Anonymous(41)

I can hear the truth in his voice. Terry places a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Her funeral is in two days. If we can prove your innocence, you’ll be free to leave tomorrow. You can go home.”

Bryan scoffs. “Home? All it’s going to do is remind me of what I’ve fucking lost. My life is shit now, and I don’t know if it’ll ever get better.” He types away, his fingers pounding on the keyboard. “I know what date to look for. It’s the night I was wearing the clothes I was found in on the side of the road.”

He skips through the feed and the video begins to play. It’s dark and cars drive by, but it’s hard to get a good look at them. The angle of the camera is centered on the door, not its surroundings. “I remember getting home around seven, but after that, I can’t recall a thing.”

It’s one minute until seven on the feed, and just like he said, his truck pulls up into the driveway. From the angle of the video, you can’t tell what type of truck it is, but you see him getting out and fiddling with his phone.

“I’m texting Samantha to let her know to stop by on her way home from work. I wanted to see her before I left.”

It’s like everything moves in slow motion. Bryan walks away from his truck, but then someone comes up behind him. “What the hell?” I say, moving closer. “Is there audio on this?”

Bryan shakes his head and pauses the video, but it’s too dark to see much detail. All we can see is a man behind him, grabbing him around the neck. “I remember this happening now. There was a prick in my neck and then everything went black.” He plays the video and we watch as he’s loaded into the backseat of his truck. The man then gets into the front and drives away.

“Where is your phone now?” I ask.

“We haven’t been able to locate it,” Terry adds.

Bryan pulls up another screen and types in a few more codes. A map pulls up with a blinking blue dot. He points at it. “There. It’s right off Route 16.”

Terry studies it. “You were found about a quarter mile down from that.”

“I don’t know how it got there,” Bryan says. “Not unless the person who had me threw it out the window while he drove away.”

Terry gets on his radio and instructs his guys to search the area for Bryan’s phone.

Bryan looks up at Terry. “Did anyone take note of the tire marks or other footprints in the snow where I was found?”

Terry nods. “That portion of the road was clear. There were no tracks to look at.”

Bryan shakes his head and resumes the video. About thirty minutes after he was taken, Samantha shows up and knocks on the door. She pulls out her phone and is obviously calling and texting him. I watch Bryan’s reaction as he watches her on the screen. Tears pool in his eyes, but he angrily wipes them away.

“I know my phone will need to be searched through for evidence, but do you mind if I see my last texts from her?” he asks, turning his weary gaze up at Terry.

Terry rests his hand on his shoulder. “Of course.”

Samantha leaves and there’s no other movement at his house for the rest of that night. Bryan takes a slow, steady breath and lowers his head. His shoulders shake, and he falls apart, his voice full of rage and sadness. “I know I didn’t ask this yesterday, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it . . . but I need the truth.” He lifts his face, all red and wet from tears. “Did the fucker rape her or violate her in any way?”

Terry shakes his head. “No. She was killed quickly, almost like it might’ve been a spur of the moment thing.”

Bryan focuses back on his laptop and fast forwards through the feed. “What was she wearing when she was found?”

Terry clears his throat. “A pink sweater and jeans.”

I can tell by his expression that the wheels in his head are turning. It’s the same look Owen gets when he’s trying to figure out something on a case. It must be a cop thing. “What are you thinking?” I ask him.

Bryan points at his laptop. “As far as a motive to kill her, the only thing I can think of is that this guy wants people to think I murdered Samantha because I want Ellie.”

“You could’ve easily broken up with her,” I state.

“Exactly,” he agrees, “not unless it was a spur of the moment thing. She could’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He takes in a shaky breath. “And I’m about to find out.” We watch the video as he scrolls through it and there are several times when Terry can be seen knocking on the door and looking around the front of the house.

“That’s when we were looking for you,” Terry says, pointing at himself on the screen.

Bryan peers up at me. “Is Ellie afraid of me now?”

“Actually, no. She’s the one who hasn’t believed you were capable of any of this. It’s been hard for her to grasp.”

“I’m ready for her to know it wasn’t me.”

“I’ll talk to her tonight. She’s up to date on everything so far,” I assure him. “She’ll be happy to know it wasn’t you, but not happy to know that someone is still out there looking for her. I’m not gonna lie, I was hoping it was you, so this shit would end.”

He sighs. “Ellie’s such a down-to-earth, fun girl to be around. Not to mention, beautiful. There were so many guys who wanted to be with her. She just has that certain quality about her that makes people want to be around her.”