Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [75]
Carina glanced at Nick and he gave her a brief nod. “When did he leave?”
“Oh, early. Five, five-thirty. I don’t really remember.”
“What does he do when he’s here?”
“Studies.”
“He’s in college?”
“I think so, I’m not sure. He brings in textbooks and his laptop.”
“He doesn’t use the library computers?”
“No. He prefers one of the laptop stations in the annex.”
“Can you describe what he looks like?”
Her brow furrowed as she concentrated. “Nice-looking. Average. Tall, but not as tall as you.” She pointed to Nick. “A little on the skinny side. But he’s very nice, polite. Clean-cut. I think Becca had a crush on him, but she was too shy to ask him out and I think he was too shy to ask her out.” She shook her head. “She was such a sweet girl.”
“About how old would you say he was?”
“I don’t know, maybe early twenties. Maybe younger. Kids look so much more mature these days.”
“Do you remember his hair color?”
“Um, light.”
“Blond or light brown?”
“I don’t know. More on the brown side, I’m not really sure. You don’t think . . . he’s not . . . he can’t be. He’s just a young man.”
As if being a young man meant you couldn’t rape or murder. “We don’t know right now, we’re trying to talk to everyone who spoke to Becca the day she disappeared. We’d like to talk to him, maybe he saw something.”
“Oh, right, that makes sense. I can get you the Sanders’ information.”
“Do you know if the young man Becca spoke with has a car?”
“No.”
“But you’re certain he left during the five-o’clock hour.”
“Yes. I left at six and he’d gone before then.”
“Do you remember if he looked at any specific book while he was here?”
“No, he came in about four, just before Becca came in, and sat at the table near the front of the annex like he always does. He worked on his laptop the whole time, at least from what I saw. I didn’t have to clean up his workstation like I do some people.”
Carina thanked Midge for her time and continued with the interviews. When they were done speaking with everyone who’d been working Wednesday night, no one else remembered the light-haired “young man.” They asked Midge to call them if he came in again, and then they looked at the table she’d indicated that he always used.
It was a small, flat maple table, no drawers. Immaculate. A power outlet was within arm’s reach. The man could see the entire library, but no one could see his computer screen. Not that that meant anything; Carina herself never sat with her back to a room or door. Most civilians didn’t have that phobia.
“I need to put an undercover in here in the evenings,” Carina said almost to herself. “I’m getting a feeling about this.”
“It’s our only solid lead right now,” Nick agreed, “until Gage brings us some physical evidence.”
“You think he’ll come back if he’s guilty?”
“He might think that’s the way to not attract attention. Keep up the same routine.”
They left the library and Carina called in her request to Chief Causey, who agreed to put an undercover officer at the library from four to eight every evening.
Carina had just pulled away from the curb when her radio beeped. She picked up the receiver. “Unit Charles-One-Four-Four here. Over.”
“Charles-One-Four-Four, missing person reported at two-four-zero Beach Boulevard, apartment one-one-six. The caller asked for you specifically.”
Carina looked at Nick. “That’s Abby and Jodi’s apartment.”
TWENTY-TWO
ABBY AND JODI shared what was considered a “garden” apartment, a small two-bedroom unit on the ground floor of a large U-shaped complex near the university. Carina would bet that ninety percent of the residents were college students.
They lived in a corner unit. The front door opened into a small living/dining/kitchen area. Three doors on the south wall led to what Carina presumed were two bedrooms and the bath. A police officer, Mimi Danvers, was sitting with a hysterical Abby.
“She’s gone!” Abby wailed when she saw Carina. “Please please find her. Something awful has happened.”
“Calm down and tell me everything you remember.” Carina sat on the other