Thin Air (Complete EDITING)

27- Brandon

Brandon July 6, 2020

"I'm just wondering if anyone ever followed up on that blue car that her bestie Brandon said he saw. Like it totally could have been whoever was in that car, right? Just putting it out there."

That's one I actually have an answer for. The assholes in that blue car were Chad and Nicole. They came in while I was in the restroom and talked a bunch of shit to Erin about her being a small town slut and ruining Seth's future by having Sydney.

"Erin lives down in Pasadena. Except she goes by Dove now. My uncle, the drag queen, not the lawyer, went to beauty school with her back in 2004. She got married a little while ago. I saw the pictures on insta. It was 100% her. She dyed her hair red and married an old tattooed guy."

I wish this one were true. I would love to know that Erin was out there living a happy life, but I cannot come up with a situation that would end with Erin leaving Syd and Seth by choice.

"I've told the police this, but they didn't take me seriously, so I'm going to post it everywhere until someone listens. There was an episode of Unsolved Mysteries about a woman trying to cross the Texas/Mexican border with a moving van full of La Eme (Mexican Mafia) members. Her head was shaved, and she was dressed like a man. Agents tried to question her after they separated her from the group, but she dropped dead before they could get a word out of her. They were never able to identify the woman. I KNOW it was Erin."

I have been spiraling down this rabbit hole for hours. The CCTV footage is grainy, but the woman is approximately the same build as Erin. This might be worth pursuing. I haven't heard this theory before. The original officers who took the woman in all stated that they were unable to get her to cooperate. She asked for water, drank it, then died. The only information they had came from the medical examiner's report. She was between 20-25 years old. Caucasian. Had given birth roughly 5 years prior. Was a natural brunette. Had braces at some point. All things that were true for Erin.

I decide to put a pot of coffee on and buckle down for a long night. I absentmindedly check my phone while I wait for it to brew. Both Shannon and Andrew have called and text while I was lost in the depths of the internet.

Shannon annoys me less, so I call her first.

"Hey, you rang?"

"I did. What are you doing next Saturday?"

"Well, that depends on what you say next..." Shit. This feels like a setup. Her tone of voice is fishy.

"So what you're saying is that you have no plans but don't want to meet any beautiful women?"

"Yes, Shannon. That is exactly what I am saying." Maybe I should have called Drew back instead.

"Come on, you and Gus can't live all alone out on that dirt road forever." She makes it sound like I'm some type of recluse. It's not even a dirt road; it's a dirt driveway connected to a paved road.

"What makes you think that we are alone? For all you know, I've got a wife and 2.5 kids up here in my hermit hide-away."

Her laughter is borderline insulting. "Yeah, sure, maybe locked in your basement. That makes even less sense than the secret girlfriend Seth suggested."

"I one hundred percent do have a secret girl. Her name is Melissa, she's a beautician, and she's lovely." I deadpan.

"Fine, fine. Keep your secrets. Sorry for trying to get you to leave your shack and enjoy some adult company. I won't do it again. You and 'Melissa' enjoy your Saturday night." I can hear the eye-roll in her voice.

"We will. Good night sister. I love you." I chuckle and hang up before she can respond.

By the time my coffee is ready, Gus has gone out and come back in, back to the computer I go.

A/N

Thanks for sticking it out this far!

Any last minute theories before it all comes together?