J.T. and I finished our interviews with all of Heather’s coworkers and acquaintances. We tracked down Adam Drake before we left, and he said he was surprised to learn of the short-lived crush Heather had on him. He laughed it off but admitted he felt flattered that a young woman like Heather would have a crush on someone forty-five years old.
“I didn’t know her well, but we’d rib each other now and then when we passed in the hallway or ate at the same time in the lunchroom. She seemed like a good kid. I mean, my own kids are nearly her age. I was sad to hear of her death, and I sure feel bad for her family.”
I handed Adam my card. “If there’s anything else you can think of.”
He tipped his head. “Sure thing, agents, and I wish I could have been more helpful.”
I rubbed my forehead as we crossed the parking lot to the cruiser.
“Got a headache?” J.T. asked.
“No, I just wish that those interviews didn’t feel like a waste of a full day of work.”
“Yeah, I understand, but it’s all part of narrowing down the suspect list.”
I jerked my head toward J.T. and faked shock. “We have a suspect list?”
“Very funny, but actually I wish we did. At least I’d feel like we were making progress.” J.T. pushed up his coat sleeve and glanced at his wristwatch. “We have fifty minutes before we’re expected back in the conference room. Do you think that’s enough time to actually sit at a table to eat dinner?”
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to try. Worst-case scenario, they start the meeting without us.”
Several blocks from the hospital, we found a small diner with a near empty parking lot. That told me one of two things was true—the food was bad, or we were sitting down to eat earlier than most people. I hoped for the latter. Inside, we found a dated restaurant with booth seating against the inner wall and a long dining counter near the kitchen. The place was definitely stuck in the sixties, but it looked clean, and the waitress wore a big smile. She called out for us to sit anywhere we liked. I guess I understood why. Only two people were at the counter, and all of the booths were empty.
We sat at the booth nearest the kitchen. The waitress would have a short distance to walk, and we could possibly get back to the police department on time. With the menus standing between the napkin holder and the condiments, we had already chosen our meals by the time the waitress walked over.
“Hi, folks. What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have coffee, but I’m ready to order too. We have somewhere to be.”
“Sure, go ahead, and I’ll tell the cook to put a rush on the meals.”
I almost laughed since there wasn’t a backlog of orders waiting to be filled. There weren’t any orders at all. “I’ll have a bowl of clam chowder and an order of fries, and a cup of coffee too.”
J.T. spoke up. “Make that two coffees, and I’ll have the cheeseburger with fries.”
She reached for the menus and placed them back against the napkin holder. “Thanks, I’ll have him start your dinners right away.”
I grinned at J.T. “She’s cute.”
He looked at her as she walked toward the kitchen. “Yeah, she is. So, did anything stand out to you during the interviews?”
“You mean like a gut instinct?”
“Yeah, like that.”
“Not as far as the people we interviewed, but it seems weird that Heather didn’t hang out with any other employees.”
“I thought the same thing.” J.T. pulled out his notepad and flipped through the pages.
“Something ring a bell?”
“Odd how Corrine’s folks said she didn’t have many friends, just Mia.”
I tore the paper seal that covered my napkin, removed the silverware and placed the napkin on my lap. “I think it’s because of their jobs. Corrine was employed at a predominantly male lumberyard, and only one other female worked there. As far as Heather goes, I think it’s because a hospital lab is an intense place to work, and you can’t afford to screw up. I doubt if anybody socialized during work hours. Plus, like they all reminded us, she was only a gofer. I hate it when people think they’re better than others.”
J.T. caught my attention. “Heads-up, the waitress is bringing our food.”
I stopped talking for the moment as she set our meals on the table then walked away. “At least they’re quick here. Let’s continue this conversation after dinner.”
We ate in silence, and to my surprise, the food was delicious. We were finished eating and settled up in less than a half hour.
As J.T. drove the twenty minutes to the police department, I thought about the case. We had three dead girls that we knew of and another missing. “We have to tighten up this investigation. Hopefully, the detectives will have some news on Molly Davis, the cars, and something that might be of interest on Corrine’s social media page. That’s if the tech department figured out the password. Did we scratch Bobby Lang off the list?”
“Yep, he isn’t on our radar anymore. We can’t arrest him for being creepy.”
“That’s true. Let’s not overlook Taylor Dorsey. We haven’t learned much about her. There’s the surveillance later tonight too,” I said. “We’re going to find out more about the cult world than we probably want to know. I’ll admit, that’s a lifestyle I’m not familiar with.”
“I hear you, partner, and we’ll have plenty of time to go over everything before we leave.”