Page 51

The viewing audience wouldn’t comprehend. But Alexa’s message would make perfect sense to the offender theysought.
“Thank you, Doctor. Sergeant, I understand that there is a vigil in Victoria Park at nine o’clock this evening for the most recent victims. Will your team be there to pay yourrespects?”
“We will be,yes.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. I return now to Commissioner Gagnon,who…”
Ethan’s ear mic cut out. He knew from last time that the people from the news station freaked if he tried to remove the equipment himself. So, he waited impatiently for a technician to take care of that before he and Alexa made their way inside the building again. They went to find Nyle, who was sitting in the interview room they’d just vacated, with sacks of food surroundinghim.
Ethan regarded him soberly. “Are you some kind of sandwich wizard? Do you know a conjuring spell that summons them out of thinair?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” The man shoved a sandwich into his mouth. Chewed. “My magical powers are reserved for baked goods. I had this stuff delivered. Met them at the backentrance.”
Alexa took a ham on rye with a decided lack of enthusiasm. “Don’t you guys ever eat anythinggreen?”
Nyle gave her a puzzled look. “You mean…like green M&Ms?”
She rolled her eyes and sat down, unwrapping her food. Ethan, decidedly less fussy, grabbed one of the meals and took a seat, pulling out his phone. Moments later, he turned his laptop on and scrolled through the latest list the tip-line officer had sent, starring the ones he deemed most promising. He took pictures of them on his cell and texted them to Nyle. “Here. You and Alexa start on the interviews for people responding to the newspaper article this morning that had Lawler’s picture. The newscast we just filmed won’t show for—” he checked the clock on the wall, “—another two and a half hours. If better tips come in from that, I’ll let youknow.”
“What’s your next step?” Nyle wanted toknow.
Ethan’s temples began to throb just thinking about the next few hours. “I’m going to take those phone numbers we computer-generated and arrange for a voice message to be sent to each. Then I’ll organize the police presence for the vigil tonight. If Alexa’s little spiel about the offender worked, he’s not going to be able to pass up being there. And if he does come, we need to be prepared forit.”
* * *
The first threecalls they followed up on required more time to drive to than the interviews themselves. But slowly, Alexa and Nyle were constructing a timeline for Lawler’s last few hours. They spoke to the waitress who served her at an upscale restaurant; a person working the door at a club she’d attended around nine, which she’d exited shortly later; and an Uber driver who’d delivered her to the restaurant, and chatted with her about the Halifaxnightlife.
The fourth interview was with someone Alexa had already met. Dennis Jeffries, the bartender atZoomey’s.
“I almost didn’t call. I mean, I remember you coming in and showing me that picture.” Jeffries nodded at Alexa. After Nyle had contacted the man about his message to the tip line, they’d arranged to meet at a Timmie’s in the man’s neighborhood. Alexa hadn’t turned down the opportunity to caffeinate. “I told you then she’d been there. But then I thought, hey, maybe you’d have more questions, so…” He shrugged, wrapping both hands around his coffee to-go cup. “It’s not every day that you talk to someone who comes in and find out they’re dead a few hours later. Makes you think, youknow?”
“What can you tell us about her?” Alexaasked.
“She arrived a bit before ten.” He reached up a hand to push back the hair that kept flopping onto his forehead. “We talked a little bit. She’d already stopped at some of the clubs. Wanted to know when things would get going. I had the feeling she was looking foraction.”
“What kind ofaction?”
He shrugged at Nyle’s question. “Same kind most people want. Crowds, dancing, music, lights. And maybe to hook up. She had that vibe about her. Not that I’m judging,” he hastened tosay.
“And did it look like she was successful? At finding apartner?”
He shrugged again. “So maybe for a little while, before things got wild, I thought I’d be the lucky guy. But it got super busy, and I lost sight of her. Which means she either ended up leaving, or she was at a table or booth that was being waitedon.”
“Can you give us the names and numbers of the other bartenders and waitresses on that night?” Alexaasked.
He looked stricken. “Oh, man, no, I can’t drag them into this. I mean, naw, Ican’t.”
“We can get them from youremployer.”
Alexa knew Nyle would only do so if they had evidence that Zoomey’s was indeed the place where Lawler had met with theoffender.
“Hold on a minute.” He pulled out his phone and started texting furiously, a long enough message that Alexa was left wondering why he didn’t just place a call. When he finished, he set the cell down and looked up. “Zaila works at the club, too. She’d have been working the floor. I asked if she’d agree to talk to you. That’s all I can do, okay? I mean, I have to work with these people.” His words were interrupted by an alert. He picked up the cell again and gave a smile of relief. “She says okay. I don’t know if she has any information, but she’ll meet up if you can do it in the nexthour.”
Nyle nodded. “That works. Before we go, though, we want you to look at a couple sketches.” He took out the two drawings of the offender and laid them out in front ofJeffries.
To his credit, the man looked them over carefully. Then he finally lifted a shoulder. “Not going to lie, I remember the females. Unless it’s some asshole who causes trouble for us. This guy—” he tapped the sketch Patrick had helped supply, “—is not our usual clientele. At least, not when things get going. We draw a youngercrowd.”
“The hair and mustache were probably fake. Think of this face,” Nyle tapped the second sketch, “with this hair.” He touched the firstdrawing.