Ever since Emma Wild Day, some of the guys at the police station were aware of who I was now. Before I was just the crazy chick that was always following Sterling around on cases.
However, Sterling would never talk about his love life to his colleagues. He was just that private.
When I came in, the guys greeted me with more enthusiasm than I’d received in the past. I flashed them a smile and told them I was here to see Sterling. Some of their eyes lingered on me, even though I was in a puffy winter coat. I did make an effort with hair and makeup that day. I hadn’t officially seen Sterling for three weeks, after all.
His office door was wide open, but before I went in, I peeked through his office’s big glass window. Sterling looked like he hadn’t slept all night. He had dark circles under his eyes and a thick five o’clock shadow that made him look more rugged than ever. His dark hair was perfectly messed up and the light of his grey eyes had dimmed from their usual brightness.
I poked my head in the door. “Hey.”
He looked up, slightly startled by the sight of me.
“Emma, hi. What are you doing here?”
Smiling seemed to take all his energy, but he smiled nonetheless. In his stressed out state, I appreciated the effort.
“How’s it going with the case?” I asked eagerly.
“It’s been hectic,” he said.
“What have you done so far?”
“I’ve been talking to the mayor’s family to get leads.”
I sat down on the chair across from his desk. “So what have you found? Have you received further communication from the kidnapper?”
“No.” Sterling looked deflated. “Nothing. Oh, and congratulations on Emma Wild Day. I wanted to call you, but, you know.”
His voice trailed off. I wished it were the right moment to tell him that I wanted to be with him, but we were in the middle of a kidnapping case. It wasn’t exactly a romantic moment to break the news. Plus, maybe he was dating someone else. It wasn’t the right time to have this conversation yet.
“Did you find any leads?” I asked.
“The mayor does have a few enemies. Political competitors for this year’s election for example. And it took hours for Champ to admit this, but a few years before he was elected, he took part in a money laundering scheme that had been unsuccessful. Now he thinks that the same guys he was in business with are out to get him.”
“Wow,” I said. “So you’re tracking all these leads?”
“Yup. My new partner’s out questioning Stewart Branson, the mayor’s biggest competition for reelection, and I’m about to head out to tail one of the money laundering guys.”
“What about the mayor’s wife?” I asked. “She could have enemies too.”
“We already thought of that.” A female voice came from behind me.
I turned around in my chair. It was the brunette I saw with Sterling on Emma Wild Day.
“I’m Detective Sandra Palmer.” She stepped into the room. “Sterling’s new partner.”
I took her outstretched hand and shook it.
“Emma Wild, nice to meet you.”
She gave me a quick once-over, and I thought I detected a sneer.
“So you’re our local celebrity.”
Even though I was used to being judged and criticized by the public, I still felt self-conscious from time to time and this was one of those times. I was wearing a white cashmere sweater and cream-colored pants. With makeup on and hair in waves that could only come from a curling iron, I felt extra girly.
In contrast, Sandra was a barefaced beauty wearing a dark pantsuit. Sterling might not have gotten much sleep, but Sandra looked refreshed. She had her dark brown hair tied back into a neat bun. With her big brown eyes, olive skin, and the fullest lips I’d ever seen, she was definitely pretty. Gorgeous, in fact. Although she was in a boring pantsuit, I could tell that she had a good figure.
My heart sank. I met beautiful women all the time, but not one to work 24/7 with Sterling.
“I didn’t know Sterling had a new partner,” I said. “What happened to Philip?”
Sterling cleared his throat. Was he nervous?
“He got engaged and relocated to Ottawa, where his fiancée lives.”
“Yes,” Sandra answered. “I heard about this opening from Toronto and I applied and got it through recommendations from my superiors. I always wanted to be a detective, so I didn’t mind moving to a small town if I could fast-track and become one. So here I am.”
“Great.” I smiled. “Congratulations. How is the case going?”
“I’m sorry, but the information is confidential. I know that you’re Sterling’s friend, but it’s classified.”
“I see,” I said slowly, “but I wanted to help. Actually I have some information to give you.”
Sandra raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Sure, whatever info you have would help if you know anything.”
“Well, first of all, I thought that Edward Herman, the dairy farmer, could be a suspect. Sterling and I discovered that he was, well, connected with the mayor’s wife.”
“I know the story,” Sandra said, sounding unimpressed. “Sterling told me about your little run-in with Edward and how he was having an affair with Eleanor Champ.”
She let out an amused laugh.
“We got one of our boys on him, in fact,” Sterling added quickly.
“Yes,” said Sandra. “Thanks, Emma, but we’ve got it covered. Edward seems to be going about his daily routine, and our guy has nothing to report other than the fact that he’d been calling Eleanor Champ at least two times a day to check in on her, so I think he’s off the list. Anybody else that you suspect?”
Her constantly arching eyebrow was beginning to annoy me. It was like a question mark to challenge answers out of me that she knew I didn’t have. Plus she looked at me like I was some sort of bimbo.
“I did see the children when I was performing on stage,” I said, mustering as much confidence and certainly as I could. I set up the scene for them, of how far they were and what I noticed. “I saw a man talk to them.”
Sterling frowned. “Who?”
“Well, I couldn’t tell since they were so far, but I remember looking at him, wondering if he was the mayor, but quickly decided he wasn’t because he was thinner.”
“What color hair did he have?” Sandra asked. “How tall was he?”
“I’m sorry. They were so far away that I couldn’t distinguish any features.”
“So is there anything more you can tell us about him then?” asked Sandra.
“All I know was that a man talked to them. I saw them while I was singing, so I wasn’t paying complete attention. The next time I glanced their way, the children were gone and it was the end of my set.”
“But it could’ve been anybody,” said Sandra. “Our team is interviewing all the witnesses they can find. If they saw someone, they would surely let us know. I mean, there were plenty of people at the festival.”
“That’s the thing,” I said. “I think if he was a stranger, wouldn’t somebody notice him? What if the guy was someone the children already know? Maybe he’s a friend of the family.”
“Are you sure that the person was even a man?” Sandra’s eyebrow arched again.
I thought about it. “Whoever it was had short hair, so it’s a possibility that it could be a woman, yes.”
“It’s really very little to go on,” Sandra said. “It could’ve been anybody. Maybe just a friendly neighbour or something. You didn’t actually see the man take the children, right?”
I hated to admit it, but Sandra was right. Maybe it was nothing.
“I just thought you might want to know this bit of info,” I said. “It seemed strange that the children would be gone just moments after the man left.”
“Well, thanks for taking the time.” Sandra smiled condescendingly. “We’ll continue to interview people at the festival and see if anyone else has a more detailed description of this man.”
She stared at me, as if waiting for me to go. My gaze reverted to Sterling, who said nothing and only put on a strained smile in the midst of the tension.
My eyes fell to a ziplock bag on the table. There was a piece of paper inside.
“Is that the ransom note?”
Before they could answer, I jumped up to read it. It was written in a funny cursive writing, sloppy, like a child’s.
“The twisted sunlight of morning’s path; to the land of turmoil in the night’s dead; children’s laughter echoes hollow…”
“Please!” Sandra’s pretty face twisted into a less pretty scowl. “This is classified information.”
She grabbed the note from the desk.
“I’m good at solving cases,” I said. “Let me help.”
Sterling spoke up for me. “Yes, Emma has a knack for this. She can be an asset.”
Sandra shot him a look. “This is against police regulations. You can have your badge suspended for divulging information to the public. We have plenty of boys on the case, and Sterling and I have plenty of experience. Let us professionals handle it.”
“I just have this hunch that the kidnapper is close to the family. Whoever he is probably knows the children—”
Sandra raised an arm and cut me off. “Now of course this kidnapper knows who the children are. They’re famous. Maybe celebrities don’t have the perspective that we civilians do. The mayor’s family is in the public eye. Everybody knows who they are.” She sighed impatiently. “Celebrity or not, you can’t just waltz into our office and start pointing fingers. We have a system in place and we are working as hard as we can. We have no time to waste on the silly musings of an outsider.”
I looked at Sterling, but he looked defeated. He didn’t defend me again.
Sandra’s arm pointed to the door and I went out.
I turned around and tried one more time, “I just think—”
The door slammed in my face.