Savage Cinderella

Chapter 25 and 26

Chapter 25
Picture Perfect

"That's the same car as in the other picture. Wait—back up. Yes, there it is again—the gray Buick."  Brinn’s father pointed out, reviewing the slides over Justin’s shoulder. The face of the driver was indistinguishable, but the car was definitely a match. Justin bookmarked the photos and moved through the next slides one at a time.

They sat at the kitchen table huddled over Justin's laptop. "Stop!" Brinn yelled.  Justin backed up a frame.

Brinn stared wide-eyed, scrutinizing the people in the crowded background. It was a shot taken in front of a restaurant in midtown. The face looked only slightly familiar, but the eyes captured her attention. The cold black glare was trained on her as she posed alone in front of the statue of a winged horse, smiling easily and unsuspecting of her stalker. A tingle ran down her spine. It was him. He no longer had his dark beard, but the shape of the face was right, the thin lips and dark, slicked back hair that formed a widow's peak high on his forehead. And those eyes...
Brinn swallowed, her throat going dry. "I think that's him." She closed her fists tight in an effort to curtail the shaking that crept into her limbs and the hair that rose on the back of her neck.

Justin wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. "He can't hurt you anymore, Brinn. We won't let him." Her father nodded in silent agreement while Justin expanded the photo and zoomed in on the face.

“Print that up. I'll run it through the national database." Her father’s voice had taken on a note of cautious enthusiasm. “Go back to the photo of the Buick. Can you zoom in on the license plate?" Justin found the photo and tapped the screen, which instantly enlarged the car's front bumper, clarifying the numbers and letters. “Print that up as well,” her father said. "Have you thought about putting your photography skills to use for the police department?"

Justin looked up at the man, his expression half joking. "I don't think I'd be happy taking pictures of dead bodies and crime scenes." He glanced at Brinn, a sparkle coming to his eyes. "I prefer to use my talents to capture nature's beauty." He hit the print button.

Brinn wanted to take comfort in the presence of the two determined and capable men at her side, but the knot in her stomach doubled as the face of her tormentor rolled out of the printer in vivid clarity.
 

Chapter 26
Capturing the Enemy

Brinn sat in the waiting room listening to the conversation that was escalating through the crack in the open door. She and her father had come to the Atlanta Police Commissioner's Office for answers, and her father was determined to get them. His voice rose and Brinn flinched at the anger in his tone.

"What do you mean you can't arrest him? Roy Stockman is our man!"

After running his license plate and picture through every possible data base, and doing some serious cold case digging, Brinn’s father had found out that Roy Stockman was the son of Fernell Stockman, a man suspected in a missing person’s case twenty-five years before. The man was ruled out after his son confirmed his alibi and the only witness could not pick him out of a lineup. No witness, no body, no evidence, no case. It appeared that the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree in this instance and that Roy Stockman had taken over where his father had left off.

Brinn could see the two men and hear every word of the conversation from her seat outside the Commissioner’s office. Commissioner Paulsen rubbed the sweat from his brow. "He's out of our jurisdiction, John. I have to hand the case over to South Carolina State Police."

"Who’s in charge there? I want this handled carefully, but I need this guy in custody, now. You know Brinn won't be safe until this psycho is behind bars!"