Bound

Chapter Nineteen

Savannah pushed open the door of the Greasy Spoon Diner.   She felt like she should have another talk with owner.   Brianna was a pretty girl, it was hard to believe she had had no admirers.   This case had gone nowhere fast and if there was one thing Savannah was known for, it was making headway where there wasn't any.  

The careworn face of Yolanda Smith looked at once terrified and hopeful.  "You found her??" she asked, stepping from behind the counter.  Savannah shook her head.  "I wanted to ask you a couple of follow up questions Ms. Smith.  Whatever you can do may help us to locate Brianna." She gestured to a empty booth and settled in to speak with the older woman.  

Nervously Yolanda sat across from the detective and smoothed her apron.  "I don't know what else to say really.  Brianna was here one day, and gone the next. " she said, trying not to wring her hands from the nerves.

Savannah knew this woman had been holding back. She'd felt it on the first visit.  "Really....you never had any problems with customers being too friendly?  Nice looking girl like that, nobody showed any interest?"  she pressed Yolanda, eyes searching.  

Yolanda sighed.   "Well Brianna never dated, or at least she never told me too much about anyone special.   About two weeks ago there was a guy in here who we kinda joked with her about, you know, like you do...I guess he left her a couple of pretty big tips actually, so we were kind of teasin' her about him."

Finally, the truth, Savannah thought grimly.  Eyes sharp she asked, "It would have been helpful if you'd been up front about this man from the start Ms. Smith.  He could be the abductor.   What can you tell me about him?"

The diner's stout owner frowned slightly.  "That's just it Detective, it's hard to say.  I know he was a looker that's for sure.  He was pretty tall and dressed kinda to the hilt if you know what I mean.  Had a cup of coffee that he didn't finish and then left.   Gave me the impression he was a money guy, you know?"  Yolanda brushed a crumb off the diner top and finished, "I think he was polite enough, I can't  say he had a whack-o vibe.  More like Wall Street Banker or somethin'"

Savannah probed the woman a few more moments and realized she'd gotten all the information she could.   Leaving the diner she answered her phone as it shrilled, puzzled by this new turn of events.   On the other end of the line was confirmation of the testing done on the syringe cap.  In it was a minuscule trace of Propofol, an extremely powerful anesthetic.     Poor girl never would have known what hit her, Savannah thought, getting into her cop issue Chevy and pulling away from the curb.   

The entire Phantom case was troubling in every way.   Taking for example this situation.  Girl gone missing from a diner, which checked the boxes for the others, but in this case she was still missing.  In the murders previous the victims had been discovered only a day or at most, a week from their abduction dates.   All of them had been waitresses,  all were petite blondes and now all of them had had a diner take notice of them within a week or two of their disappearance.    

Frowning as she drove she shook her head.  There were connecting threads in so many ways,  except in the one important one.   Having confirmed Brianna had received interest from a out of town diner was good however he was no physical match for the other victims.  Each man mentioned in fact, had been different.   Frustrated she put her foot down to the floor, her car protesting and wheezing as it plowed forwards.    Bastard, she thought with a grimace...she'd find the connection, it was there and she would find it.   Savannah never gave up on a case. 

Heading to the highway back to the  city she sighed.   Time to head back to Central and start digging again.  Brianna Walsh was out there, and she'd bet she was still alive.   The clock was ticking and Savannah knew she had work to do to bring her home that way.