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As I approached downtown there was ongoing construction on a large vacant lot near the edge of downtown. The sign read “Coming Soon the Aurora Hotel and Convention Center”. An adjacent lot was also under construction with what appeared to be an office building with a sign “Space for Lease”. The current mayor Wayne Braddock had been dubbed “The Renaissance Man” by Blake’s online publication “The Brick Street Bureau” which boasted an online subscription of 30,000. Braddock was in the middle of his 2nd term as Mayor of Kirkwood and had wasted no time on making good on his campaign promises of revitalizing the downtown area with new development and luring new businesses with tax deferred laden incentives. Kirkwood was thriving again even with the shell of the auto industry that remained. Actually, a new Russian/Chinese joint venture had expressed interest in an abandoned manufacturing facility on Industrial Avenue. They were an international company that manufactured gears and transmissions for many product lines and were looking for an existing site with tax breaks and a workforce with auto experience to tap into. It was rumored that Braddock had much higher political ambitions then just mayor and his inner circle were said to be in the infant stages of exploring a run for governor. The recent disappearances of these young women from the local area and the possible existence of an active serial killer could derail Braddock’s political ambitions if there was any hint of publicized panic among his constituents and the inability to solve the recent disappearances and a possible related homicide. Informing the public with just enough information and balance was one thing that our Media Liaison Janice Brown did well. It was Blake that concerned me the most. He had the ability to reach a lot of people quickly and most certainly would make insinuations and effectively throw me under the bus when given the opportunity. I know Cyrus had to be feeling the heat on this one and I’m sure or department would feel an equal amount of pressure.
I walked into the office to find Lonnie pouring over the Stapleton file.
“Anything?”
He took a sip from his coffee cup. Closing the file, he looked up.
“Not much of anything really. She had a normal life leading up to her disappearance.”
“Her accounts? Everything I sent over to you.”
“Nothing stands out. Usual pictures and posted selfies the normal for someone her age.”
“Bank Accounts?”
“She lived on a tight budget. Cards haven’t been touch since she was discovered. What did the parents tell you?”
“Mother was home. Normal life nothing unusual.”
“Father?”
“At the airport picking up relatives who were flying in for the funeral.”
“Can we get cell records? We need to establish some sort of a timeline here.”
“Privacy Laws Roman.” You know how they are now. Hell, I don’t even call for a request like that unless I give them all my personal information and a promise of a DNA sample.”
“We need them see if someone in the DA office can fast track a subpoena.”
“I’ll call over there right now. They owe us one anyways.”
Right before he dialed I was going to tell him about her apartment the phone rang. A familiar voice on the other end of the call.
“They found something else?”
“Who?”
“Patrol unit at Mead Park Golf Course. Father and son flying a drone found it. They are asking us to come take a look.”