As Rafe watches the screen, he spotted someone glancing towards Alex and then back down; appearing to fiddle with a cell phone. The person is a darker complexioned young woman, perhaps Hispanic. She appears to be in her early twenties. She dresses in a trendy blue spaghetti tank top and jeans that show off her muscular shoulders; as though she may be a body builder.
"All right; well here's the fax number." The woman handed you a small card with a number written upon it. "Be sure to call over; definitely would like to get that fixed."
"I can't say that I have." Alex steps so that he stands between the woman and the sidewalk Kimberly left down. "You were at the Spiral weren't you? Looking into the Specialist as well?"
"You were at the Spiral?" Diane's smile brightened. "I didn't see you. Sorry about that. I'm Diane." She glances behind you at Kimberly's departure; but looks back to Alex's face.
"Well, the girls and I were out shopping and came across the tragedy." Diane's voice became somber as she referred to the deceased soldier. "Are you looking into this... alone?"
The prospect of more hunters didn't exactly fill Alex with glee. It wasn't that he was competitive or territorial. Simply put more people meant more backs to watch, more chances to screw up and more responsibility on his shoulders.
"The girls?" His voice sounds a bit confused. Then focusing on the matter at hand. "No, I'm not alone. Another customer of the Spiral is around snooping somewhere. Have you learned anything since arriving?"
"The activity has been crazy around here in the last few days." Diane shared quietly; after glancing about subtlety to see if any one was observing. "Which is why I thought this might be something. Its been quiet for about 3 months; not one death. Then all of a sudden this guys drained of blood. Someone is up to something."
She gives you a long glance. "Did the girl know anything?"
Alex simply shrugs. One thing that his profession had taught him was that a quiet place meant nothing. Death could strike anywhere.
"She probably caused his death to be honest. She said her mother has died recently as well as her aunt and now this guy who gave her a ride home. My plan was to find my partner and tail her home. Right now she is the only lead I have. Unfortunately I don't know where he took off to." Since they were sharing information, he decides to try to get something out of it.
"Not to be too forward but would you mind following her while I find him? I can pick you up once you've found her house. She is within walking distance so it can't be too far and my partner went in the mall, so he shouldn't be too hard to find."
Dianne half turned to examine the girl's retreating back.
"Sure. We'll give her a a lookie. Here's my number; give me a ring when you find your better half."
She makes a little wave and starts weaving through the crowd. As you watch; two girls from the crowd peel away and join Diane. Together; they seemed to have an air of self absorption that likely would block the fact that they were tailing someone. Or perhaps they really were so self absorbed.
As the women walk away he can't help but be grateful for not having a daughter. The cell of women didn't exactly inspire confidence, but they were less conspicuous than a 43 year old man in a dark coat and leather gloves. For now Alex just turns and makes his way to the parking lot hoping to find out where Rafe ran off too.
Rafe took the number "Thanks, I'll see what I can do." He took another look at the woman with the cellphone, making note of her features so he'd remember better later. "Thank you for letting me take a look, I'll see if i can convince my boss to lend you a hand with your equipment. I'm not hopeful about getting another look at the evidence in my office though, my boss is a real hard ass, if you know what i mean. Have a nice night." He nodded to them both, and walked out the door fiddling with his watch. The way the body just appeared unnerved him, and the glitch was too coincidental. Someone good must have tampered with the tapes, it was the only logical explanation. he thought to himself as he walked towards the exit.
Coffee. He'd left the cake and coffee for the mall cops, so he walked to the coffee stand and picked up two cups before heading outside again. He'd have to ask Alex who that woman was he was talking to, and why he didn't just talk to the cops.
Seeing the young skeptic walking out of the mall with coffee, causes Alex's stomach to drop. Please have done more than just bought coffee. The young were known to be a bit lost sometime and this kid was definitely new to the hunt. He hopes that Rafe has done more.
Approaching Rafe, Alex does his best to calm the concern in his voice and be unbiased. After all, he doesn't know what the kid did inside. "Find anything useful inside Rafe? I certainly latched on to something interesting out here."
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