignored me but was mentally keeping track of my every move.
Dimples sat in front of his computer and pulled up the resource file with the names and photos of every cop in the precinct. “Okay...here you go.”
“Wait. He wasn’t in uniform...shouldn’t that narrow it down?”
“No...everyone in the photos has on a uniform whether they wear them to work or not.”
“Oh...okay.”
He vacated the seat, and I quickly sat down to begin the process. Scrolling through the photos and remembering Chloe’s mental images made it hard to decipher who it could be. There were a few that could be a match, but that didn’t make it a sure thing.
By the time I got done, I had two names that were best guesses, and I
“No kidding?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know he’d died. This is awful.” I could hardly believe it. I’d had a huge crush on him, and we’d dated for a while, but after high school we lost touch. He even took me to prom, and I’d always had a soft spot in my heart for him. “So you never caught the person who did this?”
“No. All our leads dried up. We finally came to the conclusion that it was a random act of violence, probably by a homeless drug-user who got close enough to kill him for some quick cash.”
“But what was he doing in that part of town?”
“He went down there occasionally to help at the homeless shelter. He liked to bring food and help serve people. His wife said his older brother was homeless and died from a drug overdose, so that was the reason Tom wanted to help where he could.”
“That’s just so sad,” I said.
“Yeah. He has two kids. I was the one who had to tell his family. I’ll never forget how devastated they were. I promised them that I’d find the person responsible...” He let out a huge sigh. “But I didn’t. I feel like I let them down.”
“I’m sorry. If you want...I’ll take a look, but don’t hold your breath.”
His eyes lost that touch of sadness, and his face brightened. “Thanks Shelby. I really appreciate it.”
“Sure,” I said, tucking the folder into my purse.
“Now...what was it you needed to talk to me about?”
“Oh...yeah. Um...just a sec.” I tiptoed to the door and yanked it open just to make sure Bates wasn’t standing there. He wasn’t...and it kind of disappointed me, but I just shrugged and headed back to Dimples. He was wondering what the heck I was doing. “It’s about Chloe. I know where she is.”
“You do? Is she okay?”
“Yes, but there’s a slight problem.” I told him everything, ending with the fact that she was now at my house, and a cop was probably after her.
“Oh man, seriously? Did she give you a description of the cop?”
“Yes. But he didn’t look familiar to me...I mean...he didn’t sound like anyone I’ve met here, but I was thinking that if you had pictures of all your cops somewhere, like on a roster, I could take a look. Maybe one of them would match?”
Dimples’ brows drew together in confusion. I was talking like I’d seen the guy. That didn’t make any sense, unless I was lying and I had seen him. But that didn’t make any sense either.
“Um...or...I guess we could show Chloe the pictures. Anyway...what should we do? Her parents need to know she’s okay. But we don’t want the cop to know where to find her, right? Since he might want to kill her?”
“Yes...of course. We need to keep her safe.” He was thinking that the first thing he needed to do was tell Chief Winder.
“Before we tell everyone she’s been found, we should figure out who the cop is, right?” I asked. “Why don’t you let me take a quick look at the roster while you talk to the chief...just in case I pick up something with my premonitions?”
“Uh...okay...sure,” Dimples agreed, slightly dazed that I knew he was going to talk to the chief.
I followed him upstairs to his desk, passing Bates, who outwardly ignored me but was mentally keeping track of my every move.
Dimples sat in front of his computer and pulled up the resource file with the names and photos of every cop in the precinct. “Okay...here you go.”
“Wait. He wasn’t in uniform...shouldn’t that narrow it down?”
“No...everyone in the photos has on a uniform whether they wear them to work or not.”
“Oh...okay.”
He vacated the seat, and I quickly sat down to begin the process. Scrolling through the photos and remembering Chloe’s mental images made it hard to decipher who it could be. There were a few that could be a match, but that didn’t make it a sure thing.
By the time I got done, I had two names that were best guesses, and I
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