I pursed my lips, deep in thought. Something wasn’t adding up. If the woman had entered the building with the victim, why wasn’t there any footage of her leaving?

“Are you sure there’s no other footage?” I asked Blake, my eyes fixated on the screen. “Maybe from another camera angle?”

“We have a camera in the parking lot as well, let me check.”

I waited impatiently, tapping my foot on the ground. Blake’s office was cluttered with files and paperwork, and the stale scent of coffee lingered in the air. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

“No, nothing there either,” he said. “Only of them entering. Not leaving.”

“Are there any other exits?”

He shook his head slowly. “Only the fire escapes.”

“Are they surveyed by cameras?”

He shook his head with a frown. “Our HOA budget only allowed for these two cameras. I’m sorry, Detective. I wish I could be of more help,” he said, his voice apologetic.

I sighed, feeling frustrated.

“Okay, thanks for your help, Blake.”

He nodded, and I made my way out of his office, trying to make sense of this new development. Why had this woman not used the main entrance when leaving? Because she murdered Bryan Henderson and didn’t want to be on camera? Perhaps.

As I walked down the hallway toward the elevator, I felt a presence behind me. I turned around, but no one was there. I shook my head and continued walking, feeling paranoid.

This whole case was getting to me in a weird and uncomfortable way.

In the elevator I looked at the photo of the woman on my phone. I would have to go to bars and restaurants tomorrow and ask them if they had seen her with Bryan, maybe there would be some surveillance footage of them together. I had to find her, and fast. Either she was the murderer, or she had seen the murderer. Either way she was an asset to me. One I couldn’t afford to lose. Bryan Henderson had been murdered the exact same way as Cassandra Perez, so this was by far the strongest lead to finding her killer and, hopefully, the person who had taken Emma as well.

TWENTY-SIXBILLIE ANN

I got a few hours of sleep, once I returned to my house. I stayed in the guestroom downstairs, as I didn’t want to wake up Joe, and if I was being honest, it was just as much for my own sake. I didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t want to face his anger and reproach again. I was too exhausted for that.

My golden retriever, Zelda, was the only one greeting me when I came home, and I let her sleep in my bed with me all night, bringing me great comfort. I loved that crazy dog so much.

The next morning, I hung out with the kids over breakfast, taking my time because it was after all Saturday, but I never saw Joe. He didn’t come down, so I had to prepare breakfast on my own and walk Zelda before I could leave for work. I showered downstairs and grabbed a clean button-down shirt from the laundry room.

I glanced toward the stairs as I grabbed my belt and badge and then retrieved my gun from the safe and strapped it on. I was still hoping he would come out and maybe tell me to have a good day at work, but he didn’t. Instead, I texted him that I had left for work and that there was coffee in the pot.

Then I left. Coffee in my YETI cup, I drove to the police station, where Tom and Scott were waiting for me.

I sat at my desk and sipped my coffee, then turned on my computer. I stared at Tom, he looked exhausted, but I guess I was one to speak. It had been a long night for the both of us. It was the weekend, but we had no time to rest.

“Any news from the forensic department?” I asked. “Anyone had time to look it over?”

Scott raised his hand. “I came in early and went through it.”

“Did they find the woman’s phone and purse?” I asked. “Or a wallet?”

He shook his head. “Nothing but Bryan Henderson’s things. His phone, car keys, credit cards, computer, and so on.”

“They didn’t find this woman’s phone? Or purse?” I asked, leaning back in my chair, feeling baffled. If this woman had been running out of this condo so fast, she didn’t put on her dress or bra, then how the heck did she remember her phone and purse?

“Nope. Just the clothing.”

“So, we have no way of identifying this woman?” I asked. “How about his phone? Any texts from her?”

He shook his head. I felt frustrated. I had been so certain we would find something that could lead us to her. “She left the condo without clothes, but had time to grab her belongings?”

Scott shrugged. “Maybe she never took them there. So, she wouldn’t be identified.”

“Scott has a point,” Tom said. He placed his hands behind his head and tipped his chair backward, reminding me of my teenagers. “If she planned this all along, she would never leave something so important behind.”

“Okay, so have there been any reports of a naked woman running around in the streets?” I asked. “Maybe with a purse and phone but no clothes?”

“There was no shirt on the floor,” Tom said. “She might have put on his. Maybe to draw less attention to herself. A dress and high heels might be something people notice. Maybe she also knew we would be looking for a woman in that dress because we have the surveillance footage.”

“So, you’re saying she had it all planned out,” I said.

“Yes. That’s why she took the other exit. So, we wouldn’t see her on the surveillance cameras. She’s being smart.”

I tilted my head. “I’m not buying it.”

“Why not?”

“I saw the footage of them entering the building. She’s not a very big woman, and Bryan was a big guy. She would have to be very, very strong in order to strangle him with a belt.”

Tom shrugged. “Some women are strong as heck. Just sayin’. The fact is, we don’t see anyone else arrive or leave on the cameras, do we? So, if there was someone else, then how did this person get in and out?”

“Same way that the girl left?” I said. “Undetected. Out of the sight from the cameras.”

“She’s got a point,” Scott said.

Tom grumbled something I couldn’t hear.

“Okay, let’s say I run with it,” I continued. “Would that mean that this woman has killed Cassandra too? And taken Emma?”

Tom shrugged. “I guess that’s what we’re looking at, right? She might be a victim too, and we just haven’t found her. I know it hurts to hear, but we still gotta consider the possibility.”

I exhaled. I knew he was right.

“We need to find this woman. And fast. Tom, how about you go down to the local bars and restaurants in the area and ask them if she was in there last night, and if she was with Bryan Henderson? Ask for any surveillance footage if they have cameras.

“And Scott, you go talk to Bryan Henderson’s colleagues and friends. Let’s get to know this guy and his relationship with this woman. Maybe they’ll know who she is. Even better maybe they’ll know where she is.”

TWENTY-SEVENBILLIE ANN

“Got it!”