Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
RedHotSavvySleuth: Really? That’s great. Let’s think about this… Did you find out anything about the case in general? Anything we should pick apart and question? Does Lafayette PD have any suspects?
JasperThePrivateDick: The officer played everything pretty close to the vest, I’m told. But what I did get is that, so far, they’re confounded. Malls are public spaces, so anyone can be there during business hours, which is when all the abductions have occurred. Every victim has been female, between sixteen and twenty-nine. Two were alone. Three were with others. Apparently, there were several more targets who got away.
Since that was something her boss had told her in confidence, Haisley had to admit that Jasper seemingly had a reliable source of information.
RedHotSavvySleuth: That’s my understanding, too. I don’t know anything about the girls who got away, just that they supposedly didn’t see or hear anything before they escaped.
JasperThePrivateDick: Each one of them described leaving the bathroom by the food court and finding themselves alone in the adjacent hallway before someone grabbed them from behind and tried to drag them out the service doors that lead to the dumpster area in the parking lot behind the mall.
That was more information than she’d gotten out of Mr. Benedict. Then again, she hadn’t wanted to risk his wrath on day one and ask.
RedHotSavvySleuth: Did the cop mention any cameras or other security measures they checked for information?
Granted, her boss had mentioned that all his measures failed during the last abduction, but what about the others?
JasperThePrivateDick: When the mall first opened, there were static cameras in public points of entry and exit, and of course in the customer-facing parts of the mall. But areas that were designed for mall staff and other employees? No. Cameras were added in those parts of the facility after the second disappearance. But apparently, they’re proving unreliable for some reason. Entire days have passed where nothing is recorded, including the disappearance of the third victim and the first foiled attempt. The tech was upgraded again after that, but it still goes on the fritz occasionally.
Haisley frowned. On the fritz…or someone intentionally turned it off when they plotted to grab the next target.
RedHotSavvySleuth: Anything else you can share?
JasperThePrivateDick: Not that I can think of. But I have questions about the layout of the mall, since I’ve never been.
RedHotSavvySleuth: What do you want to know?
JasperThePrivateDick: What’s in that part of the mall? I understand it’s the food court, but that’s all I heard.
RedHotSavvySleuth: The design of that area is very odd, at least in my opinion. The bathroom is down a hallway behind one sit-down chain restaurant. If you’re facing the food court itself, that’s on the right side of the area. To the left of the hallway is a pastry shop known for their cinnamon rolls. They do a banner business on the weekends and make a mean hot chocolate. But I digress.
JasperThePrivateDick: Do you like cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate?
RedHotSavvySleuth: Am I female? LOL! Love them. Anyway, the remainder of the restaurant storefronts all fan out to the left of the pastry shop before a nasty pizza place curls back toward the main aisle on the far left.
JasperThePrivateDick: No point of entry or exit by the bad pizza joint?
RedHotSavvySleuth: No. Just more shops. Did your cop connection say any of the other abductions were in a different part of the mall?
JasperThePrivateDick: No. All in the same spot. Which begs the question, why doesn’t your boss do something about that location? Is he not concerned?
RedHotSavvySleuth: He’s deeply concerned. At least that’s what he says. Between you and me, I think he’s mostly concerned financially. He’s worried this will ruin him. But according to him, he’s tried to beef up security to no avail.
JasperThePrivateDick: Besides the parking lot, what’s behind that mall? It looks like a main thoroughfare with several highways close by.
RedHotSavvySleuth: Exactly. So once these kidnappers get someone out the door and into their vehicle, they can be on the freeway, headed to almost anywhere, in less than three minutes.
JasperThePrivateDick: That’s disturbing, but optimal for scum like these kidnappers. I also looked at a county map. I see a couple of private airstrips not too far away.
RedHotSavvySleuth: That’s possible. To be honest, I never paid attention to them. I’m not flying any sort of airplane myself, except maybe paper. LOL!
JasperThePrivateDick: A private airstrip is the easiest way to get a victim out of the area and ultimately anywhere in the world where there’s a waiting buyer.
The idea made Haisley sick to her stomach. Yes, she knew such things happened, but knowing it was taking place so close to where she laid her head every night? So close to a place she’d been shopping? It was deeply unsettling.
RedHotSavvySleuth: So you think they’re being sold rather than being a kill trophy for a single sick perpetrator?