Page 11 of Little Ballerina
“We need a witness,” Jonathon stated.
“Given that it was in a strip mall, it’s hard to pin down who was there around the time of the murder. We’re going to go back again tomorrow at the time Nicole was killed and see if we can pick up some extra witnesses. Someone had to have seen a man walking in and out of an abandoned building. At the time they wouldn’t have any reason to have seen that as suspicious, but hopefully we can jog some memories,” Allina explained.
“What about the scene of Naomi’s shooting?” Heidi asked.
“We think Sam turned up and scared off the shooter,” Jonathon explained. “There were footprints in the snow going halfway to where Naomi was found. We’re thinking he shot at her, saw her go down, wanted to check she was dead, started to go and look when he heard a car coming.”
“Did Sam get a look at the shooter?”
“No. In his statement, he said his first indication that something was wrong was when he got out of his car and was walking toward the building and saw Naomi lying on the ground covered in blood. He said he didn’t see anyone around,” Allina answered.
“Was he sure?”
“This is Sam we’re talking about. Mr. details. If he had seen something he would have remembered it and told us immediately. Especially since it involved Naomi.” It was fairly common knowledge that Sam was interested in Naomi. Well at least it was pretty common knowledge amongst everyone that knew them. Whether Naomi or even Sam himself knew it, Allina wasn't altogether sure.
“Exactly,” Heidi said. “It did involve Naomi. Could he have been distracted by that and missed something? Maybe we should re-interview him.”
Allina knew that Heidi wasn't trying to be harsh, simply practical. Unfortunately, both she and Jonathon had had up close and personal firsthand experience with the horrors crime brought upon a victim’s family and friends. Jonathon with Clara, and her with her sister-in-law. Grace had disappeared without a trace four years ago and they were still no closer to finding out what had happened to her.
“Sam wouldn’t miss anything. And he’s not going to be leaving Naomi’s side any time soon,” Jonathon said.
“We can't conclusively prove that the shooting was committed by the same person who killed Nicole,” Heidi said.
“It’s the most logical conclusion we have at the moment,” Jonathon pointed out.
“Agreed.” Heidi nodded. “But until we have something to prove it, let’s keep our options open. Naomi’s shooting could have been random, it could have been a mugging gone wrong or a carjacking gone wrong. I don’t want to overlook anything because of Nicole’s murder and the note. Kane, any forensics from the scene of Naomi’s shooting?” Heidi asked.
“Messy footprints in the snow. Enough to confirm that someone was walking around in the parking lot at Sam’s firm’s headquarters, but not enough for me to give you anything useful. I did find the bullet that skimmed Naomi’s head.”
“What?” Heidi’s brows knitted together. “Why didn’t you lead with that?” she asked irritably.
The crime scene tech shrugged. “I don’t have anything concrete on it yet. It’s still running through ballistics. If I get a hit, I’ll let you all know immediately.”
“So right now we don’t have a thing. I have a killer out there threatening to keep killing until he gets his hands on Naomi, and no idea how to stop him.” Heidi’s hands had been furiously fiddling with a pile of paperclips throughout their meeting, but now they froze and raised to her face, scrubbing down it wearily. “We need to start going through Naomi’s life with a fine-tooth comb. And we’re going to need to interview her.”
“The head injury seems to have wiped her memories of the hours before the shooting,” Jonathon reminded their boss. “And she's not up to being interviewed tonight. Sam got what he could out of her for now, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning.”
“First thing then.” Heidi nodded. “Hopefully, we have a little while before he goes after someone else. He made his threat, he knows it will get back to Naomi. Surely he’s going to wait, see what she’s going to do, if she’s going to give herself up before he kills anyone else. It is Naomi that he wants after all, everyone else is just collateral damage along the way.”
“He wants to kill some more people before he gets to Naomi,” Jonathon said. “Otherwise, he would have left instructions. He said he wanted Naomi to give herself up to him, but he didn’t tell her who he was or how she should do that. He always intended that there would be other victims. He wants us to take a while to figure out his identity.”
“So, when did he come up with that plan? If he was indeed the one who shot at Naomi, did he mean to miss because he had this in mind, or did he accidentally miss and then think since she wasn't dead yet, he could really amp things up?” Heidi wondered aloud.
“Unfortunately, unless Naomi’s memories come back or she can figure out who would do this to her, we will have to wait for him to give us more clues to his identity.” Jonathon looked unhappy at the prospect.
Broaching the topic that had been brimming on the edge of her mind carefully, since she wasn't sure how well it was going to go over with Jonathon, she said, “I'm concerned that once she’s recovered a little, Naomi is going to find a way to give herself up.”
From the fear that flashed through his light brown eyes, Allina knew her partner had already considered that. And he was concerned that that was exactly what Naomi would do once she was back on her feet. “We’re going to have to find this guy quickly because Naomi won't let people die when she’s the one the killer really wants.”
The possibility that Naomi would sacrifice her life to save others added another spark to an already volatile situation. Allina knew that if they didn’t solve this case soon, a lot more people were going to wind up dead.
* * * * *
7:14 P.M.
Desire for Naomi Candella consumed him.
He wanted her so badly. So badly he could hardly think of anything else.