Chapter 19 : Reopening the Case
1109 Words
Ethan replayed the surveillance footage again.
And again.
He was looking for anything that might connect Michael to Claire's disappearance.
Had Michael talked to anyone at the clinic?
Had he met someone inside?
But after watching the footage for what felt like the hundredth time, Ethan still had nothing.
The cameras back then had been poorly positioned, leaving plenty of blind spots. There was no way to tell where Michael had gone after entering the clinic.
And one piece of surveillance footage wasn't enough to prove he had anything to do with Claire's disappearance.
Hell, Ethan couldn't even explain why he suspected Michael in the first place.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen.
“Still not enough…”
He needed more.
If he wanted the police to reopen the case and take a closer look at Michael, telling them he'd seen him on an old surveillance tape wasn't going to cut it.
And there were still too many things Ethan couldn't explain.
South Station
A man stood at the service counter.
“You said the stuff was already picked up?”
The employee nodded.
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“A few days ago.”
The employee checked the old records.
“Mr. Whitmore had passed away, but there were still some belongings in his locker. Someone came in a few days ago and took everything.”
The man was quiet for a moment.
“Do you know who picked it up?”
The employee shook his head.
“Not personally. He said he was Professor Whitmore's student. Had the rental receipt with him, too.”
He checked the record again.
“Ethan Cole.”
The man said nothing.
After a moment, he simply nodded.
“Got it.”
He turned and walked away.
The employee barely noticed. He went back to the paperwork in front of him.
Outside the station, however, the man stopped.
He turned and looked back at the building.
His expression hardened.
Boston Police Department
Maya found Ethan in the hallway.
She glanced at his forehead.
“How's your head?”
“Better.”
Ethan touched the spot lightly.
“Still hurts a little, but I'm fine.”
Maya nodded.
“Good.”
Then she added,
“Oh, I heard back about the request I put in yesterday.”
Ethan looked at her.
“For Claire's case?”
“Yeah.”
“They approved it?”
“They did.”
Maya smiled slightly.
“I'll be leading the investigation. They also gave me permission to put together a small team.”
She looked at him.
“You want in?”
Ethan didn't even think about it.
“Absolutely.”
“Good.”
Maya turned and started down the hallway.
“Come on. We're having a quick meeting. I'll introduce you to everyone.”
“Lead the way.”
They walked a few steps before Maya suddenly stopped.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Daniel Reed's case is closed.”
“That fast?”
“Yeah. We got the guy.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“Who was it?”
“One of Daniel's friends.”
Maya kept walking.
“They'd both been drinking that night. They got into an argument, things got physical, and Daniel lost his balance and hit the corner of the table.”
Ethan listened quietly.
“The guy tried to help him at first,” Maya continued. “But Daniel kept yelling at him and even threatened him.”
She paused.
“He lost his temper, grabbed the ashtray, and hit him.”
Ethan was quiet for a moment.
“So basically, it happened the way we thought.”
“Pretty much.”
They reached the end of the hallway.
“Here we are.”
Maya opened the door.
Four people were already inside.
They looked up as the door opened.
Maya stepped inside with Ethan.
“Everyone, this is Ethan.”
She pointed to the two men sitting together.
“This is Ryan Cooper, my partner.”
Ryan stood and gave Ethan a nod.
“Hey.”
Maya gestured toward the other man.
“And Jake Miller. He's with us too.”
Jake got up with a grin and held out his hand.
“Hey.”
Ethan shook it.
“Hey.”
Maya continued.
“Ryan and I handle field work, scenes, and operations. Jake's good with interviews and digging up leads.”
Jake shrugged.
“Basically, they do the running around. I do the talking.”
Ryan glanced at him.
“That really how you're selling it?”
“What? It's not wrong.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Whatever.”
Maya gave them both a look before turning to the woman sitting across the room.
She wore black-framed glasses, with several files and a laptop spread out in front of her.
“And this is Sarah Mitchell.”
Sarah looked up and smiled.
“Hi.”
“Sarah handles intelligence and logistics,” Maya said. “Case files, surveillance, old records, background checks—if we need something dug up, she's the one who usually finds it.”
Sarah pushed her glasses up.
“Basically, they find the leads. I find the stuff behind them.”
Ethan smiled.
“Sounds like I'm going to be bothering you a lot.”
“You won't be the first.”
Sarah gave him a small smile.
“If the information's still there, I'll find it.”
Maya turned toward the last man in the room.
A bald man sat behind a desk covered with crime scene photographs and forensic equipment.
“And that's Robert Hayes.”
Robert looked up.
“Hey.”
“Robert handles forensics,” Maya said. “Scene reconstruction and physical evidence.”
She pointed toward the photographs on his desk.
“Blood, trace evidence, fingerprints—anything we recover from a scene goes through him.”
Robert looked Ethan over.
“I heard you're studying forensic science.”
“Yeah.”
“Then we'll probably have a few things to talk about.”
Robert glanced down at the photographs.
“Just one thing.”
He looked back at Ethan.
“Don't touch my evidence.”
Ethan smiled.
“Wasn't planning to.”
Robert stared at him for a second.
Then he gave a small nod.
“Good.”
Maya tapped the table.
“All right.”
She looked around the room.
“Now that everyone's met, let's get started.”
She moved to the head of the conference table.
“As of today, we're officially reopening the Claire Morgan case.”
The room went quiet.
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