Obsession

Suspect: Chapter 49

Gabriel sat on the living room couch with his father on the other end. They were watching television waiting to hear from Regina about anything she had learned. Nico Hoffman was dead, killed, and Gabriel knew that it would create quite a stir.

His father had even suggested the idea of leaving town that very night to avoid a repeat of what happened following first, Lyssa's murder, and then Lynette's.

"If we bail, it'll make me look guilty," he reasoned with his father. Jeremiah deflated at that.

"That's true. But don't expect me to stay quiet if somebody tries something again."

Gabriel found himself smiling. "Thanks for having my back, dad."

The intro tune for the late-night news segment suddenly interrupted their conversation as the words 'BREAKING NEWS' flashed across the screen.

The screen changed to the newsroom at the local news station and a picture of the two news anchors – Mary Wallace and Carl Lyndon – came up to fill the screen.

"This just in," Mary Wallace who was a brunette beauty with a bright-eyed gaze and a cutthroat attitude began. "Seventeen-year-old Nico Hoffman was pronounced dead at the Shaw General Hospital this evening at seven-thirty P.M. Hoffman was reported missing by his parents on Sunday evening when he vanished from the church parking lot between the hours of eleven A.M. and one P.M. He was found, following an anonymous tip-off, presumably through a local resident who had been contacted by the kidnapper, at Dudley Park on Monday evening. Hoffman was rushed to the hospital where he underwent medical treatment and was put into a medically induced coma. Police are saying that Nico did not die by succumbing to his injuries but rather that he was murdered on his hospital bed. An official comment by the town's medical examiner, Dr. Solange Krofton, stated that Nico died by asphyxiation. The suspect responsible for the string of kidnappings and killings is believed to be seventeen-year-old Joshua Hart, a schoolmate of Lyssa Isaacs who was the first victim of these atrocious murders, and Nico Hoffman, who is the third."

A picture of Josh in his soccer uniform popped up on the screen.

"Police have issued a BOLO for Hart and has issued orders for cruisers to patrol the streets of Shaw. Joshua Hart will likely be driving a midnight blue Ford Raptor pick-up truck, stolen from his stepfather, Ray Olsen. Police suspect that Hart has a hostage with him. The hostage's name is Duncan Boyer, a student at Shaw County University in the city. Boyer is a Black male, aged nineteen, and he was last seen wearing black pants, a white jersey, and a dark jacket. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Joshua Hart or the blue pick-up are advised to contact the hotline on the screen. Police advise that residents do not engage as Hart is said to be armed and dangerous."

"What the fuck!" Gabriel shouted as the broadcast continued with Mary Wallace and her co-anchor going over the facts of the case and the string of kidnappings and murders that have taken place. Gabriel was on his feet and reaching for his phone. "Is she insane? What the fuck was she thinking? Issuing a BOLO for Josh?"

"Gabe," Jeremiah said, reaching out and grasping his son's wrist. He pried the cell phone out of Gabriel's grip, taking into stride the angry glare his son shot him.

"Dad, we don't know that Josh is behind this! How could she just do something like this? Doesn't she understand what she's done? If Ray sees this, he will kill Josh and I don't mean it, figuratively. He'll literally kill Josh, dad."

"Son," Jeremiah replied calmly, gesturing for his son to calm down. "Regina's just doing her job. She wouldn't do something like this if she hadn't found something linking Josh to these crimes."

"Then why didn't she contact us, first?"

"If it is true," Jeremiah countered, "then Josh has a hostage. In hostage situations, time is no laughing matter."