Her annoyed tone annoyed him. “Molly, don’t blow off this heads-up. I didn’t issue it for the fun of it. Don’t take it lightly.”
“I don’t. I promise. I’m sorry. I’m just grumpy.”
“Hang in there.”
“I miss Mutt. How is he?”
“I wore him out this afternoon.”
“Fetching tennis balls?”
“Sticks. Right now he’s sacked.”
“How’s Ms. Collins?”
“Listen, don’t go out again tonight. All right? I’ll check in with you in the morning.”
“She’s there with you, isn’t she?” Then in singsong voice, “I know she is.”
“Good night,” he said singsong. “Sleep tight. ”
Smiling, he hung up and rejoined Beth in the main room. She asked how Molly was.
“Hating life. Roslyn’s boyfriend is there. A familiar refrain.” He sat down in the chair beside her. “What did you think of the professor?”
“Well, he came through with his mailing list. I just opened up the attachment in his email.”
“How many names are on it?”
“Looks like several hundred.”
“Several hundred? Jesus. Even eliminating the women, that’s a lot of men to check out. We could put fifty people on it immediately, and it could still take weeks. And who’s to say our perp ever attended one of Wallace’s lectures? I wouldn’t if you paid me. And I need the money.” He got up and rounded his chair. “But what else have we got? Nothing.”
“He also sent links to the chat rooms. Maybe we start by searching for names that are on more than one. And names that show up routinely. That would narrow it down.”
Wearily, he said, “I’ll get some of my people on that. I’ll also send the links to Gayle, Roberts, and Cougar, and encourage them to put people on the hunt. But manpower is scarce, and these are cold cases, and I’m no longer a cop. Beth, I’m afraid—”
“Don’t say it.”
He didn’t speak it aloud, but each acknowledged that time was running out. She broke the gloomy silence by asking, “Have we eaten today?”
He gave a soft laugh. “Now that I think about it…”
“Lasagna?”
“You know how to make lasagna?”
“I know how to take it from the freezer and turn on the oven.”
“Fine.”
He sat down at his computer and accessed his file on the Mellin case. Once the frozen entree was in the oven, Beth sat down beside him. “How can I help?”
He explained, “I copied notes taken by every detective and patrol officer who’d interviewed anyone about Crissy. As I find a name, you consult Wallace’s list.”
They’d been at it for about twenty minutes when one of John’s phones rang. He looked at the readout, snatched up the phone, and put it to his ear. He was looking at Beth in wonderment as he answered. “Isabel?”
Chapter 24
John said, “Thank you for calling me back.”
Deputy Sanchez’s voice was breathy and faint. “When my husband got home from work, I couldn’t hide how upset I was. I told him what had happened today. He wanted to go straight to the police.” She laughed shakily. “I told him that’s the last thing we should do. He insisted that I call you. He’s here with me.”
John put his phone on speaker but indicated to Beth that she shouldn’t make her presence known. Introducing her now and explaining why she was in Auclair might rattle Isabel. He didn’t want to give her any cause to hang up.
He said, “Who got to you, Isabel?”
She didn’t pretend not to understand the question. “Frank Gray.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“You know how intimidating that man can be before he says a word. When I opened the door, I recoiled at the sight of him.”
“Why did you even open your door?”
“He said it would be a bad judgment call not to.”