“I want to speak to the person in charge of the investigation,” I said, placing my hands on the receptionist’s desk. I pressed down so hard that the tips of my fingers turned bright red. “Please.”
The receptionist cop glanced up, eyebrows raised. She brought a hand through her bright red hair and said, “You’re going to have to be more specific, sir. Which investigation?”
“The investigation with all of the missing teens,” I replied.
“Do you have any information regarding the case?”
“No, but one of the teens is my sister, and I need to know what’s going on.”
The receptionist looked like she was going to turn me away, seeing how I had nothing to contribute to the department, but suddenly a man appeared by her side. “I’m Detective Washburn,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m heading the investigation. Why don’t we talk outside?”
I shook the man’s hand and nodded. “Okay, sure.”
I followed Detective Washburn outside, into the parking lot. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Detective Washburn bringing a hand through his shaggy brown hair. He looked about my father’s age, though a hell of a lot more tired. “What information can you give me?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and facing Detective Washburn with a determined expression. “I was told you have a lead.”
Detective Washburn pursed his lips and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “We know that at least ten children are missing—and we’re now suspecting it might be near twenty.”
“And what about the lead?” I asked, my stomach twisting. Twenty teens? That was twenty families that weren’t sure if their children were alive or dead. Twenty families.
“We have three suspects,” the detective replied, his gaze guarded.
“Okay, who are they?”
“I cannot disclose that information.”
“Why the hell not?” I hissed, my hands flying into the air. “We deserve to know—”
“Yes, I agree, but we’re not going to disclose any information until we have more information.” Detective Washburn grimaced as though he tasted something sour. “Just know that we are trying our hardest to find your family member. Now, if you would excuse me, I have an investigation to conduct.”
And with that, Detective Washburn walked away, back into the building.
I stood there for a few moments, my jaw working. I was furious. Why would the detective drag me outside to just tell me there might be more missing children in the mix and that they had suspects? What did that do for me? I wanted to know the lead. Knowing the lead would help me.
“Skylar?”
I glanced to the right, spotting Brandon Carter, the older brother of one of my friends from high school. “Brandon,” I muttered as Brandon approached. “Hey.”
Brandon nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He was in a police uniform, I observed. His dusty blond hair had grown since the last time I saw him. “I heard about your sister,” Brandon said with a grimace. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head and sighed. “I just wish they would tell me something—anything—about their lead. But Detective Washburn wouldn’t say.”
When I glanced back at Brandon, I saw him shifting uncomfortably. Brandon knew something.
“What do you know, Brandon?” I asked softly. “Do you know what their lead is?”
Brandon bit down on his lip. “I can’t—you heard Detective Washburn, Skylar,” he muttered. “I can’t say—”
“Please,” I practically whispered. “She’s my sister, Brandon. You know Serenity. You know my family. Please give me something to tell my parents.”
“But it’s not something your parents would want to hear.”
I met Brandon’s gaze. “They’d rather know what to expect than to be left in the dark, and you know it.”
Brandon didn’t answer for at first, and I actually thought for a moment that I was going to leave here with nothing. I wouldn’t blame Brandon for not telling me anything, but I hated the thought of leaving here without knowing really any more than when I arrived. Knowing the amount of missing persons and the amount of suspects wasn't going to give me a hint as to what could be going on. It just made me more confused.
But then Brandon sighed deeply and scratched his cheek with his forefinger, and I knew that he was about to divulge.
“Look, you didn’t hear this from me,” Brandon muttered. “Understand? If this gets back to the department, I could be suspended—or worse.”
I nodded. “All right.”
Brandon sighed again. “There’s a lead having to do with three serial killers.”
I felt sick. “Serial killers?”
“Yeah.” Brandon nodded. “These killers kidnap twenty teenagers from around a state and then trap them in an enclosed building and kill them all.” He paused and glanced at me. “Are you all right to hear the rest?”
I bit back my dread and nodded my head. “Yes. Please.”
“After the killers are through, they break into the victims’ houses and steal assorted furniture and whatnot. And then they use it in their next scene. Like souvenirs.”
This was sick. So completely and utterly sick. I wanted to vomit. There was a chance that Serenity had been abducted by people like that? A possibility that she’d been murdered by one—if not all—of them?
“Do they have any idea of what kind of building they’re keeping them in?” I asked softly, my voice barely over a whisper. “Is it always the same or do they change it?”
“They stick to abandoned buildings—usually industrial, like abandoned warehouses and whatnot.” Brandon let out a long breath of air. “We have an operator trying to narrow down the possible places, and officers searching abandoned warehouses in the meantime. We’re trying to work as hard as we can because—”
He cut off. My gaze, which had drifted to the pavement, snapped over to Brandon. “Because what, Brandon?” I demanded. When Brandon didn’t answer, my hands clenched into fists. “Tell me!”
“The killing only lasts one night,” Brandon whispered. “They’re all dead by the next day.”
I sucked in a breath. “And you haven’t told the other families this? Why?”
“We don’t have time,” Brandon answered. “We don’t have any time to lose, Skylar. We have to use every second searching for these kids.”
I nodded, backing away as though releasing Brandon from this conversation. He was right. If the teens died after one night, then there wasn’t any time to lose. “Okay,” I said. “But I still think everyone deserves to know. Why haven’t you told the news-people? They know the children are missing, so why didn’t you just tell them then?”
“Because at the time we didn’t think that’s what was going on,” Brandon replied. “And by the time we talk to the press, it’ll be too late.” He met my gaze. “But, personally, I wouldn’t want to be the one who breaks this to the families. I mean, would you? What parent wants to hear that their child has been rounded up and brought to an abandoned building to die? I sure as hell wouldn’t.”
Brandon gave me one last look that signified our conversation was over, and then turned and walked away, disappearing into the police station like Detective Washburn had.
