The Mind Virus

Chapter 6 - Part 3

"What about a phone? I can't seem to find one in this room. Did the police take that away too?"

"Probably, but not from here. Carol didn't go anywhere without her phone. It would have been on her the night she... you know. I guess the police on the scene took it in or whatever."

Harriett's teeth were beginning to hurt as she ground them. She wasn't at all happy with how this leg of the investigation was going. The most important part, no less. This was the last girl that had the missing item. Without any information here, she had no more leads to follow. Well, she had one – the police. The very police that she was assured would not be interfering with her and that she made every effort to avoid like the plague. If her professional reputation wasn't on the line, she'd abandon this job in an instant, but she knew that in her industry, word of mouth between shady types is key to continued employment.

"Right, well, if you do find that card, can you give me a call?" Harriett held out a card with the name "Jessica Van Zandt" and the number to one of her burner phones.

"You know I'll probably just lose your card too, right?" Anne snickered.

Patience and reservation were two of Harriett's greatest virtues, but she wanted to punch out the student nonetheless. "Please don't," was all she could think of saying that didn't involve insults or obscenities.

"I'll try."

Harriett couldn't tell whether that was sincere or a mockery, but at this point she didn't think it would make much of a difference. "Thank you very much for your time. You've been a great help." It was all she could do to not twist her face is disdain while saying that last sentence.

"One last thing before you go, Mrs. Van Zandt."

Could this be something useful? "What's that?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Excuse me?"

"How did you know my name?" Anne repeated.

"You told me." Harriett wasn't sure what the girl was talking about, so she went with the easiest answer.

"Nope. Earlier, right when we met, before we'd said five words to each other, you called me by my name."

"Are you sure about that?" How did this airhead pick up on that?

"I am sure about that."

"It must have been in our records then."

"Why would the name of the roommate of your client or client's daughter or whatever be in your records?"

"In case you were ever a suspect in a murder, of course." Harriett tried being facetious.

"Do you think that's funny?" Anne said, not letting her solemnity crumble.

"Maybe a little bit."

"Well, it's not."

"OK, look, we were probably informed of your presence after calling in to check on Carol's living situation. It's totally above board and perfectly standard. I assure you there's nothing nefarious going on here. It must have been in the file I looked through before coming in. I assumed you were the roommate in question, used your name, and that's all there is to it." Harriett needed to turn up the cheese. "I know you're going through a difficult time, and it may seem that everything is going wrong and all the world is against you, but you're just going through the motions. Keep your chin up, and things will be back to normal before you know it." An attempt at a motherly smile was made, and it seemed to work.

"Sorry about that. You're right. I'm just being paranoid. It's just... that detective that was here earlier... he seemed really... off."

"Right."

"And then you show up immediately after him..."

"Poor timing on my part. I'm sorry. I wish I could have known. I didn't mean to cause you any more distress."

"I just feel like..."

Oh my God, I don't care!

"With Carol's death," Anne continued, "things have gotten really dark or whatever. Like things will never be the same."

"That's perfectly normal." Was Harriett supposed to play therapist now? It was time to get out before the rest of her already poorly-spent afternoon went to waste. "Why don't you talk to your campus counselors? I'm sure they can help. Oh, look at the time." Harriett glanced down at her wrist, hoping Anne wouldn't notice she wasn't wearing a watch. "I've got to go now, Miss Hanscombe. Remember to call me if you remember anything about the officer that you spoke with." Harriett wrestled with another sweaty doorknob. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Anne waved as Harriett shut the door on her way out.