Night Shift

III

Blair stared at the laptop screen for a long moment before he tapped in Jim's password. He knew he wasn't allowed to do this. Technically it was hacking. But he also knew Jim needed help, and he was better at research than Jim.

He loaded up the police database and it served him a list of the files Jim had most recently accessed. They were all missing persons. Blair frowned. Jim hadn't mentioned he had already started work on this. But Jim was exhausted. He was sleeping now, and Blair had unplugged the phone and turned off their cellphones. He wasn't supposed to do that, either.

He settled on the couch with the laptop on his knees and began reading.

People went missing in Cascade. It happened everywhere. Most involved no foul play, just folks who felt no urge to let anyone know where they were going. Most kids who went missing were either found quickly or turned up dead. Most adults who went missing either came home a week or so later, or eventually turned up in another state. But there were exceptions.

Blair read through the files Jim had read, but then started his own search from scratch.

Time parameters: six years ago to the present.

Reports of missing women, regardless of outcome.

Filtered by age: eighteen to thirty.

Eliminate those where the subject was found, unharmed.

There were still too many. Blair thought for a moment, running what he remembered of the Blake case through his mind. Then he added a new parameter to his search: missing, presumed dead

Twelve names left. Blair called up the files in chronological order and started to read.

Blair's cell phone buzzed and he glanced at the display. It was a text message:

Suz: Is he sleeping? Heard he pulled five shifts in a row.

Blair smiled to himself. Suz was Jim's partner: relatively new as a detective but they had known each other a long time. He typed a quick reply.

Blair: Like a baby. Are you back on active?

Suz: Doc says I'm good to go.

Blair: Need to talk to you tomorrow then. I'll email you some stuff 2nite.

Suz: OK

Blair sent the email quickly, along with a suggestion that they meet for lunch. Then he turned off the laptop. Blair climbed the stairs, stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed beside Jim.

Jim stirred in his sleep and reached out for Blair. Blair snuggled against him.

"Z'mornin' yet?" Jim mumbled.

"No. Go back to sleep."

Jim's only reply was a gentle snore.

The scents of brewing coffee and fresh-cooked pancakes filled the loft. Blair set out plates and syrup while Jim, who had a better sense of the right moment to flip them, cooked and filled the plates.

As he poured syrup over his pancakes, Jim nodded toward the couch where his laptop still lay open. "Breaking the law again, Chief?" He sounded more amused than accusing: Jim knew Blair had all his passwords.

Blair shovelled sweet, fluffy pancake into his mouth. "I wanted to help."

"Find anything?"

Blair hesitated. "Maybe. I have an idea what Jessica Blake was talking about at least. Whether she's on to something..." He shrugged. "I don't know, man. It's a stretch."

"Tell me." Jim set his fork down, focusing all of his attention on Blair.

"Two days ago was the anniversary of her abduction," Blair said.

It hit Jim like a truck. His eyes widened for an instant, then he covered his face with one hand. "Oh, hell. She said she had a bad day, but I didn't think... The date I remember is the day we found her, not...damn."

Blair reached across the table and patted Jim's hand. "Not your fault, man. You were sleep-deprived and she could have told you. But here's the thing. Three months before Jessica's abduction, there was another student reported missing. Her car was found abandoned on the cliffs north of Cascade, and she had a history of depression so it's recorded as a suicide."

Jim nodded. "Someone jumps from those cliffs there's a good chance the body won't be found. If there was enough evidence of suicide we wouldn't pursue it. She was never found?"

"No."

"And you think it wasn't suicide?" Jim looked upset. "Blair, do you think I missed something here?"

Blair shook his head. "No way! Jim, that's not what I'm saying. Hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras, right? Chances are it was what it looks like. But Jessica was looking for zebras. She might remember the case: she was at Rainier, too."

"And she sees a pattern. Okay. What else?"

"Well, after I found that one I looked for other deaths with no body found. Jim, I was looking for things Jessica might have seen as red flags, and I found some. Zebras, man, but there's enough to give you an excuse to open an investigation. If you want to check those woods more carefully."

Jim took a deep breath. "I think you'd better tell me about these zebras."