Chapter 14

Wheeler contacted Fischer and informed her that their daughter was fine, she just had a sickness which she probably caught from someone at school but Fischer told him to take the rest of the day off and be with his daughter.

She made her way up the stairs and to the operations room to collect Fred and Daphne because Tom had contacted her about the information found on the phones and he requested that the detectives be there when he gives the information to Fischer.

'First of all,' Tom began, he paced in front of the commissioner and the two detectives, all of his findings on a sheet of paper which sat on his desk behind him, 'It was not hard to get into either of the boy's phones, I just used their date of births.'

He turned to the desk and picked up the paper, 'Secondly, I have here the information from those phones. Nothing unusual, just your typical teenage boy stuff, how can I describe it.'

'Pornography?' Fischer asked.

Tom chuckled, 'Not quite, just some risqué messages between Liam Harleson and a girl he had been known to have a thing with.'

'And you found that out through the text messages?' Fred asked.

Tom nodded, 'This girl…let's call her Cassie though that is not her real name, is mentioned several times between Liam and Alfie and Liam and his mother. Looks like Mrs Harleson thinks Liam was in a relationship or had feelings for this girl. But it's clear that it was just casual and they were spending a lot of time together.'

'What else?' Daphne asked.

'Aside from that, there is nothing on Liam's phone. And nothing like that on Alfie's phone. He had been speaking to a girl he knew from school but it seems they're just friends. I got onto Alfie's emails and found out the email from the skateboard company. An email, two weeks before Christmas, says that the package had been shipped and was due to arrive before Christmas. There is an email from Alfie to the company explaining that the package hadn't arrived even though an email says it was delivered. Alfie received an email on December 31st saying that the package was at the local post office.'

The three nodded, they knew this much but they needed more, 'I discovered that the email did not come from the skateboard company, however, Alfie had received an email from the skateboard company that they were sorry the package hadn't arrived and they would track it. Only to come back a few days later with the information that the package had been delivered to the door. But if there was a possibility that it had been stolen they would send a new one.' Tom explained.

'The package arrived yesterday.' Fischer stated.

'Have you found out where the email came from?' Daphne asked.

Tom shook his head, 'No, but I am close to. I thought I would update you on my findings so far.'

'Thank you, Tom. Keep up the good work.' Fischer said.

Daphne, Fred and Fischer returned to the operations room, 'Fischer, we have something to tell you.' Fred said.

Fischer looked at both of them, narrowing her eyes, 'What is it?'

'Sit down.' Fred said. Fischer studied them, narrowing her eyes again but she sat down. Fred and Daphne sat opposite her and Daphne reached for her notepad and her phone.

'We think we know what happened to Milo Pablo, and who his killer is.' Daphne said.

Fischer sat up, Daphne had her full attention, so she began to tell Fischer the story.

'We have reason to believe that Luca Pablo was involved with his brother's disappearance, murder and the recent murders in the town.' Daphne said.

Fischer studied her, unsure whether to continue listening to this but she knew it would be bad police work if she ignored it, so she replied with 'Luca Pablo was 9 years old when his brother died.'

'I know that.' Daphne replied, 'But just listen. Fred and I went to the park where Milo disappeared from and it seems impossible for Milo to have been taken without Luca hearing or seeing something. He also told the mother that he had been distracted for a few minutes and when he looked back, Milo was gone. However, he told his sister that he was tying up his shoes and only looked away for a few seconds.'

Fischer continued to listen and Daphne hoped that Fischer would believe her, so she continued, 'Luca Pablo and his family left for Sacramento a little while after Milo's funeral and Luca was not seen again after 1999. Yesterday we spoke to his sister Willa Pablo, now Willa Baller, and she said has not been in contact with him since 1999 and she says that he probably doesn't even know his mother is dead.'

'Where are you going with this Blake?' Fischer asked.

'In 1999 a man with no recorded birth certificate and no life before 1999, applied for a drivers licence and then purchased a car at a Sacramento dealership, that same man purchased a house in Sandpoint the same year and moved a few months later.' Daphne was careful not to give too much away, she wanted to be sure that Fischer believed her story before she told her who it was.

'Hmm...' Fischer hummed. She and Daphne held eye contact for a few seconds, Fred watched them both. He knew Daphne was a dominant character, and Fischer definitely was. They were two big fish in a small pond and Fischer didn't like it. Would she believe Daphne and Fred's theory, or would she throw it back at them and do her own research?

'Do you have a name?' Fischer asked.

Daphne looked to Fred, he nodded and Daphne looked back at Fischer, 'His name is Michael Quinny.'

Fischer's face hardened a bit, but she seemed to be in deep thought about something.

'Commissioner?' Fred asked.

Fischer stood up and walked to the door. Daphne looked down at her notes, feeling defeated. Fred took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly as if to say it's ok you tried.

But Fischer didn't leave, instead, she locked the door and returned to the table. Daphne and Fred watched her.

'I have been keeping my eye on Officer Quinny.' Fischer stated, 'He has been acting strangely for a while, and he's not a very concerning cop.'

Fred narrowed his eyes, 'How so?'

'A couple of years ago, a little girl wandered away from her mother at the park. She looked for her a while before deciding to call the police because she simply couldn't find her. Two police officers arrived, one of them being Quinny, and the mother explained that she was wrestling one of her twin toddlers into the stroller and when she turned around her daughter was gone.'

'Did they find the girl?' Fred asked. Fischer nodded, 'They did a little while later, but when Quinny and the other officer arrived at the park, Quinny made a comment to the mother that she shouldn't have so many children if she couldn't look after them. Luckily it was the other officer who found her, and the girl explained that her mother was looking after the twins and she had seen a squirrel and decided to follow it, and she had gotten lost in the wooded area and couldn't remember her way out.

'The other officer filed a complaint against Quinny for his insensitive comment to the mother, but Quinny denied it and it was dropped. It was his word against Quinny's.'

'Did the mother say anything?' Fred asked.

'I think she was too distressed about her daughter's disappearance to notice what Quinny said.' Fischer explained.

'Anything else?' Daphne asked.

Fischer didn't say anything instead she shook her head.

With no solid evidence against Quinny for murders, or actual proof to their theory and Luca Pablo, Fred and Daphne headed home when it started to become dark.

Fischer had left for home too, her daughter would soon be returning from her holiday and she wanted to spend more time with the baby before she had to give him back.

It had been an interesting day and they had informed Fischer of their theory with successful results.

Daphne wanted to do more research and thought it would be better to do it at home.

When they entered the house, Fred put the car keys on the kitchen table and hung his coat up. He stood in the middle of the kitchen deciding what to make for dinner.

Daphne smiled at him, she put her notepad on the table and pulled the papers that Wheeler had printed off for her. Then she put her hand in her pocket, but her brows furrowed, and she searched her other pocket but she couldn't feel her phone in any of her pockets.

Maybe she had left it in the car, but then she realised that she had left it on the table in the operation room.

'Oh shit.'

'What?' Fred asked.

'I left my phone at the station.' Daphne replied rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed with herself.

Fred smirked, giving a small laugh, 'How'd you forget it?'

'I dunno, I'm gonna go back for it.' Daphne said and she grabbed the keys from the table, 'I'll be back.'

'Don't be long, I'm starting dinner!' Fred called as Daphne pulled the door open and headed out, hearing her shout, 'Ok' before the door closed.

Fred pulled open the fridge door and grunted, unsure what to cook for dinner.

Outside, Daphne climbed into the car, it was still warm from them just getting out of it. She checked that her phone wasn't in one of the pockets or had fallen out of her pocket onto the floor, but no.

She put the key in and started the engine and the heaters came on and the car slowly got warmer.

Daphne pulled away from the house and returned to the police station.

As she was driving along, she scolded herself for leaving the phone in the office. Then her stomach growled and she wondered what Fred was going to make for dinner.

She still had butterflies in her stomach as she remembered the events of the previous night and a smile tugged at her lips.

She tried not to think about it happening again tonight, she didn't want to feel desperate but…

She tried to suppress a laugh, but it slipped between her lips and she giggled to herself. Thankful that it was dark outside if it was daylight and someone had seen her laughing to herself in the car they would have thought she was crazy.

She turned into the police station's parking lot, parking into the spot where Fred had parked today. She climbed out of the car, locking it behind her and she walked into the police station.

Officer Quinny was sat at the desk, his usual spot, he smiled at Daphne, 'Detective Blake? What are you doing back here?'

'I left my phone upstairs.' Daphne replied.

Officer Quinny chuckled, 'Darn things.'

Daphne smiled quickly before running upstairs. Since the new information about Michael Quinny, she and Fred had discovered, and their theory rolling around in her brain, she wanted to get out of the building as quick as possible and get home to do more research.

She pushed open the door to the operations room. Noticing how different the room looked when the lights were off like it was a different room, but it was the same at the same time.

She saw her phone on the table where she had left it, and she grabbed it before turning out of the room and heading back downstairs. Officer Quinny was still sat at the desk, he smiled at her as she came down. She returned a small smile, 'Night Officer.' She said, and she grabbed the door handle and pulled, but the door was locked.

She tried again but it wouldn't open.

She turned around and faced Officer Quinny, 'Why's the door locked?'

Officer Quinny smiled, 'Because you're going to die.'