Too Close To Home - (A Mystery Suspense Thriller)

Chapter 7: Identifying Jane Doe #1

After Karen had left the precinct, Ron Golding walked Sheila back to her desk. He was looking at her with a puzzled expression on his face and Sheila already knew why.

"So, you decided to lie to the assistant DA," he stated, staring at her inquisitively with his eyes narrowed.

"It wasn't a lie, Ron," Sheila replied, refusing to look over at him. "I was just buying us a little bit of time." He was walking next to her, but she was purposely trying to pull ahead of him.

"So you are going to tell her about the photo?" he asked, speeding up his trot a bit, trying to stay beside her as they headed down one of the long halls of the department.

"Of course I am, Ron. I just want to review that security footage of the person who dropped it off, first, and I want you to review it with me. Four eyes are always better than two," she said, flashing Ron a sly smile.

They had arrived at the security area and she was looking for the recorded footage from that morning a few days ago. The precinct kept all of their recorded files on small memory cards and they were labeled with the dates and times that the footage was recorded. Sheila located the card with Monday's date and took it out of the bin. She signed it out with Officer Klein before heading back to her office with Ron hot on her heels.

When they were back at her desk, Ron pulled up an extra chair so that he could view the video footage with her. Sheila slid the disk into her computer and located the date and time of the footage they were looking for.

"Can you believe the audacity someone would have to have in order to physically walk into a police station and deliver a photograph of a person they plan to kill to the detective who would be..." Sheila suddenly stopped in the middle of her statement.

"What?" Ron asked, concernedly, surprised by her pause. "What is it, boss?"

"Do you think it was pure coincidence that he sent the photo directly to me? Or do you think he somehow knew that I would be assigned to the case?" Sheila inquired, staring at the screen of her desk computer. She turned to look at Ron, waiting to hear his response.

Ron shrugged, shaking his head slightly.

"That's a good question. I mean, how could he possibly know that you'd be assigned to the case? I mean, any idiot with internet access could have Googled the name of a random detective at this precinct. It would be fair to say--at this stage, at least--that it was likely a coincidence," Ron replied. "Then again, the only sure way to tell would be if he happens to send you another photo--should he dare to strike again."

"Oh, you and I both know that he certainly intends to strike again," Sheila said in a tone of voice that held an underlying hint of dread. She knew it wasn't likely that they were going to be able to catch this guy before he decided to claim another victim.

Sheila paused the screen of her computer on the part of the video footage where a gloved hand of the mysterious suspect placed the manila envelope into the bin that was sitting on the front desk of the police station.

Deep down, Ron knew that Sheila was right, even though he didn't want to admit it. Neither one of them truly wanted to admit the feeling of dread that they were both feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

**

Sheila sat her briefcase down on the kitchen table with a huff and a sigh after returning home from another stressful day at the precinct. She wasn't completely satisfied with the amount of progress that she and Ron had been able to make on this new case; however, some good news had happened to surface during her workday. The coroner's office had been able to identify the body of the pretty redhead. She was no longer a Jane Doe. The victim's name was Ashley Jacobson and she was only 20 years old.

Ashley had been a second-year nursing student at Graysville Community College. She had been reported missing three days ago by her mother, Rosa Jacobson, when she never returned home Monday night. Sheila and Ron had gotten her contact information from the precinct computer and had called her, asking if they could come to her home and speak with her about her daughter's case. She had been very cooperative with them and had invited them over to talk with her right away.

Both Sheila and Ron had taken an unmarked car over to the Jacobson residence after speaking with Rosa. She had met them at the front door as if she'd adamantly been waiting for them to arrive. She had opened the door and greeted them with a weak smile and a pair of tired, red swollen eyes. She'd immediately welcomed them inside and showed them into her living room.

"Thank you so much for inviting us over to talk with you, Mrs. Jacobson. And, we are so very, sincerely sorry for your loss, " Sheila had said solemnly. Ron had also offered his condolences with a nod before the two of them sat down on Rosa's large, blue and white floral print sofa.

Even after all of her years of being on the force, this was definitely one part of the job that Sheila never could quite get used to. It was still heartbreaking for her to watch the mourners of the deceased. As much as she tried not to, Sheila couldn't help but put herself in their shoes. Although she knew how it felt to lose someone you love dearly, she could only imagine the pain of losing a child. She didn't even want to think about the amount of devastation she'd feel if she ever lost her Missy.

Missy is all I have left, she thought silently as she shook the thought from her mind.