Page 71 of Girl, Empty

‘You got a hit.’

Ella's stomach did that thing where it tried to crawl up into her throat.One hit out of millions of faces.Either the universe had just thrown her a bone, or it was about to kick her in the teeth.'Please be good.Please be useful, please don't be some random schmuck from England who just happens to have the same cheekbones.'

‘Just click it, Dark.You’re killing me here.’

Ella clicked.

The page crawled to life, then revealed a scanned newspaper clipping that looked like it had been photocopied a hundred times before someone bothered to digitize it.The Indianapolis Star, March 15, 2010.The headline read:

BUSINESSMAN DIES IN LOCKED OFFICE; FAMILY QUESTIONS CIRCUMSTANCES.

‘Whoa, Mia, you reading this?’

By Sarah Mitchell, Staff Reporter.

An insurance investigator was found dead in his locked office Monday morning, prompting questions from family members who dispute the medical examiner's preliminary finding of natural causes.

Dennis Roth, 49, was discovered by cleaning staff at 7:30 AM slumped over his desk.The office door was locked from the outside, and Roth's keycard was still in his wallet.Security footage shows him entering the building at 6:15 PM Sunday evening.No other individuals were recorded entering or leaving his office.

Dr.Patricia Williams, deputy medical examiner, cited cardiac arrest as the preliminary cause of death, noting Roth's history of high blood pressure and recent weight gain.

Roth’s company, whose name has been withheld pending the ongoing investigation, declined to comment.Roth is survived by his wife, Susan, 49, and son, Calvin, 14.

Beside the article was a black-and-white photograph: Susan Roth in a dark blazer, and a teenage boy.

‘Calvin Roth,’ said Ripley.‘Is that our cleaning boy?’

Ella’s hands were shaking so badly she could barely get a grip on her mouse.She mimimized the NGI-IPS, found a screen grab of CCTV footage from Blackglass – the clearest picture she had – and compared the two.

Fifteen years had filled out his features, but the essential architecture remained identical.

‘Holy shit,’ Ripley breathed.‘That's him.’

Ella re-read the article again.A father dead in a locked office, just like Michael Rankin.A worker dead in a locked office, just like Thomas Grayson and Noah Redmond.‘He’s recreating his father’s murder.Or he’s trying to prove his dadcouldhave been killed.’

‘It’s just taken him fifteen years to figure it out.Calvin Roth.Check the name on the system.’

‘On it.’Ella typed his name into the State PD records.Hit enter.Waited.

No results.

‘Nothing.Dammit to hell.’

‘Try his mom’s name,’ said Ripley.‘Susan Roth.She’d be what, 64 now?’

Next attempt.Susan Roth.

Searching.

One result.

Roth, Susan.DOB: 01/05/1960.

‘Got her.’Ella clicked into the file and found one report from 2010.It was an interview statement about the death of her husband, and it was noticeably short.

Ripley said, ‘Didn’t seem to be too bothered about her dead husband, did she?’

‘Maybe she was in shock.Or maybe she was hiding something.’