took pity on him and didnât come back with the obvious response. I took a few deep breaths while he watched me nervously.
As I expected, I was starting to feel better.
âTerry,â I asked casually, âhave you ever heard the name Marc Hastings?â
In exaggerated slow motion, his eyes widened. âHe was a cop ⦠twenty-five, thirty years ago. Before my time, but Iâve heard he worked on this caseâthe missing girlsâand then one day he just up and quit the department. Moved away up north somewhere.â He fixed an eye on me. âFunny youâd ask.â
âWhy?â
âBecause Hastings walked in here this morning and asked to see the remains.â
My head snapped up. âWhat?â
âYeah. Just showed up out of the blue and demanded to see them. Left about a half hour before you got here.â
âYou let him?â
He shrugged. âI figured, you know, why not? Heâd worked the case for years. From what Iâve heard, the whole thing got to himâgirls vanishing, no bodies, no cluesâscrewed up his head and basically ended his career. I told him we had nothing firm on the IDs. He said he understood but he just wanted to take a look. Put his mind at rest, he said.â Terry stopped. He seemed to be pondering something. âAnother funny thingâ¦â
âWhat?â
âWhen I showed him the locket, he got sick. Just like you.â
Â
9
âDo you know how spooky this is?â
I guess I was yelling, because Annie appeared in my doorway, looking alarmed. I waved her off.
Sam was still in meetings, and I hadnât had a chance to report to him on my visit to the morgue. Iâd been sitting at my desk for more than an hour, staring at a stack of pending files, all marked URGENT . I hadnât touched them. Iâd been too busy mulling over my series of recent encounters with Marc Hastings, turning them over and over in my mind. Suffice it to say, I was pretty wound up when my phone rang and Annie told me Harrison Ford was on the line.
âI suppose it might seem that way,â Hastings replied. His voice was calm, and he was speaking so quietly, I had to press the receiver to my ear to hear him.
â Might? You leave me eight missing person reports from a case thatâs been gathering dust for thirty years, and less than a week later, two of the bodies show up! Some creep attacks me in my car, and guess who conveniently happens to be standing nearby, ready to come to the rescue? I go to the morgue this morning to discuss a case that the press hasnât even been told about, and discover that youâve already been there, snooping around. Who the hell are you, Mr. Hastings, and what are you up to?â
âJust a citizen trying to help you, Claire. I know you can break this case.â
âBreak this case? Thatâs the policeâs job! Iâm just the lawyer! You were a cop ⦠you know how it works! Look, I understand! I do! You worked this case, you never broke it, it eats at you! But if youâve got some information that will help, stop following me around and talk to CID!â
âYou mean, talk to Lieutenant Lipinski? Excuse the language, my dear, but you and I both know the man couldnât find his ass in a locked room!â
âIâm not your âdearâ!â I snapped. I wasnât giving him an inch.
âFair enough.â His voice changed, as if Iâd touched a nerve. âPlease listen carefully, Claire. Iâll talk to you, and only you. Call me when youâre ready.â
âCall you when Iâm ready? Have you heard a single word I said?â
âYes, I have,â he replied. âNow you need to think about what Iâve said.â
He ended the call.
At that second, Annie reappeared in my doorway. She caught the furious expression on my face as I slammed down the phone. âPlease donât kill the
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