We returned to the station late in the day. Our second shift guys had already arrived, and Tony was filling them in. I limped to my desk with a roomful of eyeballs watching my every move.
“Step on a rock?” Kip asked.
“No—new shoes. Stupid on my part to walk miles in shoes that aren’t broken in.”
“You should keep a comfortable pair in your—”
I held up my hand at Kip’s suggestion. “Believe me, I’ve already gotten an earful from Mills.” I took a seat in my chair, peeled off the shoes and socks from my aching feet, and pulled two Band-Aids from my desk drawer. I placed one on each heel and put my socks back on.
The room erupted with gags and nose pinches.
“Real funny. Has anyone heard from Billy or Todd about Callie’s laptop?”
Tony responded for the group. “Yeah. As a matter of fact, Billy said they checked out Callie’s social media posts for the last few days.”
“And what did she write?”
“That she was going to Lindsay’s party at the Regency and she would post the pictures today.”
I huffed. “And that didn’t happen for obvious reasons. Does Tech still have the computer?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
I jerked my head at Tony. “Would you mind bringing it up here? Make sure you get all the log-ins too.”
“Sure thing, Gimpy.” Tony rose and walked out.
Seconds later, Shawn and Henry walked in. They greeted us with groans and mutters.
“What does all that mean in English?” I asked.
Henry groused. “It means we don’t have anything more than we had this morning.”
Frank ran his hand through his buzz-cut hair. “It’s a process of elimination, Johnson. What we do know is that nobody witnessed the attack, but we have the approximate time it happened. We also know that the perp dumped the purse in the trash at the Quick Fill station but didn’t board the Ninety-Fifth Street train.”
I added my two cents. “Callie didn’t have any known enemies, and she was an honor student who was taking nursing courses at the state university. She never filed any complaints with the university police. We know where she lived, and we’ve spoken to her roommates and best friend, Danielle. Hell, for one day, I think we have a lot.”
“I guess if you look at it that way, you’re right. We didn’t see anyone follow her out of the terminal either,” Henry said.
“But,” Frank said.
Everyone turned to him.
“We did see somebody tailing her when she turned off of Ninety-Fifth onto South Prairie.”
I raised my hands when everybody began firing questions at us at the same time.
Frank continued. “The man—or woman—was too far from the camera, and the lighting was too dark to tell anything other than there was a figure following about fifty feet behind her and they turned the same way she did.”
Kip shook his head. “Shit.”
The room went silent. I was sure we were all thinking the same thing—Callie had only minutes to live.
The bullpen door opened, and Tony walked in. “Here you go.” He set the laptop and a slip of paper on my desk.
“Thanks, buddy. All her social media friends need to be spoken with.”
“And that’s something we can start tonight,” Chuck said. “Go home and take a load off, you guys. We can handle this.”
“Not the worst idea. I wouldn’t mind soaking my feet.” I slipped on my shoes, gathered my belongings, and headed out with our day shift detectives. Frank and I stopped at Lutz’s office as we passed. He looked to be packing it up for the day too. “Night shift has the reins, Boss. I need to get home and take off these shoes.”
“You should keep—”
“Don’t say it. I’ll fill my damn trunk with extra shoes so I never have to deal with this problem again. The night shift guys are going to call Callie’s social media friends and see what they know.”
“Good idea. Okay, then, I’ll see you boys in the morning.”
Frank and I parted ways in the parking lot. Since I’d been at the job for more than twelve hours, I was happy to be heading home, and as I drove, I envisioned a recliner and a cold beer in my immediate future.