calls about it, but I haven’t heard anything over the past couple days. How could that many people, cremated and otherwise, go unreported this long?”
“What if a majority of them were homeless people? Maybe this is the end result of an underground fight club or something. Ya know, kinda like bum wars, but without the losers walking away from it? That would explain the cremated remains as well. Maybe they just didn’t have time to torch all the bodies…”
Cora saw a pensive look on his face.
“What?”
“If my theory’s correct, and the more I roll the idea around my head, the more solid it seems… if it’s correct, then what does that make our suspect?”
Cora looked at him questioningly as she crossed her arms.
“I don’t follow.”
“Well, he was either a willing participant, which means he’s a murderer, or an unwilling participant, which means he’s a victim. Without his memory, it could go either way, but if he’s faking his amnesia, then maybe he was covering for someone. Someone who paid him a visit in the hospital room and tried to silence him. And that strange woman you’ve come across twice, Sybil was it? She’s involved with it somehow. Maybe she’s one of the organizers…”
“If all that’s true, then we need to find this guy quick before whoever killed Russo catches up to him and gets rid of another loose end.”
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Cora headed out to start checking out homeless shelters, after winning another round of rock, paper, scissors. Her partner was left investigating funeral homes and crematoriums. She just hoped her partner didn’t catch on someday or use something more random, like a coin-flip.
Based off the list she’d compiled, it’d probably take the better part of a couple days. She was actually surprised at the number of shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries scattered across the city. She spent a few minutes weighing her options. Starting with the shelters closest to the warehouse might turn something up. If this group was smart though, and she had to assume they were, then the best bet might be to start at the ones furthest from the warehouse since that would generate less scrutiny.
Another thought popped in her head. Assuming he had been telling the truth about not remembering who he was, her suspect might actually show up at one of those shelters as well. With that thought in mind, she turned on her GPS and set the address for the shelters closest to the hospital. As an afterthought, she cross-referenced with the ones closest to the alleyway disturbance. She found three that not only fit the criteria of being close to both the hospital and the alleyway, they were nearly in a direct path her suspect would have taken if he’d kept traveling in the same direction away from the hospital. With that, she hit the navigate button and headed out.
Chapter 10
After jogging for several blocks, Samuel figured he’d put enough distance between himself and the strange guys at the library. The whole situation seemed bizarre but, strangely enough, it felt somewhat familiar as well. He could feel the memories dangling just out of reach, like a spider’s web over his mind. Trying to focus on the men he saw, he tried to figure out why they felt so familiar.
Without warning, a stabbing pain ripped across his mind, causing him to stumble. As the pain intensified, he took faltering steps into a nearby alleyway, trying not to draw attention to himself. Staggering away from the mouth of the alleyway, he slumped to the ground. He focused on the pain, clenching his head between his hands. His head felt like it was going to explode as the sound of blood rushing in his ears intensified. After a few minutes, the pain lessened as he started getting disjointed images flashing through his mind. The most vivid memory flash was of him fighting a woman with red hair, dressed in similar attire as the men at the library. He could almost feel the impact vibrations as he used
Sadie Koenig
Robin Cook
Julie Carobini
H.J. Harper
Lani Woodland, Melonie Piper
Unknown
Lawrence Block
Jon Sharpe
Agatha Christie
Eric Van Lustbader