saw
them leave together,” she said as she turned her attention toward Agent Nash.
“Tell them what you saw.”
Agent Nash wasn’t the one to answer her line of
questioning, though. Instead, the senior agent cut in before Nash was given a
chance.
“We are aware of who you and Agent Nash saw our victim
leave with,” he began.
“Victim?” Dawn stopped him. “Oh my God, is she dead?”
“No,” Agent Nash finally spoke up. “Not that we know
of, at least. Victim was…” he shot the other agent a scathing glance “…a poor
choice of words. Miss Frey is only a missing person at this time.”
“And we talked to Mosley,” the third agent said. “He
dropped the girl off in front of her house. There was no sign of her at his
place or anywhere near it. Not a single trace. He tells us...”
“Agent Hart,” the senior officer stopped him, “I think
at this point in our investigation, we should keep the details confidential
until we have suspects on the line.”
“Are you calling me a suspect?” Dawn said, her panic
deepening at the agent’s off-the-cuff suggestion.
“You aren’t a suspect,” Agent Nash cut in. “We just
want to get our ducks in a row before we start spilling too much.”
“But the other missing hikers,” Jim said. His normally
deep, burly voice was now a shaken shadow of its former self. “They say it’s an
animal attack. There are no suspects in an animal attack, right?”
“We can’t rule anything out,” Agent Hart said.
“Are you saying there’s some kind of serial killer out
in the woods?” Dawn said, unable to stop herself. “She’s the fifth person to go
missing in a month, and you won’t even consider that ball player is who is
behind it? His word is good enough for you, is that it?”
Dawn’s voice was turning accusatory, and she was only
narrowly avoiding shouting.
“Ma’am, just settle down,” the senior agent told her.
His tone was downright condescending.
“Don’t tell me to ‘settle down,’ ” she shot
back. “My best friend is missing, and you want me to ‘settle down?’ ”
“Okay, okay, enough,” Agent Nash cut in. “Listen, we
need to ask you all a few questions. Miss Garrett, is there a place here that
we can talk alone? Off the record, for now.”
“Now, listen here,” the senior agent stopped him,
anger touching the corners of his eyes. “You’re just as much a witness as the
girl might be. We can’t have you leading her or tainting her memories of last
night. I’ll have a word with her.”
“No way!” Dawn said. As much as she wanted to find
Courtney, sitting down one-on-one with an agent whose name she didn’t know sent
spikes of panic down her spine.
“It wasn’t a request,” the agent growled at her, but
Agent Nash came to her rescue.
“Hey, cool it,” he said, his own snarl meeting the
older agent’s head on. “Can’t you see she’s freaked out enough as it is?”
That much was true. Everyone was staring at Dawn, and
that was when she looked down to see that her hands shaking. She hadn’t even
noticed their violent spasms until then, but as soon as she did, she began to
feel faint.
“Whoa, there,” Jim said. He caught her just as she
started to lose her balance. With more agility than he looked like he might
possess, he pulled over a nearby barstool with the toe of his boot and helped
guide Dawn to sit on it.
For a second, no one said a word as Dawn struggled to
calm herself down. Between Courtney going missing, the feds now wanting to talk
with her, and everything else going on, it was no wonder that she’d momentarily
lost her constant grip on the calm and cool mask she carefully wore each day.
When it was obvious that she wasn’t going to pass out,
the men in the room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Though her
hands still shook, the moment of panic was over, and Dawn struggled to regain
her composure.
“Here, sweetie,” Jim said as he leaned over the bar
and poured a pint
them leave together,” she said as she turned her attention toward Agent Nash.
“Tell them what you saw.”
Agent Nash wasn’t the one to answer her line of
questioning, though. Instead, the senior agent cut in before Nash was given a
chance.
“We are aware of who you and Agent Nash saw our victim
leave with,” he began.
“Victim?” Dawn stopped him. “Oh my God, is she dead?”
“No,” Agent Nash finally spoke up. “Not that we know
of, at least. Victim was…” he shot the other agent a scathing glance “…a poor
choice of words. Miss Frey is only a missing person at this time.”
“And we talked to Mosley,” the third agent said. “He
dropped the girl off in front of her house. There was no sign of her at his
place or anywhere near it. Not a single trace. He tells us...”
“Agent Hart,” the senior officer stopped him, “I think
at this point in our investigation, we should keep the details confidential
until we have suspects on the line.”
“Are you calling me a suspect?” Dawn said, her panic
deepening at the agent’s off-the-cuff suggestion.
“You aren’t a suspect,” Agent Nash cut in. “We just
want to get our ducks in a row before we start spilling too much.”
“But the other missing hikers,” Jim said. His normally
deep, burly voice was now a shaken shadow of its former self. “They say it’s an
animal attack. There are no suspects in an animal attack, right?”
“We can’t rule anything out,” Agent Hart said.
“Are you saying there’s some kind of serial killer out
in the woods?” Dawn said, unable to stop herself. “She’s the fifth person to go
missing in a month, and you won’t even consider that ball player is who is
behind it? His word is good enough for you, is that it?”
Dawn’s voice was turning accusatory, and she was only
narrowly avoiding shouting.
“Ma’am, just settle down,” the senior agent told her.
His tone was downright condescending.
“Don’t tell me to ‘settle down,’ ” she shot
back. “My best friend is missing, and you want me to ‘settle down?’ ”
“Okay, okay, enough,” Agent Nash cut in. “Listen, we
need to ask you all a few questions. Miss Garrett, is there a place here that
we can talk alone? Off the record, for now.”
“Now, listen here,” the senior agent stopped him,
anger touching the corners of his eyes. “You’re just as much a witness as the
girl might be. We can’t have you leading her or tainting her memories of last
night. I’ll have a word with her.”
“No way!” Dawn said. As much as she wanted to find
Courtney, sitting down one-on-one with an agent whose name she didn’t know sent
spikes of panic down her spine.
“It wasn’t a request,” the agent growled at her, but
Agent Nash came to her rescue.
“Hey, cool it,” he said, his own snarl meeting the
older agent’s head on. “Can’t you see she’s freaked out enough as it is?”
That much was true. Everyone was staring at Dawn, and
that was when she looked down to see that her hands shaking. She hadn’t even
noticed their violent spasms until then, but as soon as she did, she began to
feel faint.
“Whoa, there,” Jim said. He caught her just as she
started to lose her balance. With more agility than he looked like he might
possess, he pulled over a nearby barstool with the toe of his boot and helped
guide Dawn to sit on it.
For a second, no one said a word as Dawn struggled to
calm herself down. Between Courtney going missing, the feds now wanting to talk
with her, and everything else going on, it was no wonder that she’d momentarily
lost her constant grip on the calm and cool mask she carefully wore each day.
When it was obvious that she wasn’t going to pass out,
the men in the room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Though her
hands still shook, the moment of panic was over, and Dawn struggled to regain
her composure.
“Here, sweetie,” Jim said as he leaned over the bar
and poured a pint
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