CHAPTER 5

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"So you just let her take photos of confidential data?" Wyatt asked incredulously.

"It's all part of the plan," Chief answer, not batting an eyelid at Wyatt's reaction.

Chief continued drinking his coffee as though they were talking about what to eat for dinner and not the fact that he had leaked confidential data to Cassidy Monte.

"Plan? Is this another plan of yours that I'm not aware of?"

Wyatt was used to Chief being two steps ahead at all times. He always knew what to do and when to do it. It was a scary skill. But it was one that made him a hell of a detective. Even if he was retired now and sitting behind a desk, he was still ahead of Wyatt.

"Did you search through the records of when the Monte sisters were younger?" Chief asked.

Wyatt was momentarily thrown by the switch in topic.

"Adam pulled some records about the fire that killed their parents. There's not much there. The fire was ruled as an accident."

The only mystery was how both sisters had gotten out of the burning house. Neither one knew how but they had both been on the pavement when the firefighters had arrived.

"Did you also look at the hospital records?"

Wyatt knew Chief was about to tell him something that he had no knowledge of. How Chief knew was beyond Wyatt. The man always seemed to know everything.

"I don't believe I looked at them in detail," Wyatt mumbled.

"I suggest you look through them again. There may be some pertinent information in there."

Wyatt nodded. He was sure Chief already knew what the information was but he wanted Wyatt to find it himself. Wyatt mentally made a reminder to ask Adam for those files as soon as he was back at his desk.

"I'm assuming that isn't the only reason you called me in here."

"It isn't," Chief answered pausing.

The man did have a flair for the dramatic.

"I'm sure you've already heard that a team from the National Intelligence Unit is going to be working on the case as well. They've chosen Mayberry as their ground zero work point. I made it clear that this will be a joint investigation. You are going to be the point man for this case."

Wyatt nodded. This was his case. Like hell he was going to give it to anyone else.

"They have a profiler on their team. He's going to try and profile the suspect. I'm assuming they'll want to talk to Miss Monte some more to learn about her sister."

"Any particular reason we're so focused on Cassidy Monte?"

Chief paused again before he answered. He took another sip of his tea, ever so slowly, and then placed the cup back on the table.

"I have a theory that Rose Monte will visit her sister, Cassidy."

"Why would Rose visit Cassidy?"

"That's where working for your living comes in," Chief answered with a smile.

Wyatt shook his head.

"I guess I should get back to doing that then. Since Cassidy's our best bet, I should keep an eye on her."

He pushed back his chair and stood. He was close to the door when Chief spoke again.

"I suggest you start looking where she most likely is."

"And where is that?" Wyatt questioned.

"At the victim's families homes."

---

Cassidy took a deep breath as she stood on the doorstep. Did she really want to knock on this door? Did she really want to hear what was about to be said? She knew any information she could find out about Rose would be helpful, but a part of her didn't want to knock on the door. What is these people didn't want to talk to Cassidy at all?

She was currently outside the Mason's residence. The family had been killed about a year ago. Their closest relatives were the wife's sister. The address was on the paper she had taken a photo of.

Better get this over with, she thought as she raised her hand and knocked on the door. Her feet were shaking and her heartbeat had increased its beating. Her hands were clammy and she could feel the beats of sweat beginning to form on her forehead. She wasn't sure she could survive through this entire thing.

Maybe it's best she didn't do this. The police could find Rose. She turned, ready to leave, when the door opened.

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the door asked.

Cassidy turned back around and forced a smile to her face. The other woman, Linda Strom, looked back at her in confusion.

"Uh hi, my name is Cassidy Monte. I'm Rose Monte's sister. She's gone missing and I'm trying to find her."

"That's a name I haven't heard in a while," Linda said smiling fondly.

Cassidy had expected anger. Even screaming at mentioning Rose's name. But Linda didn't seem to even be remotely angry. Instead she seemed rather happy.

"Oh come in. We can talk more inside," she said inviting her in.

Cassidy smiled and walked in. There was no going back now.

---

"So you and Rose were separated when you were younger?" Linda asked.

Cassidy nodded, sipping on her water.

"We were. I'm trying to find her and I was told she was friends with your sister."

"Lily, yes. She and Rose met at the market one day and instantly hit it off," Linda said, her voice sounding faraway. Sadness had instantly clouded her eyes when she mentioned her sister's name.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Cassidy said softly.

"Thank you. It was just so sudden. We didn't expect anything like that to happen."

"Did the police catch the person responsible?"

"No they haven't been able to. It's already been a year. They said the case went cold and it was too hard for me to constantly check in. I guess at some point you have to move on right."

Cassidy wasn't sure what to say. Her sister may be responsible for the grief this woman was feeling. What could she say to her?

"But enough of that talk. You came here to ask about your sister," Linda said, doing her best to shake off her sadness and smile at Cassidy.

"I've been tracking her since we got separated. It led me to your sister, Lily. I was hoping you would have known Rose as well."

Linda smiled genuinely for the first time.

"I did. Rose was a great girl. She worked at the local market. Lily met her there. Lily and I talked about her sometimes. She was so young and out in the world by herself. Her parents had passed away, she said. She mentioned a sister but she didn't know where she was."

"Do you know where she is now?"

"No. She was here for the funeral and a couple weeks after, she said she had gotten a new job. As a secretary in the town over. She said she would visit but it must have been hard with Lily being...well gone. She was quite close to her."

"Do you have a number for her?" Cassidy questioned.

Linda shook her head.

"Her phone was disconnected the last time I called. That was about ten months ago. She and Lily had been close, even though there was an age difference. I think she saw Lily as someone to aspire to be. You know, a stable job, a happy family."

Cassidy wasn't sure about that but she didn't say anything. Why had Rose made friends with Lily?

---

Cassidy walked out of the third house for the day. There was so much about her sister she had learnt. The Indes, who Rose had befriended after the Masons, were a lovely bunch. Cassidy had spoken to the husband's brother. Rose had been working at his company at a secretary and met the family through him.

He mentioned that Rose was a very good employee. She never took days off, she always had her assignments done on time. She was meticulous with details which made her exceptional at planning and organizing meetings and events.

The Hills, who were the last family Cassidy had visited, had good things to say about Rose as well. She had been a tutor to their son. She helped him with his homework and had become good friends with the rest of the family. They mentioned how smart and academic she was.

Through every interview, all she heard was good things about Rose. How nice she was. How kind she was. That she was always smiling. Cassidy couldn't reconcile the things she was hearing and her sister being a serial killer. There was no way Rose had killed these people. She had liked them, even enjoyed their company. She didn't have a reason to kill them.

She stood outside the Hills house, reeling from everything. This was so much to take in in one day.

She glanced and to her surprise saw Detective Wyatt standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked confused.

"Looking for you," he answered her.

"How did you know where I was?"

"You didn't think it was that easy to get confidential information, did you?"

She did actually. She hadn't realized it was a set up.

"Did Chief Potts move those papers on purpose? He wanted me to see the lists."

Detective Wyatt nodded.

"He has his ways."

She couldn't believe it. She thought she was one-upping the detectives yet all this time they already knew what she was up to.

"So you've been following me?"

"Only since the Inde's house."

She shook her head and couldn't help the small smile that escaped.

"You're guys are good at your job."

"So we've been told. Can I offer you a ride home?"

"Sure," she answered.

Her only other option was to call another cab. But maybe being in the car with Detective Wyatt could answer some of the questions that had come up today.

Detective Wyatt drove in silence. Cassidy wasn't sure how to broach the topic. The view of houses flashing by helped her calm her mind and plan exactly what to say.

"Detective Wyatt," she started.

"Just Wyatt," he interrupted.

She looked across at him.

"We're most likely going to be meeting frequently due to your sister's involvement in this case. I figure we can friendly enough with first names, Cassidy."

He did have a point. Cassidy was not going to leave him alone until Rose was found and cleared of all suspicion.

"Wyatt," she began again. "I'm assuming you knew the reason for my visit to these houses. What I'm not sure about, is why none of them was offended by me asking about Rose? Do they not know you consider her a suspect?"

"That information hasn't been made available to the victim's families."

"Can I ask why?"

She turned fully in her seat to face Wyatt. She wanted to see his face while he talked. A lot of information was conveyed through facial expressions.

"We believed it premature to inform the victim's families of the suspects we have in mind, in case either suspect didn't pan out. We didn't want to give them false hope," he replied.

Cassidy could understand the reasoning before their motives. She wouldn't want to get her hopes up to have them crushed entirely either.

"Did you find any useful information on your sister?" Wyatt asked.

He glanced over at her for a moment before looking back at the road.

"She was well liked among all of them. They thought she was a great girl. Too young to be dealing with the things she were."

"And what exactly was Rose dealing with?"

"Her parents dying. Struggling to find a job. That's what everyone said."

Wyatt didn't respond and they spent the rest of the drive in silence. He insisted on walking her up to her apartment, though she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like Rose was going to be waiting for her. Heck, she would drop dead if Rose happened to knock on her door in the midst of everything going on.

"Oh it's another one!" Cassidy exclaimed, noticing the brown box in front her door.

"Another what?" Wyatt asked confused, as Cassidy bounced over to the box.

"I'll show you inside."

She tucked the box under her arms and unlocked the door. She dropped her keys in the bowl at the door and walked to the kitchen table , where she dropped the box and her bag.

Her box opener was already on the table. She opened the box quickly and stared at the stuffed animal inside. It was an octopus this month. A green octopus. There was a lopsided grin on his face and each of his tentacles was tipped in a different colour. He was beautiful.

"Where'd you get that?" Wyatt questioned.

His tone made Cassidy look up surprised. He was staring at the octopus, not at Cassidy.

"The stuffed animal?" she asked unsure.

"Where did you get it Cassidy?" he asked again.

She closed the box and pointed at the label. It always said Angel House – the orphanage she was placed in after her parents' death.

"It's from the orphanage. The kids send me a stuff animal every month. This month's one is a bit late. I usually get them earlier in the month," she answered.

Her face broke into a smile as she looked down at the octopus again. The orphanage had been her home for a year before she was adopted. She still visited whenever she got the chance, sometimes to help the kids with homework or just to play. The director, Miss Kira, always welcomed Cassidy.

"You have more of these?" Wyatt demanded.

His tone was still one of urgency. Something was wrong. She just didn't know what.

"I do," she answered cautiously.

"Show me."

She took him to her spare room where she had all the animals on the shelf. She was storing them there until she figured out what to do with them.

Wyatt walked into the room slowly, staring at the stuffed animals. His gaze tracked each one slowly.

"Is something wrong?" Cassidy asked confused.

He turned to her slowly.

"You've been getting these for months?" he asked.

"Over a year, I think. I'm not sure. Why?"

"Because I've seen these stuffed animals before."

"Where?"

"They belonged to the victim's child," he answered softly.

"The thirteen year old child that was always killed. One of their stuff toys went missing in each case."





So much new information in this chapter!

It's a bit long but I'll choose long over short any day.

Hope you guys enjoy. Don't forget to leave your comments on what's happening. And don't forget to vote too!


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