Doubts and Dead Ends

The sergeant and her detective pull up to the three story mansion, a home very similar to the one they'd just left. Some rookies are interviewing the onlookers. Others are doing their best to hold the crowd back while the third sets up a perimeter.

Toni climbs out of the car to find Jack standing by her door. "What can you tell me, Monroe?"

"A maid found the husband and wife slumped over at the kitchen table. She said she came down to make their breakfast when she found them sitting there."

"She lives here?"

"The top floor, but claims she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary."

"What is your take on the maid?"

"She's an elderly woman, mid eighties I'd say. Has been with the family since the Missus. was young." 

"Has the ME determined the Cause of Death?"

"He said it's pending an autopsy, since there doesn't seem to be an apparent cause of death."

She thumbs towards the crowd and asks, "Did they report any unusual activity?"

"They claim they didn't see or hear a thing."

"Are there any cameras in or around the house?"

"The security system has been disarmed since five this morning. The maid said that Russ disarms it before he goes for his run."

"This is a daily routine for him?"

"According to the housekeeper it is."

"Check the webcams from the surrounding houses, and see if there's a connection between the two couples."

"Yes, sergeant."

She turns to Jamal and says, "Why don't we see what we can find out about Tess."

***

The sergeant and her detective pull up to a small older brick diner on the corner of Reed and Georgia Avenue. The Summerhill district is one of the first neighborhoods established in Atlanta, redeveloped in 2013 after the Atlanta Braves found a new stadium to call home.

"I haven't been on the south side since I was a kid," Jamal says, climbing out of the car.

"What, a few weeks ago?" The sergeant grins. Tony often teases him about his age because he's the youngest detective on the force. Jamal started in the academy fresh out of high school working his way up to detective in a little less than five years. He's twenty four but could easily pass for sixteen which is sometimes an advantage but more times than not he finds it to be a curse.

"You're not funny, sergeant." 

They step in to find a few waitresses are filling the condiments while the others roll silverware as they chat.

"We open at five," the waitress says, moving to the next table.

"We're not here to eat, we're here on business." Toni holds out her badge as she continues towards her.

"What can we do for you, sergeant?"

"I need to ask you about a former employee, Tess White."

"Tess White, I'm sorry but the name doesn't ring a bell."

Toni looks over to find the others shaking their heads.

"She worked here five years ago, Jamal adds."

"We've only worked here for two years so we wouldn't be much help," she says, scooting the salt shaker across the table.

"Is there anyone we could talk to that would remember her?"

"The manager might."

"Is she here?"

"She's in her office." She points to the back.

"Can we talk to her?"

Plopping down a tray she pushes a lose hair away from her face sighs and says, "Follow me." The woman leads them down a long dark hall. Knocking on the door, the waitress steps inside. "These officers are asking about Tess White."

The tall, lanky woman stands. "Tess White? I'm sorry detectives, but I don't remember her."

"She worked here five years ago." Jamal repeats.

"I've had a lot of waitresses come and go since then." Plopping down at her desk, she taps a few keys, glances at the picture on the screen, looks up and says, "Oh yes, I remember her now. She quit a few weeks before her wedding claiming her husband didn't want her working outside the home."

"Does Tess have any emergency contact?"

"Her mother died when she was young and she never mentioned any siblings." She glances at the screen again, looks up and says, "I don't see anyone listed on her resume."

"What about friends?"

"All the waitresses I had back then have moved on."

"Can you give us a list of names?"

"I can, but I'll tell you right now it's a waste of your time."

"Why's that?"

"Tess didn't bother to stay in touch. We tried calling a few times, but she never answered, or returned any of our calls or texts. I figured she thought she was too good for us now she's living in a mansion at Tuxedo Park." Tears swell in her hazel eyes. "That hurts, you know, being snubbed by a friend like that. Especially after everything we'd been through together." She wipes away a tear, and adds, "I thought we were besties to the end. That's what she used to claim anyway. Then she met Steven and we were a thing from her past."

"I imagine it was very upsetting."

"We pick ourselves up and move on, right?" She dries her face again and asks, "Can I ask what this is all about?"

"We have some bad news to tell her about her ex."

"She and Steven split?" Regaining her composure the manager says, "Tess is better off without him."

"You didn't like the man?"

"Everyone here loathed him. Controlling Tess the way he does, trying to turn her into something she's not. She's a simple girl detective, not some affluent woman that he tried to make her out to be." Her face angers when she adds "I overheard him tell her once that she'll be better off not having a bunch of losers like us dragging her down." 

"And she believed him?"

"I don't know, maybe probably hanging on his every word the way she did. Tess is a free spirit, so full of hopes and dreams. So when she met Steven she thought all her wishes were coming true. Steven took full advantage of her infatuation. Telling her what she should wear, how to act, and when to speak. We could see he was breaking her spirit, but Tess with her rose-colored glasses didn't have a clue." She shakes her head and continues, "She told me once that she felt like Cinderella and he was Prince Charming. I guess her storybook romance didn't have a happy ending the way she hoped it would."

"Sounds like you cared a lot about her."

"We all did. That's why it hurt so much when she didn't return our calls."

"Maybe it wasn't her fault."

Her eyebrows raise as she tilts her head to the side when she asks, "What are you getting at, Sergeant?"

"By what you told me, I'd say it's very likely Steven had something to do with her ghosting you."

"She didn't even answer our text." Not a single one."

"Steven might've gotten rid of them before she even saw them," Jamal adds.

Toni nods. "True, and since she didn't know that you tried to reach out, she probably thought you guys were mad at her because she left."

"We could never be mad at Tess."

"I'm sure Steven made sure she thought you were."

"That bastard," she says. Daggers shoot from her eyes as she clinches her jaw.

"Do you have any idea where she might go?"

"She doesn't have any living relatives, well none that I know of. Her mom died when she was young, and she never mentioned anyone else except for her foster family but they've been estranged for years." She rolls her eyes and adds, "Once her state checks stopped they didn't want anything to do with her."

"I'd still like a list of waitresses from back then, in case they might remember something she might've said on a whim, a place where she'd like to go someday."

She taps a few keys, pulls a piece of paper from the printer, hands it over and says, "If you find her, tell her I'd love to see her again."

Nodding, Toni smiles and says, "I sure will."