Where the Shadows Grow Long

Chapter 16

Sydney pressed her weight onto the rolling chair and dug her fingers into the soft cushion to transfer her agitation to the object and not at Mike. He had not stopped talking and asking questions since they had brought Travis in. His constant rambling only increased the pounding behind her eyes. She appreciated his desire to relay the research done, but at that moment she could only focus on one thing at a time, and she was trying to get a read on Avery. She was pacing in her office, speaking with an intense excitement on the phone. Mike moving into her eye line interrupted her focus and she realized he was still talking to her.

"What did you say?" she asked, trying not to show her true annoyance.

"I asked if we have enough to charge him with the murder of the Green sisters?"

"No," Sydney said with a short shake of her head. "We'll get there. I have a feeling when we get the search warrant for his home and boat something will come up."

"It's odd how many players there are."

"What do you mean?" Sydney asked, now completely engaged in what the older man was saying.

"Well." He pointed to the evidence-covered board next to them. "Carter and Danny Wright. Both men have a close connection to Chandler Mason. Then there's Travis Bailey."

"Okay," Sydney encouraged.

He put his finger up to keep her attention as he bent over to the desk where he picked up a thick pile of papers.

"What is this?" she asked, concentrating on centering her thoughts to understand where he was going with his process.

"These." He paused for dramatic effect. "These are all the interactions Morgan had with not only Carter but others on message boards and instant messaging platforms in regards to her investigations."

"Her investigations?"

"Oh, I'm surprised she wasn't on Chief Walker's radar with how obsessed she was with her mom's murder and Chandler Mason."

"Give me the summary," Sydney said, not really wanting to read the extensive pages.

"Her leading theory was that Emily Walker teamed up with Chandler, grifting their way through the country. She stole the money and hid up here, but Chandler found her. Morgan and Grayson, or Carter, had extensive conversations about it. A lot of what he used in the podcast came from her."

"This is all just conversation, was there any tangible proof to their theories? Or how it fits into these current events?"

Mike's lips pierced and twisted into a frown. He nodded his head as if he was still trying to solve the riddle. In a burst of excitement, he flipped through the pages, discarding a handful onto the desk with little regard.

He took in a breath before releasing an explosion of words, "This may sound crazy but hear me out. Morgan mentioned a show, Most Notorious. One episode in particular was about a prominent man, Luca Bailey." He cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, back in the Eighties and early Nineties, he was brutal. Before he went to prison for tax evasion, there were stories he was extorted out of almost half a million dollars. The family denied he would ever be swindled. I assume to keep face."

"Okay, I see how the story could connect, but again, does she produce any proof to her theories?"

"She has charts and testimony to show how the timeline intersects. In a voicemail, Chandler arrogantly said that they were a power duo and Emily betrayed him, but he called her Candace. Saying she had changed her name to hide."

"Where is Travis' motive in all of that?" Sydney challenged. Her eyes shifted towards Avery, thankful she wasn't hearing what Mike was relaying.

"Wait." He pointed back at the board. "Listen to this part. Before he went to prison, Luca kept order within the ranks by having anyone he considered untrustworthy, a thief to him, or anyone that betrayed him, killed in a particular way. Their mouths were sewn shut and they were posed in public places. The last part, and why I'm bringing it up, was that a note was stuffed in their mouth. It had an apology for their wrongdoings written on it."